FROM THE SFX OFFICE

Back with your first look at our latest issue and some new faces round the office

A lot can happen in a fortnight. Wars can be won or lost, empires can rise or fall, your favourite show could be cancelled in the blink of an eye (sniff, we’ll miss you Caprica). When FROM THE SFX OFFICE takes a week off, however, we return in style with news of big changes in SFX towers and a sneak peek at our wizard new issue. Glad to see us back?

We only got our grubby mitts on it yesterday but above you can see the galaxy’s first peek at the latest SFX , issue 203, which will go on sale Wednesday 17 November. We’ll have the full breakdown of what to expect from its juicy insides later today, but Tron fans you're in for a treat with an in-depth behind-the-scenes feature, a wallet to keep your glossy mag extra shiny, a collector’s disc complete with interviews, mini-games, behind-the-scenea features on the Tron: Evolution videogame and much more. Or if you’re anything like us you can whizz them round the office in a manner similar to the film’s gladiatorial disc arena battles. Be careful though, SFX accepts no responsibility if you take an eye out.

In other news, there’s been a bit of a shake-up in the office this week, with Dave B and Jon taking some time away from the mag and a pair of new(ish) faces stepping through the airlock. Guy Haley, who long-time mag readers will be intimately acquainted with, has returned from the wilderness to fill in as SFX’s news monkey while Deputy Editor Rich lords it over the rest of us. Meanwhile SFX newbie Kerry Haysom has become the new Catherine, and Catherine is the new Jon. Confused much? We’ve also finally got round to interviewing potential new Editorial Assistants, and have even picked a successful candidate. They seemed keen at the time but they don’t know what we’ve got planned...

After suffering from a nasty case of con-flu, Dave Golder has taken a week off to recuperate (which explains why the homepage has looked a tad anaemic this week), but even that didn’t stop him popping round like a ninja at some ungodly hour to drop off some work. Give that man a medal. Jordan on the other hand took last week off after a successful trip to London Expo, where he spent the vast majority of the weekend sneaking away to play Dead Space 2 , Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood and Goldeneye on the Wii (he’s still got it). His plans for a lazy week spent in front of the TV came a cropper, however, when his PS3 conked out on his first day back mere minutes away from the end of Michael Haneke’s The White Ribbon on Blu-ray. He still hasn’t seen the last 10 seconds, so don’t spoil it okay? Oh, and he also went to watch Matt Smith turn on the Christmas lights with the Doctor’s sonic in Cardiff last night, but spent most of the brisk evening worrying about Karen Gillan, who braved the cold with nothing but a sleeveless dress. Bless.

Nick has been writing up his piece on the Doctor Who Christmas special - which, rather splendidly, contains an interview in which Matt Smith utters the words "purple llama", and no, you're not getting any context, not just yet - and trying to feel seasonal amid the November gloom. He's also been fondly revisiting The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy in paperback form and laughing all over again. Oh, and he's moved house, and spends his evenings gazing at a shiny new shelving system with something approaching love.

After two months of late nights (Maggie Thatcher’s not the only one who can get by on three hours sleep, it turns out) and non-existent weekends (see how we suffer for you?), Ian is just about to stumble over the finishing line on the next SFX special, after which he plans to hibernate... at least, until Russell starts prodding him with a stick and asking where that Being Human feature and reviews section are. You’ll be able to read a full breakdown of all its contents on the website soonish (probably Tuesday)! He’d also like to remind you that should you like a. bad puns and b. swearing he is still on the hunt for more Twitter followers !

Russell’s been sketching cover ideas for the next special but one , possibly inspired by the absinth he’s been quaffing (not in the office) that he got in Prague. He’s also watched the Sarah Jane Adventures finale and declared it “the best Sarah Jane story ever”. Intriguing... Rich on the other hand has just got off the phone from interviewing a former Star Trek star about an upcoming British TV appearance, and is currently looking through potential cover art for issue 204. Bet you wish you had his eyes now.

Finally Ade has been working like a Time Lord on speed for the past two weeks and thinks you will all love our next special, on sale 30 November, with some top free gifts!

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Random Quote Of The Week : “Kerry is brilliant. Better in a way.”

Whose t-shirt? (t’other week’s answer – it was Russell’s fruit!)