Difference between revisions of "Australia TX 1979-1982"

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=AUSTRALIAN TRANSMISSION HISTORY (Part Six) (1979-1982)=
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{{Aus tx nav}}
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{{Blank lines|2}}
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----
 +
===Block 12: T BAKER ---- '''February 1979 to October 1979'''===
 +
{| {{small-table}}
 +
|-
 +
|'''First Run'''||'''{{4V}}----{{4T}}----{{4X}}----{{4W}}----{{4Y}}----{{4Z}}----{{5A}}----{{5B}}----{{5C}}----{{5D}}----{{5E}}----{{5F}}'''
 +
|-
 +
|'''Repeats'''||'''{{AAA}}----{{KKK}}----{{PPP}}----{{RRR}}----{{TTT}}----{{UUU}}----{{XXX}}----{{YYY}}----{{ZZZ}}----{{4A}}----{{4B}}----{{4C}}----{{4E}}----{{4D}}----{{4F}}----{{4G}}----{{4H}}----{{4J}}----{{4L}}----{{4M}}'''
 +
|}
 +
[[File:TomBakerinAust79.JPG|right|thumb|150px|Print ad for Tom Baker signing during his visit to Australia  in February 1979]]
 +
 
 +
 
 +
'''TOM BAKER VISITS AUSTRALIA #1'''
 +
 
 +
From '''2 February 1979''' until the end of the month, Tom Baker was in Australia on a publicity tour sponsored by the ABC. He did press, TV and radio interviews, plus book signings at various stores, such as the Grace Bros chain. On '''12 February 1979''' he made a surprise visit to Neutral Bay Public School in North Sydney; footage of his talk with the kids was later shown on the ABC.
 +
 
 +
After Sydney, Baker went to BRISBANE, then MELBOURNE (on 15 February), and later called on the former Telecom Australia depot in ADELAIDE on 24 February, where decommissioned street telephone boxes were stockpiled waiting to be sold or destroyed. Photos of him standing inside one of these boxes appeared in local newspapers the following day.
 +
 
 +
Baker appeared on various shows, such as '''Countdown''' (interviewed by Molly Meldrum; aired 22 February) and '''This Week''' (aired 29 February) and the '''Mike Walsh Show'''. He was interviewed for ''"TV Times"'' (which was the cover story of the 24-30 March 1979 issue – see [[Australia Sales]]).
 +
 
 +
Baker's visit to Neutral Bay Public School in Sydney on '''12 February''' was shown on the ABC's '''Behind the News''' programme.
 +
 
 +
It was also during this tour that a series of charity-sponsored videos were recorded for the '''"Keep Australia Beautiful"''' campaign. These aired on the commercial stations 7, 9 and 10 but not the ABC.
 +
 
 +
{{YouTube table
 +
|MgL1uHMmrmY|'''Tom Baker on Countdown'''
 +
|7nbZLMBYZ4o|'''Tom Baker visits Neutral Bay school'''
 +
}}
 +
{{YouTube table
 +
|NxojWtQEzVI|'''Keep Australia Beautiful - "May Day"'''
 +
|82xWRv2S7eg|'''Keep Australia Beautiful - "Bruce"'''
 +
}}
 +
{{YouTube table
 +
|bvwjq2b9qkQ|'''Keep Australia Beautiful - "Darren"'''
 +
|qbalyyAoRoM|'''Keep Australia Beautiful - "Australia Day"'''
 +
}}
 +
[[File:4V190279.JPG|right|thumb|550px|Sydney Morning Herald, 19 February 1979]]
 +
 
 +
Starting in 1979, the ABC was for the first time actively attempting full unification across the networks, with the same episodes of most programmes screening across all regions on the same day, albeit allowing for the two hour difference between coasts. The odd regional variance would generally occur around coverage of live sporting events. However, from this point on, this overview will no longer cover every regional variance.
 +
 
 +
 
 +
'''NEW EPISODES'''
 +
 
 +
*From Monday, '''19 February 1979''' to Wednesday, '''23 May 1979''', seasons 15 and 16 aired back to back, four nights per week (not Fridays) on all stations. This run coincided with Tom Baker's visit – see above.
 +
*There were several days of pre-emptions during the last week of March 1979 to allow for coverage of cricket "live from Perth". As it was hosting the event live, and because there was still a two hour time difference west and east, PERTH did not have to drop any episodes of '''Doctor Who''' to make way for the cricket broadcasts, and as such Western Australia became the '''first region''' to air Season 16, and the run of repeats that followed, with the other regions catching up a few days later. 
 +
 
 +
 
 +
'''REPEATS'''
 +
 
 +
*Starting in '''May 1979''' was another repeat run of the colour Jon Pertwee stories, followed by Tom Bakers from {{4A}} to {{4M}} only. MELBOURNE had fallen out of sync a few times, due to other sports coverage; while the regions ended simultaneously on '''24 October 1979''', Victoria ended the run a week later on '''30 October'''.
 +
*It was during this repeat run that the ABC considered acquiring some further examples of the edited-down compilations that had been repeated by the BBC during the 70s; a truncated edition of {{4K}} had already been purchased (see previous Block, and below), and a shortened version of {{4G}} was submitted to the censors in June 1979, but although it was classified with a "G" rating, it was never broadcast.
 +
 
