Difference between revisions of "Invasion of the Dinosaurs"

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{{episodes|WWW|11|3|12 Jan to 16 Feb 1974|The Time Warrior|Death to the Daleks|}}
 
{{episodes|WWW|11|3|12 Jan to 16 Feb 1974|The Time Warrior|Death to the Daleks|}}
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* Unlike the other serials of season 11, by '''August 1974''', only six months after the serial had aired in the UK, Invasion of the Dinosaurs was not being offered to foreign broadcasters.
 
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'''WHY?''' That is the 1974 dollar question...
 
  
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'''CONSPIRACY THEORY''': Where does one even begin? To make some sense of what happened with this serial, let's bullet-point the key events:
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*A set of black and white film recordings of the serial (a print of part one was struck on 28 June 1974, and another on 10 July 1974) and a set of PAL colour video tapes were sent to [[BBC Sydney]] circa June 1974, soon after the completion of broadcast of the season in the UK. The serial was offered by BBC Sydney to the ABC in [[Australia]] along with the rest of the season.
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*'''12 January to 16 February 1974''': [[Invasion of the Dinosaurs]] airs on BBC TV. And as was standard practice at the time, tele-recordings are made of each episode during transmission.
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*The serial was viewed and assessed by the Australian censors circa early August 1974, probably between these two dates:
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*'''15 January to 17 February 1974''': [[Invasion of the Dinosaurs]] airs on BBC Cymru (Wales) TV.
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**[[The Time Warrior]] was assessed (on b/w film) by them on '''30 July 1974'''
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*'''1974''': A BBC sales 'brochure' includes [[Invasion of the Dinosaurs]] as being available.
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**[[Death to the Daleks]] was assessed (on PAL video) on '''26 September 1974'''
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*'''28 June 1974''' and '''10 July 1974''': Tele-recordings are made of episode one (and possibly also episode two). ('''NOTE''': It's not clear if these dates are for tele-recordings negatives being made from the original tapes, or positive prints being run off from the 'as transmitted' negatives; the term tele-recording is often used to describe both negative original and print.)
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*Serial WWW was assigned an "A" rating, and therefore could not be screened in the ABC's favoured early evening timeslot.
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*'''26 July 1974''': The NZBC ([[New Zealand]]) censors view [[Spearhead from Space]] in black and white as an audition to buying the series but in colour.
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*A non-sale to [[Australia]] meant that the two other Commonwealth countries still buying the series, [[New Zealand]] and [[Hong Kong]], both of which were also favouring colour broadcasts at that time, could not afford to purchase it.  
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*'''30 July 1974''': The censors in [[Australia]] view and assess [[The Time Warrior]] (on b/w film).
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*With no further sales opportunities possible for them, [[BBC Sydney]] presumably returned or destroyed the films and wiped the tapes.  
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*'''August 1974''': The censors in [[Australia]] view and assess [[Invasion of the Dinosaurs]] and deem it unsuitable for children.
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*BBC London, probably in direct response to the 'rejection' by Australia, issued a '''"No Further Interest"''' notice for the story in '''August 1974''', ignoring the possibility of future sales outside the Commonwealth.  
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*'''August 1974''': BBC Enterprises confirms it has no interest in selling serial '''WWW''' overseas, likely as a direct result of the rejection by [[Australia]].
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*'''CONSPIRACY THEORY''': '''''Due to an internal administrative error this statement of "No Further Interest" was interpreted as a "Wipe" order, and part one was duly erased; when the mistake was discovered the other tapes were spared a similar fate.'''''  
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*'''26 September 1974''': The censors in [[Australia]] view and assess [[Death to the Daleks]] (on PAL video).
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*The serial was still being offered for sale in 1974 and 1975, but only in black and white. Since the only other country buying '''Doctor Who''' at that time - [[United Arab Emirates]] - also preferred colour, the serial was never purchased, and was subsequently withdrawn from offer.  
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*'''10 October 1974''': The censors in [[Australia]] view and assess [[The Monster of Peladon]] (on PAL video).
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*By late 1976, when [[Brunei]] and [[Gibraltar]] had been offered season 11 (and when the documentary '''Whose Doctor Who''' was in pre-production), BBC Enterprises no longer held sales copies of the serial. (The five original broadcast tapes, plus a longer earlier edit of part three, were held by the BBC's Engineering Department; the black and white prints had presumably already been junked.)
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*'''13 December 1974''': [[Death to the Daleks]] part one on PAL video tape is viewed by the NZBC ([[New Zealand]]) programme appraiser. 
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*One of the black and white prints of part one was salvaged after being junked, and was eventually returned to the BBC in 1983.
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*'''1975''': A BBC sales 'brochure' includes [[Invasion of the Dinosaurs]] as being available.
 
