1979 (releases)

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1979 in

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the DWU • production history • vital statistics • releases

In 1979, a number of things set in or relevant to the Doctor Who universe were released or published.

• 6 January - The Power of Kroll Part Three debuted on BBC1.
• 13 January -The Power of Kroll Part Four debuted on BBC1.
• 18 January - PROSE: Doctor Who and the Hand of Fear was first published.
• 20 January - The Armageddon Factor Part One debuted on BBC1. Lalla Ward made her first appearance on Doctor Who, playing Princess Astra. This instalment was promoted as the five hundredth episode of Doctor Who.
• 27 January - The Armageddon Factor Part Two debuted on BBC1.
• 3 February - The Armageddon Factor Part Three debuted on BBC1.
• 10 February - The Armageddon Factor Part Four debuted on BBC1.
• 17 February - The Armageddon Factor Part Five debuted on BBC1. Twenty-three minutes into transmission, the episode went off the air for approximately twenty seconds due to a technical fault on the playback equipment. BBC continuity apologised to the viewers for the breakdown in transmission, displaying a TEMPORARY FAULT caption slide and playing music, "Gotcha" by Tom Scott, until the fault was rectified. When the episode restarted, the videotape had been slightly rewound so there was a repeat of the action immediately prior to the break.
• 24 February - The Armageddon Factor Part Six debuted on BBC1, concluding Season 16 and the Key to Time arc. Mary Tamm left the series after this episode as did, temporarily, John Leeson. (Another actor, David Brierley, took over the voiceovers for K9 for Season 17, although the character didn't appear on-screen again until The Creature from the Pit. Leeson returned for Season 18.)
• 29 March - Doctor Who and the Invisible Enemy was first published.
• American editions of PROSE: Doctor Who and the Day of the Daleks and PROSE: Doctor Who and the Doomsday Weapon were published by Pinnacle Books. Over the next year, Pinnacle published US editions of ten Target Books novelisations, most slightly re-edited for American readers, with some of the more British terms (such as "jelly baby") replaced with American terms ("jelly bean"). Each book included an introduction by SF author Harlan Ellison, as well as a brief primer on the Doctor and his companions.
• 24 May - Doctor Who and the Robots of Death was first published.
• 24 May - Junior Doctor Who and the Giant Robot was first published. It was the first of two attempts by Terrance Dicks at releasing versions of his novelisations for young readers.
• American editions of Doctor Who and the Dinosaur Invasion and PROSE: Doctor Who and the Genesis of the Daleks were published by Pinnacle Books.
• American editions of PROSE: Doctor Who and the Loch Ness Monster and PROSE: Doctor Who and the Revenge of the Cybermen were published by Pinnacle Books.
• 26 July - PROSE: Doctor Who and the Image of the Fendahl was first published.
• September - The Doctor Who Annual 1980 was published.
• 1 September - Destiny of the Daleks Episode One debuted on BBC1, marking the debut of Season 17. Lalla Ward returned to the series as the newly regenerated Romana. Although a new voice actor for K9 had been cast, the character did not appear in the serial. For this story, and for the only time in the Fourth Doctor's era, the individual instalments were referred to as 'Episodes' during the opening titles rather than 'Parts'.
• 8 September - Destiny of the Daleks Episode Two debuted on BBC1.
• 9 September - REF: The Adventures of K9 and Other Mechanical Creatures by Terrance Dicks was published.
• 15 September - Destiny of the Daleks Episode Three debuted on BBC1.
• 22 September - Destiny of the Daleks Episode Four debuted on BBC1. This was the last Doctor Who episode written by Terry Nation.
• 25 September - PROSE: Doctor Who and the War Games was first published.
• 29 September - City of Death Part One debuted on BBC1.
• The American edition of PROSE: Doctor Who and the Talons of Weng-Chiang was published by Pinnacle Books.
• Prior to October, the Doctor Who comic strip in TV Comic was discontinued to make way for the strip to be featured in the new Doctor Who Weekly.
• A (vinyl) story record version of Genesis of the Daleks, with original TV dialogue, sound effects and newly recorded narration by Tom Baker, was released.
• 6 October - City of Death Part Two debuted on BBC1.
• 12 October - In the midst of his TV script for City of Death being broadcast, Douglas Adams' first novel, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, was first published.
• 11 October - The very first issue of Doctor Who Weekly (later Doctor Who Monthly and Doctor Who Magazine) was released; the long-running DWM comic strip also made its debut. Both were still published more than thirty years later.
• 13 October - City of Death Part Three debuted on BBC1.
• 18 October - DWM 2 was published, along with part two of Doctor Who and the Iron Legion and part two of The Return of the Daleks. Dr Who and the Turgids was also published in the same issue.
• 20 October - City of Death Part Four debuted on BBC1. This episode received the highest viewing figures ever for a Doctor Who episode, with 16.1 million viewers. The increase in ratings was due to the ITV networks being blacked out by industrial action at the time.
• 25 October - DWM 3 was published.
• 25 October - Terry Nation's Dalek Special was first published. This Target Books trade paperback release, edited by Terrance Dicks, included the novella Daleks: The Secret Invasion, written by Terry Nation, which was the first piece of original Doctor Who-related fiction to be published by Target, as well as Nation's only fiction writing for the company. The book also included a synopsis of TV: Destiny of the Daleks.
• 27 October - The Creature from the Pit Part One debuted on BBC1. David Brierley debuted as the new voice of K9, the character having been absent since the end of The Armageddon Factor.
• November - Animal Magic special was first broadcast on BBC1.
• 1 November - DWM 4 was published.
• 3 November - The Creature from the Pit Part Two debuted on BBC1.
• 8 November - DWM 5 was published.
• 10 November - The Creature from the Pit Part Three debuted on BBC1.
• 15 November - DWM 6 was published.
• 17 November - The Creature from the Pit Part Four debuted on BBC1.
• 20 November - PROSE: Doctor Who and the Destiny of the Daleks was first published.
• 22 November - DWM 7 was published.
• 24 November - Nightmare of Eden Part One debuted on BBC1.
• The American edition of Doctor Who and the Masque of Mandragora was published by Pinnacle Books.
• 29 November - DWM 8 was published.
• 1 December - Nightmare of Eden Part Two debuted on BBC1.
• 6 December - DWM 9 was published.
• 8 December - Nightmare of Eden Part Three debuted on BBC1.
• 11 December - Doctor Who and the Ribos Operation was first published.
• 13 December - DWM 10 was published.
• 15 December - Nightmare of Eden Part Four debuted on BBC1.
• 20 December - DWM 11 was published.
• 22 December - The Horns of Nimon Part One debuted on BBC1.
• 27 December - DWM 12 was published.
• 29 December - The Horns of Nimon Part Two debuted on BBC1.
• Unknown - Prime Computer advertisement was first broadcast.