ARTICLE: How DWM Predicted Doctor Who Could Come Back in 2002 - Were They Right?

Cast your mind back (if you're old enough!) to a time before Doctor Who was brought back to life by Russell T Davies, after a 16-year hiatus, in 2005. That period has since become known by fans as The Wilderness Years, that wedge of time between Season 26 ending in December 1989 and Rose debuting in March 2005. It was a time packed with Doctor Who books, comics, audios, toys and even a 90-minute TV movie... but no new series proper.

In its Christmas 2001 issue, Doctor Who Magazine decided to ask some pertinent questions about the practicalities and probabilities of our beloved programme ever getting back onto TV. In an article called "When's He Coming Back?" (hindsight makes that pronoun stick out!), writer Jonathan Blum asked 50 questions of a panel of pundits who worked in TV and media, to find out whether Doctor Who really could still cut it in the year 2002. Looking back, some of the panel's answers are amusingly wide of the mark, as well as fascinatingly prescient. So let's look back at what was asked, what was said, and whether anybody got it right...

ARTICLE: Whatever Happened to the 'Other' Susan Foremans?

Way back in 1963, when the nuts and bolts of Doctor Who were being put together to build its foundations, the core cast was made up of the Doctor (played by William Hartnell), two schoolteachers called Ian (William Russell) and Barbara (Jacqueline Hill) and the Doctor's quirky granddaughter Susan (Carole Ann Ford). But before Ford was cast, a plethora of other girls auditioned for the role, on June 25th, 1963. So who were they? What became of the Susans that never were? Prepare for tragedy and mystery...

ARTICLE: 11 Actors Who Died Within a Year of Appearing in Doctor Who

One of the saddest parts of running a blog which tries to trace the birth and death dates of every credited cast member in Doctor Who history, is when I have to update an actor's entry with their passing. Whether it's a big name guest star, or a bit-part player who only appeared for one week, or one scene, each and every performer to put their name to the developing legend of Doctor Who deserves recognition.

I'm adding birth and death dates to the blog all the time, based upon ongoing research and generous contributions from dedicated readers. And it's not just recent deaths that get added, it's also deaths from years ago, which only now get uncovered or confirmed.

So I thought I'd look at some of the actors who died soon after making their final Doctor Who appearance. Which actors died closest to the day their last episode went out? As I discovered, there have been a surprising number of actors who've died very close to the transmission of their episodes (both classic series and new), and there is one particular performer with a very tragic demise who passed away before their episode had even been shown on TV.

How to Use This Blog

• Each broadcast story (plus Shada) in Doctor Who's history since 1963 has its own entry on the blog. For some of the 21st century stories, their accompanying prelude/ TARDISode is also present if it has a different enough cast. I've also included 1993's Dimensions in Time because as far as I'm concerned that's canonical Doctor Who, but I haven't included The Curse of Fatal Death (comedy sketch) or spin-offs such as K-9 & Company, The Sarah Jane Adventures or Torchwood. Oh, and that Class thing It takes long enough to maintain just this site!

• An A-Z of the stories can be found down the left-hand side of the blog, with any story beginning with "The" listed under 'T'. This story list also includes other categories of interest, such as particular Doctors, Articles or Career Biographies. There is also a search engine at the top right of the blog to search for specific words or names.

• Each entry is laid out with the regular credited cast first. With William Hartnell and his companions, there is a link through to their separate full entries (to save space). For the Second Doctor onwards, a new Doctor, companion or frequent regular will be listed fully for their first appearance, and all subsequent appearances will link back to it (to save space).

• The credited guest cast is then listed alphabetically by surname, and again, if there is an actor who is a frequent contributor (such as Dalek operators or voice artistes), they appear in full for their debut, and all later appearances will link back (to save space!).

• Lastly, there is the principal credited crew for each story, which includes writer(s), director(s), script editor(s) and producer(s). The same rule applies here too - the full entry appears for the person's credited debut, and all subsequent credits link back to that (to save space!).

• Remember: facts and trivia are being added and modified all the time, and while 99% of what you read has been properly researched, occasionally errors and typos do creep in, so do let me know via the Comment facility on each story entry if you spot something amiss! Or, if you know something new I can add to the site, drop me a line, either via the Comments section or via Twitter @DrWhoCastCrew.

~ Steve (May 2018)