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* [[29 March (production)|29 March]] - [[British Broadcasting Corporation|BBC]] [[Head of Drama]] [[C. E. Webber]], on orders from [[Sydney Newman]], sent [[Science Fiction (report)|a report]] to [[Donald Wilson]], in which he described a potential [[science fiction]] programme which would eventually become ''[[Doctor Who]]''. The report described suitable characters for the "five-o’clock [[Saturday]] audience": [[Ian Chesterton|the handsome young man]], [[Barbara Wright|the handsome well-dressed heroine aged about 30]] and [[First Doctor|the mature man]]. The initial thought was of a [[laboratory]]-set programme with scientists for protagonists, although this was eventually scrapped in the next report.<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/archive/doctorwho/6402.shtml BBC Archives]</ref>
 
== January ==
* [[14 January (production)|14 January]] - [[Sydney Newman]] took over the role of [[BBC]] [[Head of Drama]].<ref>http://www.shannonsullivan.com/drwho/serials/a.html</ref>
 
== March ==
* [[29 March (production)|29 March]] - [[C. E. Webber]], on orders from Sydney Newman, sent [[Science Fiction (report)|a report]] to [[Donald Wilson]], in which he described a potential [[science fiction]] programme which would eventually become ''[[Doctor Who]]''. The report described suitable characters for the "five-o'clock [[Saturday]] audience": [[Ian Chesterton|the handsome young man]], [[Barbara Wright|the handsome well-dressed heroine aged about 30]] and [[First Doctor|the mature man]]. The initial thought was of a [[laboratory]]-set programme with scientists for protagonists, although this was eventually scrapped in the next report.<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/archive/doctorwho/6402.shtml BBC Archives]</ref>
 
== May ==
* [[16 May (production)|16 May]] - [[Dr. Who: General Notes on Background and Approach for an Exciting Adventure - Science Fiction Drama Series for Childrens Saturday Viewing|A document]], prepared by Donald Wilson and C. E. Webber and Sydney Newman, was submitted to [[Donald Baverstock]] which outlined the concept of a proposed programme called ''[[Doctor Who|Dr. Who]]''.
* [[16 May (production)|16 May]] - [[Dr. Who: General Notes on Background and Approach for an Exciting Adventure - Science Fiction Drama Series for Childrens Saturday Viewing|A document]], prepared by Donald Wilson and C. E. Webber and Sydney Newman, was submitted to [[Donald Baverstock]] which outlined the concept of a proposed programme called ''[[Doctor Who|Dr. Who]]''.
* [[20 August (production)|20 August]]-[[September (production)|September]] - Filming on "[[An Unearthly Child (episode)|An Unearthly Child]]", the first ever episode, began. The session involved the creation of the [[Title sequence|opening credits]]. This version of the first episode was beset by technical problems, and the BBC subsequently rejected it for broadcast, authorising a rare "do-over" for later in the year. The outcome of these filming sessions was later dubbed "[[the Pilot Episode]]".<ref>[[REF]]: ''[[The Television Companion]]''</ref>
 
* [[30 September (production)|30 September]] - After viewing the pilot episode, [[Sydney Newman]] officially rejected the Pilot Episode in a lunch meeting with [[Verity Lambert]] and [[Waris Hussein]] and authorised a remounting of the episode. According to Howe and Walker, this was a contingency that had been planned for. Over the next couple of weeks, numerous revisions to the script and changes to costuming and characterisation were undertaken.
== June ==
* [[24 June (production)|24 June]] - [[David Whitaker]] appointed as [[script editor]].<ref name=":1">[[REF]]: ''[[Doctor Who The Handbook: The First Doctor]]''</ref>
 
== July ==
* [[12 July (production)|12 July]] - [[William Hartnell]] met with [[Verity Lambert]] and [[Waris Hussein]] to disuss the part of the [[First Doctor]]. ([[INFO]]: "[[The Forest of Fear]]")
 
