The Doctor Who Production Diary: 1985
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1 |
Recording for Revelation Of The Daleks takes
place at BBC Television Centre Studio 8 in White City, London |
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2 |
Debut broadcast of The Mark Of The Rani episode one on
BBC One |
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5 |
Michael Feeney Callan is commissioned to
write “The Children Of
January” |
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6 |
Robert Holmes is commissioned to write
all three episodes of “Yellow
Fever And How To Cure It” |
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9 |
Debut broadcast of The Mark Of The Rani episode two on
BBC One |
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16 |
Debut broadcast of The Two Doctors episode one on
BBC One |
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19 |
The soap opera EastEnders debuts on
BBC One |
21 |
John Nathan-Turner and Eric Saward are
alerted to rumours that Doctor Who has been cancelled |
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23 |
Debut broadcast of The Two Doctors episode two on
BBC One |
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25 |
Jonathan Powell, the BBC's Head of Series
and Serials, informs John Nathan-Turner that the start of production on
Season Twenty-Three has been deferred from Spring 1985 to Spring
1986 |
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27 |
The British press leaks the news that
Doctor Who has been put on hiatus by the BBC |
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1 |
The BBC announces that Doctor Who
will return to television in September 1986, and will revert to
twenty-five-minute episodes |
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2 |
Debut broadcast of The Two Doctors episode three on
BBC One |
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9 |
Debut broadcast of Timelash episode one on
BBC One |
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11 |
Mikhail Gorbachev becomes the Soviet
Union's head of state |
11 |
Pip and Jane Baker are commissioned to
write “Gallifrey” |
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16 |
Debut broadcast of Timelash episode two on
BBC One |
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23 |
Debut broadcast of Revelation Of The Daleks episode
one on BBC One |
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30 |
Debut broadcast of Revelation Of The Daleks episode
two on BBC One |
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6 |
Rumours begin to circulate that Season
Twenty-Three will consist of fewer than the anticipated twenty-six
episodes |
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23 |
Coca-Cola changes its formula in North
America, resulting in a market backlash which forces the reintroduction
of the original recipe (initially branded “Coca-Cola
Classic”) within three months |
16 |
British scientists announce the discovery
of a hole in the ozone layer over the Antarctic |
late May |
With Season Twenty-Three having been
truncated to just fourteen twenty-five-minute episodes, the production
team obtains approval for a season-long story arc in which the Doctor is
put on trial by the Time Lords |
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24 |
Death of Valentine Dyall (bio), who played the Black
Guardian |
5 |
A character outline for new companion
Melanie Bush is distributed |
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5 |
A character outline for the Inquisitor is
distributed |
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5 |
A character outline for the Valeyard is
distributed |
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9 |
The intended writers for the new Season
Twenty-Three are assembled; it's decided that the “past”
segment and the conclusion will be written by Robert Holmes, the
“present” segment will be written by Philip Martin, and two
“future” segments will be written by David Halliwell and
Jack Trevor Story |
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13 |
Star-studded Live Aid benefit concerts are
held in London and Philadelphia, raising millions in support of
Ethiopian famine relief |
16 |
Terence Dudley offers to replace John
Nathan-Turner as producer of Doctor Who |
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26 |
Jack Trevor Story is commissioned to
write “The Second
Coming”, which will be linked to David Halliwell's “Attack From The
Mind” |
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25 |
Teenager Samantha Smith, who had gained
international attention when she accepted an offer from General
Secretary Yuri Andropov to visit the Soviet Union in 1983, is killed in
a plane crash |
18 |
Bill Watterson's daily comic strip
Calvin And Hobbes is first published |
28 |
Nicola Bryant is contracted for the first
eight episodes of Season Twenty-Three, after which Peri will be written
out of Doctor Who |
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15 |
Birth of Jamie Magnus Stone (bio), director |
18 |
After months of rumours, the BBC publicly
confirms that Season Twenty-Three will run to only fourteen
episodes |
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late Dec |
Bonnie Langford is contracted to play
Melanie Bush in the final eight episodes of Season Twenty-Three, with an
option for two additional seasons |
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