The Doctor Who Production Diary: 1989

January
4 Debut broadcast of The Greatest Show In The Galaxy episode four on BBC One The Greatest Show In The
Galaxy
11 Rona Munro is commissioned to write the final two episodes of Survival Survival

February
14 Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran calls for the death of British Indian author Salman Rushdie on the grounds that his novel The Satanic Verses commits blasphemy against Islam
14 Nicholas Courtney is contracted for Battlefield Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart
14 Anthony Ainley is contracted for Survival The
Master

March
13 Sylvester McCoy is contracted for Season Twenty-Six, with an option for Season Twenty-Seven The Seventh Doctor
24 The tanker Exxon Valdez runs aground in Alaska's Prince William Sound, spilling a quarter of a million barrels of oil

April
3 Recording for The Curse Of Fenric takes place in Crowborough, East Sussex The Curse Of Fenric
4 Recording for The Curse Of Fenric takes place in Crowborough, East Sussex The Curse Of Fenric
5 Recording for The Curse Of Fenric takes place in Crowborough, East Sussex The Curse Of Fenric
6 Recording for The Curse Of Fenric takes place in Crowborough, East Sussex The Curse Of Fenric
7 Recording for The Curse Of Fenric takes place in Crowborough, East Sussex The Curse Of Fenric
8 Recording for The Curse Of Fenric takes place in Crowborough, East Sussex The Curse Of Fenric
11 Recording for The Curse Of Fenric takes place in Crowborough, East Sussex The Curse Of Fenric
12 Death of Gerald Flood (bio), who provided the voice for Kamelion
12 Recording for The Curse Of Fenric takes place in Hawkhurst, Kent The Curse Of Fenric
13 Recording for The Curse Of Fenric takes place in Hawkhurst, Kent The Curse Of Fenric
14 Recording for The Curse Of Fenric takes place in Hawkhurst, Kent The Curse Of Fenric
15 Poor decision-making by police at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire causes a crush which results in the deaths of ninety-six Liverpool supporters prior to an FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest
15 Recording for The Curse Of Fenric takes place in Hawkhurst, Kent The Curse Of Fenric
18 Recording for The Curse Of Fenric takes place at Lulworth Cove, Dorset The Curse Of Fenric
19 Recording for The Curse Of Fenric takes place at Lulworth Cove, Dorset The Curse Of Fenric
20 Recording for The Curse Of Fenric takes place at Lulworth Cove, Dorset The Curse Of Fenric
22 Death of Kenny McBain (bio), director

May
6 Recording for Battlefield takes place in Buckinghamshire, at Fulmer and Wexham Battlefield
7 Recording for Battlefield takes place in Stamford, Cambridgeshire Battlefield
8 Recording for Battlefield takes place in Hambleton, Leicestershire Battlefield
9 Recording for Battlefield is cancelled due to industrial action Battlefield
10 Recording for Battlefield is cancelled due to industrial action Battlefield
11 Recording for Battlefield takes place in Hambleton, Leicestershire Battlefield
13 Recording for Battlefield takes place near Colsterworth, Lincolnshire Battlefield
14 Recording for Battlefield takes place in Lincolnshire, near Colsterworth and at Ketton Battlefield
15 Recording for Battlefield takes place in Hambleton, Leicestershire Battlefield
16 Recording for Battlefield takes place in Hambleton, Leicestershire Battlefield
17 Recording for Battlefield takes place in Hambleton, Leicestershire Battlefield
30 Recording for Battlefield takes place at BBC Television Centre Studio 3 in White City, London Battlefield
31 Recording for Battlefield takes place at BBC Television Centre Studio 3 in White City, London Battlefield

