Australia

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AUSTRALIA is located in the Pacific Ocean in Asia. It is a member of the British Commonwealth.

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Population

When Doctor Who screened in Australia in 1965, the population was 11,362,000, and licensed TV sets numbered over 2 million (per WRTH, 1966). In 1974, it was 13 million, 3.5 sets (WRTH, 1974); 1984, it was 15.3 million, 6.5 sets (WRTH, 1984).

ALSO 1979, 1990 WRTHs

TV & system

Australia began its television service in 1956.

The country has four networks: ABC (channel 2); XXX (channel 7); XXX (channel 9); XXX 9channel 11). In later years, cable and satellite stations, such as FOX-TEL, commenced broadcasts.

In the early years of television broadcasts, each state had its own regional scheduling, which meant that different episodes aired on different days, months apart.

Doctor Who aired on the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Commission; later Corporation), which was channel 2, from 1965 to 199X. (A run of repeats also aired from XXXX.)

From 1 September 1996, the FOX-TEL satellite station UK-TV, aired a complete run of all available stories.

From September 2003 through until 2006, the series returned to ABC for a run of repeats, that excluded the stories penned by Terry Nation or featuring the Daleks, due to problems with securing rights from the Nation Estate.

Colour transmissions began on 1 March 1975 using the PAL colour broadcast system.

Full country-wide networking commenced from XXXXX, although there were still some regional variations during the 1980s and 1990s, particularly around sporting events.


Language/s

The main language of Australia is English.

DOCTOR WHO IN AUSTRALIA

Australia was the 2nd country to screen Doctor Who (see Selling Doctor Who). It was, however, the first to be offered the series; the ABC received film prints from BBC Sydney in xxxx, and these were duly sent to the Australian Film Censorship Board (AFCB) for classification on XXXX. The series was scheduled to air in late 1964, but due to problems with the "A" classifications that were given, screening was delayed until January 1965. (New Zealand therefore has the honour of being the first foreign country to screen the series.)

BBC Records

With the exception of only two stories, Australia is the only country to have purchased and screened every single story of Doctor Who.

And with the exception of only 26 stories, it was also the country where the most stories aired for the first time, usually within a year of the UK screenings.

The Stanmark Productions Ltd advertisement from 1966, identifies Australia as one twelve countries screening Doctor Who in that year.

The Seventies records a sale of "(70)" stories by 28 February 1977. (This total is incorrect; it should be "(72)"). The Handbook identifies some of these as being: Hartnell - 27; Troughton - 21. The remainder is made up of Pertwee - 19, and Baker - 5 (up to 4E).

The Eighties - The Lost Chapters records a sale of "(93)" stories (by 10 February 1987).

This figure is made up of the same 19 Pertwees and 5 Bakers from the 1977 list, plus 33 additional Bakers, 20 Davisons, the 5 previously unaired Pertwees, and 11 Colin Bakers.

In DWM, Australia is identified in 148 story Archives: Hartnell - 27; Troughton - 21; Pertwee - 23 (omits WWW); Baker - 41; Davison - 15 (omits 5W, 6H, 6L, 6P, 6Q; Baker - 9 (omits 6W) - NEED TO CHECK 7C; McCoy - 12.

The period of sale is given as XXXX to XXXXX.

Of the 158 Doctor Who stories made from 1963 to 1989, there have been nine that did not air in Australia during the first-run screenings in the 1960s and 1970s. These nine are: Mission to the Unknown, The Daleks' Master Plan, Inferno, The Mind of Evil, The Daemons, The Green Death, Invasion of the Dinosaurs, The Brain of Morbius and The Deadly Assassin.

With the exception of Invasion of the Dinosaurs, all were "rejected" due to censorship. That the first seven of these nine did not air in Australia also prevented other Commonwealth countries from purchasing them - a restriction that was lifted in 1979.

All bar the first two - all copies of which had been wiped by the BBC - did eventually screen in the 1980s, usually during repeat runs with the stories from the same seasons.

