1970

1970 in

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the DWU • production history • vital statistics • releases

Events

• A part-Time Lord/part-human girl regenerated into an incarnation who would later be known as Mels. (TV: Day of the Moon, TV: A Good Man Goes to War / Let's Kill Hitler)

• 20 - According to one account, the first human astronauts landed on the Moon, where they encountered the First Doctor, John and Gillian. (COMIC: Moon Landing)

• 20 - Dorothy Gale McShane, later to be a companion of the Seventh Doctor known as "Ace", was born to Audrey Dudman in England. (TV: Ghost Light)

• Mars Probe 7 reached Earth, the radioactive aliens were removed and the Third Doctor prevented General Carrington from starting a war. (TV: The Ambassadors of Death, PROSE: Who Killed Kennedy)

Unknown dates

• "Mary" killed Myra Bennett to consume her heart. Human authorities didn't catch her. (TV: Greeks Bearing Gifts)
• Agatha Ellis was born. Her mother died in his childbirth which caused her father to suffer a mental illness. (PROSE: Curtain Call)
• The Second Doctor and Jamie McCrimmon encountered the Ice Apes in Antarctica. (COMIC: Ice Cap Terror)

Behind the scenes

• 3 - TV: Spearhead from Space Episode 1, the first colour episode of Doctor Who, the first of Season 7 and the first starring Jon Pertwee as the Third Doctor was first broadcast. It launched the "UNIT era" of the series. Beginning in 1970, the number of episodes produced each season was reduced considerably and the show moved from a fall to spring broadcast schedule to a January-June schedule. Caroline John debuted as companion Liz Shaw. Nicholas Courtney as Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart became a series regular with this episode.
• 4 - Writer Shayne Armstrong was born.
• 10 - TV: Spearhead from Space Episode 2 was first broadcast.
• 17 - TV: Spearhead from Space Episode 3 was first broadcast.
• 20 - Actor Mitch Benn was born.
• 24 - TV: Spearhead from Space Episode 4 was first broadcast.
• 29 - Jon Pertwee discussed the Third Doctor’s new car, Bessie, in the pages of Radio Times.
• 31 - TV: Doctor Who and the Silurians Episode 1 was first broadcast. The Doctor's car, Bessie, appeared for the first time. This was the only televised story to use the "Doctor Who and the ..." title format. This occurred as a result of a clerical error.

• 3 - Actor Warwick Davis was born.
• 7 - TV: Doctor Who and the Silurians Episode 2 was first broadcast.
• 8 - Actor Alastair Mackenzie was born.
• 14 - TV: Doctor Who and the Silurians Episode 3 was first broadcast.
• 14 - Actor Simon Pegg was born.
• 21 - TV: Doctor Who and the Silurians Episode 4 was first broadcast.
• 24 - Actor Raji James was born.
• 27 - The BBC's Audience Research Dept. filed an Audience Research Report on TV: Spearhead from Space Episode 1. The episode rated a Reaction Index of 54, with new Doctor Jon Pertwee having been "accepted without question".
• 28 - TV: Doctor Who and the Silurians Episode 5 was first broadcast.

• 7 - TV: Doctor Who and the Silurians Episode 6 was first broadcast.
• 14 - TV: Doctor Who and the Silurians Episode 7 was first broadcast.
• 21 - TV: The Ambassadors of Death Episode 1 was first broadcast.
• 28 - TV: The Ambassadors of Death Episode 2 was first broadcast.

• 4 - TV: The Ambassadors of Death Episode 3 was first broadcast.
• 11 - TV: The Ambassadors of Death Episode 4 was first broadcast.
• 18 - TV: The Ambassadors of Death Episode 5 was first broadcast.
• 25 - TV: The Ambassadors of Death Episode 6 was first broadcast. This was the first UNIT-era appearance of John Levene as Sgt. Benton, who became a semi-regular for the next six years.

• 2 - TV: The Ambassadors of Death Episode 7 was first broadcast.
• 9 - TV: Inferno Episode 1 was first broadcast.
• 16 - TV: Inferno Episode 2 was first broadcast.
• 23 - TV: Inferno Episode 3 was first broadcast.
• 30 - TV: Inferno Episode 4 was first broadcast.

• 6 - TV: Inferno Episode 5 was first broadcast.
• 13 - TV: Inferno Episode 6 was first broadcast.
• 20 - TV: Inferno Episode 7 was first broadcast, concluding Season 7. It was the shortest season to date and the shortest-ever season in terms of number of serials until Season 23's single-story marathon. Caroline John left the series after this episode.
• 25 - Actress Lucy Baker was born.

• 10 - Actor John Simm was born.

• 3 - Actress Elizabeth Berrington was born.
• 6 - Actor Alan Cox was born.
• 14 - Actor Alexander Armstrong was born.
• 20 - Actor Adrian Bower was born.

• The sixth Doctor Who Annual was published.

• 05 - In the US, the National Educational Television network was rebranded and relaunched as the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). This loose affiliation of broadcasters introduced countless UK-produced television programs to North American audiences over the next four decades. It became the primary broadcast home of the 1963-89 version of Doctor Who beginning in the late 1970s.

• 5 - Actress Tamzin Outhwaite was born.
• 6 - Colin Baker made his TV acting debut in an episode of The Adventures of Don Quick.