This Week In DOCTOR WHO History: Sept 8th to Sept 14th - Warped Factor - Words in the Key of Geek.

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This Week In DOCTOR WHO History: Sept 8th to Sept 14th

It's a dinosaur sized week for Doctor Who...


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.

September 8th
Welcome once again to our weekly round-up of all things Who related which took place over the coming 7 days in the show's near 56 year history, and we have a bumper crop of adventures for you from a multitude of Doctors. Kicking things off this week we have episode two of Destiny of the Daleks which was broadcast on this day in 1979 and watched by a mighty 12.7 million viewers.

Then we flash forward 32 years to the ninth and penultimate installment of Torchwood: Miracle Day. Entitled The Gathering, it was broadcast in 2011 and watched by 4.63 million viewers, who at this point likely just felt they had to see it through to the end!

Then in 2012 we have a Chris Chibnall penned adventure from the Moffat era. One with a name where the title pretty much allows you to infer exactly what the story is going to be about. That would be Dinosaurs on a Spaceship and 7.57 million viewers watched thinking to themselves "this guy'll never be showrunner". <shakeshead>cries</shakeshead>


September 9th
Episode 2 of The Tomb of the Cybermen was broadcast on this day in 1967, and watched by 6.4 million viewers. Two regenerations later and someone's picked up the scent of Jelly Babies. There's no stopping him now! Oh, maybe just a quick pause for part 2 of The Ribos Operation, which drew an audience of 8.1 million for it's debut outing in 1978.

Also on this day, if you were living in the U.S of A. then you could've watched the final episode of Torchwood. That would be part 10 of Miracle Day which was titled The Blood Line.


September 10th
A packed day for you in Doctor Who history, with the first of our adventures broadcast back in 1966 and it is episode 1 of the pure historical adventure The Smugglers which was watched by 4.3 million viewers. Then it's back to the Jelly Baby loving Doctor's era and joining the 7.1 million viewers tuning in for part 2 of Horror of Fang Rock on this day in 1977.

It's time to turn on the radio for some a little bit of Who for the ears. Firstly, in 1993 the third part of the Third Doctor radio adventure The Paradise Of Death was broadcast from 6:31pm on BBC Radio 5. Then in 2008 the Torchwood team could be found investigating some Lost Souls, which premiered on Radio 4 at 2:15pm that day.

Back in 2010, when BBC Three was an actual channel on the tele-box and everything like that, the Doctor Who Prom received its premier at 7:01pm. You know, I've never understood why the BBC pulled Three from the TV and made it an online only channel as surely there was an audience for it? Right? Oh, you're saying only 310,000 people tuned in to that broadcast. Oh! That probably explains it then.

Back to the TV and to 2011 where we join the Eleventh, Amy and Rory, along with 7.6 million of the UK's finest who are sat watching The Girl Who Waited.

Finally for this day in Docctor Who history, were you one of the lucky people who managed to get tickets to the Doctor Who Series 9 Launch in Cardiff? We were there! Oh yes, we were there on this day back in 2015 along with a cinema room full of lucky people who were treated to The Magician's Apprentice and The Witch's Familiar before anyone else. Here's our review of the event to prove it!


September 11th
Yeah baby! Groovy.

Back in 1965, had you been lucky enough to eavesdrop on the production meeting for what was to be Season 3 of Doctor Who you might have heard a suggestion of 'more chicks with big guns'.

And so Galaxy 4 opened the First Doctor's third season on this day 54 years ago, with an episode titled Four Hundred Dawns. The story saw the scaly Rills finding themselves in conflict with the Drahvins. Any resemblance whatsoever to Austin Powers' Fembots is probably entirely coincidental. Or at least nobody remembers them dancing for a bemused First Doctor as he desperately tries to think unsexy thoughts...


...Nope, that never happened! Anyway, the episode was watched by 9 million viewers who had been missing the good Doctor since season two finished - just six weeks previous!!!! Really, someone needs to tell these modern Doctors how good they have it.

Also on this day in 1976 part two of The Masque of Mandragora was sending children behind the sofa, where they found 9.8 million others lurking with them.


September 12th
After 42 weeks the very first season of Doctor Who came to an end (42 WEEKS!!! Hello, Mr Chibnall??? Ten episodes a year is apparently a chore for you!?!?!) with the sixth part of The Reign Of Terror titled Prisoners of Conciergerie. It was broadcast in 1964 at 5:29pm, and watched by 6.4 million viewers.


September 13th
First today we have two from Tom. Starting with part three of Terror of the Zygons which arrived on our screens on this day in 1975 to a welcoming audience of 8.2 million viewers. Then it's part three of The Leisure Hive, which was broadcast in 1980 to a slightly less welcoming 5 million viewers.

Two regenerations later and we have the second part of The Trial Of A Time Lord. The individual story was titled The Mysterious Planet and it was broadcast in 1986 at 4:46pm, which is just waaay too early in the day! Even The Sarah Jane Adventures went out later than that! So 4.9 million viewers is not a bad figure really.

Two Scottish Doctors complete our day. First up it's back to 1989 and part two of Battlefield, which was part of Season 26 of Doctor Who. That year was broadcast against Coronation Street and became one of the best kept secrets on British television - as in nobody seemed to know it was actually on! Well nobody apart from the 3.9 million viewers who tuned in. And wrapping up this day it's the Twelfth Doctor and one of the stand-out episodes from Series 8, Listen, which was broadcast in 2014 and watched by 7.01 million viewers.


September 14th
Interesting choice of camera work (also known as "something for the dads") on this day in 1969 as part 1 of The Mind Robber graced our screens at 5:17pm and was watched by 6.6 million viewers. Then 18 years later we have part 2 of the Seventh Doctor's debut adventure Time and the Rani, which drew an audience of 4.2 million viewers.

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

Until next Sunday...

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