From May 1986: Indeed Saward does. Although his blistering, wash-your-dirty-laundry in public, attack on his ex-employer was saved for the pages of Starburst magazine (a story that was subsequently picked up by the national press and hammered a few more nails into the show's coffin).
Its not as if he bowed out on a high: the show had suffered from a run of sub-par stories (although Resurrection of the Daleks was a cracker) which ropey production values couldn't camouflage. But Eric will be reassured to know that it did get even worse after he went... before a drastic swing back into quality as the BBC was preparing to shutter the series.
that would have been starburst 97 to be exact which I must now unearth and re-read.
ReplyDeleteWithout a doubt, the vintage era for that mag. David J Howe writing the book column, the late John Brosnan's ' Its only a movie ' page and best of all Paul Mount's Tv Zone ( which continues to this day in the new starburst ) .
ReplyDeleteWhat a candid interview in SB, he really tore strips off JNT ! There was also a follow up letter which reminded me of the recent debacle over Steven Moffat in the pages of the current SB. In issue 99, there is a memorable ad in which they note how SB had been mentioned in such newspapers as the Sun and the London Standard. I assume this must be the press coverage you were referring to ?
ReplyDeleteI also spotted a striking portrait of the late David Bowie in Labyrinth. This was to advertise a new spin-off title from visual imagination titled POP FANTASIES but I'm not sure if this was ever published ?
I remember reading about the interview in a copy of the DAILY MAIL (possibly a Saturday issue) so it must have reached there too. It can't have done Saward's career prospects much good as no producer wants their failings exposed in public like that.
DeleteI used to have a copy of that particular issue (and may still do buried in a box somewhere) but I've not read it in a long time. Does it have sixties Daleks on the cover? It rings a bell.
I have seen the house ads for POP FANTASIES too but never a copy. I assume it was published but its unsurprising that copies of a music magazine have not surfaced since. That market must have also been pretty crowded by big players with deep pockets so its not surprising that a small outfit like VI couldn't crack it.
Much to my surprise, the new issue of CRIME MAGAZINE shipped yesterday, I assumed it had been quietly cancelled.
The latest edition of the MARVEL "black book" is a nice compilation of Seventies origin stories... including the two-parter from CAPTAIN BRITAIN weekly 1-2 complete with the cheeky "colour it yourself" page.
It was issue 97 with ALIENS on the cover. The ad for POP FANTASIES was in issue 100 or 101.
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