2007

History of the Doctor Who Universe

January

• Rose, carrying a rucksack, says goodbye to her Jackie and Mickey, and continues her adventures with the Doctor (DW: New Earth)
• 31 - The SS Elysium arrives safely in Panama, its passengers and crew having endured an attack by Cybermen just weeks earlier. One passenger, artist Michael Brack, is airlifted to hospital for treatment for hypothermia suffered during the attack. He misses his chance to tell Ruby Duvall that he is the man responsible for her father's paralysis. (NA: Iceberg)

Unknown dates

• An "Arms for Humanity" concert is held to raise money for the Preserve our Planet Fund. (NA: Iceberg)
• Krillitanes attempt to solve the Skasas Paradigm using the imagination of the children at Deffry Vale High School. Sarah Jane Smith's pet, K-9 Mark III, is destroyed and replaced by K-9 Mark IIIb (DW: School Reunion). The Doctor has hidden several gifts inside a panel in K-9 Mark IV: Sonic lipstick and a wristwatch for detecting alien life for Sarah Jane to find and use later. (Sarah Jane Smith website, SJA: Invasion of the Bane)
• The Doctor and Martha arrive on Earth a year before they met. They are attacked by Weeping Angels and sent back to 1969. They are saved by Sally Sparrow, and then prevent the danger of Red Hatching. (The Time Traveller's Almanac by Steve Tribe)

February

• 1st February - In a parallel universe, The Doctor, Rose and Mickey battle parallel Cybermen (Rise of the Cybermen, The Age of Steel)
• Annual de-frosting of Tommy Brockless, a young soldier first cryogenically frozen in 1918. (TW:To the Last Man.) (Date: WEB:torchwood.co.uk)

February - March

• LINDA is given its name by Elton Pope, then is eventually destroyed when the Abzorbaloff (alias Victor Kennedy) absorbs all but one member, Elton, one by one each Saturday. (DW: Love & Monsters)
• The Master arrives on Earth around this time and assumes the alias Harold Saxon. He sets about establishing a political career while creating the Archangel Network. He also meets his future wife Lucy Saxon. (DW: The Sound of Drums)

June or July

• The Battle of Canary Wharf. (DW: Army of Ghosts / Doomsday) The partial cyber-conversion of Lisa Hallett happens during this event. (TW: Cyberwoman) Donna Noble, meanwhile, is on a Scuba-diving holiday in Spain and is not aware of these events. (DW: The Runaway Bride)
• At some point after the Battle of Canary Wharf, Donna Noble chooses to take a job with H.C. Clements, after rejecting a request from her mother that she work for another firm. Unknown to Donna, an alternate timeline version of herself has fallen beneath the wheels of a lorry a few blocks away in order to prevent her from making the other decision and altering the timeline. Rose Tyler travels back in time from approximately two years in the future - and from the alternate timeline - to ask the alternate-Donna to pass a message on to the Doctor when she "dies". (DW: Turn Left)

c.Summer

• Former Torchwood 1 operative Ianto Jones relocates to Cardiff and works to convince Jack Harkness to give him a position with Torchwood 3. (TW: Fragments). He is successful in his efforts, and subsequently hides his partially-converted Lisa Hallett within the Torchwood Hub (TW: Cyberwoman)

July

• 21 - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows, the seventh and final book in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series of books, is published worldwide. Among the book's admirers is the Doctor who later admits to crying after reading the ending. (DW: The Shakespeare Code)

August

• Torchwood 3 member Suzie Costello dies. Gwen Cooper joins Torchwood 3. (TW: Everything Changes)
• On her first day of work, Gwen helps the team defeat an alien entity. (TW: Day One)

August - December

• The new Torchwood 3 team (new in the sense that it is different due to one member being replaced) saves the Earth - at least Cardiff - several more times. (TW: Ghost Machine through Out of Time)

• Sometime during this period, Suzie Costello was resurrected for a short period by Gwen before eventually being killed again. (DW: They Keep Killing Suzie)

December

• A company called Khrysalis sets up operations in Stockbridge, purportedly planning to construct a leisure park in the quiet town. Maxwell Edison creates the Stockbridge Preservation Society to protest this. (DWM: The Stockbridge Child)
• 18 - Diane Holmes, Emma-Louise Cowell and John Ellis arrive from 1953 through the Cardiff rift. (TW: Out of Time)

• 24 - Diane flies through the rift, Emma leaves from Cardiff to London and John commits suicide, all against the wishes of the Torchwood 3 team (TW: Out of Time).

