This Week In DOCTOR WHO History: Nov 20th to Nov 26th - Warped Factor - Words in the Key of Geek.

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This Week In DOCTOR WHO History: Nov 20th to Nov 26th

Nothing of any importance happened this week in Doctor Who history. Honestly...


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.

November 20th
We start this week in Doctor Who history with the second episode of The Daleks' Master Plan, titled Day of Armageddon, which was broadcast on this day in 1965 and watched by 9.8 million viewers. Eleven years later, the fourth and final part of The Deadly Assassin was watched by 11.8 million viewers.

The second episode of the 40th Anniversary animated web adventure Scream of the Shalka was released onto the BBC's Doctor Who website at noon on this day in 2003. And finally for this day, CBBC viewers were keen to see episode two of The Sarah Jane Adventures story The Gift, so it was a good job they only had to wait 24 hours between installments! When the second part aired in 2009, 0.89 million were watching.


November 21st
With an anniversary looming, back in 1964 to celebrate the very successful first year of Doctor Who, the most popular of enemies were bought back for their second outing. The Dalek Invasion of Earth began on this day with an episode titled World's End, and a whooping 11.4 million viewers were glued to their televisual sets witnessing the event. Forty nine years later An Adventure In Space And Time admirably recreated this early period of the show, with 2.71 million tuned in to the BBC Two broadcast that Thursday night.

Then we have a bit of an oddity for you broadcast during the wilderness years, almost a year after the final episode of Survival aired. Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred returned to the roles of Seventh Doctor and Ace for Search Out Space, an episode of the children's education programme Search Out Science. And you can 'enjoy' it below...



But is it canon?

One more for November 21st, and that would be Face The Raven. The episode was watched by 4.48 million viewers overnight in the UK, after a week on time-shifting that total would rise to 6.06 million.


November 22nd
Part one of The Android Invasion was broadcast on this day in 1975 at 5:47pm and watched by huge 11.9 million viewers. Beat that State of Decay! Oh, you can't. Part One of the 1980 Fourth Doctor adventure had just half the viewers, with 5.8 million tuning in.

Poor old Sixie. Twelve weeks now he's been stood in the dock! Still, not long until he gets some refreshing "carrot juice" *shudder*. Part four of Terror of the Vervoids was broadcast on this day in 1986 and watched by 5.2 million viewers.

Three years later the end was nigh. Part one of Survival aired at 7:35pm that Wednesday evening. 5 million loyal fans tuned in, whilst 15 million other Brits watched Coronation Street!


November 23rd
The very first episode of Doctor Who was broadcast on this day back in 1963 on a Saturday afternoon at 5:16pm, but I'm sure you all knew that? 4.4 Million viewers sat down to watch An Unearthly Child, part one in a four part adventure that at the time of broadcast went under the title of 100,000 BC (original working title being The Tribe of Gum). Now, of course, we refer to the whole story as An Unearthly Child, likely thanks to the 1973 Radio Times Tenth Anniversary Special which called it that.

Also broadcast this day in 1968, and watched by 6.4 million viewers, was episode four of the classic Second Doctor Cybermen adventure The Invasion. Then, in 1987 5.5 million people tuned into part one of Dragonfire, and the following year 6.10 million people saw the Seventh Doctor do battle with the Cybermen in the first part of Silver Nemesis.

Currently the only story from the revived series which was broadcast on the show's actual anniversary is the 2013 50th Anniversary special, The Day of The Doctor. Simulcast around the world in cinemas and on television, it kicked off at 7:50pm with a huge BBC One audience of 12.8 million viewers. And if you pressed the Red Button afterwards you'd have been able to enjoy the marvelous Five(ish) Doctors Reboot. In fact, let's watch it again shall we?...



November 24th
The Fourth Doctor and Romana faced the Nightmare of Eden on this day in 1979. Part one drew an audience of 8.7 million viewers.

Also on this day episode one of The Sarah Jane Adventures, er, adventure, The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith, was broadcast in 2008 at 4:35pm, and watched by 0.72 million viewers.


November 25th
Part Three of The Ice Warriors is now missing (along with the previous installment), so unless you were one of those 7.4 million people who tuned in for this Second Doctor adventure back in 1967 then you've likely only seen the animated recreation. Then, the Fourth Doctor began a new adventure on this day in 1978, with part one of The Androids of Tara watched by 8.5 million viewers.

But the big one for this day arrived back in 1983, when 7.7 million people tuned in to the 20th Anniversary special The Five Doctors which was broadcast as part of that evening's Children In Need. Fun fact - it had already premiered two days previously in the USA, on Doctor Who's actual anniversary.


November 26th
All of Patrick Troughton's 1966 debut adventure The Power of the Daleks is currently missing believed wiped, so only the 7.8 million people watching episode four on this day in 1966 have seen it in all its glory. Though the new animated version is pretty special indeed, and we reviewed episode four here. Also on this day we have part one of The Sun Makers which aired in 1977 to an audience of 8.5 million viewers.

And now a story which is not quite as exciting as the previous time Doctor Who had teamed up with Children In Need for a multi-Doctor adventure - the 1993 30th Anniversary 3D special Dimensions In Time. It would be fair to say that it is quite hard to love, but during the annual charity telethon part one was watched by an enormous audience of 13.8 million viewers - making it one of the top five most watched episodes of Doctor Who ever! Sad fact that.

Fun fact - Although Dimensions In Time is not officially canon, it is referenced in the Doctor Who novel First Frontier. The Seventh Doctor says, "I once had [a nightmare] where all my old foes chased me round a soap opera." Best way to explain it if you ask me!

Our weekly spin-off corner brings us the Torchwood episode Greeks Bearing Gifts, which was broadcast in 2006 and watched by 1.31 million BBC Three viewers, plus part two of The Sarah Jane Adventures story The Lost Boy, which aired a year later to 1.25 million CBBC viewers. And bang up to date we have the next episode of Class set to debut next Saturday November 26th 2016. Titled The Metaphysical Engine, or What Quill Did it is the seventh and penultimate episode in Patrick Ness' stonkingly good first series.

Did you watch any of these adventures live? Did you learn anything new from Search Out Space? Let us know in the comments below.

Until next Sunday... 

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