The Doctor In The TARDIS

I suppose 'interesting' depends on your point of view but yesterday I was doing some DW reading and came accross loads of cool facts about the show, so I thought we should compile them. Here are a few to get started.

1. Frazer Hines (Jamie) and Deborah Watling (Victoria) originally auditioned for the roles of Ben and Polly, companions to the first and second Doctors, but were turned down.

2. Paul Cornell wrote an episode of Casualty and gave every guest character a name of a character from The Seeds Of Doom

3. Mission to the Unknown is the only Doctor Who episode to feature neither the Doctor nor his companions, however, William Hartnell still received a credit

4. Audience research carried out by the BBC in 1972 found that the show was considered one of the most violent on television

5. Chris Barrie (Rimmer in Red Dwarf) auditioned to become the Tenth Doctor

OMG, Chris Barrie as the Doctor would be fantastic, he needs to be 12 :|

I didn't know about the Cornell Casulty bit either, that's funny XD

T-O-R-C-H-W-O-O-D contains the same letters as D-O-C-T-O-R-W-H-O

Thats all I have for now :P

Asteroid 3325, a small main belt asteroid discovered in 1984, is named TARDIS after the Doctor's time/space machine.

Julia Sawalha was considered for the role of Ace but had to turn it down because of filming commitments

William Hartnell was the 3rd person asked to play the First Doctor after Leslie French and Cyril Cusack turned it down

The part of River Song was originally offered to Kate Winslet but she turned it down

Oh, I also read before that a phone number that appearead on screen one time during Tennants run, was rung over 50,000 times. I dont know what episode it was in though. I read it ages ago

David Tennant insisted on being credited as The Doctor instead of Doctor Who, as the ones who came before him had

I love facts and trivia. I dont have any to add though sorry

WHAT

 :o

That would have been........interesting.

That black spandex outfit would have looked just as good :P

I read that in The Writers Tale. I think she would have been great but Im glad she turned it down because I dont think she would have done the whole recurring thing

Not really a fact so much as it is a blooper..

When Jackie informs the authorities about the Doctor in Aliens of London, she mentions that the Doctor called his ship the TARDIS, but nobody actually told her that is was called a TARDIS

And

The Fourth Doctors face from the credits made a cameo appearance in the Blue Harvest episode of Family Guy

Simon Pegg was meant to play the part of Pete Tyler originally but it was impossible to get the dates sorted so he was recast.

Wendy Padbury who played Zoe, the Second Doctor's companion, later became the agent of Matt Smith who plays the Eleventh Doctor after discovering him in a play. She was also the agent of Colin Baker who played the Sixth Doctor, Nicholas Courtney who played the Brigadier and Mark Strickson who played companion Turlough

Jackie Lane who played Dodo, companion to the First Doctor, later became the agent of Tom Baker who played the Fourth Doctor and Janet Fielding who played companion Tegan Jovanka

Janet Fielding who played Tegan Jovanka then went on to become the agent of Paul Mcgann, who played the Eighth Doctor

Ha, its all very insestuous :P

I dont know if this is true, but the idea of how a regeneration plays out was supposedly based around an LSD trip that one of the production team had where they were convinced they had a different face.

Its probably a myth though

Haha, I heard that too

Haha I have this vision of William Hartnell and the rest of the cast rolling around the BBC offices high on tabs :P

Haha that cant be true, surely? :o :P

Tim Curry turned down the role of the Eighth Doctor as he was worried he wouldnt be able to play it well

 :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o

Loved McGann, but I would have loved that!

I think he would have been brilliant, and it would have definitely given a different feel to the movie.

40 years ago today marked the very first appearance of The Master in Terror Of The Autons

40 years ago today marked the very first appearance of the gay jokes about Doctor Who.

 :P

I'm sure a lot of you know this, but the use of the photo from JFK's assassination in Rose refers to the fact that the first episode aired the day after the assassination.

In the earliest outlines for the show, the character who evolved into the Doctor was only a supporting character.

And a personal one - when I was working in a London bookshop in the early 80s, Tom Baker came in one time.  I can confirm he really is a loony (in the nicest possible way 8))

The Doctor is known to have married at least three times - Cameca (The Aztecs), Elizabeth I (The End of Time), Marilyn Monroe (A Christmas Carol).  Since he had a granddaughter, he'd probably been married before that, too.

The first episode aired on the same day as the assassination, though until now I had never noticed that connection. Well spotted.

[/quote]
Technically he only became engaged to Cameca. He left before they were married. Sorry to be a pedant :)

Also, very jealous that you met Tom Baker!!!!

It was the day after - the assassination was on the Friday.

A couple more personal DW connections - in the 40s, my mother was in the same rep company as Patrick Troughton, and a friend of my parents, who I met a few times, played two notable villains in the Pertwee era - the voice of BOSS in The Green Death and Lupton in Planet of the Spiders.

Nyki is right on this one. JFK was assassinated on the 22nd and the show started on the 23rd :)

I've just found this thread and I like it very much!