• 24 - Donna Noble's marriage to Lance Bennett is interrupted by the events of The Runaway Bride. Although Sylvia Noble, Donna's mother, is witness to these events, her grandfather, Wilfred Mott, is absent due to an attack of flu. (DW: The Sontaran Strategem)

Other timelines

• Donna Noble makes a decision that results in her not joining H.C. Clements and so not meeting Lance Bennett and becoming engaged to him. As a consequence, on Christmas Day, the Doctor never meets Donna and he drowns to death when defeating the Empress of the Racnoss. Rose Tyler, travelling between dimensions, ends up in this alternate timeline and arrives soon after the Doctor's corpse has been retrieved by UNIT. (DW: Turn Left)

See Donna's World.

• The Doctor's TARDIS visits Pete's World for the first time and Mickey Smith decides to stay there. (DW: Rise of the Cybermen/The Age of Steel)

See Pete's World.

Unknown dates

• The discovery of a bizarre message encoded as an Easter Egg on 17 different DVD releases causes a flurry of interest on the Internet due to the cryptic nature of the message. The message, which appears to have been shot on film many years earlier, depicts a man with glasses conducting what appears to be a one-sided conversation with an unknown person, and he is occasionally interrupted by a young black woman. Among those interested in the message is London video store employee Larry Nightingale. One of the cryptic statements made, "The angels have the phone box", is made into a T-shirt design. Larry Nightingale begins intensively studying the message, much to the annoyance of his sister, Kathy Nightingale. (DW: Blink)
• The Doctor and Martha Jones, following information provided to them by Sally Sparrow, investigate the Wester Drumlins estate near London, where by choice or accident they are touched by the Weeping Angels and transported to 1969; the TARDIS remains behind and is later taken into custody by London police. (DW: Blink; that this occurs in the same year as the events of Blink is conjecture, given that the Angels appear to only be recently interested in the TARDIS and Billy Shipton gives no indication that it's been in custody for long.)
• Sally Sparrow receives a bizarre message addressed to her from someone called the Doctor in 1969 while investigating an old house called Wester Drumlins near London. Sparrow learns of the Weeping Angels and during the course of the adventure her friend Kathy Nightingale is transported back to 1920, and a policeman named Billy Shipton is sent back to 1969. Sparrow encounters an elderly Shipton, who dies soon after revealing that he is responsible for adding a cryptic message from the Doctor to a number of DVDs, and the Easter Egg mystery is solved when Sally realizes the one-sided conversation is from the Doctor and directed at her. Ultimately, Sparrow stops the Weeping Angels from capturing the TARDIS and with the help of Larry Nightingale sends the vessel back to 1969. After this event, Sally and Larry take over the ownership of the DVD rental store where Larry works, turning it into a bookstore, but Sally remains distant from Larry as she awaits the final resolution of her involvement with the time-travelling Doctor. (DW: Blink)
• Harriet Jones is removed from the post of Prime Minister (confirmed in DW: The Stolen Earth).

Real Life

January

• Circular Time is first released.
• 1 - Captain Jack Harkness and End of Days are first broadcast, concluding the first season of Torchwood. The same day, Invasion of the Bane, the first episode of The Sarah Jane Adventures, is also first broadcast, although the proper series won't begin until later in the year. Also broadcast: the final episode of Torchwood Declassified's first season.
• 11 - Another Life, Border Princes and Slow Decay, the first original novels based upon Torchwood, are first published.
• 21 - More than eight years after it was first released, Billie Piper's 1998 single, "Honey to the B" returns to the UK music charts, even though Piper herself has become a full-time actress by this time.

