by Scott, Cavan
19 July 1999 Big Finish Productions releases Doctor Who: The Sirens of Time, a full-cast audio drama starring Peter Davison, Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy as the Doctor. It begins a monthly range that, as of May 2013, has released 173 original Doctor Who audio dramas featuring TV Doctors and companions, as well as numerous spin-off adventures.
The 2000s
January 2001 Paul McGann reprises the role of the Doctor once again, with the release of audio drama Storm Warning from Big Finish, the first of a series that is still running 12 years later.
26 September 2003 As Doctor Who approaches its 30th anniversary, the Daily Telegraph breaks the news that a new series of Doctor Who is being developed by acclaimed writer Russell T Davies. The paper’s report quotes BBC One Controller Lorraine Heggessey confirming the news.
13 November 2003 The first episode of The Scream of the Shalka, an animated BBC webcast starring Richard E. Grant as the Doctor, goes live.
23 November 2003 Doctor Who’s 40th anniversary.
20 March 2004 After much tabloid speculation, Christopher Eccleston is announced as the new Doctor.
24 May 2004 Actress and former pop singer Billie Piper is announced as companion Rose Tyler.
18 July 2004 Television-based Doctor Who goes into production for the first time in the 21st century.
20 July 2004 As the Doctor Who cast and crew prepare to film night scenes in Cardiff, regional news programme BBC Wales Today carries interviews with Christopher Eccleston, Billie Piper and Russell T Davies – and the Ninth Doctor’s look is revealed for the first time.
1 January 2005 The first teaser trailer for the new series of Doctor Who is broadcast on BBC One. It is almost time – but not yet…
26 March 2005 With audiences promised ‘the trip of a lifetime’, the first new episode of Doctor Who for nine years, Rose, is broadcast at 7pm. It attracts an average audience of 10.8 million viewers. As well as Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper, Rose also features first appearances from Noel Clarke as Mickey Smith and Camille Coduri as Jackie Tyler. The Autons, last seen in 1971’s Terror of the Autons, are the first monsters encountered by the new Doctor, and a new orchestral arrangement of the theme tune is provided by composer Murray Gold.
30 March 2005 After the success of Rose, the BBC announces that Doctor Who has been commissioned for a second series. While Billie Piper will return as Rose, the news that Christopher Eccleston will not be continuing as the Doctor is also revealed.
16 April 2005 A BBC press release confirms that lifelong Doctor Who fan David Tennant has been cast as the Tenth Doctor.
30 April 2005 The first appearance of the Daleks (or, at least, a Dalek) in the new series.
21 May 2005 John Barrowman makes his debut as Captain Jack Harkness. Steven Moffat contributes his first script to the new series with The Empty Child.
11 June 2005 Bad Wolf features the first on-screen reference to Torch-wood in Doctor Who.
15 June 2005 At a special BAFTA screening of The Parting of the Ways, executive producer Russell T Davies reveals to an ecstatic audience that Doctor Who has been re-commissioned for a third series and a second Christmas special.
18 June 2005 Christopher Eccleston makes his final appearance as the Ninth Doctor, and David Tennant appears, briefly, as the Tenth.
17 October 2005 Press announcement that BBC Three will air a post-watershed Doctor Who spin-off, Torchwood. The series will star John Barrowman as Captain Jack.
18 November 2005 David Tennant’s second appearance as the Tenth Doctor is watched by 10.8 million viewers as part of the BBC Children in Need telethon, in a special episode later titled Born Again by writer Russell T Davies.
25 December 2005 The broadcast of The Christmas Invasion sees David Tennant make his full debut as the Doctor.
29 April 2006 School Reunion sees the Doctor reunited with Elisabeth Sladen’s Sarah-Jane Smith for the first time since The Five Doctors. K-9 Mark III is destroyed to be replaced by Mark IV and Mickey Smith becomes the first non-white companion to join the Doctor.
13 May 2006 The first appearance of the Cybermen in the new series.
1 July 2006 Catherine Tate makes her first, surprise appearance as (the unnamed) Donna Noble in the closing moments of Doomsday.