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*'''24 November 1976''': Pre-production on '''Whose Doctor Who'''. BBC Enterprises does not hold any tapes for Serial WWW.
 
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*'''28 February 1977''': A memo is drawn up recording foreign sales of '''Doctor Who''' (See [[BBC Records]]). [[Invasion of the Dinosaurs]] is blank.
 
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*'''1978''': When the newly-formed Film and Video Archive is established, PAL video-tapes of episodes two to six are found to be held after all.  
 
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*'''1983''': One of the 1974 tele-recordings of episode one is recovered early in 1983.
 
  
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Right. That's the chain of (known) events. But what does it all mean? Given that all of season 11 was supplied to [[Australia]] less than six months after UK transmission, then '''WHATEVER IT WAS THAT HAPPENED''' happened sometime shortly after the serial was censored in Australia circa August 1974.
 
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'''SO, WHAT DID HAPPEN?'''
 
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*It has been suggested, but refuted, that the two 1974 tele-recordings were of poor quality. Maybe the reason why it was done '''twice''' was because the first did not pass the quality test. But did something happen to the original video tape of part one during this conversion process? Did the tape get mangled beyond repair after / during a '''third''' attempt to make a usable 16mm film copy?
 
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*The BBC could have made tele-recordings of the remaining episodes and sold the serial in black and white only, but since very few countries were still buying any black and white material at that time might not have justified the cost.
 
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*Producer Barry Letts has gone on record saying he was far from satisfied with the special visual effects; did he perhaps pull some clout and have the story withdrawn to prevent further embarrassment by selling less-than-satisfactory product to their colonial cousins?
 
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*Script-writer Malcolm Hulke had, soon after the transmission of part one, complained to the BBC that the first episode's title had been changed to "INVASION"; producer Barry Letts did respond, admitting that the title change was misguided. Did the BBC therefore plan to re-caption part one for foreign sales?
 
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*And what happened to the rest of the tapes between 1974 and 1978? It is thought that the ones found in 1978 had been returned from BBC Wales. But why did they not also return episode one? 
 
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*And what happened to the colour video tapes sent to Australia?
 
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*And if the story was not available in any format, why was it included on two separate sales brochures? Or was this purely down to a clerical error?
 
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Yes, it is all very confusing. And we may never find out the answer to this one.
 
  
 +
==Issue==
 +
* The story was eventually released for foreign sale in 1984, when it was sold to [[Australia]]. It was also included in a package of all 24 [[Jon Pertwee stories]] sold to the [[United States]] in 1985. However, the black and white part one was not included; the story was offered as a five-parter only or in an omnibus format. The opening titles captions were also adjusted, so PART TWO was now "PART ONE", PART THREE became "PART TWO", and so on. Part Two was also edited slightly to delete all references to scenes and events that occurred in part one (such as the Doctor and Sarah's discussion about the origin of the pterodactyl that had attacked them). To maintain the episode's duration, unwanted sections were also replaced by the dropping-in of cutaway shots extracted from within the same episode.
  
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But, okay, you've twisted our arms: for what it's worth, here's '''our take''' on this:
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* The five-part version of the serial was sold to:
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* The serial was broadcast, and as was standard at the time, the tele-recording negatives were made for BBC Enterprises during transmission.
 
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* The original broadcast tapes of all six episodes are sent to Cardiff.
 
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* BBC Enterprises starts the foreign sales process. They issue their 1974 sales catalogue, which includes all serials from season 11.
 
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* On 28 June 1974, the first positive tele-recording print is made for BBC Enterprises' use.
 
