From the people who brought you Flight Through Entirety.
It’s inevitable, I guess: a new alien or monster or villain débuts in Doctor Who to considerable popular acclaim, and so next year, or the year after, or even later than that, the production team decide to bring them back.
But how do you do that? You can’t just re-do the story they first appeared in and get them to do all the same things as last time, can you? And you can’t put them in a story so different that they lose all the things that everyone loved about them last time. It’s a problem.
In Season 2 of 500 Year Diary, we look at how (and whether) the production team successfully walked this tightrope. All your favourites are here — the Daleks, the Cybermen, the Ice Warriors and the Sontarans, of course, as well as some villains and monsters from later in the show’s history — and even one from its most successful spinoff.
Saturday 21 November 1964
The Dalek Invasion of Earth
The Second Coming,
Episode 1
Sunday 27 April 2025
This week, we launch the second season of 500 Year Diary with the first of our Second Comings — Doctor Who’s second ever Dalek story, The Dalek Invasion of Earth. How will the Daleks survive leaving their city on Skaro and subjecting themselves to the public gaze just before Christmas?
Saturday 11 February 1967
The Moonbase
The Second Coming,
Episode 2
Sunday 4 May 2025
We’re walking on eggshells this week as we await the arrival of an army of marching Cybermen, approaching the Moonbase with a dastardly plan to change Doctor Who for ever. For the better, on the whole.
Saturday 25 January 1969
The Seeds of Death
The Second Coming,
Episode 3
Sunday 11 May 2025
It’s Invaders from Mars this week, as the terrifying monsters we thawed out in 5000 AD last year make an early appearance on the Moon just sixteen years after the visit of the Cybermen. Their goal: to cement their position somewhere on the top ten list of recurring Doctor Who monsters. Jeremy Radick joins us as we try to work out exactly where.
Saturday 22 February 1975
The Sontaran Experiment
The Second Coming,
Episode 4
Sunday 18 May 2025
It’s cold and rainy this weekend, and so we’ve decided to catch up with Mark McManus and spend the day larking around Devonshire, falling down holes, and generally hiding from Kevin Lindsay while he brings the Sontarans to the screen for the second time.
Monday 17 January 1983
Snakedance
The Second Coming,
Episode 5
Sunday 25 May 2025
This week, the people of the planet Manussa are about to discover that all their ancient myths are true, and that their own thirst and dissatisfaction are rearing up to strike them in rubbery serpentine form. Kate Orman joins us to discuss the second coming of the Mara.
Thursday 5 January 1984
Warriors of the Deep
The Second Coming,
Episode 6
Sunday 1 June 2025
This week, the Earth’s original inhabitants wake up from hibernation after about a decade, put on their best fibreglass vests and samurai outfits, and invade an undersea base at 0.5× speed. The Silurians and Sea Devils are back — but why?
Saturday 4 October 1986
Mindwarp
The Second Coming,
Episode 7
Sunday 8 June 2025
This week, the 1980s brings back its most iconic original villain (possibly) to face off against the Sixth Doctor for the second time. But is the reunion a success? Kate Orman joins us again, to discuss Mindwarp.
Monday 7 September 1987
Time and the Rani
The Second Coming,
Episode 8
Sunday 15 June 2025
Another classic 80s villain makes her first reappearance on Doctor Who this week. But what will four serious teenage fanboys make of the fact that she has decided to dress up as Bonnie Langford?
Saturday 4 June 2005
Boom Town
The Second Coming,
Episode 9
Sunday 22 June 2025
This week, a New Series villain returns for the first time just six weeks after her first appearance — it’s Blon Fel-Fotch Passameer-Day Slitheen, wonderfully played by Annette Badland. Hannah Cooper and Pete Lambert join us.