Image © Dave Wood, 1988

 

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The Basics

Place of Origin:
Tunbridge Wells, Kent, UK

Editor:
Stephen Broome
with the West Kent Doctor Who Local Group

In Production:
1986-97

Distribution Media:
 Audio Cassette

Tape Lengths:
 #1-24: C-90

Issues Produced:
24
 

 

There is no denying that Stephen Broome’s The Master Tape has to go down in the record books as the longest running and by far the most resilient of all Doctor Who tapezines produced in the United Kingdom. Southborough-based Stephen, along with fellow members of the Tunbridge Wells Local Group (later renamed the West Kent Local Group), produced The Master Tape, with the first issue debuting in July 1986. Remarkably, while other fanzines and tapezines rose and fell by the wayside in their hundreds, The Master Tape was still going strong over a decade later, well into Doctor Who’s so-called 'Wilderness Years'. Only the Australian tapezine Doctor Who 2000 produced a greater number of issues – seven more at 31 – but The Master Tape’s eleven year run eclipses 2000’s by five full years.

Having heard several tapezines including Sonic Waves, Stephen struck upon an inspired idea to get a new one off the ground, as he recalls: “I realised that it would be a good idea to get a team together to produce it, so it occurred to me to start a Doctor Who Local Group in Tunbridge Wells. One day, when I was going up to a convention in London, a chap called Mark Gillespie approached me on the train having noticed the Doctor Who logo on my t-shirt. We got talking and it turned out he lived very near me, so we ended up meeting on several occasions. Then, in early 1985, I read a couple of letters in Doctor Who Bulletin from people living in Tunbridge Wells – Martin Hughes and Stuart Russell – and finally, I decided to put an advert in Celestial Toyroom. I asked if anyone would like to be involved in a Doctor Who group in the area and the Tunbridge Wells Local Group started in April 1985.”

Members of the Local Group enjoyed a great camaraderie
Image © Stephen Broome

At an early meeting of the Tunbridge Wells group, Stephen raised the idea of the group making a tapezine. The suggestion was received with enthusiasm by the majority of members present, although a minority expressed a preference for producing a printed fanzine. After some discussion, during which there was some talk of launching a fanzine – to be called The Trionic Lattice – the group eventually agreed that an audio production would be the best option, not least because Stephen had recording equipment of a good standard which could be employed in the production. The big question now was what their tapezine would be called. “Names were suggested like The Soundminer (a play on ‘Sandminer’ from The Robots of Death), The Great Intelligence and The Faceless Ones [coincidentally, a tapezine with this name was produced by Nicholas Williams of Oxford some 12 years later], but none of us thought any of these names were particularly good,” Stephen admits. “At a meeting about a month later, Robert Moye mentioned that everything would have to go on a master tape and in a flash, I knew that we had our title. It had a nice double meaning in relation to Doctor Who and the recording process – and that’s how The Master Tape was born.”

Producing a tapezine would prove itself to be a steep learning curve and Stephen very sensibly pushed for the whole group to be heavily involved from the beginning, as Martin Hughes recalls: “I remember it being a labour of love with Stephen, and as part of the new Tunbridge Wells Local Group, we saw it almost as a duty to contribute to it. I remember being involved with it from an early stage.”

A lesson learned early on proved to be a salutary one for Stephen, when he encountered an unforeseen problem at the duplication stage. “I was so pleased that I’d managed to get both sides of the tape to last exactly the duration of the master cassette, not knowing that there were C-90 cassettes out there that ran 30 seconds or even a minute shorter than my edit of the debut issue. Consequently, I had to re-edit the whole issue so that it ran for 44 rather than 45 minutes a side!”

Later on, as new members joined the Local Group, they would often be given back issues to bring themselves up to speed with The Master Tape. Dave Wood, who came on board as a result of publicity surrounding the group’s fifth anniversary, remembers his first meeting with great fondness. “I was very shy back then, so I went along feeling very nervous and paced about at the end of the street for a bit before I even found the courage to ring the doorbell. It really was one of the turning points in my life and I’m still in contact with most of the people I met that day. I think my life might have been very different and a lot less fulfilling if it wasn’t for those friendships. That first afternoon was amazing, though. We sat down to tea and chocolate cake and watched episodes from The Stones of Blood and The Pirate Planet. I was six when these stories were first shown and I remembered them both vividly, but never expected to see them again. I left there that afternoon with my head utterly buzzing and with some Doctor Who videos that Stephen had loaned me, as well as a couple of editions of something called The Master Tape. I had never even heard of tapezines before and the concept absolutely intrigued me.”

Food, drink and Doctor Who chat. Good times with the Master Tape team.
Image © Stephen Broome

Over its eleven years, several issues of The Master Tape would be designated as special issues, such as those that focused on Doctor Who in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s respectively. A convention special was also undertaken, with Issue 7 given over to coverage of the FalCon 3 event, a Fan Aid charity convention. Even standard issues were structured with strong linking elements, such as season reviews which would often trigger related Local Group discussions. Upon joining the group, Martin Hughes quickly realised that he was in an ideal position to contribute to both the group and The Master Tape. “I had already started collecting through a contact, pirated copies of old episodes of Doctor Who on video. So, when I joined just after the Local Group was set up, these episodes proved a godsend. As I had copies of these old episodes and had gathered a lot of knowledge about them, Stephen thought I would be best suited to do the season reviews. I would review each story in a season and then round things off by ranking them in order of preference. Season polls were an important part of fan discussion! I remember the excitement of showing the old episodes – some in very poor quality – at group meetings and Stephen thought the discussions about the said episodes were worth recording. He would include some of these as Local Group discussions on The Master Tape. He would simply record us having a meeting, discussing the highs and lows of certain stories.”

With several group members being reticent about having their discussions recorded, the idea was put on the back burner after the two initial Local Group discussions which appeared on Issue 1. “When people like Howard White later joined the group, there was more willingness amongst the group for their discussions to be put on tape and from Issue 10, they became a regular item. The original members hadn’t been keen on the group chats appearing on The Master Tape, but once we started having meetings at Howard’s house in Marden, we had an influx of new people who were happier for the discussions to be recorded,” Stephen reveals. With The Master Tape being one of a small number of tapezines put together by a relatively large group of fans, these discussions were quite innovative but straightforward to produce. “I could be flexible with the amount of time they took up on a tape. The group discussions were good space fillers for timing reasons, particularly when an issue was over- or under-running.”

Another popular recurring feature was The Master Tape’s quiz, variants of which appeared in each of the 24 issues produced. Each quiz was announced at the end of the first side and answers were given at the start of the second. Initially, these brainteasers were fairly straightforward and were addressed directly to the listener, but after a handful of issues, they were refocused and served a dual purpose, being staged as a fun activity for those at the Local Group meetings and were recorded live for inclusion on The Master Tape. “After a while, Edward Jolly, one of our newer members, was quite keen to take over the quizzes,” Stephen remembers. “Up until that point, it had mainly been me, doing ‘Name That Scream’ or ‘Name That Twice-the-Speed Cliffhanger’, so when Edward became our question master, he came at the idea from a different angle and many of his ones were quite humorous.”

In fact, right from the start, humour had been an important part of the mix, with the first issue infamously featuring an interview with Grun, the mute King’s Champion from the Jon Pertwee era serial The Curse of Peladon – not the most eloquent interview ever committed to tape! Jokes would sometimes fill the intervals between features. Many of them were so groanworthy that even the notorious bad-joker Tony Blackburn would have turned them down flat, but it was all part of the fun. “I’ve always had a strong sense of humour and I wanted The Master Tape to be entertaining, but not too serious. The interview with Grun was Robert Moye’s idea and it set the tone. Humour was an important ingredient and it became even more important over time,” Stephen explains. The comedic content was ramped up from Issue 9, when the guitar-toting songster Howard White joined the West Kent Local Group. He quickly became an important contributor, and The Master Tape benefitted greatly from his eccentric nature and maverick approach. Howard’s self-composed Doctor Who songs brought something unique to The Master Tape, whether he was singing an issue’s contents list or homing in on and gently lampooning specific aspects of the series. These were all delivered in an engaging, tongue-in-cheek style.

Howard White serenades the WKLG at a 1992 meeting
Image © Dave Wood, 1992

In terms of content, Howard recalls that planning was crucial in the production of The Master Tape: “We put a lot of thought into what we included – the order of the articles, the format – as tape lengths were limited. We thought of The Master Tape as a kind of magazine radio show. Not like the podcasts we have today. They can last for hours – and, in some that I’ve listened to, all you get is three people discussing a single Doctor Who story. They take about half an hour to get going because they start by telling you all about their recent trip to Tesco or something like that… There’s nothing wrong with an informal chat, of course. We included our group discussions, but we kept them to ten or fifteen minutes. Having too much time available tends to remove the need for any thought or creativity. I listened to one of The Master Tape issues a while ago and really felt that what we did was special, certainly compared to these podcast things.”

