DWM 61

The 61st issue of Doctor Who Magazine was published in February 1982. It is notable for its re-branding as "Doctor Who Monthly" and for misspelling Peter Davison's name on the cover, where it appears as "Peter Davidson". DWM #389 would later reverse this error and humorously issue a formal apology to the actor.

Beneath the surface, it was highly significant as being the first issue of the magazine to give John Nathan-Turner formal credit as "advisor". For some fans, Turner's involvement in the magazine meant a loss of editorial autonomy that made it difficult to know whether the staff was fairly critiquing or accurately reporting about the "JN-T era". He would remain on staff with the magazine for another eleven years — until issue 194.

Articles

 * 'Behind the Scenes: Graphic Design'

Comic content

 * Doctor Who: The Tides of Time (Part One)
 * Devil of the Deep
 * The Dalek Chronicles: The Rogue Planet

Fiction

 * None

Archives

 * Archive Feature: TV: City of Death (Retelling by episode, with no credits)
 * Episode Guide: The Mind of Evil to Day of the Daleks (Listing details including dates, episode endings, credits and dates):

Interviews / Profiles

 * None

Previews

 * TV: Castrovalva
 * TV: Four to Doomsday

Reviews

 * None

A4 pin-ups

 * B&W The Fifth Doctor from TV: The Visitation
 * B&W Tegan Jovanka from TV: Castrovalva

A2 Centre Page Colour Spread

 * The Fifth Doctor, Tegan Jovanka, Nyssa and Adric from TV: The Visitation

Also featuring

 * Gallifrey Guardian
 * Doctor Who Letters (Letters Page)
 * Matrix Data Bank
 * Competition: Name the Doctors (For 1 of 10 Theme Tune records)

Credits

 * Editor: Alan McKenzie
 * Contributing Editor: Jeremy Bentham
 * Design: Rahid Khan
 * Art Assistance: Chas Farnsbarns
 * Editorial Assistance: Gilly Joseph
 * Production: Tim Hampson & Nigel Balloch
 * Distribution: Comag
 * Financial Controller: Robert W. Sutherland
 * Advertising: Claire Brooke
 * Publisher: Stan Lee
 * Advisor: John Nathan-Turner

Additional details

 * A time of change, with a new Doctor (the Fifth) and a new series on television, the cover proclaimed "Now better than ever..." and offered a new look to the magazine. While dropping its page count, it now included more colour pages, with the centrespread being used for posters.
 * The Tides of Time comic strip story introduces the Fifth Doctor without any explanation of a change or regeneration. The reason for this is due to the copyright problems of using portions of Christopher H. Bidmead's script, the fact the magazine has such a strict production schedule and the fact that some eight million saw the regeneration on their TV!
 * The year is not displayed on the front cover.
 * The main cover image is from TV: Four to Doomsday.
 * This issue's cover displays the Eagle Award for Best Comic Magazine.
 * John Nathan-Turner is acknowledged from this issue as adviser to the magazine, demonstrating an ongoing link between Doctor Who Magazine and TV production. This relationship brought to later issues the tagline title, `The Official Magazine'.
 * Peter Davison's name is misspelled on his first cover: "Peter Davidson is the Doctor!"