2005 (releases)


 * To the Slaughter was first published. With the new Doctor Who TV series about to premiere, BBC Books decided to retire both the BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures and BBC Past Doctor Adventures lines in favour of a new series of novels featuring the Ninth Doctor. One more EDA book followed in June, while the PDA series continued to the end of 2005 (one of which was an Eighth Doctor story).
 * The Juggernauts was first released.
 * Snake Head was first released.
 * 14 January - Visual effects designer Jack Kine died.
 * 17 January - Horror of Fang Rock was released to DVD in the UK.
 * 29 January - Big Finish Productions announced the production of three standalone hardback novels as part of its Big Finish New Worlds range. These were Wildthyme on Top, Project: Valhalla and The Coming of the Queen. Big Finish also announced it would produce two single audio stories featuring Iris Wildthyme.
 * Sophie Okonedo, who provided the voice of Alison Cheney in the webcast WC: Scream of the Shalka, was nominated for the Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for her role in the 2004 film Hotel Rwanda. Okonedo became the first actor to have played a Doctor or companion in an official Doctor Who production to have been nominated for an Oscar. She did not win.
 * At some point in January, the BBC was made aware that Christopher Eccleston was not taking part in a second series of Doctor Who. According to a 4th April press release, the BBC agreed not to announce this to the public. It was later revealed that Russell T Davies had hoped to keep the actor's departure secret until the regeneration in The Parting of the Ways was broadcast.
 * Match of the Day was first published. This was the final BBC Past Doctor Adventures novel to feature the Fourth Doctor and, as of 2011, the most recent original Fourth Doctor novel. The PDA series was suspended until July to allow for the premiere and broadcast of the first season of the revived series.
 * The Game was first released.
 * Actor Sheila Gill died.
 * 3 February - Ghost Light was released to DVD in Region 4.
 * 5 February - At the conclusion of a Saturday Night Live sketch on public access television pledge drives, TV celebrity Paris Hilton donned the Fourth Doctor's hat and scarf and referred to the Daleks and the TARDIS. The sketch was widely circulated among science fiction fandom, in part via the recently introduced video-sharing website YouTube. In the coming years, YouTube was a major outlet for the distribution of fan-made music videos, clips and other material related to Doctor Who and its spinoffs.
 * 10 February - Actor Leonard Trolley died.
 * 11 February - The Doctor Who Information Network (DWIN), the main Canadian Doctor Who fan club, launched its News Blog website.
 * 16 February - The TARDIS Index File Wikia website was launched, which has since been renamed the TARDIS Data Core. This date serves as this very Wiki's birthday.
 * Dreamtime was first released.
 * Short Trips: Seven Deadly Sins was first published.
 * The Longest Night was first released.
 * This month, promotion for the upcoming return of Doctor Who to television entered high gear.
 * 1 March - The Visitation and The Green Death were released to DVD in Region 1.
 * As early reviews of the new Doctor Who series began to appear, IGN Filmforce reported the American cable broadcaster Sci-Fi Channel, considered the most likely US broadcast home for the series, had chosen not to purchase it. Although there was talk of a related cable network, Universal HD, picking up the series, for the time being United States viewers would not be able to see the new series, with the exception of those close enough to Canada to receive the CBC broadcasts, which was now the North American premiere of the series.


 * 7 March - The Mind Robber was released to DVD in the UK.
 * 8 March - Big Finish Productions announced it had agreed to a deal with Paul Cornell allowing the company to continue its range of Bernice Summerfield books and audio CDs for the next few years.
 * 9 March - BBC Radio 4's Today ran a feature on the new series.
 * 12 March - Whether by coincidence or design (as the impending change of lead actor was already known behind the scenes), this week's cover of Radio Times featured yet-to-be-announced Tenth Doctor actor David Tennant in a very Doctor-like pose promoting the mini-series Casanova - right next to a headline promoting the return of Doctor Who. This was the first of many Radio Times covers for Tennant over the next few years.
 * 22 March - Project Who Bigger on the Inside, the first episode of a two-part behind-the-scenes documentary on the return of Doctor Who, was first broadcast on BBC Radio 2 (later released on the CD Project: WHO?).