June
1 Recording for Battlefield takes place at BBC Television Centre Studio 3 in White City, London Battlefield
4 A government crackdown brings a violent end to the student-led Tiananmen Square protests in Beijing, China
10 Recording for Survival takes place in Perivale, London Survival
11 Recording for Survival takes place in London, at Perivale and West Ealing Survival
12 Recording for Survival takes place in Perivale, London Survival
13 Recording for Survival takes place in Perivale, London Survival
14 Recording for Survival takes place in Sudbury Hill, London Survival
15 Recording for Survival takes place in Perivale, London Survival
18 Recording for Survival takes place in Warmwell, Dorset Survival
19 Recording for Survival takes place in Warmwell, Dorset Survival
20 Recording for Survival takes place in Warmwell, Dorset Survival
21 Recording for Ghost Light takes place in Weymouth, Dorset Ghost Light
21 Recording for Survival takes place in Warmwell, Dorset Survival
22 Recording for Survival takes place in Warmwell, Dorset Survival
23 Recording for Survival takes place in Warmwell, Dorset Survival

July
12 Philip David Segal of Columbia Pictures first telephones the BBC to discuss a co-production deal for Doctor Who The Eighth Doctor
18 Recording for Ghost Light takes place at BBC Television Centre Studio 3 in White City, London Ghost Light
19 Recording for Ghost Light takes place at BBC Television Centre Studio 3 in White City, London Ghost Light

August
1 Recording for Ghost Light takes place at BBC Television Centre Studio 3 in White City, London Ghost Light
2 Recording for Ghost Light takes place at BBC Television Centre Studio 3 in White City, London Ghost Light
3 Recording for Ghost Light takes place at BBC Television Centre Studio 3 in White City, London Ghost Light
24 Cincinnati Reds great Pete Rose accepts a lifetime ban from baseball due to allegations that he bet on the game while he was a manager

September
6 Debut broadcast of Battlefield episode one on BBC One Battlefield
11 John Nathan-Turner informs Sylvester McCoy that his contract option for Season Twenty-Seven will not be taken up The Seventh Doctor
11 John Nathan-Turner informs Sophie Aldred that her contract option for Season Twenty-Seven will not be taken up Ace
13 Debut broadcast of Battlefield episode two on BBC One Battlefield
20 Debut broadcast of Battlefield episode three on BBC One Battlefield
27 Debut broadcast of Battlefield episode four on BBC One Battlefield

October
1 Denmark becomes the first nation to legally enact civil unions for same-sex partners
4 Debut broadcast of Ghost Light episode one on BBC One Ghost Light
11 Debut broadcast of Ghost Light episode two on BBC One Ghost Light
18 Debut broadcast of Ghost Light episode three on BBC One Ghost Light
18 Columbia Pictures tenders a formal offer to co-produce Doctor Who with the BBC The Eighth Doctor
25 Debut broadcast of The Curse Of Fenric episode one on BBC One The Curse Of Fenric
27 The BBC defers a decision on the co-production deal with Columbia Pictures until at least 1990 The Eighth Doctor

November
1 Debut broadcast of The Curse Of Fenric episode two on BBC One The Curse Of Fenric
8 Debut broadcast of The Curse Of Fenric episode three on BBC One The Curse Of Fenric
9 The dismantling of the Berlin Wall begins; it is part of a series of events which sees the dissolution of the Communist grip on Eastern Europe
15 Debut broadcast of The Curse Of Fenric episode four on BBC One The Curse Of Fenric
22 Debut broadcast of Survival episode one on BBC One Survival
23 Peter Cregeen, the BBC's Head of Series and Serials, confirms in the Radio Times that Season Twenty-Seven has been postponed, but promises that Doctor Who has not been cancelled The Seventh Doctor
29 Debut broadcast of Survival episode two on BBC One Survival
29 Philip David Segal begins discussions with the BBC and Coast to Coast, holders of the Doctor Who feature film rights, about the possibility of their movie serving as a television pilot in North America; talks peter out when Segal leaves Columbia Pictures The Eighth Doctor

December
3 At the conclusion of the Malta Summit, US President George HW Bush and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev effectively declare an end to the Cold War between their nations
6 Debut broadcast of Survival episode three on BBC One Survival