2004 (production)

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2004 in

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the DWU • production history • vital statistics • releases

2004 was a year in which a number of events important to the production of Doctor Who and its spin-offs occurred..

• Throughout the year there was considerable media coverage and fan speculation surrounding the announced return of Doctor Who to television, especially as production of the first season began. It was announced that Christopher Eccleston, an actor best known for appearances in films such as Elizabeth, Jude and Gone in 60 Seconds, would play the Ninth Doctor. Eyebrows were raised when it was announced that Billie Piper, a well-known pop star of the late 90s/early 2000s, would play the Doctor's new companion, Rose Tyler. It was announced that no crossover with Paul McGann's Eighth Doctor was planned at this point, nor were any past companions expected to appear in the new series. Initially there were media reports that due to rights issues, the Daleks would not be appearing in the new series, but after these were worked out it was announced that the iconic creatures would indeed appear in the new series. A surprisingly controversial aspect of the new series was the unveiling of a new series logo, which provoked extremely negative response from some fans, with BBC News reporting that some behind-the-scenes personnel had received threats over it.
• 20 March - The BBC announced that Christopher Eccleston had been cast as the Ninth Doctor in the new series.
• 20 - The same day, the Daily Mail ran an erroneous story indicating that Bill Nighy has been cast as the Doctor.
• The announced series revival resulted in Richard E Grant's version of the Ninth Doctor being deemed invalid by the BBC, and future "Shalka Doctor" projects were shelved. The planned DVD release of WC: Scream of the Shalka would also be shelved until almost ten years later.
• 18 July - A new era began as filming commenced on the new BBC Wales production of Doctor Who. This was the first time Doctor Who had been in production in any form since February 1996 (when production of the 1996 TV movie ended) and August 1989 when filming of the original TV series concluded. Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper took their places in front of the cameras as the Ninth Doctor and Rose Tyler (date per Project Who).
• 11 November - This wiki was founded under the initial name of "Tardis Information System". It was curiously another three months until the first edit was made.
• 22 November - Russell T Davies was interviewed by Phil Williams on BBC Radio Five Live about the new series.