This Week In DOCTOR WHO History: April 10th to April 16th - Warped Factor - Words in the Key of Geek.

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This Week In DOCTOR WHO History: April 10th to April 16th

Two Doctors celebrate birthdays, the 200th adventure is broadcast, and Peter Capaldi makes his debut in the series 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.

April 10th
The pure historical story The Crusade continued this day in 1965, part three titled The Wheel of Fortune (I don't think they mean that Wheel of Fortune!) was watched by 9 million viewers. Two regenerations and 6 years later, the Third Doctor faced episode one of Colony in Space. Broadcast Saturday April 10th 1971 at 6:11pm and watched by 7.6 million viewers. Then, on this day in 2010, 8.42 million viewers tuned in to the Eleventh Doctor's second adventure - The Beast Below.


April 11th
On this day in 1964 the opening episode of The Keys of Marinus (titled The Sea of Death) was broadcast at 5.31pm and watched by a 9.9 million viewers. Six years later episode 4 of The Ambassadors of Death was watched by 9.3 million, and finally for this day, in 2009 (it was Easter Saturday by the way) 9.74 million viewers tuned into the 200th Doctor Who story. What was it? That would be Planet of the Dead.


April 12th
It's back to 1969 to begin this week, with episode six of the Second Doctor adventure The Space Pirates which was broadcast to an audience of 5.3 million. Six years later and it's another part six, this time for the Fourth Doctor - 9.1 million joined him for Genesis of the Daleks.

Then in 2008, 9.04 million people saw Peter Capaldi make his Doctor Who debut, not as the Twelfth Doctor but as Caecilius in The Fires of Pompeii.


April 13th
April 13th is Peter Davison's birthday, his Doctor had the day off today but back in 1968 5.9 million people were watching the Second Doctor in episode five of Fury From The Deep, a story which is, sadly, entirely missing from the archives. Skip forward one regeneration and 6 years and we have the Third Doctor adventure The Monster of Peladon. Part four was broadcast on this day in 1974 and watched by 7.2 million.

It's a huge jump of nearly 40 years for our next episode broadcast on this day. That would be 2013's Cold War, broadcast at 6.03pm and watched by 7.37 million viewers.


April 14th
On Peter Capaldi's birthday we have just one classic episode and one modern episode broadcast. The classic being the second episode of 1973's Planet of the Daleks, which was watched by a mighty 10.7 million viewers. The modern being the third story of Series 3, Gridlock, an episode which was watched by 7.4 million.


April 15th
Back to 1967 for episode 2 of the Second Doctor story The Faceless Ones, a story which was watched by 6.4 million viewers. Then in 1972 the Third Doctor starred in episode 2 of The Mutants drawing an audience of 7.8 million. 

All the way forward to 2006, and after spending most of The Christmas Invasion in bed the Tenth Doctor's era got underway properly with the opening episode of series 2. The "chavtastic" New Earth was broadcast at 7:16pm and watched by 8.62 million viewers.


April 16th
On this day in 1966 9.4 million people were watching the third episode of The Celestial Toymaker (titled The Dancing Floor), which, along with parts one and two, is still sadly missing presumed wiped. And then flashing forward to new-Who, we have the introduction of the Slitheen in the fourth episode of the revived series, 2005's Aliens of London, which was watched by 7.63 million.

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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