February

• Nocturne is first released.
• The Tub Full of Cats is first released.
• 18 - Russell T. Davies and Doctor Who Magazine writer Benjamin Cook begin exchanging e-mails as part of a project to document the production of several episodes of the upcoming 4th series for DWM. The project eventually grows into what becomes the book release Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale.
• Late February - In a meeting with Jane Tranter, Catherine Tate expresses interest in returning as Donna Noble for a couple of episodes of Series 4 (at this point there had been no discussion of her returning to the series full-time). (The Writer's Tale)

March

• Made of Steel is first published. The second release in the Quick Reads series, the book is released prior to the broadcast of Smith and Jones, making this the first public appearance of Martha Jones.
• Renaissance of the Daleks is first released.
• 06 - Iconic American actor Dennis Hopper expresses interest in appearing in Doctor Who and Russell T. Davies begins considering him for a role in what would become the 2007 Christmas special, Voyage of the Damned. Initially considered for the role of Mr. Copper and then Max Capricorn, the idea of Hopper appearaing does not ultimately pan out. Meanwhile, Billie Piper expresses interest in returning for as many as four episodes of Series 4. (The Writer's Tale)
• 13 - Catherine Tate, in a meeting with Julie Gardner indicates interest in appearing in a full season of Doctor Who; Russell T. Davies, who is still sketching out the introduction of a new companion called Penny for Series 4, begins retooling his ideas to fit the possible return of Donna Noble (The Writer's Tale).
• 16 - David Tennant appears in a televised skit alongside Catherine Tate as part of a benefit for Comic Relief. Tennant plays Mr. Logan, a substitute teacher who runs afoul of rebellious Lauren Cooper (Tate). The skit includes numerous in-jokes related to Doctor Who, especially when Lauren starts to think that Logan is The Doctor. After Lauren chides him with "Did you fancy Billie Piper, sir?", "Mr. Logan" pulls out a sonic screwdriver and turns Lauren into a Rose Tyler action figure.
• 18 - "The Web of Fear" episode one repeated on BBC Four as part of London Underground night.
• 19 - Catherine Tate officially signs on to return as Donna Noble in the upcoming Series 4 of Doctor Who; besides retooling the season premiere, Partners in Crime, Russell T. Davies also begins rethinking his planned "world without a Doctor" storyline, which would become Turn Left. (The Writer's Tale)
• 21 - Press launch for Series 3 of Doctor Who.
• 22 - Kylie Minogue, via her management, expresses interest in appearing in an episode of Doctor Who (The Writer's Tale)
• 29 - John Gill, who played the character of Oak in Fury from the Deep, dies.
• 30 - Seventies writer Dave Martin, who co-wrote many stories and co-created K9 with Bob Baker, dies from lung cancer.
• 31 (Morning) - Five exclusive previews of Smith and Jones take place at the Cardiff Odeon, Swansea Odeon, Wrexham Odeon, The Aberystwyth Arts Centre and Pwllheli Neuadd Dwyfor.
  • (Evening) - Smith and Jones first broadcast, on BBC One. Freema Agyeman makes her first appearance in the series as Martha Jones.