 +
 
 +
----
 +
 
 +
===Block 13: T BAKER ---- '''January 1980 to October 1980'''===
 +
 
 +
{| {{small-table}}
 +
|-
 +
|'''First Run'''||'''{{5J}}----{{5H}}----{{5G}}----{{5K}}----{{5L}}'''
 +
|-
 +
|'''Repeats'''||'''{{4K}}----{{4A}}----{{4B}}----{{4C}}----{{4D}}----{{4E}}----{{4F}}----{{4H}}----{{4V}}----{{4T}}----{{4X}}----{{4W}}----{{4Y}}----{{4Z}}----{{5A}}----{{5B}}----{{5C}}----{{5D}}----{{5E}}----{{5F}}----{{5J}}----{{5H}}----{{5G}}----{{5K}}----{{5L}}----{{4G}}----{{4J}}----{{4L}}----{{4M}}'''
 +
|-
 +
|}
 +
[[File:PrimeAds.JPG|thumb|right|450px|Screen grabs from the four Pr1me Computer ads]]
 +
 
 +
 
 +
'''PRIME COMPUTER ADS (1)'''
 +
 
 +
Starting in '''January 1980''', and running for several months, commercials for '''Prime Computer of Australia Ltd''' (aka Prime Computer / Pr1me Computer) played at cinemas and aired on TV networks 7, 9 and 10. (Although it was the home of '''Doctor Who''', the ABC could not show the adverts because it was a non-commercial station.) 
 +
 
 +
The two commercials – both with the slogan '''"Step into the 80's!"''' – were filmed in late 1979 (in the UK) and aired in Australia in early 1980 (the first was 1 minute, the other 30 seconds).
 +
 
 +
The ads were supported by print material such as postcards and posters.
 +
 
 +
The ''Canberra Times'' of '''5 March 1980''' reported on the success of the campaign.
 +
 
 +
Full-page ads continued to appear in print, such as the '''7 July 1980''' (cover-dated) Australian edition of '''Time''' magazine.
 +
 
 +
In '''October 1980''' there were print ads for Prime Computer featuring only Tom Baker; these were published to coincide with Prime's appearance at the '''Eighth World Computer Congress''' (said to be the biggest computer exhibition ever in Australia) which was being held in MELBOURNE, from '''14-17 October'''.
 +
 
 +
A second pair of commercials was made and aired in early 1981 – see below.
 +
 
 +
{{Image table
 +
|[[File:PrimeAds1.JPG|right|thumb|250px|Prime Computer ads are a success; Canberra Times, 5 March 1980]]|[[ File:PrimeAd3.JPG|right|thumb|350px|Image cropped from Prime Computer print ad October 1980]]
 +
}}
 +
{{clear}}
 +
 
 +
[[File:Adel4K78.JPG|thumb|right||250px|The Brain of Morbius Omnibus edition, 24
 +
January 1980 (TV Week)]]
 +
[[File:4KOmnibus2.JPG|right|thumb|250px|The Brain of Morbius Omnibus edition, 24 January 1980 (Sydney Morning Herald)]]
 +
[[File:4KOmnibus.JPG|right|thumb|250px|The Brain of Morbius Omnibus edition, 24 January 1980 (Melbourne Age)]]
 +
 
 +
'''NEW EPISODES'''
 +
 
 +
*On Thursday, '''24 January 1980''', at 9.30pm, the 60 minute edited compilation of {{4K}} screened for the first time in all regions and repeated in ADELAIDE. It's unknown whether it was seen in DARWIN, but since they were still connected to the BRISBANE network, it is likely that they did.
 +
*A month later, from Monday, '''18 February 1980''', Season 17 started, again screening four nights a week, at 6.30pm. The fourth part of {{5L}} aired '''20 March 1980'''.
 +
 
 +
 
 +
'''TOM BAKER VISITS AUSTRALIA #2'''
 +
 
 +
Tom Baker was back in Australia on a second promotional tour during this run of episodes. He arrived on '''27 February 1980'''. (He had been in [[Egypt]] filming '''[[Wikipedia:The Curse of King Tut's Tomb (1980 film)|The Curse of King Tut's Tomb]]''', and flew on to Australia afterwards.) He was in SYDNEY to begin with, then visited other city centres. He appeared on various news and chat shows, such as '''The John Singleton Show''' (aired 4 March).
 +
 
 +
After being away from the UK for almost two whole months, Baker returned home in '''mid-March''' jet-lagged and feeling very much under the weather - and as such he was still unwell when he arrived on Brighton Beach to begin filming [[The Leisure Hive]]… 
 +
 
