1968

1968 was an important year for the Time Lords. Cuthbert Simpson learned the randomiser code for the Doctor's TARDIS from Susan Seymour, (PROSE: The Banquo Legacy) allowing the Time Lords to track down the Eighth Doctor. (PROSE: The Ancestor Cell)

Events

February

• 21 - The Sixth Doctor left Henry Gordon Jago and Professor George Litefoot in the Red Tavern in London, mistakenly believing that it was the 1890s. (AUDIO: Voyage to the New World)

May

• Jack Harkness was present for the Parisian student riots. (PROSE: The Book of Jahi)

June

• 21 - The cryogenically frozen World War I soldier Tommy Brockless was revived, as he was on this date every year since 1919. Exploring the outside world, he was intrigued by the short skirts worn by young women. In 2008, he claimed it was as if all of his Christmases had come at once. (TV: To the Last Man)

July

• 18 - Lucia Moretti, a lover of Jack Harkness and the eventual mother of his daughter, began her work as a Torchwood agent. (TV: Children of Earth: Day Three)

December

• The BBC science fiction series Nightshade starring Edmund Trevithick as the title character was rebroadcast on BBC2. (PROSE: Nightshade, PROSE: The Left-Handed Hummingbird)
• 20 - Cristián Alvarez met the Seventh Doctor in London. (PROSE: The Left-Handed Hummingbird)
• 23 - The Sentience began stirring in Crook Marsham. (PROSE: Nightshade)
• 24 - The Seventh Doctor and Ace arrived in Crook Marsham and became involved in the fight against the Sentience. (PROSE: Nightshade)
• 25 - The final battle against the Sentience took place. It departed Crook Marsham. Actor Edmund Trevithick died in the incident. (PROSE: Nightshade)

Unknown dates

• The United Nations had established protocols for first contact with alien life by this time. (TV: The Sound of Drums)
• The Monk deposited £200 in a London bank, planning to withdraw it with compound interest in two hundred years. (TV: The Time Meddler)
• The Olympic Games were held in Mexico. (TV: The Underwater Menace)
• An attempt by the Cybermen to build a Cyber City on Earth was defeated by the Second Doctor, John and Gillian. (COMIC: The Cyber Empire)
• Henry Gordon Jago and George Litefoot ended up in 1968 after being left by the Sixth Doctor in the wrong time period. (AUDIO: Voyage to the New World)

Behind the scenes

January

• 06 - TV: The Enemy of the World Episode 3 was first broadcast.
• 13 - TV: The Enemy of the World Episode 4 was first broadcast.
• 20 - TV: The Enemy of the World Episode 5 was first broadcast.
• 27 - TV: The Enemy of the World Episode 6 was first broadcast. The episode was followed by a specially shot scene of the Second Doctor on the London Underground set addressing the viewers about the events of the next story, The Web of Fear.

February

• 01 - Tom Baker made his TV acting debut in an episode of Market in Honey Lane.
• 03 - TV: The Web of Fear Episode 1 was first broadcast.
• 10 - TV: The Web of Fear Episode 2 was first broadcast.
• 17 - TV: The Web of Fear Episode 3 was first broadcast. This was the first appearance of Nicholas Courtney as Col. (later Brigadier) Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, a character that became a regular part of the Doctor Who universe for the next forty years.
• 24 - TV: The Web of Fear Episode 4 was first broadcast.
• 25 - Actor Mark Griffin was born.

March

• 2 - TV: The Web of Fear Episode 5 was first broadcast.
• 3 - Scientist Brian Cox was born.
• 9 - TV: The Web of Fear Episode 6 was first broadcast.
• 16 - TV: Fury from the Deep Episode 1 was first broadcast.
• 23 - TV: Fury from the Deep Episode 2 was first broadcast.
• 30 - TV: Fury from the Deep Episode 3 was first broadcast.

April

• 04 - Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated.
• 06 - TV: Fury from the Deep Episode 4 was first broadcast.
• 6 - Actor Keith Pyott died.
• 13 - TV: Fury from the Deep Episode 5 was first broadcast.
• 20 - TV: Fury from the Deep Episode 6 was first broadcast. Deborah Watling left the series with this episode.
• 23 - Actor Ricky Groves was born.
• 27 - TV: The Wheel in Space Episode 1 was first broadcast.

May

• 04 - TV: The Wheel in Space Episode 2 was first broadcast. This was the debut of Wendy Padbury as new companion Zoe Heriot.
• 11 - TV: The Wheel in Space Episode 3 was first broadcast.
• 12 - Actress Catherine Tate was born.
• 18 - TV: The Wheel in Space Episode 4 was first broadcast.
• 25 - TV: The Wheel in Space Episode 5 was first broadcast.
• 28 - Actress Kylie Minogue was born.

June

• 01 - TV: The Wheel in Space Episode 6 was first broadcast, concluding the fifth season of Doctor Who. The episode ended with the Second Doctor showing Zoe a recording of a recent adventure, leading into a rebroadcast of TV: The Evil of the Daleks which filled the gap before the start of the next season.
• 06 - Robert Kennedy was assassinated.
• 7 - Actress Sarah Parish was born.
• 28 - Actor Adam Woodyatt was born.

August

• 5 - Writer Matt Jones was born.
• 10 - TV: The Dominators Episode 1 was first broadcast, launching Season 6.
• 17 - TV: The Dominators Episode 2 was first broadcast.
• 17 - Actress Helen McCrory was born.
• 24 - TV: The Dominators Episode 3 was first broadcast.
• 31 - TV: The Dominators Episode 4 was first broadcast.

September

• The fourth Doctor Who Annual was published.
• 07 - TV: The Dominators Episode 5 was first broadcast.
• 8 - Actress Louise Minchin was born.
• 14 - TV: The Mind Robber Episode 1 was first broadcast.
• 21 - TV: The Mind Robber Episode 2 was first broadcast.
• 28 - TV: The Mind Robber Episode 3 was first broadcast.

October

• Frazer Hines released the pop single "Who's Dr. Who?" on Major Minor Records.
• 05 - TV: The Mind Robber Episode 4 was first broadcast.
• 09 - Actor James Dreyfus was born.
• 12 - TV: The Mind Robber Episode 5 was first broadcast, followed by several weeks of preemptions caused by coverage of the 1968 Summer Olympic Games in Mexico City.
• 12 - Actor Mark Donovan was born.

November

• 02 - TV: The Invasion Episode 1 was first broadcast. Terrance Dicks' long association with the Doctor Who franchise began with this episode, on which he served as script editor. Although the character was not yet identified by name, John Levene made his debut as John Benton.
• 09 - TV: The Invasion Episode 2 was first broadcast, in which UNIT was officially introduced. Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart appeared as a brigadier for the first time, though he did not become a regular until 1970.
• 16 - TV: The Invasion Episode 3 was first broadcast.
• 19 - Actor Mark Bonnar was born.
• 23 - TV: The Invasion Episode 4 was first broadcast. This was the show's fifth anniversary.
• 30 - TV: The Invasion Episode 5 was first broadcast.

December

• 07 - TV: The Invasion Episode 6 was first broadcast.
• 14 - TV: The Invasion Episode 7 was first broadcast.
• 18 - Actress Nina Wadia was born.
• 21 - TV: The Invasion Episode 8 was first broadcast. Except for minor references, this was the last appearance of the Cybermen until TV: Revenge of the Cybermen in 1975.
• 28 - TV: The Krotons Episode 1 was first broadcast. This was the first Doctor Who script for the prolific Robert Holmes.

See also

• Stories set in 1968