Mag Bag #8

First Published:
Sonic Screwdriver #97

Publish Date:
June 1996

’…complete with mindblowing intelligent light show, smoke machine and computer display…’ So ran the front page of the May issue of The Wall of Lies, to herald their showing of the telemovie. ‘Cept the video didn’t make it to them in time. Oh well, such is fandom. Also out from the South Australian club in the past couple of months were the 70th and 71st issues of Chameleon Factor. First up came Rosie Peck’s last issue as editor, and it’s a bit padded (lots of non-Who stuff too). The best bit was the look at how the story of The Mutants would have been translated to the screen for Next Gen, Deep Sleep Nine, and Blakes 7. Hilarious! The other good bit is how the editor likes to use Avant Garde in three columns — looks awfully familar! Overall, two grotzit points out of five. Issue 71 has a new editor, Gerard van Rysbergen, and with it comes his penchance for very funny (and very silly) humour and personal comment as seen years ago in his personal zine Hungryyy. A long way from the slick look of Matthew Fazakerley’s editorship of just a year ago, but very enjoyable. Four food extracts out of fiive for the sheer fun of it.

Up in Queensland now, where the Australian Whovian Fanzine has come out with issue nine, where they review fifteen zines, damning some and deliiriously prasiing others, and then give every single one three stars out of five. Oops. There’s the usual gob of padding, lots of incorrect speculation on the telemoviie, and the latest editorial interview is with Sian O’Neale of Strange Matter. Two padders out of five. Also out by the same team were a couple of issues of The Informer, which has a couple of really annoyiing unmarked spoilers. For not providing warnings in issue 4 to a major spoiler to the next season of Babylon 5, Informer gets zero discretions out of five.

Broadsword is up to issue 8, which has a focus on the Warhead/lock/child trilogy, an interview with Ben Aaronovitch and a rather, er, interesting piece by Patrick Porter on his adulation of Kate Orman. The writing remains at a hiigh standard, and this zine is still a must-have. I’d like to know, however, what deluded souls actually voted for Sky Pirates! as the best NA of the year. Four and a half Sgloomi Pos out of five.

And finally, off to Data Extract with issues 120 and 121. Issue 120 is basically turned over to the death of Jon Pertwee, with masses of clippings and a few personal pieces. There’s consequently bugger-all news in this issue, but for posterity’s sake, it gets four tributes out of five. The next issue has more info, though I still find Neil’s rather "unique" approach to reporting news very annoying. And Neil, for cruk’s sake, stop printing indecipherable pictures. People have either already seen the pic on the Internet already, or haven’t and therefore are left with black and white coffee stains that could be anything. Three blobbies out of five.

End of Review

This page last updated by David J Richardson on Wed, 20 Apr 2005.