14 September 2006 Press announcement that Elisabeth Sladen will star in a new Doctor Who spin-off, The Sarah Jane Adventures, created for the children’s channel CBBC by Russell T Davies.
13 October 2006 Director James Strong shoots establishing shots in New York for the upcoming Daleks in Manhattan – the first time the series has ever been shot in the United States of America.
22 October 2006 Torchwood debuts on BBC Three.
1 January 2007 Elisabeth Sladen stars in the debut episode of The Sarah Jane Adventures, ahead of the hugely successful series that will run for five years.
31 March 2007 The first appearance of the Judoon, a rhino-faced alien police force, in Smith and Jones.
9 June 2007 The first appearance of the Weeping Angels, in Blink.
16 June 2007 The first appearance of the Master in Doctor Who since the 1996 TV movie. Sir Derek Jacobi briefly plays the latest incarnation, before John Simm assumes the role at the climax of Utopia.
16 November 2007 Classic and modern Doctor Who come together in Time Crash. The Tenth Doctor meets the Fifth Doctor, both with brainy specs, in a timey-wimey special episode written especially for Children in Need night by Steven Moffat.
25 December 2007 13.3 million viewers tune in to watch pop star Kylie Minogue guest star as Astrid alongside David Tennant in the annual Christmas special, Voyage of the Damned. It is the second highest-rated television programme of 2007.
5 April 2008 Catherine Tate returns to Doctor Who as Donna Noble – this time joining the Doctor as his new companion for an entire series. Billie Piper makes a surprise reappearance as Rose Tyler in Partners in Crime.
26 April 2008 The first appearance of the Sontarans in the new series.
31 May 2008 The first appearance by Alex Kingston as River Song. But who is she?
28 June 2008 Davros appears for the first time in 20 years, now played by Julian Bleach.
5 July 2008 For the first time in its history, Doctor Who is the most-watched television programme of the week: 10.6 million viewers tune in to Journey’s End to see if the Tenth Doctor will regenerate following the cliffhanger ending to the previous week’s The Stolen Earth. He doesn’t.
29 October 2008 David Tennant wins the award for Outstanding Drama Performance at the National Television Awards. He accepts the award live from Stratford-Upon-Avon where he is appearing in Hamlet for the Royal Shakespeare Company. During his acceptance speech, he announces that he will be leaving Doctor Who.
3 January 2009 Matt Smith’s casting as the Eleventh Doctor is announced in a special edition of Doctor Who Confidential.
11 April 2009 Broadcast of Planet of the Dead, the first episode of Doctor Who to be shot in the High Definition format.
The 2010s
1 January 2010 David Tennant makes his final appearance as the Doctor and Matt Smith takes over. Geronimo!
3 April 2010 9.6 million viewers watch The Eleventh Hour, Matt Smith’s first full adventure as the Doctor. He is joined on his travels by Karen Gillan as Amy Pond. Future companion Rory Williams makes his first appearance, played by Arthur Darvill.
17 April 2010 A ‘new paradigm’ of Daleks makes its first appearance, sporting a revamped design and colourful livery.
24 April 2010 Alex Kingston returns as River Song – the first of many appearances opposite Matt Smith – along with the Weeping Angels.
22 May 2010 The Silurians’ first appearance in the series since Warriors of the Deep 26 years before.
26 January 2011 The Doctor makes his first official appearance on rival commercial channel ITV1, as Matt Smith plays the Doctor in a pre-credits scene specially written by Steven Moffat for the National Television Awards 2011.
14 May 2011 Novelist Neil Gaiman co
ntributes his first script to Doctor Who, in which the TARDIS is given a short-lived human embodiment in the form of Idris, played by Suranne Jones.
4 June 2011 The truth is out there! River Song is revealed to be Melody Pond, the daughter of Amy and Rory in A Good Man Goes to War. Following her dual role as Alaya and Restac in The Hungry Earth and Cold Blood, Neve McIntosh makes her first appearance as Vastra, with Catrin Stewart as Jenny and Dan Starkey as Strax.
21 March 2012 Press conference announcing Jenna Louise-Coleman as the Doctor’s new companion.
1 September 2012 Asylum of the Daleks sees the surprise first appearance of Jenna Louise-Coleman, in this story playing Oswin Oswald (aka ‘soufflé girl’).