Like many of their contemporaries, Stephen and his collaborators in The Master Tape decided that the audio medium offered the perfect opportunity to attempt content of a dramatic nature. In retrospect, Stephen is unsure whether this was such a good idea. “I’d heard the Audio Visuals series of Doctor Who plays and, in order to keep The Master Tape interesting, I thought that doing an audio drama seemed like a fun idea. I wrote the script for The Unknown Terror and it ran for four issues from Issue 15, with each episode lasting about ten minutes. I’d always been keen to do a spot of writing and we’d already done Legend of the Cybermen, a dramatic reading which revealed the Doctor as the original creator of the Cybermen. Mark Gillespie and I had a chat about that and he went away and came back with a handful of scripts that I was quite impressed with. We were about halfway through the story when he moved up to Liverpool, so I was left to continue the story as best as possible and I think it went quite well. In terms of the readings themselves, Mark had a good voice – he was BBC trained. The Unknown Terror was much more ambitious and was actually probably too ambitious considering our abilities. We had Howard White as the Doctor and he could do a bit of acting. The trouble was that nobody else could and I think that shows! When I hear it now, I tend to cringe, but it’s alright.”

Background music was an important consideration and the lengths to which Stephen went to acquire it were quite impressive: “I was quite keen to run appropriate music or effects in the background to articles, so if, for instance, Terror of the Zygons was being reviewed, then I would want to use music from that particular story. I was pretty good at editing and had a good ear for music, so I’d record and join up sections of music from the programmes, editing out any sections containing dialogue.” Stephen considers that this operation was relatively undemanding, although other members of the group were quite taken aback with his level of dedication. It was not uncommon for Stephen to spend hours creating backing tracks when all he had to start with was something like a brief patch of the ‘Krynoid rattle’ sound effect from The Seeds of Doom. He would record it over and over again until he had created a background atmosphere of sufficient length to accompany a review.

To keep the content varied, Stephen approached convention organisers to ask if he might record guest panels at their events and include edited highlights on The Master Tape. Such recordings were a regular feature of many Doctor Who tapezines and provided good publicity for the conventions, especially if they had a new event that needed a bit of free advertising. This led to a scoop for The Master Tape, as Stephen points out: “Sophie Aldred had been invited to a convention in Canterbury, the East Kent Local Group’s Jolly Good Sideshow event in 1987. I knew the East Kent group quite well by then, obtained permission to record the guest panels for The Master Tape, and my group went along. It was a very small and informal event, but I recall it was actually Sophie's first convention. I’d taken my big double-tape cassette deck with me and sat there recording the interviews. I got home to find that the recordings hadn’t come out at all. As I’d already advertised the Sophie Aldred interview, I got into a bit of a panic, but, fortunately, someone had video recorded the event, so I was relieved to be able to get a soundtrack that way. When it was included in Issue 5 of The Master Tape, I think it was the first interview with Sophie that appeared in any fanzine or tapezine. In terms of the convention coverage, the idea of going up to celebrities and asking for interviews was something that didn’t occur to me, because I was an intensely shy person. I was always happier to be in the background with a video camera or my twin-deck cassette recorder – not exactly subtle! One exception was Tom Baker, who I met at an autograph session to publicise the release of the Shada video. I had a video camera with me and bravely went up to Tom and asked him to record an introduction for The Master Tape. He looked into the camera and boomed, ‘Welcome to The Master Tape – whatever that is!’ and burst into laughter! I ended up using it on Issue 17.”

The recording process was unashamedly amateur, but nonetheless effective. Articles were recorded in Stephen’s bedroom, sometimes while meetings were underway elsewhere in the house. Dave Wood vividly remembers the recording process. “I turned up at Stephen’s house one evening with a couple of pages of scribbled notes on A4 paper and we retired to his bedroom, which was a shrine to Doctor Who. I sat at a desk, surrounded by rare toys, models and Fine Art Castings figurines. Wow, was I impressed and a little jealous of that collection! Stephen sat on the floor wearing huge headphones with a tape recorder in a wooden case. It was all very ‘Heath Robinson’ and the technology on show wouldn’t have looked out of place in an episode of Doomwatch. There were several linked tape recorders so that the incidental music could be played in and mixed as live.” Not all the articles were recorded in this way: the Local Group discussions were recorded wherever meetings took place and some members, such as Howard White and Mark Gillespie – who had recording equipment that he could use at his workplace – recorded their items independently.

Of course, not everyone in the group was confident in front of the microphone. Some preferred to keep to the background, appearing only in Local Group discussions. Others, like Martin Hughes, contributed regularly despite some reservations. “I never particularly enjoyed the recording sessions, as I hated the sound of my own voice. It was probably because of this that I didn’t keep any copies of the tapes. I always preferred writing the articles to actually reading them out. This proved useful as I later became the editor of the group’s newsletter and yearbook, which in a way became my own labour of love.”

The finishing touch to each issue was the cover artwork and a number of Local Group members contributed in this way, beginning with Martin Hughes, who submitted a cover for the first issue. “Martin is a very good artist – he designed both the logos we used for our Local Group – and I asked him to draw a picture of the Master for Issue 1,” recalls Stephen Broome. “He did a good piece of artwork, but I wasn’t completely happy with it, so I made some changes. I really shouldn’t have done that and I was a bit embarrassed when Martin insisted on crediting it to me. The cover for Issue 2 was a portrait of Roger Delgado by Nigel Thomas, someone I never met – he just sent me the drawing in the post. Other covers were by myself, James Burt, Colin Bertram and Dave Wood, who among several others, designed the ones for the decade specials. I wanted the covers to look good as much as I wanted the tape to sound good, as I’m a bit of a perfectionist. I tended to use the cover artwork in the advertising, which was another reason that it was important for them to be of a good standard.”

Interestingly, The Master Tape was a part of a novel arrangement between three sets of tapezine producers, whereby Stephen and Nick Goodman (Rayphase Shift) in the United Kingdom and Neil Hogan (Doctor Who 2000) in Australia would act a local distributors of the others’ titles. Available copies of other tapezines, including Sonic Waves, also found their way out to Australia as a result of this agreement. “I was not aware of this arrangement and didn’t learn of it until many years later,” admits Sonic Waves producer Alan Hayes, “but I doubt that I would have had any particular objection to the idea. It's nice to consider that those back issues had an extended life I knew nothing of!”

This contact also led to discussions about the possibility of a jointly-produced special, to be called Master Phase 2000 – a name suggested by Neil. At the time, he was unclear how the project would work in practical terms, as Neil revealed to Stephen in a 1991 audio letter: “I don’t know how we’ll do it. There’s not anything unique to my tapezine – just putting the full episodes on – but you don’t want an episode on there, no. You want to be able to distribute it, so reducing the amount of copyright material on it would be a plus. That would mean lots of reviews, interviews – and an international flavour.” Ultimately, this proved too difficult to co-ordinate and the idea was dropped in the fullness of time (along with a similar proposed collaboration between The Master Tape and Tranquil Repose – which Stephen wanted to call Tranquil Master).

Towards the end of The Master Tape’s life, Stephen realised that the natural next step was for the group to produce something on video. “I’d always had an interest in photography and I had the idea to make a videozine, roughly based around the Key to Time idea, with the Black and White Guardians,” Stephen reveals. “I saw this as a way to get the group to do something fun and a bit different which would get them out and about. I telephoned Howard and ran my idea past him, suggesting that we could get the Local Group to go to some Doctor Who locations in the South of England to film sequences for the programme. He liked what he heard and ended up playing the part of the White Protector, complete with a parrot toy on his head! His character sent members of the West Kent Local Group on a mission to track down six pieces of evil, but we had opposition from Robert Pope, who played an agent of the Black Protector. If we achieved our goal, the forcefield around our Doctor Who videos would be removed! We worked out a schedule and occasionally – if people couldn’t make the dates – we borrowed an idea from The Five Doctors and took them out of time. This involved a cardboard triangle spinning towards the camera. At a certain point, their photographs would be stuck to it and it would go spinning off again! The whole thing was done on a shoestring and in the end that inspired us to call it Shoestring Budget. We advertised it and it sold a grand total of five copies, but we had lots of fun putting it together.”

While some tapezines ended with a bang – as Sonic Waves and Rayphase Shift did, with climactic double issues, for instance – The Master Tape went out expecting to come back for a 25th issue, but the quarter-century release never happened. Sales of the early issues had peaked at around 100 with Issue 5 in January 1988 and then settled to an average of 75 copies sold per issue subsequently. By the early 1990s, take-up had begun to dwindle somewhat due to the absence of new episodes of Doctor Who on television. Sales saw a small upward spike around the time of the Paul McGann television movie, but fanzines in general were dying out at that time and, after Issue 24 in August 1997, The Master Tape finally followed suit.

Without The Master Tape to hold it together, enthusiasm for the West Kent Local Group began to fade, as Stephen Broome recalls: “I think I was beginning to lose a little bit of enthusiasm and stamina, and when people started to leave, the group got smaller and smaller. I’d run out of ideas to an extent. It came to an end for a number of reasons, but the lack of a new series of Doctor Who during the 1990s certainly didn’t help.”

Members of the West Kent Local Group enjoying their 2010 reunion in London
Image © Dave Wood, 2010

“The most interesting thing about the West Kent Local Group is that it almost did the Star Trek thing and went through several generations, with only Stephen as the rock that kept it all together,” Dave Wood observes.

Howard White concurs: “Stephen produced The Master Tape for many years. He did over twenty issues, and very good they were, too. We all enjoyed presenting the various articles. Occasionally, we would get a decent interview. It was a real labour of love, and I wish I had appreciated Stephen’s efforts more at the time.”