 * 23 March - Billie Piper was interviewed on The Chris Moyles Show on BBC Radio 1.
 * 25 March - Christopher Eccleston was interviewed on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross.
 * 26 March - Rose was first broadcast, returning Doctor Who to television as a weekly series for the first time since 1989 and launching Series 1, aka Season 27. Christopher Eccleston debuted as the Ninth Doctor, along with Billie Piper as his companion Rose Tyler. Additionally, Noel Clarke debuted as recurring character and future companion Mickey Smith.
 * 26 - In conjunction with the debut of the new series, BBC Three premiered its behind-the-scenes series, Doctor Who Confidential, the same night. A new episode of Confidential followed the broadcast of each new episode of Doctor Who.
 * 26 - The Doctor Who Story was broadcast on UK Gold.
 * 26 - Radio Times featured Doctor Who on its cover. With the arrival of the new series, the Radio Times began featuring the series on a more frequent basis (something they had not done since the early 1970s).
 * 29 March - Project Who: Reverse the Polarity, part 2 of the BBC Radio 2 documentary series, was first broadcast (later released on the CD Project: WHO?).
 * 30 March - The BBC announced production would proceed on a second series and a Christmas Special.
 * 30 - A publicity branch of the BBC prematurely announced Christopher Eccleston would not return for a second series as the Ninth Doctor, citing his desire to not be typecast. This reason was denied immediately by Eccleston and the BBC ultimately retracted it. Eccelston later stated he left because he disliked the working environment. In his 2008 book The Writer's Tale, Russell T Davies confirmed that Eccleston's departure was intended to be kept secret until the final moments of The Parting of the Ways.
 * Three's a Crowd was first released.
 * Lies was first released. This audio drama featured the landmark first meeting between the first two incarnations of Romana, featuring Mary Tamm returning to the role of Romana I.
 * 2 April - The End of the World was first broadcast.
 * 4 April - The BBC retracted part of its 30th March announcement of the departure of Christopher Eccleston, indicating it released the information with incorrect attribution and without the actor's consent.
 * 7 April - Horror of Fang Rock was released to DVD in Region 4.
 * 9 April - The Unquiet Dead was first broadcast. It was the first appearance of the Cardiff Space-Time Rift, the first revival-series story set in Wales and the first appearance of Eve Myles in the Doctor Who franchise.
 * 11 April - Actor John Bennett died.
 * 16 April - Aliens of London was first broadcast. This episode reintroduced UNIT (last referenced on television in Battlefield), establishing that all modern-day stories in the Doctor Who franchise from this point on (spinoffs included) took place approximately one year ahead of their real-life broadcast date. This was the first appearance of the Slitheen. For the first time since The Gunfighters, a multi-part story carried different episode titles.
 * 16 - David Tennant was officially announced as the Tenth Doctor. At this time Tennant was best known for playing the title role in Casanova, a BBC miniseries written and produced by Russell T Davies. He had also recently filmed a role in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, which was released to theatres the same day his first solo performance as the Doctor was broadcast.
 * 21 April - Echoes was first published.
 * 23 April - World War Three was first broadcast.
 * 25 April - The Claws of Axos was released to DVD in the UK; this was the first classic series DVD release in the UK since the revival of the series.
 * 26 April - Actor Michael Coles died.
 * 30 April - Dalek was first broadcast. This was the first Dalek TV story since Remembrance of the Daleks in 1988. It was also the first Dalek TV story not to feature Davros since Death to the Daleks in 1974. Bruno Langley briefly joined the series as short-term companion Adam Mitchell.
 * The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in Canada began airing the new series, the first time the CBC had aired Doctor Who since the mid-1960s. For the CBC broadcasts, Christopher Eccleston videotaped special introductions and promotions for a contest sponsored by TV Guide, the first prize being a trip to London to visit the set of Doctor Who. These broadcasts were promoted as the North American debut of the series, as no other broadcaster on the continent had yet picked up the revived series.
 * Christopher Eccleston became a Mencap charity ambassador.