29 September 2012 Amy and Rory depart from the Doctor’s life for ever, leaving the Time Lord heartbroken.
25 December 2012 Jenna Louise-Coleman makes her second appearance in Doctor Who. The Snowmen sees her playing Clara Oswin Oswald – but how is she linked to soufflé girl? The Great Intelligence encounters the Doctor for the very first time.
23 November 2013 The 50th anniversary of Doctor Who. The adventure continues…
TWO
EVERYONE’S FAVOURITE TIME LORD
THE MANY LIVES AND CHANGING FACES OF THE DOCTOR
‘I’m the Doctor. Well, they call me “the Doctor”, I don’t know why; I call me “the Doctor” too, still don’t know why.’
The Doctor, The Lodger
For a man of mystery, we know an awful lot about the Doctor. His lucky number is 7 (or 74,384,338 depending on when you ask him), his favourite type of jazz is straight blowing, and he tries never to land the TARDIS on a Sunday. But what else is known about Gallifrey’s most famous son?
FIRST AND LAST WORDS
THE FIRST DOCTOR
First: ‘What are you doing here?’
Last: ‘Ah, yes! Thank you. It’s good. Keep warm.’
THE SECOND DOCTOR
First: ‘Slower! Slower! Concentrate on one thing. One thing!’
Last: ‘No! Stop! You’re making me giddy! No, you can’t do this to me! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no…’
THE THIRD DOCTOR
First: ‘Shoes. Must find my shoes.’
Last: ‘A tear, Sarah Jane? No, don’t cry. While there’s life there’s…’
THE FOURTH DOCTOR
First: ‘… typical Sontaran attitude… stop Linx… perverting the course of human history… I tell you, Brigadier, there’s nothing to worry about. The brontosaurus is large and placid… And stupid! If the square on the hypotenuse equals the sum of the square on the other two sides, why is a mouse when it spins? Never did know the answer to that one.’
Last: ‘It’s the end. But the moment has been prepared for.’
THE FIFTH DOCTOR
First: ‘I… Oh.’
Last: ‘Might regenerate. I don’t know. Feels different this time… Adric?’
THE SIXTH DOCTOR
First: ‘You were expecting someone else?’
Last: Unknown (although he is heard uttering ‘Carrot juice, carrot juice, carrot juice’ at the end of The Trial of a Time Lord)
THE SEVENTH DOCTOR
First: ‘Oh no, Mel.’
Last: ‘Timing malfunction! The Master, he’s out there! He’s out there… I know… I’ve got to stop… him…’
THE EIGHTH DOCTOR
First: ‘Who am I? Who am I?’
Last: Unknown (although he is heard saying ‘Oh no. Not again!’ at the end of Doctor Who)
THE NINTH DOCTOR
First: ‘Run!’
Last: ‘Rose… before I go, I just wanna tell you, you were fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. And do you know what? So was I!’
THE TENTH DOCTOR
First: ‘Hello! Okay— oh. New teeth. That’s weird. So, where was I? Oh, that’s right. Barcelona!’
Last: ‘I don’t want to go!’
THE ELEVENTH DOCTOR
First: ‘Legs! Still got legs, good!! Arms, hands. Ooh, fingers. Lots of fingers. Ears? Yes. Eyes: two. Nose… I’ve had worse. Chin – blimey! Hair… I’m a girl! No! No! I’m not a girl! And still not ginger! There’s something else. Something… important, I’m… I’m-I’m… Ha-ha! Crashing! Geronimo!!’
Last: Unknown.
DOCTOR WHO – THE ORIGINAL TRAILER
‘My name is William Hartnell and, as Doctor Who, I make my debut on Saturday the 23rd of November at 5.15.
The Doctor is an extraordinary old man from another world who owns a time and space machine.
He and his granddaughter, Susan (played by Carole Ann Ford) have landed in England and are enjoying their stay, until Susan arouses the curiosity of two of her schoolteachers (played by William Russell and Jacqueline Hill). They follow Susan and get inside the Ship and Doctor Who decides to leave Earth, starting a series of adventures which I know will thrill and excite you every week.’
