We’re sure you’ve had time to indulge in the 500th issue of Doctor Who Magazine – just in time for the 501st issue!
DWM continues its celebrations with a tome dedicated entirely to the Fourth Doctor era, leading with a huge interview with the one and only… Mr Tom Baker! Tom Baker: The Ultimate Interview finds the actor in a typically sombre-yet-joyous mood, refelcting on life, death, and, naturally, Doctor Who! He says:
“Life is too short to be dull. Be interesting. Because not very much else matters does it? In large areas of our lives, hardly anything matters at all. I mean, nothing can beat being with loving friends, and a few wines, and a few beers, and a few lies, and a few yarns. And to still be adored after 40-odd years… Yeah, that’s the life.
“Maybe I’m the longest-serving actor, in the whole history of actors, who’s actually still, 40-odd years later, adored for the same part and enjoying it in the same way. When I get sent messages from middle-aged men… or from the wives of middle-aged men, who say, ‘Tell Mr Baker he cannot imagine how important he was to my beloved husband when he was a boy’… It moves me deeply to think about it. I was just going to work. I didn’t know, to begin with, how far-reaching this role would be. I was aware of the excitement, and the generosity, and the affection of the fans, but how could I ever have dreamed of all this?”
Lovely to hear, isn’t it? In a suitably-barmy move, the interview is split into seven – yes, seven! – sections:
- The Unbreakable Tom Baker;
- The Insatiable Tom Baker;
- The Impeccable Tom Baker (with June Hudson);
- The Irrepressible Tom Baker;
- The Unstoppable Tom Baker (with Louise Jameson, John Leeson, and Geoffrey Beevers);
- The Unforgettable Tom Baker;
- The Irreplaceable Tom Baker.
You might’ve spotted a theme there.
Putting aside the Fourth Doctor, DWM #501 also features Part One of brand-new comic strip, The Pestilent Heart, an extended Gallifrey Guardian reporting on the latest news from the set of Doctor Who Series 10, as well as competitions, and the much-anticipated answers to Cave of 500 Eyes.
The collectable souvenir edition comes in a polybag containing four amazing art cards, two classic mini-posters, and the first part of a massive multi-Doctor poster.
Doctor Who Magazine #501 is on sale now, priced £5.99.