== August ==
* [[7 August (production)|7 August]] - William Hartnell has his first costume fitting and make up test.<ref name=":0">[[DWMSE 7]]</ref>
* [[12 August (production)|12 August]] - [[Director (crew)|Director]] [[Waris Hussein]] started the ball rolling with the [[BBC Radiophonic Workshop]], explaining to [[Brian Hodgson]] the need to find a good effect for the sound of the [[dematerialisation circuit|dematerialisation]] of [[The Doctor's TARDIS|the TARDIS]].
* 12 August - [[Donald Wilson]] wrote to [[Sydney Newman]] to once again impress upon his boss the importance of moving ''[[Doctor Who]]'' from [[Lime Grove Studios]] to [[BBC Television Centre]] and/or [[Riverside Studios]]. Said Wilson: "I feel most strongly that ''Dr. Who'' must from time to time explore the full range of technical resources, otherwise we shall lay ourselves open to criticism for lacking in imagination and boldness."
* [[13 August (production)|13 August]] - [[Sydney Newman]] replied to [[Donald Wilson]]'s memo of [[12 October (production)|the day previous]]. He claimed to entirely be on Wilson's side, and asserted that he was misled as to [[Lime Grove Studios|Lime Grove]]'s meagre production capabilities. Nevertheless, he acknowledged that they were in a pickle now that he agreed to Lime Grove on the basis of the misinformation he received. Newman said that he will "do the best [he] can" to get a studio that's capable of producing a story in which the TARDIS travellers are shrunk to miniature size. In the end, however, this story, eventually called ''[[Planet of Giants (TV story)|Planet of Giants]]'', was postponed even further than Wilson had envisaged in his memo to Newman.
* [[20 August (production)|20 August]] - Recording of some of the elements of the [[Title sequence|opening credits]].<ref name=":0" />
* [[21 August (production)|21 August]] - [[Jacqueline Hill]] went to [[BBC Television Centre]] for film tests of her make-up and costume as [[Barbara Wright]].
* 21 August - [[Producer]] [[Verity Lambert]] finally got a chance to have an extended conversation with [[designer (crew)|designer]] [[Peter Brachacki]] about the set design of ''[[An Unearthly Child (TV story)|An Unearthly Child]]''. He had, up to this date, been very busy with other projects, making it impossible for Lambert to express her design views.
* [[30 August (production)|30 August]] - [[Rex Tucker]] took a long-planned holiday to [[Majorca]]. This ended his stint in the ''Doctor Who'' production office. According to some reckonings, he was ''actually'' the series' first [[producer]], having been hired before [[Verity Lambert]]. Still, he never saw an on-screen credit until he directed [[Season 3 (Doctor Who 1963)|season 3]]'s ''[[The Gunfighters (TV story)|The Gunfighters]]''. Had the programme's production dates not been pushed back several times, he would have been the director of either ''[[An Unearthly Child (TV story)|An Unearthly Child]]'' or ''[[The Daleks (TV story)|The Daleks]]'' — both of which he did pre-production work on.
* [[31 August (production)|31 August]] - Further filming of opening credits elements at Studio 5 of TV Centre.<ref name=":0" /> (Though the two sessions cover most of the elements used in the title sequence, some other howlaround elements would ultimately be used from a previous BBC production in 1960, ''Tobias and the Angel''.<ref>https://twitter.com/tobyhadoke/status/1330940354623889408</ref><ref>https://tobyhadoke.podbean.com/e/doctor-who-too-much-information-10-the-pilot/ (from 0:05:55 onwards)</ref><ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nc7KDlyQgk</ref>)
 
== September ==
* [[3 September (production)|3 September]] - Title sequence assembled from the pre-existing and newly recorded elements by Richard Barclay at Ealing.<ref name=":0" />
* [[18 September (production)|18 September]] - The [[incidental music]] for ''[[An Unearthly Child (TV story)|An Unearthly Child]]'' was recorded by [[Norman Kay]] at the [[Camden Theatre]]. ([[INFO]]: ''An Unearthly Child'')
* [[20 September (production)|20 September]] - William Hartnell, Carole Ann Ford, Jacqueline Hill and William Russell all meet together for the first time, for a publicity photo shoot at TV Centre.<ref name=":0" />
* [[21 September (production)|21 September]] - Rehearsals for "An Unearthly Child" began at a Drill Hall on Uxbridge Road.<ref name=":0" />
* [[27 September (production)|27 September]] - The first episode, "An Unearthly Child" is recorded.<ref name=":0" /> This version of the first episode was beset by technical problems, and the BBC subsequently rejected it for broadcast, authorising a rare "do-over" for later in the year. The outcome of these filming sessions was later dubbed "[[the Pilot Episode]]".<ref>[[REF]]: ''[[The Television Companion]]''</ref>
 
