Above all, Who-ology is a love letter to one of the craziest shows on television. What is it about this mad science-fantasy series that fans get excited about UNIT call-signs or how many episodes Sarah Jane Smith appeared in? After scouring over 200 stories, we still don’t have the answer, but we do know how many times the Daleks say ‘Exterminate’.
Happy Times and Places,
Cavan Scott and Mark Wright
A note about stories and statistics
The statistics in this book include all regular televised episodes and stories of Doctor Who between An Unearthly Child (1963) and The Snowmen (2012), not including the untelevised story Shada (1979).
ONE
THE 50-YEAR DIARY
A DOCTOR WHO TIMELINE
‘I tried keeping a diary once. Not chronological, of course. But the trouble with time travel is, one never seems to find the time.’
The Doctor, The Caves of Androzani
The Doctor’s adventures began in a junkyard at 76 Totter’s Lane on 23 November 1963, where an impossible police box awaited two inquisitive school teachers. It was the beginning of the trip of a lifetime.
Since then, there have been many firsts and lasts, comings and goings, tearful farewells and exciting new beginnings. Tales of what went on behind the scenes on Doctor Who are as compelling as the Doctor’s on-screen adventures.
A man is the sum of his memories, a Time Lord even more so… Who-ology presents the 50-year diary of Doctor Who.
March 1962–June 1963 The BBC initiates a survey of published science fiction to establish its relevance to television drama. A series of reports and meetings involving Head of Serials Donald Wilson and staff writers Alice Frick, John Braybon and CE ‘Bunny’ Webber culminates in the detailed development of a new science fiction drama serial. Sydney Newman, the BBC’s new Head of Drama, and CE Webber subsequently produce a proposal document under the title ‘Dr Who: General Notes on Background and Approach’. Newman goes on to appoint Verity Lambert as Doctor Who’s series producer.
12 July 1963 Actor William Hartnell attends a lunch with Verity Lambert and director Waris Hussein to discuss playing the Doctor. Initially reluctant, Hartnell eventually agrees to the offer.
27 September 1963 Studio recording takes place at the BBC’s Lime Grove Studios, London, for the very first episode, An Unearthly Child. Head of Drama Sydney Newman is unhappy with the result and orders that the episode be recorded again.
18 October 1963 A second version of An Unearthly Child is recorded at Lime Grove Studios using a revised script.
21 November 1963 The Radio Times, the BBC’s listing magazine, previews Doctor Who for the very first time.
23 November 1963 The first episode of Doctor Who is broadcast at 5.16pm and watched by 4.4 million people.
21 December 1963 An early Christmas present as the Daleks make their first appearance. In fact audiences only see a plunger held by Assistant Floor Manager Michael Ferguson, who would later direct several Doctor Who stories.
1 February 1964 The final episode of The Daleks is watched by an audience of 10.4 million, more than double that of An Unearthly Child ten weeks before.
13 February 1964Doctor Who features for the first time on the cover of the listings magazine Radio Times. The series will make the cover more times than any other television programme over the next 50 years.
22 February 1964 Marco Polo becomes the first historical figure to be depicted in Doctor Who.
15 August 1964 The second episode of The Reign of Terror features the first ever use of location footage in the series as elements of the story are shot outside the confines of the TV studio.
12 September 1964 The first season of Doctor Who comes to an end.
31 October 1964 After a seven-week break, Doctor Who returns for its second season with Planet of Giants.
November 1964Doctor Who in an Exciting Adventure with the Daleks, the first Doctor Who novelisation, is published.
21 November 1964 The Daleks make their second appearance in the series – this time invading future Earth.
26 December 1964 Carole Ann Ford makes her final appearance as the Doctor’s granddaughter Susan, marking the first departure of a companion.
2 January 1965 The first time the Doctor uses the term ‘materialise’ to describe the TARDIS landing.
26 June 1965 The final appearances of William Russell and Jacqueline Hill as Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright, leaving room for the Doctor Who debut of companion Steven Taylor, played by Peter Purves.
17 July 1965 The first appearance in the series of a TARDIS other than the Doctor’s. The TARDIS belongs to a mysterious monk, played by Peter Butterworth. The Monk is the first member of the Doctor’s own people to appear apart from Susan.
23 August 1965 The cinema release of Dr. Who and the Daleks, the first of two big-screen adventures starring Peter Cushing as ‘Dr Who’. In colour!
September 1965 The first publication of The Dr Who Annual by World Distributors, priced 9s 6d. It contains text stories featuring TV monsters the Voord and the Zarbi, as well as puzzles and features.
9 October 1965 Broadcast of Mission to the Unknown, the first and only episode not to feature either the Doctor or any of his companions.
13 November 1965 The first appearance of actor Nicholas Courtney, here playing Bret Vyon. Courtney will go on to play a significant character in the Doctor’s lives.
4 December 1965 The first on-screen death of a companion, as Adrienne Hill’s Katarina is killed.
21 December 1965The Curse of the Daleks, a stage play by David Whitaker and Terry Nation, opens at London’s Wyndham’s Theatre.
25 December 1965Doctor Who’s first broadcast on Christmas Day, an event that will not be repeated until 2005.
28 May 1966 Broadcast of The Savages Episode 1. Up to now each episode has been given individual titles; from now on, they are grouped together under story titles with numbered episodes.
6 August 1966 The official announcement to the press that William Hartnell is to leave the role of the Doctor. On this day, Patrick Troughton signs a contract to appear as the Doctor for 22 episodes.
8 October 1966 The Cybermen make their first appearance, giving Doctor Who its second enduring monster.
29 October 1966 In the closing minutes of The Tenth Planet, the Doctor regenerates for the first time (though that term won’t be used until the Third Doctor changes into the Fourth), and William Hartnell makes his final regular appearance in the series. Patrick Troughton briefly makes his Doctor Who debut.
5 November 1966 Patrick Troughton’s first full episode as the Doctor also sees the return of the Daleks.
17 December 1966 The first appearance of Frazer Hines as Jamie Macrimmon. He will clock up 113 regular episodes of Doctor Who, the most of any companion.