Anniversary

An anniversary was a date on which a prior event was commemorated. A type of anniversary was a wedding anniversary. (TV: The Power of Three)

Behind the scenes

The anniversary of Doctor Who, which began with the first episode of An Unearthly Child on 23 November 1963, has been commemorated on several occasions.

1973

• The 10th anniversary of Doctor Who was commemorated with the broadcast of The Three Doctors, which was broadcast across four episodes from 30 December 1972 to 20 January 1973.

1978

• The 15th anniversary of Doctor Who took place on 23 November 1978, five days after the broadcast of part four of The Stones of Blood which, incidentally, was also the one-hundredth televised Doctor Who story. To commemorate this, Anthony Read asked David Fisher to write a new scene (expanded by Darrol Blake) featuring Romana and K9 surprising the Fourth Doctor with a birthday cake (and a new identical scarf), celebrating his seven hundred fifty-first birthday. However, producer Graham Williams vetoed this idea as being too self-indulgent and the scene was never shot. Blake had already ordered a cake, and this was eaten by the cast and crew.

1983

• The 20th anniversary of Doctor Who was commemorated with the broadcast of The Five Doctors on 23 November 1983.

1988

• The 25th anniversary of Doctor Who was commemorated with the broadcast of Silver Nemesis, the first episode of which premiered on 23 November 1988. Commemorative merchandise included the DWMS 25th Anniversary Special.

1989

• The 10th anniversary of Doctor Who Magazine, beginning in 1979, was commemorated with the release of the DWMS Tenth Anniversary Special in 1989.

1993

• The 30th anniversary of Doctor Who was commemorated with the broadcast of Dimensions in Time, the two parts of which were broadcast in the week following the anniversary date, on 26 and 27 November 1993.
• Commemorative merchandise included the 30th Anniversary Calendar and DWMS Winter 1993.

1998

• The 35th anniversary of Doctor Who was commemorated with the release of the original Doctor Who website in 1998.

2003

• The 40th anniversary of Doctor Who was commemorated with the release of:
  • Zagreus, a Big Finish audio story starring Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy and Paul McGann as well as archival audio of Jon Pertwee and numerous companion actors in new roles.
  • Doctor Who Unbound, a series of "what if" Doctor Who stories set in parallel universes
  • Scream of the Shalka, an animated webcast featuring the Ninth Doctor voiced by Richard E Grant. It was broadcast two weeks before the anniversary date on 12 November until three weeks following the anniversary date on 18 December 2003
  • The broadcast of Doctor Who @40 on 22 and 23 November.

2008

• The 45th anniversary was was commemorated with the release with the release of:
  • Forty-Five, a Big Finish audio anthology on November 2008
  • The Forgotten, an IDW comic story featuring the all ten Doctors.
  • Top Trumps Collectors Edition: 45 Years of Time Travel

2013

• The 50th anniversary of Doctor Who was commemorated with the broadcast of The Day of the Doctor, which was simultaneously screened in cinemas worldwide on 23 November 2013.
• Other productions included:
  • An Adventure in Space and Time, a docudrama about the creation of Doctor Who and William Hartnell's era as the First Doctor.
  • The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot, mockumentary about Peter Davison, Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy attempting get into the 50th anniversary special. Paul McGann and David Tennant have cameos, as do numerous other actors and staff involved with the show.
  • The Doctors Revisited, a series of documentaries about all eleven Doctors
  • The Ultimate Guide, a documentary about the show. It included the short episode The History of the Doctor.
  • The 50th Anniversary Collection, a series of reprinted novels for all eleven Doctors
  • Puffin eshorts featuring all eleven Doctors
  • COMIC: Prisoners of Time, an IDW comic series featuring the all eleven Doctors
  • COMIC: The Girl Who Loved Doctor Who, an IDW one-shot released in the 2013 Doctor Who Special
  • COMIC: The Birthday Boy, an IDW one-short exlusive to the Complete Series 1-7 Limited Edition Blu-ray Giftset
  • COMIC: Hunters of the Burning Stone, a DWM comic story featuring the Eleventh Doctor reuniting with Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright
  • AUDIO: 1963: Fanfare for the Common Men, Fifth Doctor story
  • AUDIO: 1963: The Assassination Games, Sixth Doctor story
  • AUDIO: 1963: The Space Race, Seventh Doctor story
  • The Light at the End, a Big Finish audio story featuring the Fourth Doctor, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Doctor.

• Commemorative merchandise included:
  • 50th Anniversary Blu-ray Special
  • 50th Anniversary Collector's Edition
  • The Official 50th Anniversary Annual
  • Doctor Who Magazine 467
  • Doctor Who - The 50th Anniversary Collection

2016

• To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the debut of the Cybermen in 1966's The Tenth Planet, Supremacy of the Cybermen was released by Titan Publishing Group in 2016.
• The Torchwood Archive was a special release from Big Finish commemorating the 10th anniversary of the televised debut of Torchwood in 2006.
• The animated reconstruction of The Power of the Daleks was released on 5 November 2016, the 50th anniversary of the serial's original airing

2019

• Big Finish commemorated their own 20th anniversary of producing Doctor Who audios since 1999's The Sirens of Time, with the release of The Legacy of Time.
• Daughter of the Gods was produced by Big Finish to emulate a "5th anniversary of Doctor Who" from 1968. (BFX: Daughter of the Gods, VOR 128)

2021

• The 50th anniversary of the Master's debut in Terror of the Autons in 1971, Masterful was released by Big Finish in 2021.

2022

• The 40th anniversary of Peter Davison's 1982 debut as the Fifth Doctor was commemorated with the release of Forty by Big Finish in 2022.
• To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the BBC on 18 October 2022, and as part of the BBC 100 event, a Centenary Special was aired on 23 October 2022 called The Power of the Doctor.