“Producing tapezines was a vocation, really,” Stephen Broome reflects. “I made a few mistakes along the way, but I always tried to achieve the best possible sound quality and a varied, entertaining selection of features. I kept an open mind and let people do what they wanted to do for it and this helped me achieve a good balance, I think. I was the editor, but if it hadn’t been for the others in the group, the tapezine would never even have existed. I’m very proud of what the West Kent Local Group and I achieved with The Master Tape. We just kept coming up with new ideas, but eleven years is a long time to be producing anything!”

 
 

 

Howard White’s humorous Dalek song, Seek-Locate-Exterminate, which appears on Issue 13, is a genuine highlight of The Master Tape:

Seek-Locate-Exterminate by Howard White

You may think being a Dalek
Is a really great part to be,
But it’s not always the case as
You very soon shall see.
It’s alright when you’re promoted
And get to reach Dalek Supreme,
To be given a chance like that,
It’s something I can only dream.

Cos I’m just one of the riff-raff,
One of the lowest ranks.
My function is to fight and kill
And not expect any thanks.
When I was offered the part, I thought,
My talents they soon will see,
But when I saw the script and read
Just what they’d given to me...

It goes, “Seek-Locate-Exterminate”.
That’s what I have to say.
“Seek-Locate-Exterminate”,
And occasionally, “I obey!”
“Seek-Locate-Exterminate”,
That is my only line.
And it gets ****ing boring saying it
Over and over again all the time.

Now, our creator, Davros,
Gets lots of dramatic speeches.
A-swivelling round in circles,
Of our victory he preaches.
Even our lowly Commander,
He gets to say lots and lots,
And the Emperor’s always rattling on.
In fact, he never stops!

While all I get is, “Seek-Locate-Exterminate”.
That’s what I have to say.
“Seek-Locate-Exterminate”,
And occasionally, “I obey!”
“Seek-Locate-Exterminate”,
That is my only line.
And it gets ****ing boring saying it
Over and over again all the time.

One day I will form a union,
Then we’ll lay down some laws.
And then when we get called up to fight
In the galactic wars,
We’ll be happy to do so,
If it helps in our conquest.
But only if the scriptwriter
Agrees to give us a rest...

From... “Seek-Locate-Exterminate”.
That’s all I get to say.
“Seek-Locate-Exterminate”,
And occasionally, “I obey!”

“Seek-Locate-Exterminate”,
That is my only line.
And it gets ****ing boring saying it
Over and over again all the time.

Howard also conducted the last interview given by William Hartnell’s widow, Heather Hartnell, before she passed away in 1984. The interview, recorded at Heather’s home in Marden, Kent, was initially transcribed and printed in Leo Telling’s No! Not the Mind Probe fanzine before it made its audio debut some six years later on The Master Tape Issue 12, a 1960s Special. As part of the discussion, Heather cast her mind back to the time when her husband was playing the Doctor: “When William was making Doctor Who, he hardly ever went on location. Nearly every series was made in the studios. I remember him going on location once, down to Devonshire or Cornwall. I didn’t go with him. I only went to the studios once or twice to watch the recording of the show – on tape. He got on awfully well [with the cast and crew]. Of course, he had his favourites. He loved Bill Russell, who was the first of his assistants, Peter Purves – who joined later on – and Jackie [Hill] and, of course, Carole Ann Ford, who played his granddaughter in the very beginning. Oh, they got on awfully well together. I think the crew all worked well together, too – they had to as they worked in a very tiny studio, and they were all on top of each other. So, they had to get on well or they’d have come to blows, I think! They had to make make do with this tiny, tiny studio, down by the river at Hammersmith – they weren’t even making it at Television Centre. They had to have all the sets built in this tiny studio. Oh, it was terribly frustrating. [However, William] loved the historical [stories] as, like all actors, he loved dressing up. You know, gay clothes. He loved the French Revolution one and Marco Polo, things like that, because they all wore gorgeous, glamorous clothes – but of course they were made in black-and-white, so the audiences couldn’t see how gorgeous those clothes were. It was very sad. I don’t know what his favourite story was – perhaps Marco Polo because they had great fun doing that – but of course his favourite monster had to be the Daleks. The point was that he could somehow get the better of all the other monsters, but the Daleks always popped up again. He loved being Doctor Who. He absolutely loved it because he always loved children. He had a way with children. He used to stay five nights in a little flat in London and then come home to Mayfield, where we lived at the weekends. I used to drive over and meet him at Tunbridge Wells Station. The local children got to know that he would arrive at Tunbridge Wells on a Saturday morning – and they’d be waiting for him – and it was very much like the Pied Piper of Hamelin, [as he walked] through the streets of Tunbridge Wells, down to the car park. They knew it was him and they would follow him. If he went into a shop, they’d all wait outside and follow him again. Well, of course he loved that, but then any person would. But he loved it because they were children – and he loved children.”

 
 

 

Writing in the Audio Zine Scene section of Celestial Toyroom (December 1987) Hans Allen offered his opinion on The Master Tape Issue 4: “The articles are very well written, with the season reviews the definite highlights. In many ways, though, it falls short of the standards reached in Tranquil Repose – the production, though smoother, is slower and more plodding, the clips from the show are too long and less varied, and the presentation is less professional. It also lacks the ‘hook’ of having an interview. [That’s] not to say it has never had them, indeed the last two issues have featured interviews, albeit of poor convention-recorded sound quality. But The Master Tape does have an undeniable sense of humour and, of course, is very cheap.”

Death Zone Issue 2 (August 1989) included a brief review of The Master Tape by Keith Musselwhite: “It tried to emulate the successes of Sonic Waves, but also tried some new ideas as well, [such as] a competition, a ‘guess where the episode ending comes from, from what story’ [one]. Whereas Sonic Waves would use witty instrumentals of the latest pop songs and the like for backing music, which was [then] something new to tapezines, The Master Tape decided to use segments of incidental music from the story or whatever it was they were reviewing. Although this works, it does get a bit monotonous.”

The Master Tape Issue 21 received a lengthy review by Andy Nunney in the Celestial Toybox section of Celestial Toyroom (May 1995): “Issue 21 concentrates, appropriately enough, on Season 21… All fanzines do reviews, and reviews of reviews are very poor reading. Where The Master Tape comes into its own is on things like the Local Group discussions… There is a fair bit of ‘quantum leaping’ between subjects, just like in real life, and it is quite surprising the trivial things people remember. One criticism – some members are a little too quiet and don’t come across too clearly, while others are a little too… ‘enthusiastic’, shall we say? However it doesn’t spoil the overall enjoyment, and it is this type of spontaneity that makes listening worthwhile… The West Kent LG also possess their own musical maestro in the form of Howard White. In the past, we’ve had Seek, Locate, Exterminate about Daleks, and Three Shields On My TARDIS (I kid you not). Here we appear to be in a serious mode, as we get a classic American folk song adapted for missing Hartnell and Troughton episodes. Howard obviously believes in a broadside theory, where something will hit home. This I must say is one of the better ones, although I don’t see him as the next Take That (not a bad fate, really)… We get a review of some of the non-televised stories that have been reviewed elsewhere recently, and I admit that my attention did wander, but at the halfway point of the tape we get the highlight. Every tape has featured a quiz, but not your normal run-of-the-mill type. Here we get the Odd One Out, which is not as straightforward as it sounds. All in all, these tapes are well worth investigating.”

 
 

 

In 1993, Stephen Broome received a phone call inviting him to attend the filming of a BBC Antiques Roadshow-style event to which he could bring some Doctor Who items to be valued. On the day, he was filmed talking about his signed Doctor Who book and some toy K-9s which he had to pretend were his for the sake of the programme! When The Antique Doctor Who Show aired on 12th November 1993 prior to a repeat screening of Episode Two of Planet of the Daleks, Stephen did indeed feature. He has attended many conventions, including the 50th Anniversary event at the ExCel London. He has also been credited on several Doctor Who Blu-ray releases in recognition of having sent in items that were included. He kept himself occupied during the Covid lockdowns by returning to one of his childhood pursuits – painting – a pastime that he wishes to explore further through night classes.

Martin Hughes went on to produce some of the West Kent Local Group’s newsletters, which culminated in a 160-page Yearbook. He has had various customer service jobs with BT, Post Office and Royal Mail, and is now happy working in Workforce Planning. In his spare time, he paints pet portraits and enjoys watching old movies. He is still in regular touch with the friends he made in the Local Group.

After the Master Tape years, Howard White moved to Hastings and carried on with musical performing, and then later went back as a mature student and studied for a Foundation Degree in multimedia. After this, he went into videography, specialising mostly in filming and editing live stage shows, and has also been involved in several other projects, including charity awareness and business promos.

 
 

 

The Master Tape is one of the giants of Doctor Who tapezines. A well-produced title that outlasted almost all others, which always entertained the listener and wasn’t afraid to try different approaches. If you bought The Master Tape, you knew you would be treated to well-considered opinion, interesting features, the occasional comedic Doctor Who song, and you could listen in on discussions recorded at Local Group meetings. Across a remarkable 24 issues, the standard very rarely dropped – and, even when Doctor Who stopped being a going concern, The Master Tape kept firing on all cylinders for another eight years.