== October ==
* [[4 October (production)|4 October]] - After viewing the pilot episode, [[Sydney Newman]] officially rejected the Pilot Episode in a lunch meeting with [[Verity Lambert]] and [[Waris Hussein]] and authorised a remounting of the episode.<ref name=":0" /> According to Howe and Walker, this was a contingency that had been planned for.<ref name=":1" /> Over the next couple of weeks, numerous revisions to the script and changes to costuming and characterisation were undertaken.
* [[9 October (production)|9]]-[[11 October (production)|11 October]] - Filming for "An Unearthly Child" restarted at [[Ealing Studios]] following September's false start.
* [[9 October (production)|9]]-[[11 October (production)|11 October]] - Filming for "An Unearthly Child" restarted at [[Ealing Studios]] following September's false start.
* [[23 November (production)|23 November]] - Likely the earliest ''[[Radio Times]]'' reference to the series occurred in the issue dated 23 November.
* [[10 October (production)|10 October]] - [[Donald Wilson]] wrote an extensive memo to [[Donald Baverstock]], [[Sydney Newman]], [[Joanna Spicer]] and [[Richard Levin]]. He passionately argued for a higher [[special effect]]s effort than the SFX department had apparently been prepared to give. He also pushed back against the apparent institutional sloth in deciding whether to go beyond the first four episodes. Wilson argued that the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' production team needed a longer commitment, due to extraordinary lead time necessary to produce the show.
* 11 October - [[Director (crew)|Director]] [[Christopher Barry]] outlined his initial thoughts on [[The Daleks (TV story)|serial B]] to [[script editor]] [[David Whitaker]]. At this stage they thought they were making a story called ''The Mutants'', but posterity would remember the story as ''The Daleks'' — the story that turned ''[[Doctor Who]]'' into "must see TV".
* [[14 October (production)|14 October]] - Rehearsals for the remount of "[[An Unearthly Child (episode)|An Unearthly Child]]" took place on this [[Monday]]. It was followed by three more days of rehearsal, leading up to recording on the evening of Friday [[18 October (production)|18 October]]. Though it wasn't the first rehearsal in ''Doctor Who'' history — the so-called [[The Pilot Episode|"pilot episode"]] had been rehearsed, of course — it was this week-long rehearsal period that set up the basic production pattern which would last for years afterwards.
* [[16 October (production)|16 October]] - [[Donald Baverstock]] ordered thirteen episodes of ''[[Doctor Who]]'', after being satisfied with the promise of the so-called "[[The Pilot Episode|pilot episode]]". At the same time he ordered [[John Mair]] to give him hard numbers about the cost of the series' [[special effect]]s. When those numbers proved shockingly high just a few days later, a mini-crisis briefly threatened to shut down the show.
* [[18 October (production)|18 October]] - Studio recording for [[An Unearthly Child (episode)|the very first ''Doctor Who'' episode]] took place at [[Lime Grove Studio D]].
* 18 October - [[Verity Lambert]] decided that [[designer (crew)|designer]] [[Peter Brachacki]] was unsuitable for ''[[Doctor Who]]'', and demanded a replacement. [[Barry Newbery]] and [[Raymond Cusick]] were considered, and got to work. Newbery's plans, however, were too costly for [[Donald Baverstock]], who sent a memo to [[Donald Wilson]] in complaint.
* 18 October - [[Director (crew)|Director]] [[Christopher Barry]] received the first attempts at the [[Dalek]] voices from [[J. N. Shearme]]. Two different approaches arrived through Barry's letterbox: one using computer synthesis and the other using a [[vocoder]]. Barry indicated he was particularly interested in the vocoder approach, but no final decision was taken on this day.
* [[25 October (production)|25 October]] - [[Margot Maxine]] became the first actor to walk off the set of ''Doctor Who'' when she refused to have her teeth blackened. An extra, she was to have played one of the cave people in "[[The Cave of Skulls]]"
* 25 October - [[Christopher Barry]] replied to [[J. N. Shearme]]'s [[18 October (production)|18 October]] message, informing him that the [[BBC]] had decided not to use ''either'' of the methods suggested for [[Dalek]] voices — [[vocoder]] and [[computer]] generation — and that most would be done live, in-studio.
* [[28 October (production)|28 October]] - Five days' worth of pre-filming for sequences in "[[The Daleks (TV story)|The Daleks]]" begins. The Dalek props were unavailable, so scenes involving them were delayed until late November.
* [[29 October (production)|29 October]] - [[John Mair]] sent a memo to [[Joanna Spicer]], detailing [[Season 1 (Doctor Who 1963)|season 1]]'s stories and their costs at the time. [[Donald Wilson]] and [[Verity Lambert]] met with Spicer, and agreed to go along with the earlier proposition made on [[22 October (production)|22 October]].
 
