Transmat:Doctor Who
The Ark in Space was the second story of Season 12 of Doctor Who. It was the Fourth Doctor's first full, post-regenerative story. It proceeded from a mild-cliffhanger at the end of Robot, showing what happened after Harry Sullivan climbed into the police box in UNIT's laboratory. It importantly established the location of Nerva Beacon, which would be the narrative lynchpin of the season.
Ark had a somewhat tortuous scripting process, having slipped past two writers before its scripts were finally accepted. Both Christopher Langley and John Lucarotti tried and failed to write a script about a space station for season 12. Of the two, Lucarotti came closest. However, because he then lived on a boat anchored in the Mediterranean — and there was a postal strike afflicting Corsica — Lucarotti was essentially incommunicado to script editor Robert Holmes. It was impossible for Holmes to conduct timely consultation with the Doctor Who veteran. Lucarotti was paid fully for his work, and Holmes undertook a page one rewrite, retaining only the central conceit of Lucarotti's tale.
Despite its difficult birth, the story won kudos from the BBC Wales production staff. Russell T Davies once called Ark his favourite storyline of the 1963 version of Doctor Who. Steven Moffat considered it the best Fourth Doctor story, while Barnaby Edwards confessed to being "petrified of the Wirrn" as a child. Tom Baker himself has also stated that, of all the stories he'd filmed, The Ark in Space was his favourite.
Jane Tranter
Jane Tranter was an important advocate for the return of Doctor Who to BBC One in the early 2000s.
Today's releases
- 1967
- Episode four of The Abominable Snowmen premiered on BBC1.
- Part three of the TV Comic story The Coming of the Cybermen was published.
- 1972 - Part ten of the TV Action comic story The Ugrakks was published.
- 1976 - The novelisation of Planet of the Daleks was published by Target Books.
- 1978 - Part four of The Pirate Planet premiered on BBC1.
- 1982 - The novelisation of Logopolis was published by Target Books.
- 1989 - Part two of the Incredible Hulk Presents comic story Hunger from the Ends of Time! was published.
- 1993
- Blood Heat was published by Virgin Books.
- Timeframe: The Illustrated History was published by Doctor Who Books.
- 1999 - DWM 284 was published by Marvel Comics.
- 2002 - The Aztecs was released on Region 2 DVD.
- 2009 - DWDVDF 21 was published by GE Fabbri Ltd.
- 2010
- DWM 427 was published by Panini Comics.
- DWA 189 was published by BBC Magazines.
- 2014 - Toby Hadoke's Who's Round 71 was released online.
- 2015
- Jago & Litefoot: Series Ten was released by Big Finish Productions.
- The Tenth Doctor Year Two #2 was published by Titan Comics.
- TCH 1 was published by Hachette Partworks.
- The Toy was released by Big Finish as the gift for subscribers of The Complete History magazine.
- 2016
- The Torchwood Archive was released by Big Finish.
- Toby Hadoke's Who's Round 190 was released online.
- 2018 - Rosa premiered on BBC One.
- 2021 - Ashenden was released by Big Finish.
Today in production history
- 1967 - Episode one of The Ice Warriors was recorded at Lime Grove Studios D. (TCH 11)
- 1969 - Location filming for Spearhead from Space took place. (REF: Doctor Who The Handbook: The Third Doctor)
- 1971 - Location filming for The Sea Devils took place. (REF: Doctor Who The Handbook: The Third Doctor)
- 1975 - Studio filming for The Brain of Morbius took place at BBC Television Centre studio 3. (REF: Doctor Who The Handbook: The Fourth Doctor)
- 1981 - Studio filming for Black Orchid took place. (REF: Doctor Who The Handbook: The Fifth Doctor)
- 2008 - The Big Finish audio story The Scapegoat was recorded at the Moat Studios.
- 2010 - The Big Finish audio story The Selachian Gambit was recorded at the Moat Studios.
- 2015 - The Big Finish audio story Time Reaver was recorded at the Moat Studios.
- 2020 - Big Finish's audio anthology The Third Doctor Adventures: Volume Seven was recorded.
Today's births and deaths
- 1934 - Film cameraman John McGlashan was born.[1]
- 1938 - Actor Barbara Bermel was born.[2]
- 1945 - Actor Adam Kurakin was born.[3]
- 1992 - Actor Ben Presley was born.
- 2000 - Actor Alan Rowe died.[4]
- 2006 - Actor Peter Barkworth died.[5]
- 2007 - Director Peter Moffatt died.[6]
- 2009