Anniversary

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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.
• Commemorative merchandise included the Doctor Who Special (1973) from the Radio Times.

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.
• Commemorative merchandise included the Doctor Who 20th Anniversary Special from the Radio Times.

1988

• The 25th anniversary of Doctor Who was commemorated with:
  • Season 25:
    • TV: Remembrance of the Daleks, the Seventh Doctor returns to Coal Hill School in 1963 and fight Daleks.
    • TV: The Happiness Patrol
    • TV: Silver Nemesis, the official 25th anniversary with the first episode premiering on 23 November 1988. The title is a reference to a 25th anniversary also being know as a silver anniversary. The orbit of the Nemesis brings it close to Earth every 25 years, incluing the years 1963 and 1988.
    • TV: The Greatest Show in the Galaxy, the Psychic Circus and Whizz Kid are stand-ins for Doctor Who and its obsessive fanbase.
  • COMIC: Planet of the Dead, a DWM story that — in a subversion of previous anniversary stories — featured the Seventh Doctor and imposters of the first six Doctors.
• Commemorative merchandise included:
  • The DWMS 25th Anniversary Special
  • Doctor Who 25 Years of a Time Lord – The Calendar 1988

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:
  • NOTVALID: Dimensions in Time, a charity special that saw the return of . The two parts of which were broadcast in the week following the anniversary date, on 26 and 27 November 1993.
  • A 30th anniversary special titled The Dark Dimension starring the Fourth Doctor and featuring the Third, Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Doctor was planned but but was ultimately scrapped.
  • COMIC: Time & Time Again, a DWM story featuring all seven Doctors.
  • PROSE: The Evil of the Daleks, the title page shows the official 30th Anniversary Logo.
• Commemorative merchandise included:
  • The 30th Anniversary Calendar, which featured original artwork of stories from all seven Doctors
  • The DWMS Winter 1993

1998

• The 35th anniversary of Doctor Who was commemorated with the release of:
  • PROSE: The Infinity Doctors, a novel set in a parallel universe featuring a parallel version of the Doctor.
  • The novel Mentor was also planned for the 35th anniversary, but it ultimately was scrapped.
  • COMIC: Happy Deathday, a DWM story featuring all eight Doctors as characters in a video game
  • The original Doctor Who website in 1998.
• Commemorative merchandise included the Doctor Who 35th Anniversary Special Edition: The Official 1998 Calendar

2003

• The 40th anniversary of Doctor Who was commemorated with the release of:
  • AUDIO: Zagreus, a Big Finish 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.
  • AUDIO: Doctor Who Unbound, a Big Finish series of "what if" Doctor Who stories set in parallel universes
  • WC: 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
  • PROSE: Deadly Reunion, a Third Doctor novel written by Barry Letts and Terrance Dicks that also expanded on the Brigadier's early life.
  • The broadcast of Doctor Who @40 on 22 and 23 November.
• Commemorative merchandise included the Exclusive 40th Birthday Special from the Radio Times, which has four connecting covers featuring an original photoshoot with Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, and Sylvester McCoy.

2008

• The 45th anniversary of Doctor Who was commemorated with the release with the release of:
  • AUDIO: Forty-Five, a Big Finish anthology featuring the Seventh Doctor
  • COMIC: 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:
  • TV: The Night of the Doctor, a mini-episode featuring the return of Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor.
  • TV: An Adventure in Space and Time, a docudrama about the creation of Doctor Who and William Hartnell's era as the First Doctor.
  • TV: 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.
  • DOC: The Doctors Revisited, a series of documentaries about all eleven Doctors
  • DOC: The Ultimate Guide, a documentary about the show. It included the short episode The History of the Doctor.
  • PROSE: The 50th Anniversary Collection, eleven reprinted novels for all eleven Doctors
  • PROSE: 11 Doctors, 11 Stories, a series of short stories featuring all eleven Doctors
  • COMIC: Prisoners of Time, a 12-issue IDW series featuring the all eleven Doctors
  • COMIC: Dead Man's Hand, an IDW sequel to The Forgotten featuring the the Eleventh Doctor and Matrix projections of all his previous incarnations.
  • 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 50th Anniversary Blu-ray Special in 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
  • COMIC: Time Trick, a DWA story featuring the First and Eleventh Doctor.
  • 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
  • AUDIO: The Light at the End, a Big Finish audio story featuring the Fourth Doctor, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Doctor.
  • AUDIO: Destiny of the Doctor, an 11-part AudioGO and Big Finish series featuring all eleven Doctors.

• Commemorative merchandise included:
  • 50th Anniversary Collector's Edition
  • The Official 50th Anniversary Annual
  • Doctor Who Magazine 467
  • Doctor Who - The 50th Anniversary Collection
  • The 50th Anniversary Issue from the Radio Times, featuring 12 covers for the eleven Doctors and the War Doctor

2016

• The 50th anniversary of the Cybermen's debut in The Tenth Planet (1966) was commemorated with Supremacy of the Cybermen, a Titan Comics story.
• 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

• The 20th anniversary of the Big Finish producing Doctor Who audios since The Sirens of Time (1999) was commemorated with 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 (1971) was commemorated with:
  • AUDIO: Masterful, a Big Finish story released in 2021.
  • COMIC: Missy: The Master Plan, a Titan Comics story released 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.