April

• Sting of the Zygons, The Last Dodo, and Wooden Heart are first published.
• The Judas Gift is first released
• I.D. / Urgent Calls is first released.
• 7 - The Shakespeare Code is first broadcast.
• 11 - Russell T. Davies, who has already indicated his wish to leave his post as executive producer after Series 4, is formally invited by the BBC to stay on for Series 5. Davies declines, later writing to Benjamin Cook, "They knew my reply even before they walked in." (The Writer's Tale) Davies' impending departure is kept under wraps for the next year.
• 14 - Gridlock is first broadcast.
• 17 - Russell T. Davies furnishes Benjamin Cook with the story outline for what will be called Voyage of the Damned, but currently carries the working title, Starship Titanic. (The Writer's Tale)
• 21 - Daleks in Manhattan is first broadcast.
• 22 - The News of the World breaks the story that Kylie Minogue has been cast in the upcoming Christmas special, but erroneously reports that she is to play a Cyberwoman.
  • Russell T. Davies pulls out of writing the script for the first episode of Torchwood season 2, although a scene he penned involving a blowfish driving a sports car is retained in the eventual script, Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (The Writer's Tale)
• 28 - Evolution of the Daleks is first broadcast.
  • Torchwood beats Doctor Who for the Best Drama prize at the Welsh BAFTA awards, while David Tennant and Eve Myles receive Best Actor and Best Actress and Graeme Harper Best Director.

May

• Exotron / Urban Myths is first released.
• The Two Jasons First Published
• 5 - The Lazarus Experiment is first broadcast.
• 16 - After weeks of sketching out story ideas, Russell T. Davies begins writing the script for the 2007 Christmas special currently titled Starship Titanic.
• 19 - 42 is first broadcast.
• 26 - Human Nature is first broadcast.
• 30 - After discovering a Douglas Adams computer game of the same title, Russell T. Davies changes the title of the 2007 Christmas special from Starship Titanic to Voyage of the Damned. (The Writer's Tale)
• 31 - The Sun tabloid reports that Doctor Who will be taken off the air for a year after the conclusion of Series 4 in 2008, except for some specials, with David Tennant leaving midway through the season. The first half of the report proves accurate, the second half less so.

June

• Valhalla is first released.
• Freedom of Information is first released
• 2 - The Family of Blood is first broadcast.
• 4 - Russell T. Davies learns that the secret of Catherine Tate replacing Freema Agyeman in Series 4 is beginning to leak out, causing concern about tabloid reports over Agyeman being "fired" before the current season has a chance to play out. (The Writer's Tale)
• 5 - Russell T. Davies completes his initial draft script for Voyage of the Damned (The Writer's Tale).
• 9 - Blink is first broadcast.
• 16 - Utopia is first broadcast, marking the return of the Master, last seen on screen in the 1996 TV movie. John Barrowman also returns to the series as Jack Harkness.
• 18 - The CBC in Canada begins airing Series 3. In an unusual (and criticized) move, the network first airs Smith and Jones during prime time, and then broadcasts the Christmas special The Runaway Bride a few hours later, after midnight in most areas of Canada.
• 23 - The Sound of Drums is first broadcast.
• 27 - David Tennant informs the Doctor Who production staff that he has been signed to appear in Hamlet in late 2008, during the already-planned production hiatus. (The Writer's Tale)
• 29 - Robin Davies, who worked behind the scenes on the 2005 season as driver for Christopher Eccleston, dies. (The Writer's Tale)
• 30 - Last of the Time Lords is first broadcast, concluding the third season of the Doctor Who revival. Freema Agyeman leaves the series, as does John Barrowman, again. The final episode of Doctor Who Confidential's third season airs afterwards. Also this week, the final episode of Totally Doctor Who is broadcast; it is subsequently cancelled.
  • Plans to simulcast Last of the Time Lords to crowds at Trafalgar Square as part of a Gay Pride event are cancelled at the last minute.

