1973

Events

May

• 14 - the first American space station, Skylab, was launched. The Tenth Doctor claimed to have had involvement in its construction. (DW: Tooth and Claw)

December

• 12 - Madeline Burton died in Paris from a drug overdose. The Revolution Man cult (also known as 'The Second Coming of Ed Hill') collapsed without her influence. (EDA: Revolution Man)

• Jo Grant played Aladdin, Mike Yates played Widow Twankey, and the Third Doctor played the villain in the UNIT staff Christmas panto. (NA: No Future, Timewyrm: Revelation)

Unknown dates

• A film version of The Three Musketeers was released. Genetic material from its principal stars, Michael York, Oliver Reed, Richard Chamberlain, and Frank Finlay, would be used to create Reprises of D'Artagnan, Athos, Aramis, and Porthos in Europa in the far future. (MA: Managra)

• An archaeological expedition led by Aubrey Prior stripped the tomb of Nephthys in Egypt. They told the workers that it would be rebuilt in the British Museum. (MA: The Sands of Time)

• Various incarnations of the Doctor along with various companions, experienced time-slipping between this year, 1993 and 2013 as the result of a ploy by the Rani. (DW: Dimensions in Time)

The Seventh Doctor claimed that he only imagined these events in a dream. (NA: First Frontier)

Behind the scenes

January

• 06 - DW: The Three Doctors Episode 2 was first broadcast.
• 13 - DW: The Three Doctors Episode 3 was first broadcast.
• 19 - Max Adrian, who played King Priam in DW: The Myth Makers, died in Wilford.
• 20 - DW: The Three Doctors Episode 4 was first broadcast. Final television appearance of William Hartnell. This episode ends the Third Doctor's exile on Earth and marks the beginning of the end of the UNIT era of the series, although UNIT would continue to play a role for several more seasons.
• 27 - DW: Carnival of Monsters Episode 1 was first broadcast. Ian Marter, later to play companion Harry Sullivan and also write several acclaimed novelisations for Target Books, made his first appearance on Doctor Who.

February

• 03 - DW: Carnival of Monsters Episode 2 was first broadcast.
• 10 - DW: Carnival of Monsters Episode 3 was first broadcast.
• 17 - DW: Carnival of Monsters Episode 4 was first broadcast.
• 24 - DW: Frontier in Space Episode 1 was first broadcast.

March

• 03 - DW: Frontier in Space Episode 2 was first broadcast.
• 10 - DW: Frontier in Space Episode 3 was first broadcast.
• 17 - DW: Frontier in Space Episode 4 was first broadcast.
• 24 - DW: Frontier in Space Episode 5 was first broadcast.
• 31 - DW: Frontier in Space Episode 6 was first broadcast. Final appearance of Roger Delgado as the Master, and final appearance of the Master until DW: The Deadly Assassin.

April

• 07 - DW: Planet of the Daleks Episode 1 was first broadcast.
• 14 - DW: Planet of the Daleks Episode 2 was first broadcast.
• 21 - DW: Planet of the Daleks Episode 3 was first broadcast.
• 28 - DW: Planet of the Daleks Episode 4 was first broadcast.

May

• 02 - Target Books, an imprint of W.H. Allen, reissues the 1960s novelisations DWN: Doctor Who in an Exciting Adventure with the Daleks by David Whitaker, DWN: Doctor Who and the Crusaders, also by Whitaker, and DWN: Doctor Who and the Zarbi by Bill Strutton. The Daleks novel was retitled Doctor Who and the Daleks and retains this title in all further editions. These books (all adapting First Doctor stories) were the first of 156 such novelisations the imprint would publish between up to 1994, covering all but a half-dozen televised stories, along with several radio and audio dramas. Target's later parent company, Virgin Publishing, would continue to publish original fiction set in the Doctor Who universe until the end of its Bernice Summerfield line ended its association with the franchise in 1999, but with BBC Books holding the licence to publish original Doctor Who fiction from 1997, the publication of original novels would continue uninterrupted into 2009 and beyond.
• 05 - DW: Planet of the Daleks Episode 5 was first broadcast.
• 12 - DW: Planet of the Daleks Episode 6 was first broadcast.
• 19 - DW: The Green Death Episode 1 was first broadcast.
• 26 - DW: The Green Death Episode 2 was first broadcast.

June

• 02 - DW: The Green Death Episode 3 was first broadcast.
• 09 - DW: The Green Death Episode 4 was first broadcast.
• 16 - DW: The Green Death Episode 5 was first broadcast.
• 18 - Roger Delgado was killed in an automobile accident outside Neveshir, Turkey. In later interviews (for Myth Makers and others), Jon Pertwee would cite Delgado's death as a contributing factor, along with the departure of Barry Letts as producer, in his decision to leave the series in 1974.
• 23 - DW: The Green Death Episode 6 was first broadcast, ending the 10th season. Katy Manning leaves the series after this episode. Final use of the series logo introduced in 1970 until the 1996 TV movie, in which a similar, though not completely identical logo was used.

July

• 30 - Guy Middleton, who played Colonel Attwood in DW: The Highlanders died.

August

• 05 - Paul Kasey, who has played numerous monsters in the revived series of Doctor Who, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures, was born in Chatham, Kent.
• TV Action publishes its final issue, ending its Doctor Who comic strip.

September

• 01 - After several years in another publication, the Doctor Who comic strip resumed in TV Comic.
• Doctor Who Annual 1974 was published.

• 08 - Star Trek: The Animated Series debuts on NBC. It is the second television installment of the Star Trek franchise.

November

• 23 - Tenth anniversary of the first broadcast of Doctor Who.

December

• 03 - Sylvester McCoy made one of his first TV appearances playing a robot in an episode of Roberts Robots.
• 15 - DW: The Time Warrior Episode 1 was first broadcast, launching Season 11. A diamond-shaped series logo was introduced - it became one of the franchise's most recognisable branding - along with an early version of the Bernard Lodge-designed "tunnel" opening sequence that would become closely associated with the Tom Baker era. Elisabeth Sladen made her series debut as Sarah Jane Smith, and the Sontarans are unveiled. This story also revealed the name of the Doctor's planet; Gallifrey.
  • Doctor Who was featured on the cover of the Radio Times. This was the last time the series would be so featured for the next 10 years.
• 22 - DW: The Time Warrior Episode 2 was first broadcast.
• 29 - DW: The Time Warrior Episode 3 was first broadcast.

Unknown dates

• Peter Bathurst, who played Hensell in DW: The Power of the Daleks and Chinn in DW: The Claws of Axos, died.
• The Wookey Hole cave system, near Wells, England, opens as a tourist attraction after more than a century of exploration. In 1975 the caves are used as the filming location for DW: Revenge of the Cybermen.