The Doctor Who Production Diary: 1981
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3 |
Debut broadcast of Warriors' Gate episode one on
BBC One |
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8 |
Recording for Logopolis takes place at BBC
Television Centre Studio 3 in White City, London |
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9 |
Recording for Logopolis takes place at BBC
Television Centre Studio 3 in White City, London |
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10 |
Debut broadcast of Warriors' Gate episode two on
BBC One |
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17 |
Debut broadcast of Warriors' Gate episode three
on BBC One |
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22 |
Recording for Logopolis takes place at BBC
Television Centre Studio 6 in White City, London |
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23 |
Recording for Logopolis takes place at BBC
Television Centre Studio 6 in White City, London |
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24 |
Debut broadcast of Warriors' Gate episode four on
BBC One |
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24 |
Recording for Logopolis takes place at BBC
Television Centre Studio 6 in White City, London |
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26 |
Director Paul Joyce writes to John
Nathan-Turner to apologise for the chaos surrounding the production of
Warriors' Gate |
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31 |
Debut broadcast of The Keeper Of Traken episode
one on BBC One |
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6 |
Christopher Priest is commissioned to
write “The Enemy
Within”, which is planned to culminate in the death of Adric,
while Tanith Lee is commissioned to write an untitled story |
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7 |
Debut broadcast of The Keeper Of Traken episode
two on BBC One |
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9 |
Terence Dudley is commissioned to write
Black Orchid |
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14 |
Debut broadcast of The Keeper Of Traken episode
three on BBC One |
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18 |
Sarah Sutton's contract is extended to
include twenty-four episodes during Season Nineteen |
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18 |
Janet Fielding is contracted for the
whole of Season Nineteen |
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19 |
Practical considerations force John
Flanagan and Andrew McCulloch's “Project Zeta-Sigma”
to be dropped from the schedule; it is subsequently abandoned |
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20 |
Peter Davison's contract for Season
Nineteen is amended to reflect its reduction from twenty-eight episodes
to twenty-six, accommodating the production of the special K·9 & Company |
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21 |
Debut broadcast of The Keeper Of Traken episode
four on BBC One |
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25 |
Matthew Waterhouse's contract is
extended to include a minimum of twenty episodes during Season
Nineteen |
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28 |
Debut broadcast of Logopolis episode one on BBC One |
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early Mar |
John Nathan-Turner decides to keep Nyssa
through at least the end of Season Nineteen, but write out Adric during
the year |
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7 |
Debut broadcast of Logopolis episode two on BBC One |
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9 |
Christopher H Bidmead is commissioned to
provide a storyline for Castrovalva |
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14 |
Debut broadcast of Logopolis episode three on
BBC One |
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21 |
Debut broadcast of Logopolis episode four on BBC One |
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28 |
Birth of Gareth David-Lloyd (bio), who played Ianto
Jones |
30 |
American President Ronald Reagan and three
others are shot and wounded by would-be assassin John Hickley, Jr |
8 |
Christopher H Bidmead is commissioned to
write Castrovalva |
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12 |
The space shuttle era begins as
Columbia is launched; it returns to Earth two days later |
13 |
Recording for Four To Doomsday takes place at BBC
Television Centre Studio 6 in White City, London |
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14 |
Recording for Four To Doomsday takes place at BBC
Television Centre Studio 6 in White City, London |
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15 |
Recording for Four To Doomsday takes place at BBC
Television Centre Studio 6 in White City, London |
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mid Apr |
Eric Saward replaces Antony Root as the
interim script editor of Doctor Who |
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23 |
Lesley Elizabeth Thomas is commissioned
to provide a storyline for “Way Down Yonder”,
which was intended to feature location filming in the southern United
States |
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28 |
Recording for Four To Doomsday takes place at BBC
Television Centre Studio 6 in White City, London |
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29 |
Recording for Four To Doomsday takes place at BBC
Television Centre Studio 6 in White City, London |
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30 |
Recording for Four To Doomsday takes place at BBC
Television Centre Studio 6 in White City, London |
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1 |
Recording for The Visitation takes place at the
BBC Television Film Studios in Ealing, London |
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5 |
Bobby Sands dies in prison following a
66-day hunger strike over the rights of Irish Republican Army convicts,
during which he was elected to Parliament |
5 |
Recording for The Visitation takes place in
Fulmer, Buckinghamshire |
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6 |
Recording for The Visitation takes place in
Fulmer, Buckinghamshire |
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7 |
Recording for The Visitation takes place in
Fulmer, Buckinghamshire |
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8 |
Recording for The Visitation takes place in
Hurley, Berkshire |
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13 |
Turkish assassin Mehmet Ali Ağca
shoots Pope John Paul II four times, though the pontiff survives |
15 |
John Nathan-Turner circulates a
character outline for new companion Turlough |
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20 |
Recording for The Visitation takes place at BBC
Television Centre Studio 3 in White City, London |
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21 |
Recording for The Visitation takes place at BBC
Television Centre Studio 3 in White City, London |
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27 |
Death of Kit Pedler (bio), writer |
3 |
Recording for The Visitation takes place at BBC
Television Centre Studio 3 in White City, London |
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4 |
Recording for The Visitation takes place at BBC
Television Centre Studio 3 in White City, London |
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5 |
Recording for The Visitation takes place at BBC
Television Centre Studio 3 in White City, London |
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12 |
Raiders Of The Lost Ark, starring
Harrison Ford as archaeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones, is released
in theatres |
27 |
The Sun is the first to report on
the BBC's decision, made in the spring, to move Doctor Who away
from Saturday teatime; it will now air twice-weekly on Monday and
Tuesday evenings |
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29 |
By now, Antony Root has decided not to
