Radio Times 40th Birthday Special photoshoot
40th Birthday Special was a series of special scenes depicting Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor, Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor, Colin Baker as the Sixth Doctor and Sylvester McCoy as the Seventh Doctor that were published in the 22 - 28 November 2003 edition of Radio Times to coincide with the series' fortieth anniversary.
Four editions of the 22 - 28 November 2003 issue were published each with a different variant cover. Each variant depicted a unique scene with a Doctor, however when all four variants were placed side by side they'd create a bigger single image.
A further image of the Fourth Doctor sat in a whicker chair was also included in the issue as well as other images of the Fourth Doctor. Tom Baker by far had the most coverage in these scenes.
Publisher's summary
Collect all four commemorative covers and line them up to create a special Radio Times tribute to Doctor Who.
Scenes
Scene 1
The Sixth Doctor stands proud in his colourful costume as a Sea Devil lurks in the background and a Dalek appears to his right.
Scene 2
The Seventh Doctor arms himself with his umbrella as a Dalek and an Isomorph Cyberman surround him.
Scene 3
The Fourth Doctor stand with his trusty companion K9 by his TARDIS.
Scene 4
The Fifth Doctor defends himself from a Dalek.
Scene 5
The Fourth Doctor sits in a whicker chair.
Cast
- Fourth Doctor - Tom Baker
- Fifth Doctor - Peter Davison
- Sixth Doctor - Colin Baker
- Seventh Doctor - Sylvester McCoy
with models of K9, the Doctor's TARDIS, a Cyberman, Daleks and a Sea Devil.
Crew
References
The Doctor
- The Fourth Doctor carries a cane.
- The Fourth Doctor has a crystal ball.
- The Seventh Doctor carries his umbrella.
Species
- The Daleks have a blue and silver design.
Notes
- Each actor's name is credited with their main era's timespan.
- Tom Baker (1974-81)
- Peter Davison (1982-84)
- Colin Baker (1984-86)
- Sylvester McCoy (1987-89)
- This of course doesn't take into account continuations of his tenure in the 90s: Dimensions in Time and The Movie.
- June Hudson designed a reimagined autumn take on the Fourth Doctor's Season 18 outfit that she had design decades earlier. His trademark scarf had been completely reimagined.
- Hudson had previously returned to design a new outfit for an older Tom Baker Doctor in Doctor Who Night Introduction to the Night.
- In an interview Hudson said: “I wanted to use the same rich colours of the original costume I designed for Tom. It’s a question of evolution. Tom’s stature on Doctor Who has matured and come to fruition and I’ve introduced an autumnal feel to reflect that.”[2]
- Like the Fourth Doctor, the Fifth Doctor also had a new outfit in the form of a cream suit. He did wear the same style of hat he previously wore.[3]
- The Sixth Doctor wore his usual outfit from his tenure.
- The Seventh Doctor wore his cream jacket outfit from Season 24.
- The BBC News website would publish an article about rumours Anthony Head might be the Ninth Doctor. In the article they included a paragraph about the 40th Birthday Special and an image of the full image of the Sixth Doctor and Seventh Doctor.[4]
   
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Continuity
- The Sea Devils are the same variant of the race encountered by the Third Doctor (TV: The Sea Devils)
- An older Fourth Doctor makes an appearance as he'd done in Dimensions in Time and Time is Everything. He'd go on to appear again in the 2017 edition of Shada.