The longevity and success of The Master Tape deserves to be celebrated and, essentially, that achievement can be laid in no small part at the door of one man – Stephen Broome, ever-present as editor of the tapezine and co-ordinator and ideas man of the West Kent Local Group. He resolutely held both the group and The Master Tape together over an eleven year period while the group membership morphed and changed around him. That is a remarkable achievement of which he should be very proud – and the Local Group members should also be proud of their part in producing an excellent tapezine.

Alan Hayes

 
 

 

THE MASTER TAPE – ISSUE 1
July 1986, C-90

Side A:

  1. Introduction by Stephen Broome

  2. Book Review: The Myth Makers by Craig Lucas

  3. Discussion: Doctor Who Book Covers by the Tunbridge Wells Local Group

  4. Review: Season 13 by Martin Hughes (Part 1: Stories 1-3)

  5. The Master by Stephen Broome

  6. Humour: An Interview with Grun by Stephen Broome

  7. The Davison Cliffhangers by Mark Gillespie (Part 1)

  8. Quiz: Name That Scream! by Stephen Broome

Side B:

  1. Quiz: The Answers by Stephen Broome

  2. Review: Season 13 by Martin Hughes (Part 2: Stories 4-6)

  3. Review: Terror of the Autons by Stephen Broome

  4. The Davison Cliffhangers by Mark Gillespie (Part 2)

  5. Discussion: The Awakening by the Tunbridge Wells Local Group

  6. Review: The Evil of the Daleks by Martin Hughes

  7. Book Review: The Gunfighters by Craig Lucas

  8. The Master Tape 1 Sign Off by Stephen Broome

THE MASTER TAPE – ISSUE 2
December 1986, C-90

Side A:

  1. Introduction by Stephen Broome

  2. Review: The Trial of a Time Lord (The Mysterious Planet) by Martin Hughes

  3. Convention Guest Panel: John Leeson (NorwichCon, May 1986)

  4. Review: Season 10 by Martin Hughes (Part 1: Stories 1-3)

  5. Review: The Trial of a Time Lord (Mindwarp) by Craig Lucas

  6. Letters from James French and Martin Doherty

  7. Quiz: Name That Twice-the-Speed Cliffhanger by Stephen Broome

Side B:

  1. Quiz: The Answers by Stephen Broome

  2. Review: The Web of Fear by Martin Hughes

  3. Review: The Trial of a Time Lord (Terror of the Vervoids) by Stephen Broome

  4. Character Study: Tegan Jovanka by Mark Gillespie

  5. Review: Season 10 by Martin Hughes (Part 2: Stories 4-5)

  6. Review: The Trial of a Time Lord (The Ultimate Foe) by Stuart Russell

  7. The Master Tape 2 Sign Off by Stephen Broome

THE MASTER TAPE – ISSUE 3
May 1987, C-90

Side A:

  1. Introduction by Stephen Broome

  2. Review: The Moonbase by Stephen Broome

  3. Convention Guest Panel: Tony Attwood on Blake’s 7 – Afterlife (NorwichCon, May 1986)

  4. Review: Season 12 by Martin Hughes (Part 1: Stories 1-3)

  5. Commercial: Back Issues by Stephen Broome

  6. Review: Kinda by Mark Gillespie

  7. Quiz: Name That Sound Effect by Stephen Broome

Side B:

  1. Quiz: The Answers by Stephen Broome

  2. Convention Guest Panel: Tony Attwood on Turlough and the Earthlink Dilemma (NorwichCon, May 1986)

  3. Review: Season 12 by Martin Hughes (Part 2: Stories 4-5)

  4. Review: Snakedance by Martin Hughes, read by Stuart Russell

  5. Tribute: Patrick Troughton (1920-1987) by Mark Gillespie

THE MASTER TAPE – ISSUE 4
October 1987, C-90

Side A:

  1. Introduction by Stephen Broome

  2. Review: Season 18 by Martin Hughes (Part 1: Stories 1-2)

  3. Convention Guest Panel: Nabil Shaban (Leisure Hive IV, 8/9.8.1987)

  4. Review: The Daleks by Stephen Broome

  5. Review: Dr. Who and the Daleks (Aaru Film) by Stewart Maclaren

  6. Review: Season 18 by Martin Hughes (Part 2: Stories 3-5)

  7. Quiz: Name The Incidental Music by Stephen Broome

Side B:

  1. Quiz: The Answers by Stephen Broome

  2. Book Review: John Lydecker’s Warriors’ Gate by Mark Gillespie

  3. Convention Guest Panel: David Banks and Nabil Shaban (Leisure Hive IV, 8-9.8.1987)

  4. The Ice Warriors by Stephen Broome

  5. Excerpt: Jon Pertwee on TV-am, interviewed by Anne Diamond (October 1984)

  6. Review: Season 18 by Martin Hughes (Part 3: Stories 6-7)

  7. The Master Tape 4 Sign Off + Plug for Tranquil Repose 3 by Stephen Broome

  8. Commercial: East Kent Doctor Who Local Group by Stephen Broome

THE MASTER TAPE – ISSUE 5
January 1988, C-90

Side A:

  1. Introduction by Stephen Broome

  2. Review: Season 7 by Martin Hughes (Part 1: Story 1)

  3. Convention Guest Panel: Nabil Shaban (Leisure Hive IV, 8/9.8.1987)

  4. Review: Time and the Rani by Mark Gillespie

  5. Outtakes: The Trial of a Tapezine

  6. Set Visit Report: Warriors of the Deep by Roy Stevens

  7. Review: Paradise Towers by Stephen Broome

  8. Review: Season 7 by Martin Hughes (Part 2: Stories 2-3)

  9. Quiz: Name That Quote by Stephen Broome and Stuart Russell

Side B:

  1. Quiz: The Answers by Stephen Broome

  2. Review: Delta and the Bannermen by Stephen Broome, read by Patrick Brown

  3. Interview: Sylvester McCoy talks to Stewart Maclaren

  4. Review: Season 7 by Martin Hughes (Part 3: Story 4)

  5. Convention Guest Panel: Sophie Aldred (East Kent’s Jolly Good Sideshow, 1987)

  6. Review: Dragonfire by Roy Stevens

  7. Letters from Alan Luckhurst and Donald Potts

  8. The Master Tape 5 Sign Off (including the suggestion of a joint venture with Tranquil Repose) by Stephen Broome

  9. Commercial: Tranquil Repose 4 by Stephen Broome

  10. Commercial: FalCon 3 Convention by Stephen Broome

THE MASTER TAPE – ISSUE 6
June 1988, C-90

Side A:

  1. Introduction by Stephen Broome

  2. Convention Guest Panel: Colin Baker (NorwichCon, 1987)

  3. Review: Slipback by Dave Wood

  4. ABC Australia Trailer: The Five Doctors

  5. BBC Trailer: The Ribos Operation

  6. Review: Season 16 by Martin Hughes (Part 1: Stories 1-2)

  7. BBC Trailer: The Web of Fear

  8. Review: Mission to the Unknown by Stephen Broome

  9. BBC Trailer: The Ambassadors of Death

  10. Review: Season 16 by Martin Hughes (Part 2: Stories 3-4)

  11. Commercial: Back Issues by Stephen Broome

  12. Quiz: Name That Scream! by Stephen Broome

Side B:

  1. Quiz: The Answers by Stephen Broome

  2. Pace in Doctor Who Stories by Mark Gillespie

  3. BBC Trailer: The Sun Makers

  4. Review: Season 16 by Martin Hughes (Part 3: Stories 5-6)

  5. Prime Computer Advert

  6. ABC Australia Trailer: Warriors’ Gate

  7. Tapezine Review: Tranquil Repose 4 and Other Tapezines by Roy Stevens

  8. BBC Trailer: Full Circle

  9. Review: The Daleks’ Master Plan by Stephen Broome (Part 1: Episodes 1-4)

  10. Preview of The Master Tape 7

  11. The Master Tape 6 Sign Off by Stephen Broome

THE MASTER TAPE – ISSUE 7:
FALCON 3 SPECIAL
November 1988, C-90

Side A:

  1. Introduction by Stephen Broome

  2. Convention Guest Panel: Sophie Aldred and John Levene (FalCon 3, July 1988)

  3. BBC Trailer: The Invisible Enemy

  4. Convention Guest Panel: Terry Walsh (FalCon 3, July 1988)

  5. BBC Trailer: Fury from the Deep

  6. Convention Guest Panel: Gerry Davis, Nicholas Courtney and John Levene (FalCon 3, July 1988)

  7. BBC Trailer: Season 21 (covers Warriors of the Deep to Resurrection of the Daleks)

  8. Convention Guest Panel: Terry Walsh (FalCon 3, July 1988)

  9. BBC Trailer: Attack of the Cybermen

Side B:

  1. Side 2 Introduction by Stephen Broome

  2. Convention Guest Panel: Sylvester McCoy (FalCon 3, July 1988)

  3. BBC Trailer: The Mind of Evil

  4. Convention Guest Panel: Stephen Gallagher (FalCon 3, July 1988)

  5. BBC Trailer: Season 24

  6. Convention Guest Panel: Sylvester McCoy (FalCon 3, July 1988)

  7. Prime Computer Advert

  8. Convention Guest Panel: Gerry Davis and Deborah Watling (FalCon 3, July 1988)

  9. The Master Tape 7 Sign Off Preview of The Master Tape 8 by Stephen Broome

THE MASTER TAPE – ISSUE 8
February 1989, C-90

Side A:

  1. BBC Repeat Trailer: The Curse of Peladon (Doctor Who and the Monsters)

  2. Introduction by Stephen Broome

  3. Super Channel Trailer: Doctor Who (satellite channel trail)

  4. Review: Remembrance of the Daleks by Mark Gillespie

  5. Super Channel Trailer: Blake’s 7 – Fridays at 7 (satellite channel trail)

  6. Convention Guest Panel: Sophie Aldred (East Kent’s Jolly Good Sideshow 2, 1988)

  7. BBC Trailer: The Armageddon Factor

  8. Review: Season 17 by Martin Hughes (Part 1: Stories 1-2)

  9. Super Channel Trailer: Doctor Who – Planet of Evil (satellite channel trail)

  10. Review: The Happiness Patrol by Jonathan Wright

  11. Quiz: Name That Twice-the-Speed Cliffhanger by Stephen Broome

Side B:

  1. Quiz: The Answers and Side 2 Introduction by Stephen Broome

  2. Review: Silver Nemesis by James Burt

  3. Super Channel Trailer: Blake’s 7 – The Way Back (satellite channel trail)

  4. What If... UNIT Had Never Been Created? by Roy Stevens

  5. ABC Australia Trailer: Warriors of the Deep

  6. Review: Season 17 by Martin Hughes (Part 2: Stories 3-5)

  7. BBC Trailer: Warriors of the Deep

  8. Convention Guest Panel: Ben Aaronovitch (TenCon, 1988)

  9. Review: The Greatest Show in the Galaxy by Dave Wood

  10. The Master Tape 8 Sign Off by Stephen Broome

THE MASTER TAPE – ISSUE 9:
SEVENTIES SPECIAL
(aka JON PERTWEE &  TOM BAKER SPECIAL)
August 1989, C-90

Side A:

  1. Song: Side 1 Introduction by Howard White

  2. Signal Retune: including The Tomorrow People clips and theme

  3. Review: The Dæmons by Jonathan Wright

  4. Signal Retune: including the Radio 1 Club and The Persuaders! theme

  5. The Stories of Malcolm Hulke by Stephen Broome

  6. Signal Retune: including David Bowie’s Starman and the 5th Anniversary of Radio 1

  7. Convention Guest Panel: Terry Walsh (FalCon Convention)

  8. Signal Retune: including Noel Edmonds on BBC Radio 1

  9. Dramatic Reading: The Doctor’s Millennia by Mark Gillespie and Stephen Broome, read by Mark Gillespie

Side B:

  1. Song: Side 2 Introduction by Howard White

  2. Signal Retune: including John Craven’s Newsround

  3. Production Notes: Shada by Martin Hughes

  4. Signal Retune: including BBC News 1970s Ident

  5. Review: Doctor Who – Exploration Earth: The Time Machine by Howard White

  6. Signal Retune: including Space: 1999 clips and theme

  7. Archive: Shada by Martin Hughes

  8. Signal Retune: including Blake’s 7 theme, ELO, Margaret Thatcher and Kate Bush

  9. Review: Doctor Who and the Pescatons by James Burt

  10. Signal Retune: including Gerry Rafferty’s Baker Street and Liberal leader David Steel

  11. Review: Shada by Martin Hughes

  12. The Master Tape 9 Sign Off by Stephen Broome

Alternative cover

THE MASTER TAPE – ISSUE 10
February 1990, C-90

Side A:

  1. BBC Trailer: Season 26

  2. Song: Side 1 Introduction by Howard White

  3. Review: Battlefield by Robert Pope

  4. Discussion: Season 26 by the West Kent Local Group (Part 1)

  5. Dalek Joke

  6. Dramatic Reading: Legend of the Cybermen – Episode 2 by Mark Gillespie and Stephen Broome, read by Mark Gillespie

  7. Australian Commercial: Keep Australia Beautiful – ‘It’s A Conspiracky!’

  8. Discussion: The Latest Book Covers by the West Kent Local Group

  9. Cybermen Joke

  10. Review: Ghost Light by Jonathan Wright

  11. BBC Trailer: Planet of Fire

  12. Quiz: Name That Alarm by Stephen Broome, suggested by Edward Jolly

Side B:

  1. Quiz: The Answers by Stephen Broome

  2. Song: Side 2 Introduction by Howard White

  3. BBC 1976 Repeat Trailer: Planet of Evil and The Sontaran Experiment

  4. Review: The Curse of Fenric by Roy Stevens

  5. BBC Trailer: Full Circle

  6. Character Study: D84 by Howard White

  7. Song: I’m Gonna Miss Ya, D84 by Howard White

  8. BBC Trailer: Warriors of the Deep

  9. Discussion: Season 26 by the West Kent Local Group (Part 2)

  10. Letters from David Palmer and Martin Cave, read by West Kent Local Group members

  11. Another Dalek Joke

  12. How Not to Produce Tapezines by Stephen Broome, including outtakes

  13. The Master Tape 10 Sign Off and Back Issues by Stephen Broome

  14. Review: Survival by James Burt

THE MASTER TAPE – ISSUE 11
May 1990, C-90

Side A:

  1. Signal Retune: K-9 leaves Doctor Who, The Keeper of Traken trailer, Logopolis excerpt, The Five Faces of Doctor Who trailer, Points of View letter, Blake’s 7 – Blake and K-9 and Company trailer

  2. Introduction by Howard White

  3. Signal Retune: Multi-Coloured Swap Shop, Points of View letter: Mawdryn Undead and The Doctor Who Celebration trailer

  4. Convention Guest Panel: Twenty Years of a Time Lord: The Davison Era Forum with Peter Davison, Sarah Sutton, Janet Fielding, Mark Strickson, Anthony Ainley and Valentine Dyall

  5. Signal Retune: Doctor Who to be a Woman?, The Five Doctors trailer and Resurrection of the Daleks trailer

  6. Review: The Caves of Androzani by Mark Gillespie

  7. Signal Retune: News items – Peter Davison leaves, Colin Baker is the new Doctor, The Police Box must go, Doctor Who on hiatus, Humour item – The Daleks praise the BBC for taking the series off the air, Doctor in Distress on American Radio

  8. Convention Guest Panel: Colin Baker (Leisure Hive II, Swindon, 1985)

  9. Quiz: Name That 80s Quote by Stephen Broome and the West Kent Local Group

  10. Quiz Outtakes by the West Kent Local Group

Side B:

  1. Quiz: The Answers by Stephen Broome

  2. BBC Trailer: The Trial of a Time Lord (The Mysterious Planet)

  3. Signal Retune: Colin Baker talks to Radio Times and Terry Wogan, plus Casualty

  4. Dramatic Reading: Legend of the Cybermen – Episode 3 by Mark Gillespie and Stephen Broome, read by Mark Gillespie

  5. BBC Trailer: The Trial of a Time Lord (Mindwarp)

  6. Nabil Shaban Radio Interview

  7. Excerpt: The News Huddlines – Bonnie Langford joins Doctor Who

  8. Character Study: Melanie Bush by Jonathan Wright

  9. BBC Trailer: Time and the Rani

  10. Signal Retune: Radio Times Trailer: Sylvester McCoy, Open Air: Sylvester McCoy and Bonnie Langford, Bonham’s Auction, Radio Call-in reflecting on Season 24

  11. Interview: Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred talk to Stewart Maclaren (National Theatre, 1987)

  12. BBC Trailer: Remembrance of the Daleks

  13. BBC Trailer: Survival

  14. The Master Tape 11 Sign Off by Stephen Broome

THE MASTER TAPE – ISSUE 12:
SIXTIES SPECIAL
December 1990, C-90

Side A:

  1. Signal Retune: James Bond Theme, Martin Luther King, John Fitzgerald Kennedy assassination

  2. Introduction by Stephen Broome

  3. Signal Retune: The Beatles and The Goon Show

  4. Daleks - Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. vs. The Dalek Invasion of Earth by Jonathan Wright

  5. Signal Retune: The Animals and The Beatles

  6. Interview: Heather Hartnell talks to Howard White

  7. Signal Retune: BBC2 Launch with Brian Johnson, Winston Churchill Funeral, AP Films Studios and Thunderbirds

  8. Review: The Celestial Toymaker by James Burt

  9. Signal Retune: Beatlemania Hits the States, British Government Budget and Herge’s Adventures of Tintin

  10. Excerpt: BSB Galaxy Doctor Who Weekend – Debbie Flint interviews Verity Lambert

  11. Excerpt: BSB Galaxy Doctor Who Weekend – Shyama Perera interviews Barry Newbery

  12. Excerpt: BSB Galaxy Doctor Who Weekend – Debbie Flint interviews Peter Hawkins

  13. Excerpt: BSB Galaxy Doctor Who Weekend – Shyama Perera interviews Jennie Linden

  14. Signal Retune: Bleep and Booster, The Animals and Blue Peter

  15. Quiz: Name That Sound Effect by Stephen Broome

  16. Signal Retune: William Hartnell Quits Doctor Who, Football World Cup Final 1966, First to Second Doctor Regeneration from The Tenth Planet

