1985: FANTASY EMPIRE ISSUE 16

From March 1985: the 16th issue of American fan magazine FANTASY EMPIRE.

FANTASY EMPIRE COLLECTOR'S SPECIAL 6

From the random scans folder: FANTASY EMPIRE COLLECTOR'S SPECIAL issue 6, published in the States but devoted to British fantasy telly.

1983: FANTASY EMPIRE COLLECTOR'S EDITION ISSUE 1

From 1983: FANTASY EMPIRE COLLECTOR'S EDITION issue 1.

Fantasy Empire, which ran for 16 issues between 1981 and 1985, was a US fan magazine dedicated to British TV and pop culture... specifically DOCTOR WHO.

In addition to the core run, the magazine also had several spin-off. This was the start of a six issue run (spanning 83-84) which reprinted material from the earliest issues of the regular mag.

The cover art is - hmmm - interesting. And the strap line makes it sound like he died already.

1985: FANTASY EMPIRE Issue 15

From May 1985: The cover of US magazine/ fanzine FANTASY EMPIRE issue 17, plucked from the "random scans" file.  

Colin Baker (why did we think he looked fat?  In retrospect he looks perfectly average.  Or did we all just get bigger in the intervening decades?) accompanies the news that DOCTOR WHO was on an eighteen month hiatus as BBC management unsuccessfully tried to dump the unloved show.  It would take them another four years (and a more nuanced and less fan-baiting strategy) until Mission: Accomplished.   

The writer Tanith Lee died last month at the age of 67.  I had a quick flick through the issue to see whether the piece was worth scanning and posting... but I couldn't actually find any reference to her and her work inside.  I guess I wasn't looking closely enough.  Sand, her script for BLAKE'S SEVEN's finale season, remains one of my favorite episodes of the whole run.  

1983: FANTASY EMPIRE Issue 6 (NMP)

From 1983: The US magazine FANTASY EMPIRE celebrates the 20th anniversary of DOCTOR WHO with this eye-catching cover.