i) births and deaths

30 June 1978: death of David Ellis, who co-wrote The Faceless Ones (1967).

ii) broadcast anniversaries

30 June 2007: broadcast of Last of the Time Lords, the 200th story and 750th episode (depending how you count) of Doctor Who.

And so I reach the end of this project, after 350-odd daily posts.

My inspiration for doing this was partly a genuine curiosity to get a sense of when in the cycle of the year Doctor Who and its spinoffs had been show, and partly also admiration for , who as long ago as 2004-2005 posted a series of daily notes on historical anniversaries for that particular date. (See for instance his post of six years ago today). My method was to use the Doctor Who Wiki and generally plan out the Whoniversaries a few days in advance, usually setting up the coming week’s posts at the weekend. It usually worked, and I am really grateful for the generally positive feedback and comments I have had from fellow fans over the last twelve months of this slightly mad project. Still considering how to turn it into a more permanent RSS feed.

Apart from the reflections on shared broadcast dates I posted earlier n the week, I found a few more neat coincidences. There are some nice cases of regulars sharing birthdays which should inspire some interesting fanfic – Fraser Hines and Billie Piper (22 September 1944 and 1982), Colin Baker and Carole Ann Ford (8 June 1943 and 1940), Matt Smith and Ian Marter (28 October 1982 and 1944), and rather nicely Sylvester McCoy, Sophie Aldred and Anthony Ainley (20 August 1943, 1962 and 1932). Sophie Aldred was born on the same day as James Marsters; has anyone ever seen them in the same place at the same time?

I missed a few dates as well. My policy on inclusion of individuals was not always consistent and perhaps missed a few who should have been noted. I could not keep up with the new K9 TV series and failed to note any of its broadcasts after the first couple. And of course, those who we lost in the last twelve months were noted, if at all, after the event. Farewell, then, to Pennant Roberts, director of six Old Who stories; Derek Pollitt and Frank Jarvis, players of small but noticeable roles; Louis Marks, writer of four Old Whos; music composer Geoffrey Burgon; co-creator of the Yeti Mervyn Haisman; scream queen Ingrid Pitt, who appeared twice in the show; Margaret John, who appeared in both Old Who and New Who; Celestial Toymaker and Time Lord Michael Gough; Dalek voice (and Zippy!) Roy Skelton; and in particular Nicholas Courtney and Elisabeth Sladen. They provided me (and probably you too) with much enjoyment and delight over the years, and it seems right to close this series of posts by commemorating them all.