Into The Time Vortex Podcast - Episode 61 - Doctor Who - An Unearthly Child

Doctor Who Writer Son Suing the BBC

Stefan Coburn, son of Anthony Coburn, is suing the BBC in order to claim the rights to the TARDIS. Anthony Coburn, who wrote the script for the first Doctor Who story "An Unearthly Child" is claimed to have come up with the idea of the TARDIS says Stefan in the suite.  Documents and general knowledge of the origins of the show state that Sydney Newman and others of the production team came up with using the Police Box as the design for the TARDIS much earlier than when Coburn came on board.

Anthony Coburn died in 1977 but his son is now coming out with this suite, obviously to capitalize on increased awareness of the show during the 50th Anniversary.

Stefan says this -

It is by no means my wish to deprive legions of Doctor Who fans (of whom I was never one) of any aspect of their favourite children's programme. The only ends I wish to accomplish, by whatever lawful means present themselves, involve bringing about the public recognition that should by rights always have been his due, of my father James Anthony Coburn's seminal contribution to Doctor Who, and proper lawful recompense to his surviving estate.

The BBC has made no official comment.

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/who-owns-the-tardis-son-of-man-who-invented-doctor-whos-time-machine-is-challenging-bbc-over-breach-of-copyright-8930947.html

Happy 50th Anniversary of Recording of The Very First Doctor Who Episode

"An Unearthly Child" was recorded today, 50 years ago today.  While officially not the first day of shooting (several inserts were filmed ahead of time including the shot of the shadow near the TARDIS seen at the end of the episode) today is the anniversary of the actual transmitted episode which would launch Doctor Who a month later.

A previous recording had been done earlier in September but was of poor quality with mistakes and such and so it was decided to record again on October 18, 1963.

Happy 50th Anniversary Doctor Who!!!!

On this day, Thursday September 19, 50 years ago, shooting began on Doctor Who!!  Some filmed sequences were created ahead of time before the actual in studio recording was done.  The first scene filmed was of the TARDIS as seen at the end of the episode "An Unearthly Child."

http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2013-09-19/first-ever-doctor-who-scene-filmed-fifty-years-ago-today

Doctor Who: An Unearthly Child Event Panel

BFI is coming out with a series of taped panel discussions on Doctor Who and the first one centers on the creation of the very first Doctor Who story, An Unearthly Child.  The panel includes Mark Gatiss (writer of Victory of the Daleks), Waris Hussein (Director of An Unearthly Child), Carole Ann Ford (Susan) and William Russell (Ian).

Doctor Who 50th Anniversary: An Unearthly Child

Doctor Who 
An Unearthly Child
By Anthony Coburn

"We are not of this race. We are not of this earth. Susan and I are wanderers in the fourth dimension of space and time, cut off from our own people by distances beyond the reach of your most advanced science."

50 years ago on November 23 a great television phenomenon was born and when two school teachers entered a junkyard and confronted an old man about to enter an out of place Police Box. What Ian and Barbara, and the people watching on TV, did not know what was in store for them. An Unearthly Child was the beginning of the ride of a lifetime and it all started with a mysterious girl who was, well, a bit alien.