 * BBC Books launched the New Series Adventures line of original novels tying in with the new series; this line, featuring the Ninth Doctor, replaced the BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures and BBC Past Doctor Adventures lines, though both continued publishing briefly. The new line of books was published in hardcover and had a shorter word count than the EDA/PDA novels. The books were released three at a time. The first three released were The Clockwise Man, The Monsters Inside and Winner Takes All.
 * Catch-1782 was first released.
 * Short Trips: A Day in the Life was first published.
 * Spirit was first released.
 * Project: WHO? was first released by BBC Audio. This was a CD issue of the two-part BBC Radio documentary Project Who on the return of Doctor Who, featuring interviews with Christopher Eccleston, Billie Piper and others.
 * 5 May - The Mind Robber was released to DVD in Region 4.
 * 7 May - The Long Game was first broadcast. Bruno Langley departed the series as his character, Adam Mitchell was forced out by the Doctor.
 * 14 May - Father's Day was first broadcast.
 * 16 May - In the UK, BBC Video released Doctor Who: Volume 1 with the episodes Rose, The End of the World and The Unquiet Dead. This was the first of a series of "vanilla" (extras-free) DVDs released by BBC Video featuring episodes from a still-underway season and the first new-series episodes (and first Ninth Doctor episodes) to be released to home video.
 * 21 May - The Empty Child was first broadcast. John Barrowman made his first appearance as Jack Harkness. This episode, and The Doctor Dances the next week, were Steven Moffat's first serious contributions to televised Doctor Who and won the series its first Hugo Award.
 * 28 May - The Doctor Dances was first broadcast.
 * The Gallifrey Chronicles was first published. This was the final release in the BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures novel series, as BBC Books prepared to move into publishing novels exclusively based upon the revived series. One further Eighth Doctor novel was published in the BBC Past Doctor Adventures line.
 * Unregenerate! was first released.
 * Pandora and Insurgency were first released.
 * The Wasting was first released. It was the final episode of the spin-off series UNIT.
 * The BBC announced that a Christmas special was already commissioned for 2006, as well as a third season for the new Doctor Who series.
 * 1 June - Actor Geoffrey Toone died.
 * 2 June - The Claws of Axos was released to DVD in Region 4.
 * 3 June - The Tree of Life was first published.
 * 4 June - Boom Town was first broadcast.
 * 7 June - The Leisure Hive was released to DVD in Region 1.
 * 8 June - Actor Ed Bishop died.
 * 11 June - Bad Wolf was first broadcast. It was the first reference to Torchwood.
 * 11 - Christopher Eccleston was interviewed by BBC Radio.
 * 13 June - The DVD Doctor Who: Volume 2 was released by BBC Video, featuring the new series episodes Aliens of London, World War Three and Dalek.
 * 18 June - The Parting of the Ways was first broadcast, concluding the first season of the revival of Doctor Who. The Ninth Doctor regenerated into the Tenth, introducing David Tennant and marking Christopher Eccleston's final (to date) appearance as the Doctor. John Barrowman also departed the series as a regular with this story. The broadcast was followed by the final transmission of Doctor Who Confidential's first season.
 * 18 - Post-production was completed for The Christmas Invasion.
 * 21 June - Ghost Light was released to DVD in Region 1.
 * Island of Death was first published. It was the final PDA novel to feature the Third Doctor and the last Third Doctor original novel to date. The PDA series returned to monthly released for the remainder of the year as the final books in the line were published.
 * Terror Firma was first released.
 * 11 July - Revelation of the Daleks was released to DVD in the UK. Beginning with this release, BBC Video issued Doctor Who DVDs in conjunction with 2 entertain.
 * 15 July - The first performance of the Doctor Who - Inside the TARDIS live stage tour was held at the Robert Blackwood Hall in Melbourne, Australia.
 * 16 July - The second performance of the Doctor Who - Inside the TARDIS live stage tour was held at the Palais Theatre in Melbourne, Australia.
 * 17 July - The third performance of the Doctor Who - Inside the TARDIS live stage tour was held at the Palais Theatre in Melbourne, Australia.
 * 21 July - Peculiar Lives was first published.
 * The fourth performance of the Doctor Who - Inside the TARDIS live stage tour was held at the Burswood Theatre in Perth, Australia.