July

• The Wishing Beast / The Vanity Box is first released.
• 2 - First cast read-through for Voyage of the Damned is held at Central Baptist Church in London.
• 4 - The BBC announces in a midnight press release that Catherine Tate will join Doctor Who for Series 4; according to Russell T. Davies the announcement was made in order to preempt an expected story revealing same by the Sun tabloid the same day. Davies learns that another tabloid The Daily Mail is expected to prematurely break the news of Tennant appearing in Hamlet, and in turn the official plan to have a gap year. (The Writer's Tale)
• 7 - Freddie Earlle, who played the role of Aldo in Warriors' Gate, dies.
  • Doctor Who wins three trophies at the inaugural Constellation Awards, a Canadian-based honour recognizing the best in science fiction and presented during the annual Polaris SF convention. David Tennant wins Best Male Performance in a 2006 Science Fiction Television Episode for The Girl in the Fireplace, while Doctor Who itself wins the overall Best Science Fiction Television Series category. Unusually, Doctor Who also receives the award for Outstanding Canadian Contribution to Science Fiction due to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation being a co-producer of the series.
• 9 - Filming begins on Voyage of the Damned.
  • The UK newspaper the Guardian names Russell T. Davies the 15th most powerful player in the UK media industry.
• 10 - David Tennant is forced to leave the set of Voyage of the Damned upon learning that his mother has taken gravely ill. Production continues around his absence. (The Writer's Tale)
• 15 - David Tennant's mother passes away.
• 17 - Russell T. Davies addresses what he describes to Benjamin Cook as "the elephant in the room" and initiates discussions with Steven Moffat about Moffat taking over Davies' job on Doctor Who. Moffat replies on the 19th that he is interested in talking about the idea. (The Writer's Tale)
• 29 - Inspired by reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Russell T. Davies begins toying with the idea of inviting J.K. Rowling to appear on Doctor Who, possibly in the 2008 Christmas special. (The Writer's Tale)
• 31 - Bernard Cribbins films a cameo for Voyage of the Damned, little knowing he would later return to the series several times in Series 4. Despite his workload, Russell T. Davies visits the set. (The Writer's Tale)

August

• Frozen Time is first released.
• Nobody's Children First Published
• Doctor Who receives the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form for the episode The Girl in the Fireplace written by Steven Moffat. Also nominated in this category are the episodes School Reunion and the two-parter Army of Ghosts and Doomsday. Also nominated in this category is "200", an episode of Stargate SG-1, and "Downloaded", an episode of Battlestar Galactica.
• 3 - Problems with the script for The Fires of Pompeii lead to Russell T. Davies considering replacing it with a previously aborted Second World War-era story by Mark Gatiss. (The Writer's Tale)
• 4 - Russell T. Davies begins work on a major rewrite of James Moran's script for The Fires of Pompeii (The Writer's Tale)
• 7 - First cast readthroughs for Planet of the Ood and The Unicorn and the Wasp; first readthroughs for Series 4.
• Early August - Colin Teague and Phil Collinson visit the Cinecitta Studios in Rome, Italy, as the Doctor Who production team considers filming part of The Fires of Pompeii in Rome -- the first time major filming for a DW TV episode has been conducted outside the UK since 1985.
• 9 - Around the time Teague and Collinson are in Rome, the Cinecitta Studios are heavily damaged in a fire. (The Writer's Tale)
• 21 - Russell T. Davies hatches the idea of creating a false edit of Partners in Crime for media/review distribution in order to hide a planned surprise cameo by Billie Piper as Rose Tyler. (The Writer's Tale)
• 23 - plans for the return of Rose Tyler in Series 4 are jeopardized when it's learned that Billie Piper is planning on getting married at the end of 2007, and might not be available for filming. (The Writer's Tale)
• 25 - Kylie Minogue and a Dalek take part in a cover-photo shoot for Doctor Who Magazine.
• 30 - Russell T. Davies begins writing the script for Partners in Crime, the first episode of Series 4.
• 31 - Due to a premature announcement by the Royal Shakespeare Company (see 3rd September, below), Doctor Who's producers inform their staff that the fifth series will not go into production until 2009, save for a few specials in the interim. (The Writer's Tale)

