This Week In DOCTOR WHO History: March 1st to March 7th - Warped Factor - Words in the Key of Geek.

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This Week In DOCTOR WHO History: March 1st to March 7th

Peter, Sarah & Janet are happy as they've just left that morning's read through for the next story and discovered Adric's getting killed off! Matthew, having overslept and just arrived on set, can't understand the festivities but not wanting to feel left out joins in the dancing.


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.

March 1st
Let's begin another week in Doctor Who history back in 1969 with episode six of the Second Doctor adventure The Seeds Of Death which had 7.7 million viewers tuning in to watch. An impressive number but small change compared to the mighty 10.5 million pairs of eyes watching the screen this day in 1975 for the second and final part of the Fourth Doctor adventure The Sontaran Experiment.

One can only imagine what's going through Peter Davison's mind in that picture above. "And I signed up for three years of this????", perhaps? Or could it be as we've suggested above that they've just read the last page of the script for Adric's next story? (spoilers!) Or perhaps it's just because 15 years after the last pure historical story (The Highlanders) Doctor Who finally returned to the genre for the Fifth Doctor 2-part adventure Black Orchid. Part one was broadcast Monday March 1st 1982 and was watched by 9.9 million viewers.

The following year the Fifth Doctor began another new adventure with part one of Enlightenment drawing an audience of 6.6 million. Then in his third and final year 7.4 million viewers joined the Doctor on a trip to Sarn (which looked remarkably like Lanzarote) for Planet of Fire.

Finally for this day, episode wise, it's series twelve finale time as the Thirteenth Doctor uncovers the secret, perhaps, of The Timeless Children. Premiering tonight on BBC One at 6:50pm, we know you'll be watching.

And in Who-related birthday news - on this day in 1918 Roger Delgado, the original Master, was born. He was sadly killed in a car crash in 1973 and never got to film his proposed swansong on Doctor Who, The Final Game.


March 2nd
On this day in 1968 8 million people were watching the Second Doctor in episode five of The Web of Fear. Six years later part two of the Third Doctor adventure Death to the Daleks was watched by a mighty 9.5 million. Then on Tuesday March 2nd 1982 the second and final part of Black Orchid saw the Adric fan club out in full force - all 10.1 million of them enjoying his penultimate adventure.

If you were tuned into BBC1 at 6.45pm on Wednesday March 2nd 1983 then you were joined by 7.2 million others, all watching part two of Enlightenment. The following year, the final part of Planet of Fire drew an audience of 7. million. One regeneration later, the Sixth Doctor prepared to bid adieu to his Second self in the third and final part of The Two Doctors, which was watched by 6.9 million viewers.


March 3rd
It's the comfy chair for you Pertwee! Sit down and grab a cuppa whilst you enjoy the only Who episode broadcast on this day throughout the show's history, that would be the 1973 Third Doctor adventure Frontier In Space which was broadcast in 1973 at 5:53pmto an audience of 7.8 million viewers.


March 4th
In 1967 episode 4 of the Second Doctor adventure The Moonbase drew an audience of 8.1 million viewers. Moving on to 1972 and the second part of the Third Doctor story The Sea Devils was watched by an audience of 9.7 million. Finally for this week in Doctor Who history, on this day in 1978 part five of The Invasion Of Time was watched by 10.3 million people.


March 5th
I know what you're thinking, what's Dodo doing with Sia up there? But no, it's a screengrab from back in 1966 when on this day 5.5 million people were possibly wishing this Dodo was extinct whilst tuning in for the opening episode of the First Doctor story The Ark (entitled The Steel Sky). Oh, and it was broadcast at 5.15pm, in case you were wondering.

Twelve years later, in 1977, 9.8 million scarf loving people tuned in to part two of The Talons of Weng-Chiang.  

Also on this day, we're off to Cardiff for some Torchwood. Something Borrowed was broadcast in 2008 at 9:50pm and watched by 0.98 million viewers.

And a Who-birthday for you. Matt Lucas, who portrayed Twelfth Doctor sort of companion Nardole, was born this day in 1974.


March 6th 
On this day in 1965, 13 million wonderful viewers tuned in to catch Barbara and Vrestin attempt to recreate that scene from Titanic, even though that scene wouldn't be conceived for another 30 plus years - timey wimey, indeed! It was all part of episode four of The Web Planet (entitled Crater of Needles) of course.

Two regenerations and 6 years later, the Third Doctor faced The Mind Of Evil, episode six had an audience of 7.3 million. Finally for this day in 1976 part six of The Seeds Of Doom draw an audience of 11.5 million


March 7th
March 7th 1964 saw the third episode of Marco Polo (entitled Five Hundred Eyes) broadcast at 5.16pm and watched by 9.4 million viewers. Six years later episode 6 of Doctor Who And The Silurians was watched by 7.2 million viewers. And then, in 1981, it was nearly the end, but the moment was being prepared for - part two of Logopolis, the Fourth Doctor's swansong, was watched by 7.7 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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