Stories bought and broadcast

WILLIAM HARTNELL

27 stories, 121 episodes:

A An Unearthly Child 4
B The Daleks 7
C Inside the Spaceship 2
D Marco Polo 7
E The Keys of Marinus 6
F The Aztecs 4
G The Sensorites 6
H The Reign of Terror 6
J Planet of Giants 3
K The Dalek Invasion of Earth 6
L The Rescue 2
M The Romans 4
N The Web Planet 6
P The Crusade 4
Q The Space Museum 4
R The Chase 6
S The Time Meddler 4
T Galaxy 4 4
U The Myth Makers 4
W The Massacre 4
X The Ark 4
Y The Celestial Toymaker 4
Z The Gunfighters 4
AA The Savages 4
BB The War Machines 4
CC The Smugglers 4
DD The Tenth Planet 4

Australia therefore bought GROUPs A to E of the William Hartnell stories, with the exception of Mission to the Unknown and The Daleks' Master Plan.

The programme was supplied as 16mm black and white film prints with English soundtracks.


PATRICK TROUGHTON

Twenty One stories, 119 episodes:

EE The Power of the Daleks 6
FF The Highlanders 4
GG The Underwater Menace 4
HH The Moonbase 4
JJ The Macra Terror 4
KK The Faceless Ones 6
MM The Tomb of the Cybermen 4
NN The Abominable Snowmen 6
OO The Ice Warriors 6
PP The Enemy of the World 6
QQ The Web of Fear 6
LL The Evil of the Daleks 7
RR Fury from the Deep 6
SS The Wheel in Space 6
TT The Dominators 5
UU The Mind Robber 5
VV The Invasion 8
WW The Krotons 4
XX The Seeds of Death 6
YY The Space Pirates 6
ZZ The War Games 10

Australia therefore bought all stories, GROUPs A to X, of the Patrick Troughton stories.

The programme was supplied as 16mm black and white film prints with English soundtracks.


JON PERTWEE

Five stories were not purchased or screened due to censorship issues.

Nineteen stories, 98 episodes, and not always screened in story order:

AAA Spearhead from Space 4
BBB Doctor Who and the Silurians 7
CCC The Ambassadors of Death 7
EEE Terror of the Autons 4
GGG The Claws of Axos 4
HHH Colony in Space 6
KKK Day of the Daleks 4
MMM The Curse of Peladon 4
LLL The Sea Devils 6
NNN The Mutants 6
OOO The Time Monster 6
PPP Carnival of Monsters 4
RRR The Three Doctors 4
QQQ Frontier in Space 6
SSS Planet of the Daleks 6
UUU The Time Warrior 4
XXX Death to the Daleks 4
YYY The Monster of Peladon 6
ZZZ Planet of the Spiders 6

Australia therefore bought GROUPs A to E of the Jon Pertwee stories.

The programme was supplied as 16mm black and white film prints with English soundtracks (for GROUPs A, B, C and D), and as PAL colour video tapes with English soundtracks for GROUP E. (Censorship documents record that the AFCB classified The Time Warrior from 16mm film; the story was aired in colour, which indicates that BBC Sydney held the story in both formats.)


TOM BAKER

In the first block, fifteen stories, 64 episodes:

4A Robot 4
4B The Sontaran Experiment 2
4C The Ark in Space 4
4E Genesis of the Daleks 6
4D Revenge of the Cybermen 4
4F Terror of the Zygons 4
4H Planet of Evil 4
4G Pyramids of Mars 4
4J The Android Invasion 4
4L The Seeds of Doom 6
4M The Masque of Mandragora 4
4N The Hand of Fear 4
4Q The Face of Evil 4
4R The Robots of Death 4
4S The Talons of Weng-Chiang 6

Australia therefore bought GROUP A, B and C of the Tom Baker stories, with the exception of two stories, which were not purchased and screened due to censorship issues: The Brain of Morbius and The Deadly Assassin.

The programme was supplied as PAL colour video tapes with English soundtracks.


JON PERTWEE (continued)

One further Pertwee story was purchased midway through the Tom Baker run:

One story, 6 episodes:

TTT The Green Death 6

The programme was supplied as PAL colour video tapes with English soundtracks.


