This Week In DOCTOR WHO History: Oct 9th to Oct 15th - Warped Factor - Words in the Key of Geek.

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This Week In DOCTOR WHO History: Oct 9th to Oct 15th

Warning: There is a clown to be found 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.

October 9th
Mission to the Unknown gets us underway this week in Doctor Who history as it was broadcast on this day in 1965. It is the sole standalone episode of the show's original run (besides the 1983 feature-length anniversary special The Five Doctors, which was later shown in a multi-episode form), and serves as an introduction to the 12 part story The Daleks' Master Plan. It's also notable for the complete absence of the regular cast, including the Doctor (although William Hartnell is still credited on-screen), instead the story focuses on Space Security Agent Marc Cory and his attempts to warn Earth of the Daleks' latest plan. Unfortunately, although audio recordings of the episode exist, no footage remains in the BBC archive so only the 8.3 million viewers tuning in that Saturday have seen it in all its glory.

Also on this day we have part two of The Hand Of Fear. Broadcast in 1976 at 5:50pm, it was watched by 10.2 million viewers.


October 10th
Back in 2011 this day saw the start of another new story from season 5 of The Sarah Jane Adventures. The Curse of Clyde Langer was watched by 0.79 million CBBC viewers.

Just last year, on October 10th 2015, the Twelfth Doctor went Before The Flood. It was good news for Series Nine, which had been struggling in the ratings, as Doctor Who saw a considerable rise in the overnight viewers to 4.38 million (up from 3.74 million the previous week's episode Under The Lake). The show had a 21.5% share of the available audience and came fourth for the day, ratings wise. The episode also received an Appreciation Index score of 83, and when the final consolidated figures were released overall it had 6.05 million viewers after a week of timeshifting.


October 11th
41 years ago, back in 1975 you could've seen part three of Planet of Evil, and you would've been joined by 9.1 million other pairs of eyes watching that Saturday evening, just under double the audience for part three of Meglos, which premiered five years later to 4.7 million.

Two regenerations later and the Sixth Doctor is still standing The Trial Of A Time Lord - you think they'd find him a chair as this trial went on for weeks! The installment broadcast on this day in 1986, part six of the overall arc, was episode two of Mindwarp which was watched by 4.6 million multi-coloured coat wearing fans.

Time for a pair of Scottish Doctors to entertain you. Firstly, in 1989, 4 million viewers tuned into part two of the Seventh Doctor adventure Ghost Light, and then 25 years later the Twelfth Doctor is doing battle with a Mummy on the Orient Express. A story which on its premiere broadcast of 8.37pm, Saturday October 11th 2014, was watched by 7.11 million viewers.

Finally for this day we have two episodes from The Sarah Jane Adventures. Season 4 got underway October 11th 2010 with episode one of The Nightmare Man, broadcast at 5:19pm and watched by 0.59 million viewers. The following year episode two of The Curse of Clyde Langer drew an audience of 0.73 million.


October 12th
Episode 5 of The Mind Robber was broadcast on this day in 1968 and watched by 6.7 million viewers. Then 19 years and 5 regenerations later we have 5.2 million tuning in for part two of Paradise Towers. The following year part two of Remembrance of the Daleks fared slightly better, with 5.8 million tuning in.

Also on this day, in 2010 episode two of The Sarah Jane Adventures story The Nightmare Man was watched by 0.67 million viewers.

Clown alert!


October 13th
On this day in 1979 a whopping 15.4 million people were sitting comfortably in front of BBC1 at 6.04pm to watch part three of City of Death. Eat your heart out X-Factor!

Then, it's Stephen King's 'It' another Sarah Jane Adventures episode for you, and one you likely wouldn't want to be watching if you have even a smidgen of coulrophobia. From 2008 and season two, it's episode one of The Day of the Clown which was watched by 0.60 million terrified CBBC viewers!


October 14th
Part three of The Abominable Snowmen was broadcast in 1967 and watched by 7.1 million viewers. Then, in 1978, we have 8.2 million viewers watching the Fourth Doctor in the third part of The Pirate Planet.

October 14th is also Katy Manning's birthday. Manning played Jo Grant for three years opposite Jon Pertwee's Third Doctor, and then famously posed naked with a Dalek! As you do.


October 15th
Back in 1966 there were just three episodes left of the First Doctor's era, and here's one of them - part two of The Tenth Planet which was watched by 6.4 million viewers. Then it's Fourth Doctor time with part three of The Invisible Enemy, which was broadcast in 1977 and watched by 7.5 million viewers.

And we have two more stories from The Sarah Jane Adventures for you to wrap up this week in Doctor Who history. From season one, on this day in 2007, 1.07 million were tuned into part two of Eye of the Gorgon, then two years later episode one of Prisoner of the Judoon drew an audience of 0.73 million.

Did you watch any of these adventures live? Let us know in the comments below, we'd love to here your memories of them.

Until next Sunday...

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