TV Action TV Action was the final name of a weekly Polystyle comics magazine that began its run under the name , Countdown . Published in Britain from 1971 to 1973 , the magazine contained comic adaptations of television programmes , but targeted a slightly older audience than its sister publication , " TV Comic " . Overview . In the late 1960s , Polystyle was eager to start a magazine that appealed to a slightly older audience than its " de facto " television adaptation flagship , " TV Comic " . Whereas that publication had debuted with " funny animal " comics and adaptations of young children ' s shows like " Muffin the Mule " , they wanted something to compete with " TV Century 21 " , which had been replete with comics based on Gerry Anderson properties . When that magazine folded , the license to print Gerry Anderson comics became available . Polystyle seized on it , buying not just the right to do new comics , but to reprint what had come before in " TV21 " . SInce shows like " Stingray " , " Thunderbirds " , " UFO " and " Fireball XLV " all had a kind of space - age theme , a natural title was " Countdown " . To reinforce the theme , Polystyle unusually numbered the pages backward , so that readers were " counting down " to 1 as they read . Unfortunately for Polystyle , public enthusiasm for Anderson properties was drying up . All these shows , except for " UFO " , had been cancelled by the time " Countdown " debuted . Dwindling sales figures quickly reflected the market ' s lack of appetite for a comic based mostly on programming that was no longer on the air . The publisher had to move to re - orient the publication . Polystyle sought licenses to produce wholly original comics based on popular action shows still in production . As the Gerry Anderson material gradually faded , so too did the " Countdown " name . At issue 59 , they started numbering the pages in normal order . By the time the magazine became " TV Action " it had little to do with science fiction and much more to do with shows like " Hawaii 5 - 0 " , " Tightrope " , " Mission : Impossible " and " The Pretenders " . Unfortunately , the changes never put the magazine on solid financial footing and it folded after only a little more than two years . In the end , " Doctor Who " proved the longest - running strip of the magazine , having been left out of about five issues along the way . Although it failed to make the final issue of " TV Action " , it survived by returning to the pages of " TV Comic " . Title . The oft - changing title of this publication has created confusion amongst fans of " Doctor Who " , who are generally uninterested in the broader contents of the magazine . Some have mistakenly believed that " TV Action " and " Countdown " were two separate magazines . In fact , the change was too gradual to produce a bright dividing line between what was " Countdown " and what was " TV Action " . The plurality of issues were actually published under " both " names . Moreover , the numbering system was preserved throughout the transformation . Cover titles . Although the title on the cover changed every few months , it was stylistically similar throughout the first hundred issues . While the word " Countdown " appeared on the cover , the title was always placed in a red banner across the top sixth of the page . After the title became just " TV Action " , this practice was abandoned . On the final thirty - two issues , " TV Action " became merely a logo at the top of a full page of art . . Indicia titles . The situation is even more confusing if one looks at the indicia , or legal , title :