return to Doctor Who and Eric Saward has agreed to a permanent
appointment as script editor; permission is sought for Saward to
write Earthshock in the gap
between contracts, as a replacement for Christopher Priest's “The Enemy
Within” |
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17 |
Christopher Priest's “The Enemy Within” is
formally abandoned |
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24 |
Eric Saward is commissioned to
write Earthshock |
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29 |
Prince Charles weds Lady Diana Spencer at
St Paul's Cathedral |
29 |
Recording for Kinda takes place at BBC Television
Centre Studio 8 in White City, London |
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30 |
Recording for Kinda takes place at BBC Television
Centre Studio 8 in White City, London |
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31 |
Recording for Kinda takes place at BBC Television
Centre Studio 8 in White City, London |
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3 |
With Doctor Who airing during the
winter for Season Nineteen, John Nathan-Turner asks Head of Series and
Serials David Reid to reschedule Season Twenty to an autumn start to
concide with the programme's twentieth anniversary in November 1983 |
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10 |
Stephen Gallagher is commissioned to
provide a storyline for Terminus |
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12 |
Recording for Kinda takes place at BBC Television
Centre Studio 8 in White City, London |
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13 |
Recording for Kinda takes place at BBC Television
Centre Studio 8 in White City, London |
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14 |
Recording for Kinda takes place at BBC Television
Centre Studio 8 in White City, London |
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25 |
In response to John Nathan-Turner's memo
of August 3rd, the Controller of Programmes for BBC One, Alan Hart,
suggests that Doctor Who's twentieth anniversary be commemmorated
with a celebratory special |
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1 |
Recording for Castrovalva takes place in
Duddleswell, East Sussex |
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2 |
Recording for Castrovalva takes place in
Withyham, East Sussex |
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3 |
Recording for Castrovalva takes place in
Withyham, East Sussex |
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4 |
Recording for Castrovalva takes place in
Groombridge, East Sussex |
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7 |
Pat Mills and John Wagner are
commissioned to provide a storyline for “The Song Of The Space
Whale” |
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15 |
Recording for Castrovalva takes place at BBC
Television Centre Studio 3 in White City, London |
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16 |
Recording for Castrovalva takes place at BBC
Television Centre Studio 3 in White City, London |
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22 |
Barbara Clegg is commissioned to provide
a storyline for Enlightenment |
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22 |
Bill Lyons is commissioned to provide a
storyline for “Parasites” |
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28 |
Christopher Bailey is commissioned to
provide a storyline for Snakedance |
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29 |
Recording for Castrovalva takes place at BBC
Television Centre Studio 6 in White City, London |
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30 |
Recording for Castrovalva takes place at BBC
Television Centre Studio 6 in White City, London |
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30 |
Christopher Bailey is asked to provide
four minutes' worth of extra material for Kinda after the final episode is
found to be severely underrunning |
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1 |
Anthony Ainley is contracted for Time-Flight |
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1 |
Recording for Castrovalva takes place at BBC
Television Centre Studio 6 in White City, London |
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5 |
Recording for Black Orchid takes place in
Quainton, Buckinghamshire |
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6 |
Egyptian President Anwar Sadat is killed by
soldiers who oppose diplomatic relations with Israel; he is succeeded by
Hosni Mubarak |
6 |
Recording for Black Orchid takes place in
Withyam, East Sussex |
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7 |
Recording for Black Orchid takes place in
Withyam, East Sussex |
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8 |
Recording for Black Orchid takes place in
Withyam, East Sussex |
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9 |
Recording for Black Orchid takes place in
Withyam, East Sussex |
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15 |
Stephen Gallagher is commissioned to
write episode one of Terminus |
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20 |
Recording for Black Orchid takes place at BBC
Television Centre Studio 3 in White City, London |
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21 |
Recording for Black Orchid takes place at BBC
Television Centre Studio 3 in White City, London |
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22 |
Barbara Clegg is commissioned to write
the first episode of Enlightenment |
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29 |
Recording for Earthshock takes place in
Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire |
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9 |
Christopher Bailey is commissioned to
write Snakedance |
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10 |
Recording for Earthshock takes place at BBC
Television Centre Studio 8 in White City, London |
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11 |
Recording for Kinda takes place at BBC Television
Centre Studio 8 in White City, London |
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11 |
Recording for Earthshock takes place at BBC
Television Centre Studio 8 in White City, London |
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12 |
Recording for Earthshock takes place at BBC
Television Centre Studio 8 in White City, London |
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23 |
Ronald Reagan authorises CIA support of
rebels in Nicaragua, beginning what would become known as the
Iran-Contra Affair |
24 |
Recording for Earthshock takes place at BBC
Television Centre Studio 8 in White City, London |
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25 |
Recording for Earthshock takes place at BBC
Television Centre Studio 8 in White City, London |
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26 |
Recording for Earthshock takes place at BBC
Television Centre Studio 8 in White City, London |
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late Nov |
John Nathan-Turner and Eric Saward are
given a demonstration of a prototype android developed by Chris Padmore
and Mike Power; they consider writing the robot into Doctor Who
as a new companion |
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2 |
Pat Mills and John Wagner are
commissioned to write “The
Song Of The Space Whale”; John Wagner subsequently withdraws
from the project, which is revised as the introductory story for new
companion Turlough |
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3 |
Stephen Gallagher is commissioned to
write the final three episodes of Terminus |
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15 |
Johnny Byrne submits a storyline for Arc Of Infinity |
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late Dec |
Terence Dudley is given a demonstration
of Chris Padmore and Mike Power's android as he develops The King's Demons |
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