Doctor Who won a George Foster Peabody Award, one of the highest awards given for American television. The award, which was accepted by Steven Moffat, Matt Smith, and Jenna-Louise Coleman, was presented for “evolving with technology and the times like nothing else in the known television universe.”
A live production based on Doctor Who, called Don’t Blink, will be performed in Chicago through March. The show is being performed by the Gorilla Tango Burlesque troupe and notes that no body under 18 will be admitted. The troupe will also be performing Holy Bouncing Boobies!: A Batman Burlesque from March through May.
Ray Cusick (b.1928) died on February 21. Cusick designed the original Daleks for Doctor Who in 1963. Cusick was also responsible for set design, designing not just futuristic settings but also historical sets and dioramas. He went on to be the designer for James Burke’s series Connections.
In honor of the fiftieth anniversary of Doctor Who, the Royal Mail will be releasing official stamps. The main sheet of stamps will include eleven first class stamps, each with an image of one of the actors who portrayed the character. A second sheet of stamps will also be issued that includes one first class stamp depicting the TARDIS and four additional second class stamps depicting the Daleks, Cybermen, Ood, and Weeping Angels. The stamps will be made available in the spring of 2013.
Actress Mary Tamm (b.1950) died on July 26, eighteen months after being diagnosed with cancer. Tamm is best known for creating the role of the Time Lord Romana during the Key to Time arc of Doctor Who. She also appeared in several Big Finish audio productions.
Actress Caroline John (b.1940) died on June 5. John portrayed Dr. Elizabeth Shaw in four series of Doctor Who opposite Jon Pertwee, as well as reprising the role in The Five Doctors and performed in numerous Doctor Who audio plays. She also appeared in the P.R.O.B.E. series. She was married to Geoffrey Beevers, who played The Master in one Doctor Who serial and also appears in the Doctor Who audio plays.
Actress Jenny Tomasin (b.1936) died on January 3. Although best known for portraying Ruby on Upstairs, Downstairs, Tomasin also appeared in the 1985 Doctor Who serial “Revelations of the Daleks” as Tasambeker and in 2000 appeared in a made-for-television adaptation of Cinderella.
Two missing episodes of Doctor Who have been discovered. The third episode of the William Hartnell serial “Galaxy 4″ has been found, making it the only known episode of that serial’s four episodes to be known to exist. In addition, the second episode of Patrick Troughton’s serial “The Underwater Menace” has been discovered, meaning that now two of that serials four episodes are known to exist (the third episode appears on the “Lost in Time” DVD set).
Actor Roy Skelton (b.1932) died on June 8. Skelton is perhaps best known for providing the voice for the Doctor Who villains the Daleks, from 1967 to 1988. He also provided voice work for the Cybermen and the Krotons. Skelton also appeared as the mock turtle in a version of Alice in Wonderland and was a puppeteer and voice artist on the show Rainbow.
Actress Elisabeth Sladen (b.1948) died on April 19. Sladen is best known for her role as Sarah Jane Smith on Doctor Who from 1973 through 1976, a role she reprised several times, including on the new series of Doctor Who, which led to the creation of the Sarah Jane Adventures, on which she starred. In the 1980s, she also appeared in the television productions of Alice in Wonderland and Gulliver in Lilliput.