Side B:

  1. Signal Retune: Camberwick Green and The Beatles

  2. Quiz: The Answers by Stephen Broome

  3. Signal Retune: Autumn Programmes on ATV, The Champions, Top of the Pops: Jimmy Savile introduces The Rolling Stones

  4. Review: The Tomb of the Cybermen by Roy Stevens

  5. Signal Retune: The Sun newspaper James Bond Promotion, The Frost Report and Dad’s Army

  6. Excerpt: BSB Galaxy Doctor Who Weekend – Shyama Perera and Debbie Flint interview Frazer Hines

  7. Excerpt: BSB Galaxy Doctor Who Weekend – Debbie Flint interviews Wendy Padbury

  8. Convention Guest Panel: Mervyn Haisman (Carousel, Cardiff, 1989)

  9. Excerpt: BSB Galaxy Doctor Who Weekend – Shyama Perera and John Nathan-Turner interview Mervyn Haisman

  10. Signal Retune: The Golden Shot, The Ice Warriors advertise The Master Tape, and The Saint

  11. BBC Trailer: Fury from the Deep

  12. Review: Fury from the Deep by Martin Hughes

  13. Signal Retune: Who's Who (Roberta Tovey) and Nixon becomes US President

  14. Song: When UNIT Troops Go Marching In by Howard White

  15. Signal Retune: Moon Landing, Decimalisation in the UK

  16. Excerpt: The War Games – the Doctor’s regeneration is triggered by the Time Lords / The Master Tape 12 Sign Off by Stephen Broome

THE MASTER TAPE – ISSUE 13
July 1991, C-90

Side A:

  1. BBC Trailer: Castrovalva

  2. Introduction by Stephen Broome

  3. Review: Castrovalva by Robert Pope

  4. BSB Galaxy 1990 Trailer: Doctor Who on Galaxy Club, Sundays (satellite channel trail)

  5. Song: Seek-Locate-Exterminate by Howard White

  6. BSB Galaxy 1990 Trailer: The Three Doctors (satellite channel trail)

  7. Dramatic Reading: Legend of the Cybermen – Episode 4 by Mark Gillespie and Stephen Broome, read by Mark Gillespie and Stephen Broome

  8. US Trailer: Star Trek: The Next Generation

  9. Discussion: Season 15 by the West Kent Local Group

  10. Convention Joke

  11. Trailer: Time Travels Fast with Doctor Who

  12. Review: Four to Doomsday by James Burt

  13. US Trailer: Star Trek: The Next Generation

  14. Quiz: Name That Incidental Music by Stephen Broome

Side B:

  1. Quiz: The Answers by Stephen Broome

  2. BSB Galaxy 1990 Trailer: Doctor Who Weekend (satellite channel trail)

  3. Dramatic Reading: Legend of the Cybermen – Episode 5 by Mark Gillespie and Stephen Broome, read by Stephen Broome

  4. BSB Galaxy 1990 Trailer: Doctor Who Weekend (satellite channel trail)

  5. An Ice Warrior’s Cyberman Joke

  6. Review: Kinda by Simon Collins

  7. US Trailer: Star Trek: The Next Generation

  8. Convention Guest Panel: Stephen Gallagher (FalCon 3, July 1988)

  9. US Trailer: Star Trek: The Next Generation

  10. Review: Galaxy 4 by Jonathan Wright

  11. Dalek Joke

  12. Discussion: Producing The Master Tape by Stephen Broome and the West Kent Local Group

  13. Listeners’ Letters from ‘Andrew’, Lyn Davies, W.V.N. Da Silva, read by members of the West Kent Local Group

  14. The Master Tape 13 Sign Off and Back Issues by Stephen Broome

  15. BBC Video Trailer: Doctor Who and Blake’s 7 – A New Dimension in Home Viewing

THE MASTER TAPE – ISSUE 14
October 1991, C-90

Side A:

  1. BBC Trailer: The Trial of a Time Lord (The Mysterious Planet)

  2. Introduction by Stephen Broome

  3. Archive Commercial: Doctor Who Choc-chip Ice Creams

  4. Review: The Visitation by Simon Collins

  5. Excerpt: BBC News Reports on The Doctor Who Celebration at Longleat (2.4.1983)

  6. Dramatic Reading: Legend of the Cybermen – Episode 6 by Stephen Broome, read by Mark Gillespie and Stephen Broome

  7. BSB Galaxy 1990 Trailer: Doctor Who Weekend – The Dominators (satellite channel trail)

  8. Review: The Macra Terror by Howard White

  9. Discussion: The Sylvester McCoy Era by the West Kent Local Group

  10. US Trailer: Star Trek – The Next Generation

  11. Review: Black Orchid by James Burt

  12. Quiz: Name That Sung Incidental Music sung by Howard White

Side B:

  1. Quiz: The Answers by Howard White and the West Kent Local Group

  2. Side 2 Introduction by Stephen Broome

  3. Trailer: Doctor Who Coming Next on Super Channel (satellite channel trail)

  4. Review: Earthshock by Robert Pope

  5. US Trailer: Star Trek – The Next Generation

  6. Convention Guest Panel: Jacqueline Pearce (Carousel, Cardiff, 1989)

  7. BBC Trailer: The Twin Dilemma

  8. Dramatic Reading: Legend of the Cybermen – Episode 7 by Stephen Broome, read by Mark Gillespie and Stephen Broome

  9. Convention Guest Panel: Colin Baker (Manopticon 1, Manchester, 1991)

  10. Excerpt: BBC Radio – The Doctor Who Celebration at Longleat

  11. Review: Time-Flight by Dave Wood

  12. Listeners’ Letters from Matthew Bellweed and Danny New

  13. The Master Tape 14 Sign Off by Stephen Broome

THE MASTER TAPE – ISSUE 15
June 1992, C-90

Side A:

  1. BBC Trailer: The Wheel in Space

  2. Introduction by Stephen Broome

  3. US Trailer: Star Trek – The Next Generation

  4. Review: The Dominators by Simon Collinge

  5. Excerpt: The Caves of Androzani

  6. Convention Guest Panel: Peter Miles and Michael Wisher (Space Mountain, Clacton-on-Sea, 1991)

  7. Coming Soon: Listeners’ Letters by Robin Prichard

  8. Commercial: Doctor Who 2000 13 by Neil Hogan

  9. Drama: The Unknown Terror – Episode 1 by Stephen Broome with Robin Prichard, Howard White, Claire Greenaway and Stephen Broome (includes the song My Sonic Screwdriver by Howard White)
    Convention Guest Panel: Gerry Davis (FalCon 3, July 1988)

  10. BBC 1992 Repeat Trailer: The Mind Robber

  11. Review: The Mind Robber by Dave Wood

  12. Quiz: Name That Gun! by Stephen Broome

Side B:

  1. The Master Tape Greeting from Colin Baker

  2. Quiz: The Answers by Stephen Broome

  3. Side 2 Introduction by Stephen Broome

  4. Archive Commercial: Weetabix Special Doctor Who Packs (Promotion 2, 1977)

  5. Review: The Invasion by Stephen Broome

  6. BBC Trailer: Friday Nights on BBC2

  7. Discussion: Season 22 by the West Kent Local Group

  8. BBC Trailer: Resistance is Useless documentary

  9. Doctor Who Records of the Sixties by Matthew West including Who’s Who? by Roberta Tovey, Who’s Dr. Who? by Frazer Hines

  10. Excerpts: Battlefield, Ghost Light, The Curse of Fenric and Survival

  11. Convention Guest Panel: Jack Watling, Deborah Watling and Nicholas Courtney (Space Mountain, Clacton-on-Sea, 1991)

  12. The Master and Nyssa Joke

  13. Review: The Krotons by Robin Prichard

  14. The Master Tape 15 Sign Off by Stephen Broome

  15. Tribute: Gerry Davis (1930-1991) and Innes Lloyd (1925-1991) by Robin Prichard

THE MASTER TAPE – ISSUE 16
October 1992, C-90

Side A:

  1. Commercial: Ordering Details by Stephen Broome

  2. Introduction by Stephen Broome

  3. Review: The Seeds of Death by Mark Gillespie

  4. American NJN Trailer: The Making of Doctor Who – Silver Nemesis

  5. Discussion: The Tomb of the Cybermen by the West Kent Local Group

  6. ITV Trailer: The Tomorrow People – The Slaves of Jedikiah

  7. Interview: Terrance Dicks talks to Matthew West (Part 1)

  8. A Quick Joke

  9. Drama: The Unknown Terror – Episode 2 by Stephen Broome with Robin Prichard, Howard White, Claire Greenaway, Matthew West, David Blakeman and Stephen Broome

  10. Outtake from The Unknown Terror

  11. Review: The Space Pirates by Jonathan Wright

  12. Quiz: Name That Twice-the-Speed Cliffhanger by Stephen Broome

Side B:

  1. Quiz: The Answers by Stephen Broome

  2. Introduction to Side 2 by Stephen Broome

  3. BBC Trailer: Stingray and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (a)

  4. Convention Guest Panel: David Banks and John Leeson (Space Mountain, Clacton-on-Sea, 1991)

  5. BBC Trailer: Stingray and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (b)

  6. Review: The War Games by Roy Stevens

  7. Commercial: Rayphase Shift 7 by Nick Goodman

  8. Listeners’ Letters read by Robin Prichard and featuring Kevin Gallier, Neil Hogan and Howard White

  9. Song: Three Shields on My TARDIS by Howard White

  10. Commercial: Doctor Who 2000 13 by Neil Hogan

  11. Doctor Who Records of the 1970s by Matthew West (Part 1)

  12. The Master Tape 16 Sign Off by Stephen Broome

THE MASTER TAPE – ISSUE 17
January 1993, C-90

Side A:

  1. The Master Tape Greeting from Tom Baker

  2. Introduction by Stephen Broome

  3. US Trailer: Star Trek – The Next Generation

  4. Doctor Who Records of the 1970s by Matthew West (Part 2) including Dr. Who Theme by Cy Paine and his Orchestra, Dr. Who by Mankind

  5. Broton’s West End Musical Joke by Howard White

  6. Review: Terror of the Autons by Laurence Pycock

  7. BBC 1993 Repeat Trailer: Genesis of the Daleks

  8. Convention Guest Panel: Sophie Aldred and Ian Reddington (Space Mountain, Clacton-on-Sea, 1991)

  9. ITV Trailer: The Tomorrow People (1992 Revival Series)

  10. Review: The Mind of Evil by Edward Jolly

  11. Channel 4 Trailer: The Avengers Return (The Frighteners)

  12. Discussion: The Jon Pertwee Era by the West Kent Local Group

  13. The Master Tape Greeting from Colin Baker

  14. Brief Guide: Production Codes Rundown by Stephen Broome

  15. Quiz: Production Codes and Words in Common by Edward Jolly and the West Kent Local Group

Side B:

  1. Quiz: The Answers by Edward Jolly and the West Kent Local Group

  2. Introduction to Side 2 by Stephen Broome

  3. BBC Trailer: The War Games

  4. Interview: Terrance Dicks talks to Matthew West (Part 2)

  5. BSB Galaxy 1990 Trailer: Doctor Who Weekend – The Dominators (satellite channel trail)

  6. Review: Colony in Space by Simon Collinge

  7. Humour: Mastermind featuring the Master

  8. Drama: The Unknown Terror – Episode 3 by Stephen Broome with Robin Prichard, Howard White, Claire Greenaway, Roy Jackson, Matthew West, Stephen Broome, Robert Pope, Simon Greene and Graham Mills

  9. BSB Galaxy 1990 Trailer: Doctor Who and Comedy Weekends (satellite channel trail)

  10. Song: The Claws of Axos by Howard White

  11. BBC Trailer: The Twin Dilemma

  12. Listeners’ Letters from Mike Henderson, Neil Hogan, Andy Nunney, Carey Chambers, introduced and read by Robin Prichard with an audio letter from Nick Goodman

  13. UK Gold Trailer: The War Games (satellite channel trail)

  14. The Master Tape 17 Sign Off by Stephen Broome

  15. Excerpt: Plan 9 From Outer Space (1956 film)

THE MASTER TAPE – ISSUE 18
May 1993, C-90

Side A:

  1. Introduction by Stephen Broome

  2. Announcement: Absence of Review of Doctor Who: The Pinball Game by Howard White
    Book Reviews: Virgin Doctor Who New Adventures Timewyrm series and Doctor Who – The Sixties by Laurence Pycock

  3. UK Gold Trailer: Spearhead from Space (satellite channel trail)

  4. Discussion: The Dæmons by the West Kent Local Group

  5. BBC Trailer: Quantum Leap

  6. Interview with Terry Molloy by Howard White (Part 1)

  7. Announcement: Further Apology for the Absence of Review of Doctor Who: The Pinball Game by Howard White

  8. Review: Day of the Daleks by Jonathan Wright

  9. BBC Trailer: Red Dwarf

  10. Doctor Who Records of the 1980s by Matthew West (Part 1) including Doctor...? by Blood Donor, Doctor Who is Gonna Fix It by Bullamakanka

  11. BBC Trailer including clips from The Krotons

  12. Quiz: Name That Incidental Music by Stephen Broome

Side B:

  1. Quiz: The Answers by Stephen Broome

  2. Introduction to Side 2 by Stephen Broome

  3. Sky One Trailer: V (US SF series)

  4. Drama: The Unknown Terror – Episode 4 by Stephen Broome with Robin Prichard, Howard White, Claire Greenaway, Matthew West and Stephen Broome

  5. BBC Trailer: Red Dwarf V

  6. Convention Guest Panel: Michael Wisher and Peter Miles (Space Mountain, Clacton-on-Sea, 1991)

  7. Review: The Curse of Peladon by Roy Stevens

  8. US PBS Pledge Drive Excerpt: Sophie Aldred (1988)

  9. Interview with Terry Molloy by Howard White (Part 2)

  10. US PBS Pledge Drive Excerpt: David Banks (1988)

  11. Listeners’ Letters from Carey Chambers, Ruth Gonzalez, David Marsland, Gregor Dixon, Jonathan Shenton, introduced and read by Robin Prichard

  12. Announcement: British Rail conspires to derail The Master Tape by Howard White

  13. The Master Tape 18 Sign Off by Stephen Broome

THE MASTER TAPE – ISSUE 19
September 1993, C-90

Side A:

  1. A Greeting from Colin Baker

  2. Introduction by Stephen Broome

  3. UK Gold Trailer: Survivors – Coming Soon to UK Gold (satellite channel trail)

  4. Review: The Sea Devils by Stephen Broome

  5. UK Gold: Robot (Sunday Omnibus Edition) (satellite channel trail)

  6. Book Reviews: Titan’s Doctor Who Scriptbooks, John Peel’s The Power of the Daleks and the Virgin Doctor Who New Adventures Cat’s Cradle series by Laurence Pycock (Part 1)

  7. Sky One Trailer: The Flash (US SF series)

  8. Doctor Who Records of the 1980s by Matthew West (Part 2) including K-9 and Company by Ian Levine and Fiachra Trench, Doctor Who – The Sequel by Mankind

  9. Sky One Trailer: Star Trek – Deep Space Nine: Emissary

  10. Discussion: Cliffhangers by the West Kent Local Group

  11. UK Gold Trailer: The Sontaran Experiment (satellite channel trail)

  12. Review: The Mutants by Simon Green

  13. UK Gold Trailer: Terror of the Zygons (satellite channel trail)

  14. Quiz: Doctor Who vs. The Spellchecker by Edward Jolly

Side B:

  1. Quiz: The Answers by Edward Jolly and the West Kent Local Group

  2. BBC Trailer: ‘Enterprising Viewing for Saturday Evening’ – Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Open All Hours, Birds of a Feather, The House of Eliott, Spender and Match of the Day

  3. Introduction to Side 2 by Stephen Broome

  4. UK Gold Trailer: Survivors (satellite channel trail)

  5. Review: The Time Monster by Edward Jolly

  6. UK Gold Trailer: The Ark in Space (satellite channel trail)

  7. Book Reviews: Virgin Doctor Who New Adventures – Love and War, Transit and The Highest Science – and Doctor Who – The Monsters by Laurence Pycock

  8. UK Gold Trailer: Survivors – Surviving Howard White interrupted by Stephen Broome

  9. Song: My Full Size Dalek by Howard White

  10. BBC Trailer: Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

  11. Listeners’ Letters from Andrew Wright, Carey Chambers, Justin Doyle and Dan Abbot, introduced and read by Robin Prichard plus audio letters from Guy Wainer and Gregory Jones

  12. A Quick Plug for The Doctor Who Shop in East Ham, London by Robin Prichard

  13. UK Gold Trailer: Planet of Evil (satellite channel trail)

  14. Review: The Paradise of Death by Edward Jolly

  15. UK Gold Trailer: The Brain of Morbius (satellite channel trail)

  16. The Master Tape 19 Sign Off by Stephen Broome

THE MASTER TAPE – ISSUE 20
January 1994, C-90

Side A:

  1. Excerpt: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

  2. Introduction by Stephen Broome

  3. The Master Tape Trailer: An Unearthly Child by Stephen Broome

  4. Review: Warriors of the Deep by Simon Green

  5. The Master Tape Trailer: The Tenth Planet by Stephen Broome

  6. Book Reviews: Virgin Doctor Who New Adventures The Pit, Deceit, Lucifer Rising and White Darkness and Jean Marc L’Officier’s Doctor Who reference works The Programme Guide, The Terrestrial Index and The Universal Data Bank by Laurence Pycock

  7. The Master Tape Trailer: The Power of the Daleks by Stephen Broome

  8. Song: The Master Tape at 20 by Howard White

  9. The Master Tape Trailer: The War Games by Stephen Broome

  10. Listeners’ Letters from Justin Slater, Francis Maloney, Gregor Dixon and John Lunn, introduced and read by Robin Prichard