Michael Bentine (ex of The Goons) was offered the part of the Doctor after Jon Pertwee but the offer was withdrawn after Bentine asked for creative control over the part and demanded to write a certain amount of the episodes.

Robert Holmes was to have written The Five Doctors but pulled out. Terrance Dicks was then asked to push through a script in record time. His original script was 10 minutes short so he invented The Raston Warrior Robot Scene after a trip to the ballet

Janet Fielding was the other actor involved in the read through for the auditions for the Seventh Doctor.

Thought I'd throw in a titbit as I've been thinking about the Five Doctors....

(http://www.dwwa.net/dwvwe/dvd/dr5/allfive.jpg)

Because Tom Baker was so against returning so soon, they used a Madame Tussauds of him for the publicity shots!! Crazy!

When looking to cast the fourth Doctor after Jon Pertwee announced he was leaving, one of the first actors considered was Patrick Troughton!

I didnt know that!!!

Oh my dear lord, it's not a great dummy is it XD

Now that im used to Hartnell, I cant stand the 1 lookalike lol

Certainly is not - it reminds me of someone but it's not Tom Baker!

The writers let Elisabeth Sladen and Tom Baker write Sarah Janes leaving scene in the classic series.

Only found that out today :)

Eh? :-\

I just found this...

In the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode The Neutral Zone, as Dianna Troi helps a woman from the past search for living family members the computer screen flashes up a family tree with the names William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker

I remember that episode but I didn't notice that at all :(

Me neither  :( Think I'll have to do a rewatch to try to spot it - though I'm sure there's a pic out there somewhere!

The appearance of 'The Brigadier' in Mawdryn Undead was originally to have been Ian Chesterton - unfortunately William Russell was busy at the time!

Although the Fourth Doctor always refers to the sweets he has as jelly babies, they're actually quite often liquorice allsorts.  This is true of a number of stories, but Image of the Fendahl particularly comes to mind (when he offers the skull a "jelly baby").

One year ago today The Beast Below was first broadcast

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wNx5RFwRg0&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

"In a gloomy street stands a Metropolitan Police Box. Then next to it appears a TARDIS of the correct size and shape for the First Doctor. Another TARDIS arrives - that of the Eleventh Doctor!

This video shows the differences between the correct proportions of the Mk2 Metropolitan Police Box versus the earliest and most recent TARDISes. The Hartnell box was smaller, but had more a more accurate appearance. Whereas the Matt Smith box (just like all props of the new series) is a more accurate size, but is too fat, and the panels are far too large.

This inaccuracy is of course so well documented now that Steven Moffat even pokes fun of the fans upset over the prop in his episode Blink. But, let's face it, when the Doctor Who prop is placed next to a correct Police Box, you have to admit that it's got the worst Camouflage Unit ever! It's a good job it has a Perception Filter to disguise the fact it's a rubbish approximation of a Mk 2 Met Police Box!"

Rory's ID card says it was issued in November of 1990, but is apparently an over sight/ accident by the production crew that the Moff knew nothing about...

(http://images.wikia.com/tardis/images/1/1a/Rory%27s_ID.jpg)

(I had this image screenied but it's quality was poor, so I had to google it)

36 years ago today the first Doctor, William Hartnell, passed away

Nicholas Courtney grew up speaking only French and Arabic and didn't learn English until he was 7 years old

Anthony Ainley died 7 years ago today

Today is the 76th birthday of Terrance Dicks

Today is Catherine Tate's 43rd birthday :)

Happy birthday, CT :)

Jon Pertwee died 15 years ago today

Oh, and three years ago today RTD announced he was leaving DW

15 years ago today, The Movie was first aired

As it's just gone midnight I can say ... today is Kylie Minogue's 43rd birthday  :D

Love that she's been in Who so I can put that in here  :)

And she still only looks about 33.

I know. Am a big fan, but also a bit jealous  :P

Carol Ann Ford is 71 today.

Also, today in 1974 marked Jon Pertwee's last regular appearance as the Third Doctor and Tom Bakers first appearance as the Fourth Doctor in episode 6 of Planet of the Spiders

It's Colin Baker's birthday too - 68 today  :)

Ah, I knew I'd forgotten someone!

I vaguely remembered watching this when it was first aired, but had forgotten about it.  I have just grabbed screenshots though.

(http://stefancole.com/DW/images/stsslg1.jpg)
In the episode, Claire Raymond is a housewife who was frozen, and revived by Dr Crusher, and it's her family tree that is shown above.  Note that her paternal grandfather is Jonathon Frakes Raymond (Jonathon Frakes played Will Riker)

The next 'page' on the screen was:
(http://stefancole.com/DW/images/stsslg2.jpg)
This now shows Jonathon Frakes Raymond top left, and under him, Brent Spiner Raymond (Brent Spiner plays Data), Denise Poole Raymond I can't find a reference for, Marina Sirtis Raymond (Marina Sirtis played Deanna Troi) and LeVar Burton Raymond (LeVar Burton played Geordi LaForge).  On the right side, however, we can see William Hartnell, Jon Pertwee and Peter Davidson.