 * 23 July - The fifth performance of the Doctor Who - Inside the TARDIS live stage tour was held at the Festival Theatre in Adelaide, Australia.
 * 25 July - The BBC announced that Elisabeth Sladen would return to the role of Sarah Jane Smith for an upcoming episode of the revived Doctor Who's second series.
 * 26 July - The sixth performance of the Doctor Who - Inside the TARDIS live stage tour was held at the Canberra Theatre in Canberra, Australia.
 * 29 July - The seventh performance of the Doctor Who - Inside the TARDIS live stage tour was held at the Theatre Royal in Sydney, Australia.
 * 30 July - The eighth performance of the Doctor Who - Inside the TARDIS live stage tour was held at the Theatre Royal in Sydney, Australia.
 * 30 - Actor Peggy Dixon died.
 * Spiral Scratch (originally promoted under the title Future Nostalgia) was first published. It was the final novel to date to feature the Sixth Doctor, and also depicted his regeneration story that ties into Time and the Rani.
 * The Council of Nicaea was first released.
 * Imperiatrix was first released.
 * Actor Tony Harwood died.
 * 1 August - The DVD Doctor Who: Volume 3, featuring the episodes The Long Game, Father's Day, The Empty Child and The Doctor Dances, was first released.
 * The ninth performance of the Doctor Who - Inside the TARDIS live stage tour was held at the Brisbane Convention Centre in Brisbane, Australia.
 * 5 August - The tenth performance of the Doctor Who - Inside the TARDIS live stage tour was held at the Westpac St James Theatre in Wellington, New Zealand.
 * 6 August - The last performance of the Doctor Who - Inside the TARDIS live stage tour was held at the Civic Theatre in Auckland, New Zealand.
 * 31 August - Actor Michael Sheard died.
 * The Deviant Strain, Only Human, and The Stealers of Dreams were first published. To date, these were the last novels featuring the Ninth Doctor as BBC Books changed to novels featuring the Tenth Doctor.
 * Fear Itself was first published. This was the last novel to date to feature the Eighth Doctor and was the only time this incarnation was featured in the BBC Past Doctor Adventures line.
 * Thicker Than Water was first released.
 * LIVE 34 was first released.
 * Short Trips: The Solar System was first published.
 * Scorpius, the first episode of a new Big Finish Productions spin-off series, Cyberman, was first released.
 * Doctor Who Annual 2006 was first published. This marked the return of the Doctor Who annual, a once-traditional publication that was issued during most of the run of the original series. Marvel Comics last made an attempt at reviving the format in the early 1990s.
 * 1 September - Revelation of the Daleks was released to DVD in Region 4.
 * 5 September - Doctor Who at the BBC Volume 3 was first released, including the first release of an unbroadcast Third Doctor audio mini-episode recorded for Glorious Goodwood.
 * BBC Video released the DVD Doctor Who: Volume 4, featuring the episodes Boom Town, Bad Wolf and The Parting of the Ways. This concluded the series of "vanilla" DVD released of episodes from the first revival season. Discounting the unique appearance of the Eighth Doctor, the Ninth Doctor became the first Doctor to have his complete era released to DVD.


 * 9 September - The Web Planet was released to DVD in the UK.
 * 12 September - Actor Ronald Leigh-Hunt died.
 * 23 September - Actor Roger Brierley died.
 * World Game was first published. It was the final Second Doctor novel to date.
 * Scaredy Cat was first released.
 * Fear was first released.
 * 6 October - BBC Video released a special Dalek Collector's Edition DVD box set exclusively in UK W H Smith stores. The set included the previously released The Dalek Invasion of Earth, Resurrection of the Daleks and Remembrance of the Daleks.
 * 18 October - Actor John Hollis died.
 * 24 October - Writer Robert Sloman died.
 * 31 October - Actor Mary Wimbush died.
 * The Time Travellers was first published. It was the final First Doctor novel to date.
 * Singularity was first released.
 * Wildthyme at Large was first released, launching an ongoing series of audio dramas featuring the character of Iris Wildthyme, played by Katy Manning.
 * 3 November - The Web Planet was released to DVD in Region 4.