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* On 10 July a second tele-recording print is made for and sent to BBC Sydney, for the sale of the new season to [[Australia]].
 
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* That same month, the ABC in [[Australia]] requests that all episodes of '''Doctor Who''' be sent in colour. (Other countries ([[Hong Kong]], [[United Arab Emirates]], [[New Zealand]]), have also expressed an interest in only colour episodes.)
 
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* The decision is also made (in response to Hulke's complaint) to alter the title caption on the original tape of part one before making copies to send to Australia; to this end, Cardiff sends the tape of part one back to London.
 
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* The colour tapes with the new title are duly despatched to Australia.
 
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* The original master tape of part one with the old title is wiped by Enterprises without a copy with the new title being retained by them or the Engineering Department.
 
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* The Australian censors classify the story with an "A' rating; as a result the ABC does not purchase the story (which also prevents other Commonwealth countries from also purchasing the serial).
 
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* The Australian colour tapes are duly wiped. There are now no longer any colour copies of part one.
 
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* Without part one in colour, Serial WWW is now useless to BBC Enterprises, because they can't sell it as a complete colour story.
 
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* August 1974. Enterprises issues a general "Wipe" order; however no actual action to that end is taken, as the 71 edit of part three (held by the BBC's Engineering Department), and the tapes held by Cardiff are retained.
 
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* In 1975, BBC Enterprises' sales catalogue is amended to include the first Tom Baker series, but due to an oversight, Serial WWW is not marked as being NOT AVAILABLE.
 
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* Sometime after November 1976 (when '''Whose Doctor Who''' was in production) and around the time that the Archive was established in 1978, BBC Cardiff returns its tapes of parts two to six to London...
 
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==Issue==
 
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* The story was '''finally''' released for foreign sale in 1984, when it was sold to [[Australia]]. It was also included in a package of all 24 [[Jon Pertwee stories]] sold to the [[United States]] in 1985.
 
−
*However, the black and white part one was not included; the story was offered as a five-parter only. The opening titles captions were also adjusted, so PART TWO was now "PART ONE", PART THREE became "PART TWO", and so on. Part Two was also edited slightly to remove all references to scenes from part one (such as the attack by the pterodactyl).
 
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* The serial was sold to:
 
  
 
{| {{small-table}}  
 
{| {{small-table}}  
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|}  
 
|}  
  
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* All six parts - the black and white first instalment included - were released in the 1990s - UK Gold aired it in '''July 1993''', [[Australia]] screened all six in 1997, and Prime in [[New Zealand]] aired all six in January 2001. Prime also aired the extended first edit of part three.  
+
 
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* We suspect that one reason why part one was not available until the 1990s was: When the BBC released the serial in 1984 only stories that existed entirely in black and white or in colour were offered since many US broadcasters wanted to air omnibus versions, and having colour serials with parts in black and white were not as attractive. There were only two serials affected by this - [[Planet of the Daleks]] and [[Invasion of the Dinosaurs]]. Each was edited to "remove" their sole black and white episode. And since repeat fees had to be paid to the actors with speaking roles, with part one out of the equation, the BBC actually saved money by not having to pay repeat fees to the half dozen or so actors who appeared only in part one of serial WWW!
+
==Reissue==
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*Then, from 1993, by which time the seven years rights period had expired, the black and white first episode could finally be marketed under new repeats contracts.  
+
* All six parts – with the black and white first instalment included - were issued in the 1990s - UK Gold aired it episodically in '''July 1993'''; UKTV [[Australia]] screened all six in 1997; and Prime in [[New Zealand]] aired all six in January 2001. Prime also aired the extended first edit of part three.  
 +
* We suspect the reason why part one was not available until the 1990s was, when the BBC released the serial in 1984 only stories that existed entirely in black and white or in colour were offered since many US broadcasters wanted to air omnibus versions, and having colour serials with parts in black and white were not as attractive to US stations. There were only two serials affected by this - [[Planet of the Daleks]] and [[Invasion of the Dinosaurs]]. Each was edited to "remove" their sole black and white episode. And since repeat fees had to be paid to the actors with speaking roles, with part one out of the equation, the BBC did not have to pay repeat fees to the half dozen or so actors who appeared only in part one. But after 1991, when the seven years rights period (1984-1991) had expired, the black and white first episode could finally be marketed under fresh repeats contracts.  
  