September

• Son of the Dragon first released.
• 100 first released.
• The End of the World - a Bernice Summerfield audio drama not to be confused with the 2005 Doctor Who episode of the same title, is released
• Forever Autumn, Sick Building, and Wetworld are first published.
• 3 - The BBC officially announces that Series 5 of Doctor Who will not air until 2010. According to Russell T. Davies the announcement was originally to have been made prior to an 11 September press conference by the Royal Shakespeare Company announcing David Tennant's appearance in Hamlet in the fall of 2008, but the release of an RSC brochure in late August required an immediate announcement.
• 6 - Russell T. Davies reveals to Benjamin Cook that, despite previous scheduling conflicts, Billie Piper will return as Rose Tyler in Partners in Crime and Series 4. (The Writer's Tale)
  • Russell T. Davies completes his initial draft of Partners in Crime.
• 13 - Filming begins on The Fires of Pompeii at the Cinecitta Studios in Rome, the first time, save the 1996 telefilm and second-unit filming on Daleks in Manhattan, that major shooting for a regular episode has taken place outside the UK since 1985's The Two Doctors was filmed in Spain.
• 23 - The American animated series Family Guy broadcasts the episode "Blue Harvest", a nearly scene-by-scene parody of Star Wars: A New Hope. A joke involving hyperspace features a brief clip of the classic mid-1970s opening sequence of Doctor Who featuring Tom Baker and a few bars of the Doctor Who theme. This is the first time any footage from the Tom Baker era, or the classic Delia Derbyshire arrangement of the theme, has appeared on an American commercial network. The episode, with DW clip intact, is released to DVD in North America in early 2008.
• 24 - Revenge of the Slitheen is first broadcast, launching the first full season of The Sarah Jane Adventures (following the pilot episode, Invasion of the Bane which aired months earlier). This is the first half-hour episode produced by the televised Doctor Who franchise since episode 3 of Survival in 1989.
• 27 - Russell T. Davies and Julie Gardner decide to reject a script by Tom MacRae which was planned for Series 4. Davies takes on the job of writing a replacement, which ultimately becomes Midnight. (The Writer's Tale)
• 28 - Steven Moffat informs Russell T. Davies that he has agreed to take over the executive producer/head writer's position when Davies leaves. (The Writer's Tale).

October

• Absolution is first released.
• The Final Amendment first released
• 1 - Eye of the Gorgon part 1 is first broadcast.
• 1 - I Am the Doctor: The Unauthorised Diaries of a Timelord is published by Zone Publishing. Written by John Peel and illustrated by Pete Wallbank, this unofficial publication features diaries entries by all 10 Doctors and new illustrations by Wallbank.
• 7 - Production of the Children in Need mini-episode, Time Crash, featuring the return of Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor.
• 8 - Eye of the Gorgon part 2 is first broadcast.
• 10 - With production of Partners in Crime now under way, Russell T. Davies realizes how ill Howard Attfield, playing Geoff Noble has become and begins to consider how to work this into the season, given the character is supposed to sppear in several episodes. A few days later, Davies considers filming Attfield's scenes in the as-yet-unwritten Turn Left as soon as possible, along with his scenes in Partners in Crime. (The Writer's Tale)
• Mid-October - British media leaks the news that Billie Piper will be returning to Doctor Who.
• 13 - Russell T. Davies begins writing the script for Crusader Five, later renamed Crusader 50 as at the time it was going to be the 50th episode of the revived Doctor Who. The script is later retitled Midnight. (The Writer's Tale)
• 15 - Warriors of Kudlak part 1 is first broadcast.
  • An injury forces Howard Attfield to pull out of production of Partners in Crime after filming only a few of his planned scenes. Phil Collinson suggests hiring Bernard Cribbins as a last-minute replacement, and Russell T. Davies retcons the newspaper seller Cribbins played in Voyage of the Damned to be Donna Noble's grandfather, Wilfred Mott. (The Writer's Tale)
• 18 - Russell T. Davies completes the initial draft of Crusader 50, later called Midnight.
• 22 - Warriors of Kudlak part 2 is first broadcast.
  • Piers Wenger is interviewed as a possible replacement for Julie Gardner when she steps down as producer after the 2009 Specials are filmed. (The Writer's Tale)
• 27 - Russell T. Davies begins writing the script for Turn Left.
• 29 - Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane? part 1 is first broadcast.
• 31 - Howard Attfield, who played Geoff Noble in The Runaway Bride dies.
  • Doctor Who wins Most Popular Drama and David Tennant wins Most Popular Actor at the 2007 National Television Awards.