== November ==
* [[1 November (production)|1 November]] - The studio recording for "[[The Forest of Fear]]" took place at [[Lime Grove Studios]]. ([[INFO]]: "The Forest of Fear")
* [[8 November (production)|8 November]] - The studio recording for "[[An Unearthly Child (TV story)|The Firemaker]]" took place at Studio D of [[Lime Grove Studios]]. ([[INFO]]: "The Firemaker")
* [[11 November (production)|11 November]] - Pre-filming for "[[The Expedition]]" took place at [[Ealing Studios]]. ([[INFO]]: "The Expedition")
* [[15 November (production)|15 November]] - Studio recording for "[[The Dead Planet]]" took place at [[Lime Grove Studios]]. However, the episode was beset by technical faults, forcing it to be re-recorded on [[6 December (production)|6 December]]. ([[INFO]]: "The Dead Planet")
* [[16 November (production)|16 November]] - The first-ever [[television]] trailer for ''[[Doctor Who]]'' was broadcast.
* [[21 November (production)|21 November]] - The first ever ''[[Doctor Who]]'' press conference was held to launch the new show. All four lead actors and [[David Whitaker]] attended the event at [[BBC]] {{w|Langham}}.
* 21 November - ''[[Radio Times]]'' published an article announcing the debut of ''Doctor Who'', dated [[23 November (production)|23 November]]. This was the first ''Doctor Who''-related article ever published.
* [[26 November (production)|26 November]] - New models shot of the [[Dalek City]] for the remade version of "[[The Dead Planet]]" were filmed in a half-day session on Stage 2 of [[Ealing Studios]]. ([[INFO]]: "The Dead Planet") The scenes of the Daleks cutting through a door in "[[The Ambush]]" were also pre-filmed on Stage 3. ([[INFO]]: "The Ambush")
 
== December ==
* [[9 December (production)|9 December]] - "[[The Ambush]]" was filmed at [[Lime Grove Studios]].<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NKJykbdnWo</ref> The decision to use 35mm film was taken to make the complex effects and model shots simpler to edit into the episode.
* [[20 December (production)|20 December]] - "[[The Expedition]]" was recorded at Lime Grove Studios. ([[INFO]]: "The Expedition")
* [[30 December (production)|30 December]] - The [[Audience Research Report]] on the first episode of ''Doctor Who'' was filed with the BBC.
* [[30 December (production)|30 December]] - The [[Audience Research Report]] on the first episode of ''Doctor Who'' was filed with the BBC.
== Footnotes ==
== Footnotes ==

Latest revision as of 03:20, 22 October 2024

RealWorld.png
Timeline for 1963
20th century | 1960s

• 1960 • 1961 • 1962 • 1964 • 1965 • 1966 • 1967 • 1968 • 1969
WikipediaInfo.png

1963 was a year in which a number of events important to the production of Doctor Who and its spin-offs occurred.

January

March

May

June

July

August

September

  • 3 September - Title sequence assembled from the pre-existing and newly recorded elements by Richard Barclay at Ealing.[4]
  • 18 September - The incidental music for An Unearthly Child was recorded by Norman Kay at the Camden Theatre. (INFO: An Unearthly Child)
  • 20 September - William Hartnell, Carole Ann Ford, Jacqueline Hill and William Russell all meet together for the first time, for a publicity photo shoot at TV Centre.[4]
  • 21 September - Rehearsals for "An Unearthly Child" began at a Drill Hall on Uxbridge Road.[4]
  • 27 September - The first episode, "An Unearthly Child" is recorded.[4] This version of the first episode was beset by technical problems, and the BBC subsequently rejected it for broadcast, authorising a rare "do-over" for later in the year. The outcome of these filming sessions was later dubbed "the Pilot Episode".[8]

October

November

December

Footnotes