  

Revision as of 00:31, 29 January 2012

Story Code: WWW / Season 11 UK Airdate: 12 Jan to 16 Feb 1974 Doctor: Jon Pertwee
First airings by location UK Repeats / Foreign Cable and Satellite Previous Story / Next Story

.

  • A set of black and white film recordings of the serial (a print of part one was struck on 28 June 1974, and another on 10 July 1974) and a set of PAL colour video tapes were sent to BBC Sydney circa June 1974, soon after the completion of broadcast of the season in the UK. The serial was offered by BBC Sydney to the ABC in Australia along with the rest of the season.
  • The serial was viewed and assessed by the Australian censors circa early August 1974, probably between these two dates:
  • Serial WWW was assigned an "A" rating, and therefore could not be screened in the ABC's favoured early evening timeslot.
  • A non-sale to Australia meant that the two other Commonwealth countries still buying the series, New Zealand and Hong Kong, both of which were also favouring colour broadcasts at that time, could not afford to purchase it.
  • With no further sales opportunities possible for them, BBC Sydney presumably returned or destroyed the films and wiped the tapes.
  • BBC London, probably in direct response to the 'rejection' by Australia, issued a "No Further Interest" notice for the story in August 1974, ignoring the possibility of future sales outside the Commonwealth.
  • CONSPIRACY THEORY: Due to an internal administrative error this statement of "No Further Interest" was interpreted as a "Wipe" order, and part one was duly erased; when the mistake was discovered the other tapes were spared a similar fate.
  • The serial was still being offered for sale in 1974 and 1975, but only in black and white. Since the only other country buying Doctor Who at that time - United Arab Emirates - also preferred colour, the serial was never purchased, and was subsequently withdrawn from offer.
  • By late 1976, when Brunei and Gibraltar had been offered season 11 (and when the documentary Whose Doctor Who was in pre-production), BBC Enterprises no longer held sales copies of the serial. (The five original broadcast tapes, plus a longer earlier edit of part three, were held by the BBC's Engineering Department; the black and white prints had presumably already been junked.)
  • One of the black and white prints of part one was salvaged after being junked, and was eventually returned to the BBC in 1983.


Issue

  • The story was eventually released for foreign sale in 1984, when it was sold to Australia. It was also included in a package of all 24 Jon Pertwee stories sold to the United States in 1985. However, the black and white part one was not included; the story was offered as a five-parter only or in an omnibus format. The opening titles captions were also adjusted, so PART TWO was now "PART ONE", PART THREE became "PART TWO", and so on. Part Two was also edited slightly to delete all references to scenes and events that occurred in part one (such as the Doctor and Sarah's discussion about the origin of the pterodactyl that had attacked them). To maintain the episode's duration, unwanted sections were also replaced by the dropping-in of cutaway shots extracted from within the same episode.
  • The five-part version of the serial was sold to:
Australia Nov 84 PAL
United States from Mar 85 NTSC
New Zealand Sep 86 PAL
Canada 1990s? NTSC


Reissue

  • All six parts – with the black and white first instalment included - were issued in the 1990s - UK Gold aired it episodically in July 1993; UKTV Australia screened all six in 1997; and Prime in New Zealand aired all six in January 2001. Prime also aired the extended first edit of part three.
  • We suspect the reason why part one was not available until the 1990s was, when the BBC released the serial in 1984 only stories that existed entirely in black and white or in colour were offered since many US broadcasters wanted to air omnibus versions, and having colour serials with parts in black and white were not as attractive to US stations. There were only two serials affected by this - Planet of the Daleks and Invasion of the Dinosaurs. Each was edited to "remove" their sole black and white episode. And since repeat fees had to be paid to the actors with speaking roles, with part one out of the equation, the BBC did not have to pay repeat fees to the half dozen or so actors who appeared only in part one. But after 1991, when the seven years rights period (1984-1991) had expired, the black and white first episode could finally be marketed under fresh repeats contracts.


Links

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