A Letter from the Doctor (series): Difference between revisions

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'''''A Letter from the Doctor''''' were short, in-universe [[Letter (A Letter from the Doctor)|letters]] "written" by [[DWU]] characters, typically, but not limited to, [[the Doctor]]. Beginning in the [[DWM 1|first issue]] of ''[[Doctor Who Weekly]]'', ''A Letter from the Doctor'' remained a recurring feature for the first dozen or so issues, eventually being devolved into an occasional feature thereafter being reserved for celebrating milestones in the publication's history.

Originating in the [[Fourth Doctor]]'s role as the "host" of ''Doctor Who Weekly'', the stories often (but not always) treated ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]'' as an [[Doctor Who Magazine (periodical)|in-universe periodical]]. The letters were associated with their distinctive sign-off "[[happy times and places]]".

For reasons of production, the original few issues of ''[[Doctor Who Weekly]]'' were mostly created before the first issue's publication, meaning they didn't have material for the letters feature ''[[Who Cares!]]'' (in which readers would write in to the magazine and its host, the [[Fourth Doctor]]). Instead, to preempt ''Who Cares!'' these issues had letters to the readers from the Doctor, inviting them to write him back. These original stories were actually written by [[Dez Skinn]], but he kept it a secret to keep the illusion that "the Doctor" had actually written them.

The letters tied together the Doctor's curatorial role across the magazine, mentioning the concurrent [[DWM comic stories]], ''[[Tales from the TARDIS (comic series)|Tales from the TARDIS]]'' and the [[DWM backup comic stories]] (the latter two of which also directly featured him in the role of host). After ''Who Cares!'' began as a feature in [[DWM 7]], the letters continued for 9 issues of Skinn's editorship as the Doctor took on a more traditional British comics host role in his ''Who Cares!'' appearances.

 

 

 

! #

! Title

! Author

! Main character

| [[DWM 26|1]]

| [[A Letter from the Doctor (DWM 26 short story)|DWM 26]]

| rowspan="24" | TBA

| rowspan="24" | [[Fourth Doctor]]

| [[DWM 27|2]]  

| [[A Letter from the Doctor (DWM 27 short story)|DWM 27]]

|-  

|-  

| [[DWM 30|5]]

| [[A Letter from the Doctor (DWM 30 short story)|DWM 30]]

| [[A Letter from the Doctor (DWM 32 short story)|DWM 32]]

|-

| [[DWM 33|8]]

| [[A Letter from the Doctor (DWM 49 short story)|DWM 49]]

 

 

| [[DWM 154|TBA]]

| [[A Letter from the Doctor (DWM 154 short story)|DWM 154]]

| [[Seventh Doctor]]

| [[DWM 311|TBA]]

| [[A letter from the Master (short story)|DWM 311]]

|}

 

''A Letter from the Doctor'' was revived for the Annual-style publication ''[[Doctor Who Storybook]]''. All but the letter in the [[Doctor Who Storybook 2009|2009 ''Storybook'']], written by newly appointed showrunner [[Steven Moffat]], were written by the show's producer and lead writer [[Russell T Davies]].

 

The letter in the [[Doctor Who Storybook 2010|2010 ''Storybook'']] was different in format from the others, appearing to be the transcription of a garbled transmission from the Doctor. It includes snippets of dialogue from [[Tenth Doctor]] television episodes going back to the incarnation's very first words. Because of this format, it was believed the first words of the letter, "Don't forget me", might have been the last words of the Tenth Doctor in ''[[The End of Time (TV story)|The End of Time]]''; instead, these were his final words to [[Sarah Jane Smith]] in ''[[The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith (TV story)|The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith]]''.

 

| [[Doctor Who Storybook 2007|1]]

| [[A letter from the Doctor (Storybook 2007 short story)|Storybook 2007]]

| rowspan="4" | [[Tenth Doctor]]

| [[Doctor Who Storybook 2008|2]]

| [[A letter from the Doctor (Storybook 2008 short story)|Storybook 2008]]

| [[Doctor Who Storybook 2009|3]]

| [[A letter from the Doctor (Storybook 2009 short story)|Storybook 2009]]

| [[Steven Moffat]]

| [[Doctor Who Storybook 2010|4]]

| [[A letter from the Doctor (Storybook 2010 short story)|Storybook 2010]]

|}

 

First in the issue announcing his role as the [[Twelfth Doctor]] and later in the celebratory [[DWM 500]], [[Peter Capaldi]] wrote letters published in DWM in the style of ''A Letter from the Doctor''.

{| class="wikitable"

| [[DWM 464|1]]

| [[A Letter from the Doctor (DWM 464 short story)|DWM 464]]

| [[DWM 500|2]]

| [[A Letter from the Doctor (DWM 500 short story)|DWM 500]]

[[Category:Prose fiction overviews]]

[[Category:Doctor Who Magazine]]