DWM 595

The 595th issue of Doctor Who Magazine was cover dated October 2023.

It was dedicated to returning "Classic Doctor Who" companion Melanie Bush, portrayed by Bonnie Langford.

This issue was notably the first issue to be edited by a new editor, Jason Quinn, following the departure of Marcus Hearn in the previous issue, and saw a redesign of many regular features as a result.

Interviews

 * Welcome to Aladdin's Cave - New brand asset manager Jonathan Davies explains his role in the job with the history of Doctor Who at his fingertips.
 * Highway to Mel - Bonnie Langford tells Benjamin Cook all about the return of Melanie Bush for a starring role in Series 14, almost forty years on from her debut.
 * The Butterfly Effect - New editor Jason Quinn chats with DWM reporter Emily Cook about her history with the magazine, production opportunities on the show, and how her lockdown Tweetalongs directly spawned the 2023 specials.
 * Web-Slingers, Surfers and Time Lords - Marvel Comics legend Dan Slott tells Jason Quinn about his first Doctor Who graphic novel, Once Upon a Time Lord, ahead of its release in October.
 * A Kind of Magic - Game designer Gavin Verhey and art director Matt Cavotta tell Christopher Dring about how they introduced Doctor Who to the trading card game Magic: The Gathering.

Articles

 * Dread Right Hand - Scott Gray investigates what makes the perfect villain's assistant, breaking down some of the most popular character archetypes and the characters that embodied them best.
 * 60 Objects, 60 Years: 2008 to 2012 - A continuation of Jamie Lenman's exploration of Doctor Who objects from every year of the show's existence, looking at 2008 Prom tickets, the 200 bus, New Paradigm Daleks, the junkyard TARDIS console design, and the Olympic Torch.

Galaxy Forum
Readers discuss the Time and Space Visualiser, Letter from the Showrunner, 60 Objects, 60 Years, Liberation of the Daleks, collecting physical media, meeting Bonnie Langford, homemade Doctor Who creations, and voting in the 60th anniversary poll.

Letter from the Showrunner
Russell T Davies finally gets to sit down and watch the completed version of The Star Beast and provides a play-by-play account of his reactions as a fan and over-analysis of the first thirty seconds.

Production Diary
Scott Handcock provides an update on the post-production of the 2023 specials and Series 14 and the beginning of the production of Series 15 up to 14 August 2023.

Time and Space Visualiser

 * This Month In... 1987

Tuesday 29 September: Sylvester McCoy, Bonnie Langford, and John Nathan-Turner appear on the BBC's viewer-opinions show Open Air to defend their new era of the show, only to win over the viewers.

What? What?! What?!!

 * We Need to Talk About Mel Bush - In the first of a new regular feature looking deeper into certain areas of Doctor Who, Laurel Hart explains why Melanie Bush is her personal favourite companion.

Comic strip

 * Liberation of the Daleks, Part Twelve
 * Story: Alan Barnes
 * Art: Lee Sullivan
 * Colours: James Offredi
 * Lettering: Roger Langridge
 * Editor: Marcus Hearn
 * Daleks created by Terry Nation


 * The Daft Dimension by Lew Stringer

The Fact of Fiction

 * The Trial of a Time Lord, Parts Thirteen and Fourteen

Reviews

 * Audio: Trapped, Sigil, The Martian Invasion of Planetoid 50, The Teeth of Ice, Four From Doom's Day
 * Book: Josephine and the Argonauts

Competitions

 * Win The Martian Invasion of Planetoid 50 audio drama
 * Win In the Night audio drama
 * Win Extraction Point book
 * Win Trapped audio drama
 * Win The Daily Doctor book

Other Worlds

 * Let's Do the Time War Again - Previewing Manoeuvres, the second volume of the Gallifrey: War Room audio series.
 * Six of the Best: Parallel Worlds - Ahead of the release of the third Rose Tyler: The Dimension Cannon audio series, Trapped, script editor Matt Fitton chooses his six favourite other worlds.
 * In the Green Room with... Lisa McMullin - Writer Lisa McMullin discusses reuniting Christopher Eccleston with his old TV co-star Gina McKee in Time Lord Immemorial, the upcoming sixth release of the Once and Future 60th-anniversary audio series.
 * Galactic Personae: Dr Elizabeth Shaw - A breakdown of the further life of the Third Doctor's friend from UNIT, Liz Shaw, ahead of her reappearance in the twelfth The Third Doctor Adventures audio release, Intelligence for War.
 * Scarred! - A preview of The Beast of Scar Hill, a BBC Audio story starring the Ninth Doctor and Rose Tyler.
 * Barking! - A preview of Dog Hop, the latest Torchwood - Monthly Range audio episode starring Sergeant Andy Davidson.

Sufficient Data

 * Eek! - Totalling the combined screaming time from every TV appearance of Melanie Bush.

Credits

 * Editor: Jason Quinn
 * Deputy Editor: Peter Ware
 * Art Editor: Mike Jones


 * Panini UK Ltd


 * Managing Director: Chris Clover
 * Consultant: Mike Riddell
 * Managing Editor: Alan O'Keefe
 * Head of Production: Mark Irvine
 * Circulation & Trade Marketing Controller: Rebecca Smith
 * Head of Marketing: Jess Tadmor
 * Marketing Executive: Samantha Hammond


 * BBC Studios, UK Publishing


 * Chair, Editorial Review Boards: Nicholas Brett
 * Managing Director, Consumer Products and Licensing: Stephen Davies
 * Global Director, Magazines: Mandy Thwaites
 * Compliance Manager: Cameron McEwan