Fendahl

Zine
Title:	Fendahl
Publisher:
Editor(s):	Simon and Frank Danes, out of Worthing, West Sussex, UK
Date(s):	1970s, 1980s
Medium:	print
Size:	A5
Fandom:	Doctor Who
Language:	English
External Links:
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Fendahl is a Doctor Who non-fiction zine with eighteen issues.

About

Fendahl was a photocopied Doctor Who fanzine, published between, I think, 1978 and 1981. My brother Frank and I were the editors; we were (and still are!) identical twin brothers and were then in the upper years of secondary school and sixth form. Tom Baker was the Doctor, Louise Jameson had just departed, and the programme was produced by Graham Williams and John Nathan-Turner. The fanzine ran through Tom Baker’s later years and ceased publication soon after Peter Davison had been cast. It had a good reputation, even though its print run rarely got much higher than 120 copies or so. Niche but well liked, then.

[...]

Rather to our surprise, a lot of it’s very good. Inevitably, as it was written by people in their teens, the prose can sometimes grate a little, so we’ll edit a bit. But we’ve discussed things with Philip, editor of The Doctor Who Companion, and some of the better articles are probably worth now being set before a wider audience. We were lucky in being able to interview a number of the cast and crew of Who, either in person or via letter. Sometimes, the replies came recorded on cassette tape, as is the case here. There are also some contemporary opinion pieces and analysis from Tom Baker’s final three seasons, which give some insight into fan opinion at the time.

Fan Comments

'Fendahl' was one of the better known Zines of the late 70/early 80s era. I thought I had an issue at least, but just checking I found I have several! All my fanzines are boxed away, so I almost never look at them today unless I have a strong incentive to dig them out of the back of the cupboard. But on the rare occasions I do there is always that thrill... there is a wealth of material and important context of where Doctor Who was at at the time these were published, and as such I do hope one of the articles you will be publishing will be Frank's commentary on The Deadly Assassin (below).

I have a lot of Fanzines from around the late 70s and early 80s like this, and nearly all of them are produced on typewriter, with paste and cut, and very often poor (by later standards) reproduction. 'Fendahl' though sidesteps some of these limitations as either you had a fantastically efficient and sharp typewriter and copier to fall back on, or there's some professional type-setting going on maybe...?

One really surprising element to skimming through the issues I have was the realisation that you had some of the cream of the fandom and Fanzine scene working with you - most of what would become the 'Skaro' team by the end of the '80s is there in the credits - I had no idea Martin Wiggins was an artist, and a very good one too!

Another notable element was you made a point of printing you Print runs, something no one else ever did, it makes for an informative gauge for what A5 Fanzines sold like at the time.

Unknown Issue

The zine's editors interviewed Tony Harding in April 1980, and printed the results in an unknown issue. It is recounted at The Fendahl Files: K9’s Creator Speaks! An Exclusive Interview with Tony Harding; archive link (28 August 2023)

Issue 15

Fendahl 15 was published in April 1981.

Some of that content is recounted at The Fendahl Files: Behind the Scenes at the Original Doctor Who Experience (Madame Tussauds in 1981); archive link (18 February 2024)

Issue 17

Fendahl 17 was published in 1981.

cover of issue #17

This issue kicked off with a letters page and amongst those writing in were one Gary Russell who in responce to a letter in a previous issue says:

"...though carrying a valid point, was in essence absolute rubblish...The fanzines that nowadays try to be 'pretentious to the nth degree' are ones like 'Gallifrey', who are usually backing up their articles with some justification; and the now hideous 'Oracle' which seemed to give up being interesting when it realised the 'ready to be influenced audience' would pay their 36p for any old junk."

DR WHO ON: Patriotism by Martin Wiggins

BAKER IN RETROSPECT by Peter C Jones starts his article with two simple rules:

"Rule 1: One can no longer just call oneself a 'Doctor Who' fan, one must declare oneself a Hartnellite, a Troughtonite, a Pertweeite or Bakerite. ( Is there such a thing as a Davisonite yet? ). Rule 2: If one is a so called 'serious' fan of the series, one must be sure of preferring any Doctor except the current one." before going on to discuss the role of the fourth Doctor and his adventures, proving that he fell into the Rule 1 catagorie.

The main feature is the KATY MANNING INTERVIEW, which basically takes up most of the fanzine. ExcelLently conducted by Martin Wiggins in April 1981:

"Talking to Katy Manning is not like interviewing a star," begins the article, "...it is like chatting with a fan. Ten years after her debut in 'Dr. Who', she still exudes a friendly enthusisam for the programme and its fans that she thanked me for taking the trouble to come and speak to her."

Picture strip: Doctor Who- Smell Of Death written by Martin Wiggins featuring the fourth Doctor and Romana illustrated by JART

CHEER OUT THE OLD - GRUNGE IN THE NEW by Simon Danes looks at the fan reaction to Baker's departure, the announcement of his replacement and the eventual arrival of Davison.