November

• The Mind's Eye / Mission of the Viyrans is first released.
• Old Friends First Published
• Missing Adventures First Published
• 1 - Invasion of the Bane, Revenge of the Slitheen, Eye of the Gorgon and Warriors of Kudlak first published. These novelisations based upon episodes of The Sarah Jane Adventures are the first releases by Penguin Character Books and mark the first major release of televised story novelisations since the Target Books line was retired in 1994 (notwithstanding a few one-off Doctor Who releases between 1994 and 2005).
• 5 - Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane? part 2 is first broadcast.
  • The Thirteenth Stone and The Glittering Storm, two original made-for-audio The Sarah Jane Adventures stories, are released by BBC Audio.
• 12 - The Lost Boy part 1 is first broadcast.
• 16 - Time Crash is first broadcast. Discounting Dimensions in Time, Peter Davison makes his first appearance as the Doctor since 1984's The Caves of Androzani. First multi-Doctor television story since The Two Doctors. Final use of the Doctor Who Theme arrangement by Murray Gold intoduced in 2005.
• 19 - The Lost Boy part 2 is first broadcast, concluding the first season of The Sarah Jane Adventures.
• 22 - Verity Lambert, first producer of Doctor Who dies of cancer.
• 24 - Cast read-throughs for Midnight and Turn Left.
• 29 - Simultaneous filming of Midnight and Turn Left now under way, marking Billie Piper's return to Doctor Who production.

December

• IDW Publishing, an American comic book company, launches Doctor Who Classics, a monthly series of colorized reprints of Fourth Doctor comic strips from the early days of Doctor Who Weekly. This is in advance of the launch of a new original Tenth Doctor monthly series scheduled to begin in early 2008.
• Wishing Well, The Pirate Loop, and Peacemaker are first published.
• The Girl Who Never Was is first released.
• 7 - The BBC announces that Julie Gardner will end her tenure as executive producer of Doctor Who in 2009, with Piers Wenger succeeding her.
• 10 - Russell T. Davies begins writing the script for The Stolen Earth.
  • That same day, Steven Moffat begins a dialogue with Davies regarding the changeover in producing regime and the start of Series 5. (The Writer's Tale)
• 15 - Catherine Tate lets slip on the Jonathan Ross radio show the incorrect news that Series 4 will be David Tennant's last. This is followed by a similarly erroneous (or at least premature) report by BBC News. (The Writer's Tale)
• 18 - Press launch for Voyage of the Damned.
• 25 - Voyage of the Damned is first broadcast, introducing a new arrangement of the theme music, once again by Murray Gold. Bernard Cribbins, a Doctor Who veteran dating back to the 1960s film Daleks - Invasion Earth 2150 AD, makes his debut as Wilfred Mott, who becomes recurring character in the next series. Much attention is given to the special's guest star, pop superstar Kylie Minogue.
• 31 - Russell T. Davies completes the initial draft of The Stolen Earth.

Unknown dates

• Filming for The Fires of Pompeii takes place in Italy. Discounting second-unit filming done in New York City for Daleks in Manhattan, this is the first Doctor Who adventure substantially filmed outside the UK since Doctor Who: The TV Movie was filmed in Canada in 1996.
• Early winter - Doctor Who is nominated in the "Favorite Sci-Fi Show" category for the 2008 People's Choice Awards, to be presented in January 2008 on the CBS network. This is the first mainstream American award nomination for the series (which previously was only nominated for awards in genre awards such as the Hugos). The award winner was determined by an Internet poll, and the award ultimately goes to Stargate Atlantis.
• As production begins on Series 4, news leaks out that Billie Piper would be returning to her role as Rose Tyler, including images of her filming scenes for the series. Initially denied by the BBC, this was later confirmed (with the BBC including her in a cinema trailer distributed prior to the season premiere in 2008). Piper films scenes for four episodes (two additional appearances are added using stock footage).

2006

21st century 2000s

2008