This Week In DOCTOR WHO History: Jan 17th to Jan 23rd - Warped Factor - Words in the Key of Geek.

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This Week In DOCTOR WHO History: Jan 17th to Jan 23rd

We wish happy birthday to a Doctor or two this week in Doctor Who history.


Click on any red text to read our full retrospectives/reviews for that episode. All dates and viewing figures are for UK premier broadcasts unless otherwise stated.

January 17th 
Three episode threes to kick things off. First up it's Spearhead From Space which was watched by 8.3 million viewers on this day in 1970. Six years later The Brain of Morbius drew an audience of 10.1 million, and finally in 1981 8.3 million tuned into Warriors' Gate.


January 18th
Back to 1964 for part 5 of The Daleks (entitled The Expedition) which was watched by 9.9 million viewers as Dalek-mania was starting to grip the children of Britain. Five years later a mechanical menace of a different kind was troubling the Second Doctor when episode four of The Krotons was broadcast to 7.1 million viewers.

Yet another robotic foe, and this ones a giant! In 1975 part four of the Fourth Doctor's debut story Robot draw an audience of 9 million. His successor was on to his second adventure, with part one of Four To Doomsday broadcast Monday January 18th 1982 and watched by 8.4 million. In his sophomore season the Fifth Doctor was going up against the Mara, again! 6.7 million tuned in Tuesday evening to catch part one of Snakedance.


January 19th
We got a lot going on today. Starting with part two of Invasion of the Dinosaurs which was broadcast this day in 1974 and watched by 10.1 million viewers. Viewers in 1980 should have begun a new adventure with the Fourth Doctor, but due to an industrial strike Shada was never completed so Season 17 was cut short.

Three from the Fifth Doctor for you. Tuesday January 19th 1982 saw part two of Four To Doomsday broadcast at 7:05pm, and watched by 8.8 million viewers. Part two of Snakedance aired the following year and was watched by 7.7 million. And in his final season, Peter Davison's Doctor began a new two-part adventure with The Awakening, broadcast Thursday January 19th at 6.41pm to an audience of 7.9 million.

One final story for this day, and it's from the Sixth Doctor. The opening episode of Vengeance On Varos was broadcast in 1985. Season 22 included 13 45-minute episodes, and this one was watched by 7.2 million viewers. 

"A Birthday present? For me? Is it a box of Jelly Babies?"

January 20th
On this day in 1968 6.9 million people were watching the Second Doctor in episode five of The Enemy of the World. A whopping 11.9 million people tuned into the fourth and final part of The Three Doctors in 1973.

On the occasion of his Birthday, Tom Baker (born January 20th 1934) donned the scarf for a brand new Fourth Doctor adventure. Part one of 1979's The Armageddon Factor drew an audience of 7.5 million. One more TV broadcast for you, and it was came along on Friday evening at 6.41pm, it was part two of The Awakening and it was watched by 6.6 million.

It's also worth mentioning that on this day in 1996 the Third Doctor radio drama, The Ghosts of N Space began. It was the final time Jon Pertwee portrayed the Doctor as he passed away just four months after this was broadcast.


January 21st
In 1967 episode 2 of The Underwater Menace drew an audience of 7.5 million viewers. Also, on this day in 1978, part three of the CSO oddity that is Underworld was watched by 8.9 million people. 


January 22nd
Happy birthday to the War Doctor! Yep, John Hurt was born on this day in 1940. Who knows (no pun intended) maybe he was watching one of these two classic Dalek adventures broadcast on this day. Firstly there's episode 11 of the epic First Doctor adventure The Daleks' Master Plan (entitled The Abandoned Planet) which aired in 1966 and was watched by 9.8 million viewers, and is sadly currently missing presumed wiped. Moving on to 1972 we have episode four of Day of the Daleks, which drew an audience of 9.1 million. Finally, on this day in 1977 11.7 million people tuned in to watch part four of the Fourth Doctor adventure The Face of Evil. 


January 23rd 
Episode two of the pure historical adventure The Romans (entitled All Roads Lead To Rome) was shown this day in 1965 and watched by 11.5 million viewers. Two regenerations and 6 years later, the final part of Terror Of The Autons drew an audience of 8.4 million. And finally for this week in Doctor Who history we have the Torchwood episode Sleeper, which was broadcast in 2008 and watched by 3.78 million viewers.

That's it for this week, but did you watch any of these adventures live? We'd love to hear your memories about any of them. Tell us in the comments below.

Until next Sunday...

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