Doctor Who radio trailer, November 1963
THE DOCTOR BY NUMBERS
In how many stories or episodes does each Doctor appear? Not counting images from brain scans, mind-wrestling contests or data stamps, here’s a rundown for each incarnation – plus the various other times they popped up in televised minisodes, red-button stories and animated adventures.
WHO’S WHO – THE TWELVE DOCTORS
From William Hartnell to Matt Smith, each actor to play the Doctor has brought their own unique take on the part. But what other roles are on their CV, and how were they cast as the Doctor? Wonderful chaps, all of them…
WILLIAM HARTNELL – THE FIRST DOCTOR
Full name: William Henry Hartnell
Born: 8 January 1908, St Pancras, London
Died: 23 April 1975, Marden, Kent
First Screen Appearance: Say it with Music (1932)
First regular Doctor Who appearance: An Unearthly Child Episode 1 (1963)
Final regular Doctor Who appearance: The Tenth Planet Episode 4 (1966)
Final guest Doctor Who appearance: The Three Doctors Episode 4, 20 January 1973
Before settling on acting, William ‘Billy’ Hartnell trained for various careers, including boxer and jockey. He made his theatre debut in the mid-1920s, and clocked up numerous screen roles from the early 1930s. Hartnell himself claimed he was stereotyped in hard-man roles, with a starring turn as Dallow in Brighton Rock (1947) amongst his notable work.
In 1958, Hartnell played the title role in Carry on Sergeant, the film that spawned the popular comedy series. It was a role not unlike Sgt Major Bullimore that Hartnell played in the ITV comedy The Army Game between 1957 and 1961. It was this role and that of a sports agent in the film This Sporting Life (1963) that brought Hartnell to the attention of a young BBC producer, Verity Lambert, who was casting the lead in a new family drama series in 1963.
William Hartnell defined Doctor Who, and Doctor Who defined his career away from the hard men he had been known for. He was a hero to a generation of children and over three years he laid the foundations for his ten successors.
Ill health ultimately forced Hartnell to give up the role he loved so much in 1966. Appropriately enough, his final TV work would see him return to Doctor Who in 1973 to celebrate the series’ 10th anniversary in The Three Doctors, alongside Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee.
Until the broadcast of The Snowmen, the First Doctor was the incarnation that boasted the most televised stories set in the past. In 2013, the Eleventh Doctor will take the lead. Just.
PATRICK TROUGHTON – THE SECOND DOCTOR
Full Name: Patrick George Troughton
Born: 25 March, 1920, Mill Hill, London
Died: 28 March 1987, Columbus, Georgia, USA
First Screen Appearance: Hamlet (1947)
First regular Doctor Who appearance: The Tenth Planet Episode 4 (1966)
Final regular Doctor Who appearance: The War Games Episode 10 (1969)
Final guest Doctor Who appearance: The Two Doctors Part 3 (1985) Performing in a production of JB Priestley’s Be
es on the Boat Deck while a pupil at Mill Hill School gave a young Patrick Troughton his passion for acting. He attended the Embassy School of Acting, which ultimately led to a scholarship in New York.
Troughton returned to Britain at the outbreak of the Second World War, briefly entering theatre rep before joining the Royal Navy. After the war, the actor wasted no time getting back to the theatre, before film and television roles appeared on his CV. Television was his first love, and he had the distinction in 1953 to be the first actor to play Robin Hood on TV.
In 1966, he was offered the chance to take over from William Hartnell in Doctor Who. Troughton possibly had the most difficult task of any incoming Doctor, being the first to follow the original and much-loved first Doctor. It was a huge success and the concept of regenerating the Doctor was established.
Troughton remained in the role for three years, but his fear of typecasting and the punishing schedule influenced his decision to leave in 1969. Just as he had before Doctor Who, the actor worked tirelessly, for example clocking up roles in the children’s drama The Feathered Serpent (1976), as Father Brennan in The Omen (1976) and as Cole Hawkins in The Box of Delights (1984).
Always a private man, Troughton largely shied away from the publicity that Doctor Who brought, although he reprised the Doctor a total of three times. He passed away in 1987 while attending a Doctor Who convention in America.