  11. A Quick Plug for The Doctor Who Shop in East Ham, London by Robin Prichard

  12. A Quick Plug for The Doctor Who Enigma Computer Games by Robin Prichard

  13. The Master Tape Trailer: Spearhead from Space by Stephen Broome

  14. Review: The Awakening by Robert Pope

  15. The Master Tape Trailer: Planet of the Spiders by Stephen Broome

  16. Quiz: Doctor Who Doubles by Stephen Broome

Side B:

  1. Quiz: The Answers by Stephen Broome

  2. Introduction to Side 2 by Stephen Broome

  3. The Master Tape Trailer: Robot by Stephen Broome

  4. Reading from the Virgin Doctor Who New Adventure The Dimension Riders by author Daniel Blythe

  5. The Master Tape Trailer: Logopolis by Stephen Broome

  6. Discussion: The Planet of Daleks 30th Anniversary BBC1 Vignettes by the West Kent Local Group

  7. The Master Tape Trailer: Castrovalva by Stephen Broome

  8. Book Review: The Dimension Riders by Simon Green

  9. The Master Tape Trailer: The Caves of Androzani by Stephen Broome

  10. Review: Frontios by Edward Jolly

  11. The Master Tape Trailer: The Twin Dilemma by Stephen Broome

  12. Interview with Daniel Blythe by Robert Pope and Simon Green

  13. The Master Tape Trailer: Time and the Rani by Stephen Broome

  14. Commercial: The Master Tape Back Issues by Stephen Broome

  15. The Master Tape 20 Sign Off by Stephen Broome

THE MASTER TAPE – ISSUE 21
March 1995, C-90

Side A:

  1. Introduction by Stephen Broome

  2. UK Gold Trailer: Image of the Fendahl (satellite channel trail)

  3. Review: Resurrection of the Daleks by Robert Pope

  4. UK Gold Trailer: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (satellite channel trail)

  5. Book Reviews: Virgin Doctor Who New Adventures Shadowmind, Birthright, Iceberg and Blood Heat by Simon Green

  6. Under One Minute Profile: Stephen Broome by himself

  7. Song: A Lesson Too Late for the Learning by Howard White

  8. UK Gold Trailer: The Invasion of Time (satellite channel trail)

  9. Discussion: Our Magic Doctor Who Moments by the West Kent Local Group

  10. UK Gold Trailer: The Pirate Planet Sunday Omnibus (satellite channel trail)

  11. Review: Planet of Fire by Jonathan Wright

  12. UK Gold Trailer: The Horns of Nimon (satellite channel trail)

  13. Quiz: Odd One Out by Edward Jolly

Side B:

  1. Quiz: The Answers by Edward Jolly

  2. Introduction to Side 2 by Stephen Broome

  3. UK Gold Trailer: The Tripods (satellite channel trail)

  4. Review: The Caves of Androzani by Edward Jolly

  5. UK Gold Trailer: Blake’s 7 – The Web (satellite channel trail)

  6. Book Reviews: Decalog, The Mark of Mandragora and Timeframe, and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy books Mostly Harmless and Don’t Panic by Laurence Pycock

  7. Bravo Trailer: The Avengers (satellite channel trail)

  8. Doctor Who Records of the 1980s by Matthew West (Part 3) including Doctor in Distress by Who Cares?, Doctorin’ the TARDIS by The Timelords

  9. Under One Minute Profile: Howard White by himself

  10. Review: The Twin Dilemma by Roy Stevens

  11. UK Gold Trailer: Four to Doomsday (satellite channel trail)

  12. The Master Tape 21 Sign Off by Stephen Broome

THE MASTER TAPE – ISSUE 22
March 1996, C-90

Side A:

  1. Introduction by Stephen Broome

  2. Commercial: Shoestring Budget (Master Tape spin-off videozine)

  3. The Discovery of the Galaxy 4 Soundtrack Recording by Stephen Broome

  4. Review: Galaxy 4 Soundtrack by Simon Green

  5. BBC Trailer: Fury from the Deep

  6. Unlimited Rice Pudding: Comedy Sketches from The Skivers featuring Jon Pertwee (BBC Radio 4, 23.2.1995), introduced by Howard White

  7. ABC Australia Trailer: Warriors of the Deep

  8. Review: Horror of Fang Rock by Roy Stevens

  9. BBC Trailer: The Invisible Enemy

  10. Review: The Invisible Enemy by Stephen Broome

  11. BBC Trailer: Full Circle

  12. Quiz: Doctor Who’s Cult TV Quiz by Edward Jolly

Side B:

  1. Quiz: The Answers by Edward Jolly

  2. Introduction to Side 2 by Stephen Broome

  3. BBC Trailer: The Armageddon Factor

  4. Review: Image of the Fendahl by Edward Jolly

  5. BBC Trailer: The Ambassadors of Death

  6. Discussion: Confectionery in Doctor Who by the West Kent Local Group

  7. UK Gold Trailer: Doctor Who and Blake’s 7 in The Vortex (satellite channel trail)

  8. Humour: Auntie Vanessa and Tegan by Edward Jolly and Stephen Broome

  9. Under One Minute Profile: Edward Jolly

  10. Humour: The Dead Peri Sketch by Edward Jolly and Stephen Broome

  11. BBC Trailer: The Mind of Evil

  12. Review: The Ghosts of N-Space by Glynis Lovell

  13. Commercial: Shoestring Budget Videozine by Howard White and Stephen Broome

  14. The Master Tape 22 Sign Off by Stephen Broome

THE MASTER TAPE – ISSUE 23
June 1996, C-90

Side A:

  1. BBC Radio 5 Trailer: The Paradise of Death

  2. Introduction by Stephen Broome

  3. BBC Trailer: The Doctor Who TV Movie

  4. Review: The Sun Makers by Howard White

  5. Archive Commercial: Vodafone Network

  6. Discussion: The Doctor Who TV Movie by the West Kent Local Group

  7. BBC Trailer: The Trial of a Time Lord

  8. Listeners’ Letters from Gerald Lee and Geoffrey Brough, with a letter from the BBC concerning the TV Movie, read by Stephen Broome and Edward Jolly

  9. Archive Commercial: BBC Video ‘Space Pod’, voiced by Tom Baker

  10. Review: Underworld by Glynis Lovell

  11. Commercial: Shoestring Budget Videozine by Stephen Broome

  12. Quiz: Doctor Who Story Title Puns by Edward Jolly

Side B:

  1. Quiz: The Answers by Edward Jolly

  2. Introduction to Side 2 by Stephen Broome

  3. UK Gold Trailer: The Invasion of Time (satellite channel trail)

  4. Review: The Invasion of Time by Edward Jolly

  5. Commercial: Shoestring Budget Videozine by Howard White and Stephen Broome

  6. Unlimited Rice Pudding: The News Huddlines, introduced by Howard White

  7. UK Gold Trailer: Doctor Who and Blake’s 7 in The Vortex (satellite channel trail)

  8. Question Time Travel with Simon Green, Howard White, Robert Pope and Laurence Pycock, hosted by Stephen Broome

  9. BBC Trailer: The Doctor Who TV Movie

  10. Review: The Doctor Who TV Movie by Mark Gillespie

  11. UK Gold Trailer: Carnival of Monsters omnibus tribute to Jon Pertwee (satellite channel trail)

  12. A Tribute to Jon Pertwee by Stephen Broome

THE MASTER TAPE – ISSUE 24
August 1997, C-90

Side A:

  1. Archive Commercial: New Zealand Telecom featuring Jon Pertwee

  2. Introduction by Stephen Broome

  3. Archive Commercial: Capital FM Doctor Who Exhibition Promotion

  4. BBC 1992 Repeat Trailer: Genesis of the Daleks

  5. Review: The Ice Warriors by Simon Green

  6. BBC Trailer: Fury from the Deep

  7. Unlimited Rice Pudding: The Grumbleweeds – Doctor Nobbut Just and English Now, a BBC Radio 4 educational programme featuring the Daleks, introduced by Howard White

  8. UK Gold Trailer: Survivors, Blake’s 7 and Doctor Who in The Vortex (satellite channel trail)

  9. Question Time Travel with Simon Green, Howard White, Robert Pope and Laurence Pycock, hosted by Stephen Broome

  10. BBC Trailer: Full Circle

  11. Review: The Time Warrior by Dave Wood

  12. Archive Commercial: New Zealand Telecom featuring Jon Pertwee

  13. Song: Quiz Introduction by Edward Jolly

  14. Quiz: Four-at-a-Time Cliffhangers by Howard White

Side B:

  1. Quiz: The Answers by Howard White

  2. ABC Australia Trailer: The Five Doctors

  3. Introduction to Side 2 by Stephen Broome

  4. UK Gold Trailer: New Year’s Day – Regeneration Day (satellite channel trail)

  5. Review: Invasion of the Dinosaurs by Edward Jolly

  6. Commercial: Shoestring Budget Videozine by Howard White and Stephen Broome

  7. Discussion: Magic Moments by the West Kent Local Group

  8. UK Gold Trailer: Doctor Who and Blake’s 7 in The Vortex (satellite channel trail)

  9. Review: Death to the Daleks by Glynis Lovell

  10. Excerpt: Capital FM Doctor Who Weekend

  11. Review: The Doctor Who TV Movie by Stephen Broome

  12. Archive Commercial: New Zealand Telecom featuring Jon Pertwee

  13. The Master Tape 24 Sign Off by Stephen Broome
 

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