TOM BAKER (continued)

In the second batch of fourth Doctor stories, this included an omnibus edition of The Brain of Morbius:

Twenty Five stories, 104 episodes:

4V Horror of Fang Rock 4
4T The Invisible Enemy 4
4X Image of the Fendahl 4
4W The Sun Makers 4
4Y Underworld 4
4Z The Invasion of Time 6
5A The Ribos Operation 4
5B The Pirate Planet 4
5C The Stones of Blood 4
5D The Androids of Tara 4
5E The Power of Kroll 4
5F The Armageddon Factor 6
4K The Brain of Morbius omnibus
5J Destiny of the Daleks 4
5H City of Death 4
5G The Creature from the Pit 4
5K Nightmare of Eden 4
5L The Horns of Nimon 4
5N The Leisure Hive 4
5Q Meglos 4
5R Full Circle 4
5P State of Decay 4
5S Warriors' Gate 4
5T The Keeper of Traken 4
5V Logopolis 4

Australia therefore bought GROUPs D, E F and G of the Tom Baker stories.

The programme was supplied as PAL colour video tapes with English soundtracks.

PETER DAVISON

Twenty stories, 70 half-hour episodes and one 90 minute special:

5Z Castrovalva 4
5W Four to Doomsday 4
5Y Kinda 4
5X The Visitation 4
6A Black Orchid 2
6B Earthshock 4
6C Time-Flight 4
6E Arc of Infinity 4
6D Snakedance 4
6F Mawdryn Undead 4
6G Terminus 4
6H Enlightenment 4
6J The King's Demons 2
6K The Five Doctors 1
6L Warriors of the Deep 4
6M The Awakening 2
6N Frontios 4
6P Resurrection of the Daleks (2/4)
6Q Planet of Fire 4
6R The Caves of Androzani 4

Australia therefore bought GROUPs A, B and C of the Peter Davison stories.

The programme was supplied as PAL colour video tapes with English soundtracks.


COLIN BAKER

One story, 4 episodes:

6S The Twin Dilemma 4

The programme was supplied as PAL colour video tapes with English soundtracks.


JON PERTWEE (continued)

One further Pertwee story was purchased during the Tom Baker run:

One story, 5 episodes:

WWW Invasion of the Dinosaurs 5

The programme was supplied as PAL colour video tapes with English soundtracks. Part One was not supplied as it existed only as a poor quality 16mm black and white film print. Accordingly, Part Two was re-captioned to become PART ONE, Part Three became PART TWO etc.


COLIN BAKER (continued)

Six stories, equivalent of 26 half-hour episodes:

6T Attack of the Cybermen 2/4
6V Vengeance on Varos 2/4
6W The Two Doctors 3/6
6X The Mark of the Rani 2/4
6Y Timelash 2/4
6Z Revelation of the Daleks 2/4

Australia therefore bought all of GROUP A of the Colin Baker stories.

The programme was supplied as PAL colour video tapes with English soundtracks.


JON PERTWEE (continued)

In 1985, the BBC reissued all the Pertwee stories - in a mix of colour and black and white episodes. Included in the packages purchased by Australia were three stories that had been unable to screen in the 1970s due to censorship issues:

Three stories, 18 episodes:

DDD Inferno 7
FFF The Mind of Evil 6
JJJ The Daemons 5

These programmes were supplied as PAL colour video tapes (converted from NTSC), or PAL video tape, converted from 16mm black and white film, with English soundtracks.


COLIN BAKER (continued)

One story, equivalent of 14 half-hour episodes:

7A The Trial of a Time Lord 14

The programme was supplied as PAL colour video tapes with English soundtracks.


TOM BAKER (continued)

One story that had previously been unable to screen due to censorship issues,

One story, 4 episodes:

4P The Deadly Assassin 4

The programme was supplied as PAL colour video tapes with English soundtracks.


SYLVESTER McCOY

Twelve stories, 42 episodes, not screened in correct order:

7D Time and the Rani 4
7E Paradise Towers 4
7F Delta and the Bannermen 3
7G Dragonfire 3
7H Remembrance of the Daleks 4
7J The Greatest Show in the Galaxy 4
7K Silver Nemesis 3
7L The Happiness Patrol 3
7N Battlefield 4
7Q Ghost Light 3
7M The Curse of Fenric 4
7P Survival 3

Australia therefore bought GROUPs A, B and C of the Sylvester McCoy stories.

