DWM 597

The 597th issue of Doctor Who Magazine was cover dated December 2023.

Dedicated to the 60th anniversary specials, this issue was branded a "souvenir issue" in celebration of the 60th anniversary of Doctor Who.

This issue marked the final part of the comic story Liberation of the Daleks, which began in issue #584.

Interviews

 * Tête-à-Tate - Ahead of her return in the 2023 specials, Catherine Tate tells Benjamin Cook about returning to the role of Donna Noble - with timely interjections from David Tennant.

Articles

 * Preview: The Star Beast - Benjamin Cook previews the first of the 2023 specials, based on a DWM comic strip, returning Doctor Who to TV screens and featuring the return of Donna Noble as she teams up with the new Fourteenth Doctor.
 * Preview: Wild Blue Yonder - Emily Cook previews the second special, of which almost everything is being kept under wraps.
 * Preview: The Daleks - Paul Kirkley previews the brand-new colourised and re-edited version of the 1963-64 classic serial that introduced the Daleks to the world.
 * Neil Patrick Harris is the Toymaker - Mark Wright shines a light on the American actor who is stepping into the role of one of the Doctor's oldest and deadliest foes.
 * The DWM 60th Anniversary Poll: Magnificent Heaven - The results are finally in for readers' top ten all-time favourite Doctor Who stories. Breaking down the results, Tom Spilsbury chats to Steven Moffat and receives a special message from Peter Capaldi.
 * 1) Heaven Sent
 * 2) World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls
 * 3) Genesis of the Daleks
 * 4) The Caves of Androzani
 * 5) The Day of the Doctor
 * 6) Blink
 * 7) Human Nature/The Family of Blood
 * 8) City of Death
 * 9) Remembrance of the Daleks
 * 10) Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead
 * Madness in the Air - As filming takes place on The Star Beast in mid-May 2022, Benjamin Cook joins David Tennant, Yasmin Finney, Phil Collinson, Russell T Davies, Vicki Delow, Rachel Talalay, and more for location filming in Camden Town.
 * A Taster Before the Feast - Jason Quinn provides a short introductory look at the new BBC iPlayer spin-off series, Tales of the TARDIS, before coverage starts in the next issue.
 * 60 Objects, 60 Years: 2018 to 2022 - The conclusion of Jamie Lenman's exploration of Doctor Who objects from every year of the show's existence, looking at the Thirteenth Doctor's sonic screwdriver, Marc Cory's tape recorder, the Fugitive Doctor's shades, Swarm's jacket, and "Rasputin" by Boney M.

Galaxy Forum
Readers discuss Doctor Who @ 60: A Musical Celebration, the achievements of Emily Cook, giving Melanie Bush a second chance, and feeling the excitement around the future of the Whoniverse.

Letter from the Showrunner
In a double-length special, Russell T Davies prepares for the return of Doctor Who to TV by discussing some of the "Seismic Shifts" in the show's history and considering how, despite how much may change, how much stays the same over sixty years.

Production Diary
Scott Handcock provides an update on the production of Series 15 and the post-production of the 2023 specials and Series 14 from 16 September to 13 October 2023.

Time and Space Visualiser

 * This Month In... 1963

Saturday 23 November: Across a drizzly United Kingdom, the film The World Ten Times Over plays in cinemas starring a certain William Hartnell. Later that evening, a new BBC science fiction series begins with the same star which one newspaper columnist claims "could, on its accepted formula, run indefinitely".

Comic strip

 * Liberation of the Daleks, Part Fourteen
 * 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

 * Heaven Sent

Reviews

 * Audio: Manoeuvres, Rogues Gallery, Odyssey
 * Blu-ray: The Collection: Season 20
 * Podcast drama: Redacted Series 2
 * Book: Rebellion on Treasure Island

Competitions

 * Win The Underwater Menace Blu-ray Steelbook
 * Win The Union audio drama
 * Win Rose illustrated novelisation
 * Win The Evil of the Daleks novelisation
 * Win Whotopia book

Other Worlds

 * Shades of Greys - Previewing Rogue Encounters, the latest instalment of the War Master audio series from Big Finish Productions.
 * Galactic Personae: Omega - Detailing the life of Gallifrey's greatest engineer and the old foe of the Doctor before his return in the the 60th-anniversary Audio Novel, The Box of Terrors.
 * In the Green Room with... Jaye Griffiths - The former actor of Jac from UNIT speaks about playing new companion Lady Audacity Montague in The Eighth Doctor Adventures audio box-set, Audacity.
 * Six of the Best: Tenth Doctor Moments - Writer Una McCormack chooses her favourite moments of the Tenth Doctor before the release of Defender of the Earth, the second instalment of The Tenth Doctor Chronicles audio series.
 * Misty-Eyed - Previewing Broken Hearts, a bonus episode of The Eleventh Doctor Chronicles audio series to bridge the gap following the All of Time and Space anthology.
 * Mystified - Previewing Oodunnit, the second of Torchwood - Monthly Range's Ood trilogy on audio, featuring the return of Zachary Cross Flane.

Sufficient Data

 * <100,000 BC - Charting all of the known life of the Doctor as mentioned or seen on TV before the events of ''An Unearthly Child, from the Timeless Child onwards.

Additional information
This issue is accompanied by two double-sided posters: one of artwork from The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances, Blink, The Day of the Doctor, and World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls, and one of artwork from DWM 596 and the 2023 specials.

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