The last 'page' on the screen was:
(http://stefancole.com/DW/images/stsslg3.jpg)
This clearly has the first 6 doctors, listed in order on the left side.
Unfortunately, the rest is too fuzzy to read on these screenshots, but if anyone can translate it all, I'd be interested to see if there are any other Who-related names there...

Interestingly, at least from my point of view, the middle column of the middle picture seems to consist of characters from M*A*S*H  :)

Can't read the rest of pic three though - too blurry for my eyes  :-\

Well spotted - I hadn't noticed that, but I think you are right!

Blink first aired 4 years ago today

5 years ago today The Satan Pit first aired

Bad Wolf aired 6 years ago today

Today would have been Jon Pertwee's 92nd Birthday

During The Keys of Marinus, four actors - Michael Allaby, Martin Cort, Alan James and Peter Stenson, between them played eleven characters.

Pyramids of Mars is the only story in the whole of the classic run where Mars was depicted on screen.

Frazer Hines originally auditioned for the part of Ben Jackson, but didn't get it

And Deborah Watling auditioned for Polly, but didn't get it.

Today is Matt Smiths 29th Birthday. Happy Birthday Matt :)

The first story to feature the Doctor's Sonic Screwdriver was Fury from the Deep. The last classic DW to feature the screwdriver was The Visitation, where it was destroyed by the Terilleptils. The sonic was resurrected by RTD.

At this time exactly 48 years ago, I was still coming down from the impact of watching a strange new TV show with a weird electronic theme-tune.

You'd think the BBC would have put an episode on BBC3 or something, but nothing.

Following on from that, probably the most random fact ever posted here.  The programme Doctor Who immediately replaced in the schedule in 1963 was the American cartoon show Deputy Dawg, which had a regular character named after someone who would much, much later figure in Doctor Who.  He was called Vincent Van Gopher.

39 years ago today, The Three Doctors aired its first episode

Wouldn't that mean it was on like a year before the anniversary though?

I think it was more to celebrate the 10th Season rather than the 10th year.

Today would have been Elisabeth Sladens 66th Birthday

Today would have been Roger Delgado's 94th Birthday.

One of JNT's ideas was to reveal that the Doctor was actually a God, but this was scrapped. I heard it on a DVD extra this week.

Vicki was originally to be called Lucki but they changed it during filming of her first story

The woman who was in charge of the Shadow Proclamation in Stolen Earth, though un-named in the episode is actually called the Shadow Architect.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v224/LadyUsagi/e0368755-2a74-44fc-bcb1-530e374b2e40_zps2488735f.jpg)

the following actors/actresses have stared in both Harry Potter and Doctor Who

Mark Williams (Brian Williams/Arthur Weasley)
David Bradley (Solomon the trader/Argus Filch)
Toby Jones(the Dreamlord/Dobby (voice))
John Hurt (war Doctor/Mr Olivander)
Imelda Staunton (interface(the girl who waited)/Dolores Umbridge)
Michael Gambon (Kazran Sardick/Albus Dumbledore(film 3 onwards))
Warick Davies (Porridge/Filius Flitwick and Griphook)
David Tennant (10th Doctor/Barty Crouch Jr)
Roger Lloyd Pack (John Lumic/Barty Crouch Sr)
Bill Nighy (Dr. Black (curator VatD)/Rufus Scrimgeour)

there's also the SJA

Miriam Margoyle (Leaf Green Slitheen-Blathereen/Pomona Sprout)

Note: this list is incomplete

That's a good list - I hadn't realised it was quite so many.  I'll take your comment that the list's incomplete as a challenge, of course  8)

OK, still a lot more to look up, but I've come up with three more:

John Cleese (Art Gallery Visitor (City of Death)/Nearly Headless Nick)
Shirley Henderson (Ursula Blake (Love & Monsters)/Moaning Myrtle)
Julian Glover (Richard I (The Crusade) & Count Scarlioni (City of Death)/Voice of Aragog)

Ooh can I join in?

Helen McCrory (Rosanna Calvierri (Vampires of Venice)/Narcissa Malfoy)
Zoe Wanamaker (Cassandra (End of the World/New Earth)/Madame Hooch)
Adrian Rawlins (Dr Ryder (Planet of the Ood)/James Potter)

Of course, I should certainly have thought of Zoe Wanamaker.

For some reason I couldn't get onto the site yesterday, but I was going to point out that it was the 51st anniversary of Doctor Who. Not as important as last year, of course, but still worth marking.

Neil Gaiman has just posted a couple of pages of what he calls the "zeroth" draft of perhaps the most iconic scene from The Doctor's Wife (the "I took you where you needed to go" scene). No particular insights that I can see, but it's nice to have there.

http://www.whosay.com/status/neilgaiman/1055299?wsref=tw&code=Jxk9YL2

Today is the tenth anniversary of NuWho - ten years since the Doctor told Rose to run  :D

Steven Moffat was originally opposed to Matt Smith's trademark bowtie. Apparently, to Moffat, "Bowties are not cool"