The programme was supplied as PAL colour video tapes with English soundtracks.


Origin of the Prints?

Australia received pristine prints from BBC Sydney; this was part of its "gentlemen's agreement" with the BBC, that it got brand new positives.

The colour video tapes were also supplied by BBC Sydney. For some of the later colour repeats of Jon Pertwe stories in the late 1970s/early 1980s, the tapes were sourced from countries in the Middle East.


Transmission

The broadcasting history of Doctor Who in Australia is very complex, especially with its regional screenings, and numerous (and some would say endless!) repeats during the 1970s and 1980s. Therefore, full coverage of the transmissions has not been attempted - yet. At this stage, all we have listed is the start date in Sydney for each of the 26 seasons:


WILLIAM HARTNELL

  • The series started on:
    • 12 Jan 1965 PERTH
    • 15 Jan 1965 SYDNEY
    • 18 Jan 1965 CANBERRA
    • 22 Jan 1965 BRISBANE
    • 20 Feb 1965 MELBOURNE
    • 15 Mar 1965 ADELAIDE
    • 18 Jun 1965 HOBART
  • Season Two commenced in Sydney on 5 November 1965
  • Season Three commenced in Sydney on 26 October 1966


PATRICK TROUGHTON

  • Season Six commenced in Sydney on 26 April 1970


JON PERTWEE

  • Season Seven commenced in Sydney on 1 August 1971
  • Season Eight commenced in Sydney on 12 May 1972
  • Season Nine commenced in Sydney on 16 March 1973
  • Season Ten commenced in Sydney on 14 September 1973
  • Season Eleven commenced in Sydney on 7 March 1975 (now in colour)


TOM BAKER

  • Season Twelve commenced in Sydney on 23 April 1976
  • Season Thirteen commenced in Sydney on 7 February 1978
  • Season Fourteen commenced in Sydney on 23 March 1978
  • Season Fifteen commenced in Sydney on 19 February 1979
  • Season Sixteen commenced in Sydney on 10 April 1979
  • Season Seventeen commenced in Sydney on 18 February 1980
  • Season Eighteen commenced in Sydney on 8 March 1982


PETER DAVISON

  • Season Nineteen commenced in Sydney on 26 April 1982
  • Season Twenty commenced in Sydney on 25 April 1983
  • [[The Five Doctors aired in Sydney on 13 December 1983
  • Season Twenty One commenced in Sydney on 5 March 1974


COLIN BAKER

  • Season Twenty Two commenced in Sydney on 9 December 1985 (edited into half hour episodes)
  • Season Twenty Three commenced in Sydney on 7 February 1987 (edited into 7 one hour episodes)

SYLVESTER McCOY

  • Season Twenty Four commenced in Sydney on 31 October 1988
  • Season Twenty Five commenced in Sydney on 18 November 1988
  • Season Twenty Six commenced in Sydney on 29 October 1990


PAPUA NEW GUINEA

When television broadcasts began in Papua New Guinea, the ABC extended its transmission coverage from the north of Australia to reach the island of Papua New Guinea. Doctor Who was therefore seen by viewers in these two countries simultaneously from 1988 onwards.

Refer to the profile of that country for further details.

TV listings

TV listings from The Australian, and other references sources, too many to mention, such as WEBSITE ON DWFCA SITE.


Fate of the Prints?

Due to the regional screenings, there were sometimes multiple copies of each story in circulation. These ere held at the film library in Woodhill ????

It is known that the ABC's prints of H, J, K, L, M, N, P were sent to New Zealand in 1967. These still exhibited the cuts that had been made by the censors.

Part four of The Celestial Toymaker was recovered from the ABC film vaults in the mid 1980s. (Refer to the relevant page for further thought as to how that film came to be found there...)

In 1983, it was discovered that complete PAL video tapes of Frontier in Space were held in storage by the ABC, where they had been since 1973, a fact that was not known to BBC Enterprises, who was only offering the story in black and white. (BBC Sydney sold Frontier in Space in colour only to Brunei, where it aired in October 1976.)


Australia in Doctor Who

Australia has been mentioned directly or indirectly several times; and many Australian actors or production personnel have worked on the series:

Australian actors:


See list in DARK CIRCUS

References


Links

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