 * 6 November - Horror of Fang Rock, The Mind Robber and The Claws of Axos were released to DVD in Region 1.
 * 7 November - BBC Audio released Travels in Time and Space, a box set collecting three unabridged readings of early novelisations: Doctor Who in an Exciting Adventure with the Daleks, Doctor Who and the Zarbi and Doctor Who and the Crusaders, all read by William Russell.
 * 7 - City of Death was released to DVD in the UK.
 * 18 November - The Children in Need Special was broadcast by the BBC as part of the Children in Need Appeal, marking the first solo appearance by David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor. This seven-minute mini-episode bridged the events of The Parting of the Ways and The Christmas Invasion. It became the first production of the series revival not to be broadcast outside of the UK (though it was later included on international DVDs).
 * 18 - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was released to cinemas in the US and UK, featuring new Doctor David Tennant in a key role.
 * 2 November -21 November - The Kingmaker was recorded.
 * 21 November - The complete Series 1 (2005) of Doctor Who was released to DVD in the UK as a box set. This was the first time a complete season of Doctor Who was released all at once (although all episodes had been issued previously in vanilla editions). Included was a bonus disc featuring the first DVD release of episodes of Doctor Who Confidential, although due to licensing and appearance rights issues, the practice of releasing edited-down versions (retitled Doctor Who Confidential Cutdown) to DVD was begun.
 * 25 November - Dreamland was recorded.
 * The first Region 1 (North American) release
 * 29 November - Actor Joseph Fürst died.
 * Atom Bomb Blues was first published. This novel featuring the Seventh Doctor was the final release in the BBC Books Past Doctor Adventures line. After this, BBC Books published only novels based upon the current series of Doctor Who, and also moved away from the paperback format to a hardcover one (with the exception of Quick Reads novellas) hereafter.
 * Other Lives was first released.
 * Short Trips: The History of Christmas was first published.
 * Conversion was first released.
 * The Devil in Ms. Wildthyme was first released. This was the last Iris Wildthyme audio drama until 2009.
 * 1 December - City of Death was released to DVD in Region 4.
 * 8 December - David Tennant appeared on BBC Radio 4's Front Row.
 * 19 December - Actor Don McKillop died.
 * 21 December - David Tennant appeared on BBC One's Breakfast programme.
 * 23 December - BBC Radio Wales broadcast Back in Time - New Doctor, New Danger, featuring Russell T Davies and others.
 * The BBC Two comedy series Dead Ringers featured the parody "Christmas at Doctor Who's" with the cast impersonating David Tennant, Tom Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Patrick Troughton and Christopher Eccleston.
 * 25 December - The Christmas Invasion was first broadcast, officially launching the Tenth Doctor era. The episode's closing credits introduced a modified arrangement of the Doctor Who theme, restoring the "middle 8" section not used during Series 1. At the behest of star David Tennant, the lead character was once again identified in the closing credits as "The Doctor".
 * 25 December - Following the broadcast of The Christmas Invasion, the BBC Red Button service made available NOTDWU: Attack of the Graske, an interactive mini-episode-cum-game featuring David Tennant. Initially this was only available for viewing/playing in the UK.
 * 26 December - The Christmas Invasion aired on the CBC in Canada. For this broadcast, Billie Piper videotaped a special introduction. This marked the last time (to date) that the CBC's broadcasts of the series more-or-less coincided with that of the BBC.
 * 27 December - BBC Radio 4's Front Row ran a feature on the new Doctor.

Unknown dates

 * Broadcast of the revived series in the United States was delayed when the American Sci-Fi Channel unexpectedly passed on the series. Reasons cited in media and fan forums included the show being "too British" and concerns over the quality of the preview episodes seen. Sci-Fi eventually reversed its decision and the series was broadcast at a later date. The network subsequently picked up further seasons in a more timely manner.
 * Following the conclusion of the 2005 Doctor Who series, the BBC announced it had commissioned the franchise's first spin-off series, Torchwood, to debut in 2006 and star John Barrowman reprising his role of Jack Harkness.
 * Autumn: During production of the 2006 series, the media reported that Billie Piper would leave the series at the end of the season.