 +
 
 +
'''REPEATS'''
 +
 
 +
*A week after the conclusion of season 17, a further run of Baker repeats aired in all regions (the exact airdates for some PERTH episodes are unknown, but there are enough airdates to allow for all serials from {{4A}} to {{5H}} to play, but there has to be with ''one day'' when no episode aired to fit the available run of dates), starting with {{4A}}, getting only as far as {{4H}}, after which, from '''12 May 1980''', came repeats of {{4V}} through to {{5L}}, only six months after the initial screening. It was then back to season 13 again, with {{4G}} from '''15 September'''.
 +
*During the screening of {{4B}} 2 in BRISBANE on '''1 April''', there was a technical fault.
 +
*The repeats ended with {{4M}} on '''14 October 1980''', in SYDNEY and BRISBANE. In MELBOURNE and HOBART the run ended two days later, on '''16 October 1980'''; at least two episodes would have been pre-empted at some stage to push those two regions out of sync. In '''PERTH''', the run concluded on '''21 October 1980'''.
 +
 
 +
 
 +
 
 +
'''MORE PERTWEE IN COLOUR?'''
 +
 
 +
In late 1979, the ABC had looked into the possibility of acquiring further Jon Pertwee episodes in colour. They received a copy of the existing PAL tape of part 1 of {{CCC}} in '''January 1980''', but the BBC had long since wiped the rest. The ABC started making enquiries into where colour copies of this and other stories could be obtained from overseas.
 +
 
 +
[[File:PertweeCabaret1980.JPG|right|thumb|300px|Jon Pertwee in Cabaret; Sydney Morning Herald, 17 May 1980]]
 +
When it was discovered that {{OOO}} had screened in colour on the [[Canada|Canadian]] channel [[TVO]] in '''March 1980''', members of the Australian Doctor Who Fan Club contacted the ABC to see if they were able to acquire the rights to that story. Surprisingly, the ABC did not take up this suggestion. 
 +
 
 +
But the following month, '''April 1980''', the ABC approached the US distributor Time-Life to see if they had copies of stories in NTSC, but months after their enquiry they were informed that the US tapes had been wiped. (Note: the ABC had the ability to transmit from NTSC without the need to convert to PAL first.)
 +
 
 +
The ABC also contacted the chief censor to see if three stories that had been given "A" ratings nine years previously - {{DDD}}, {{FFF}} and {{JJJ}} – could be reclassified. The censor responded that these still did not qualify for "G" classifications.
 +
 
 +
Any notion of screening further third Doctor stories in colour this year was therefore abandoned, but the ABC did revisit the idea a couple of years later…
 +
 
 +
The ABC may have been planning to screen the 'new' colour third Doctor episodes to coincide with Pertwee's visit to Australia: the actor brought his '''"JON PERTWEE IN CABARET"''' tour for a multi-city engagement. The tour opened in SYDNEY, for three nights at the Theatre Restaurant at the Bankstown Town Hall from Thursday, '''29 May 1980''' until Saturday, '''31 May'''. Tickets cost A$18.00, which included pre-dinner drinks, a three course meal and show. The tour then went to other cities around the country.
 +
 
 +
Pertwee also appeared on various TV chat shows while in Australia, such as '''"The John Singleton Show"''' and '''"This Week"'''. He also held signings at malls, and was the special guest at a Fan Cub event in SYDNEY on '''15 June 1980'''.
 +
 
 +
 
 +
Back in '''November 1979''', the BBC had explored the possibility of filming a story in Australia for Tom Baker's next season (i.e. Season 18) in a co-production with the ABC. In '''July 1980''', when the idea was raised again, new producer John Nathan-Turner wrote to his Head of Department stating that five weeks location filming in Australia could be scheduled for the following season (i.e. Season 19 to be filmed in 1981 and 1982), however nothing further came of this idea.
 +
 
 +
But it can't be a coincidence that it was only a matter of days after these latest discussions that JNT wrote the character outline for new Australian companion, Tegan Jovanka…
 +
 
 +
{{clear}}
 +
 
 +
 
 +
----
 +
 
 +
==='''NO DOCTOR WHO IN 1981'''===
 +
[[File:PrimeAd2.JPG|right|thumb|350px|Prime Computer ad from Time magazine, April 1981]]
 +
 
 +
There were no screenings at all in '''1981''', mainly due to further complaints to the ABC about the number of repeats of the same early Tom Baker serials over and over (for instance, by this time {{4A}} had already aired '''five''' times).
 +
 
 +
 
 +
'''PRIME COMPUTER ADS (2)'''
 +
 
 +
Although there were no new episodes on the ABC, the second pair of '''Prime Computer''' ads (see above) were shown on the commercial stations circa '''March 1981'''.
 +
 
 +
The onscreen captions for these two new ads were '''"Dr Who and the Aliens"''' (1 minute) and '''"Dr Who meets his match"''' (30 secs). The tagline was amended to '''"On through the 80s"'''.
 +
 
 +
These had been recorded while Baker was filming his final story; he wore his Season 18 burgundy coat and scarf. (The aliens are from Liprogopolis. The similarity between that name and [[Logopolis]] can't possibly be a coincidence…)
 +
 
 +
This follow-up promotion was supported by further colour print ads, one of which appeared in the publicity brochure for the annual Canberra Day Festival which is held in mid-March. Another appeared in '''February''' and '''April 1981''' issues of the Australian edition of '''Time''' magazine.
 +
 
 +
The four TV ads later aired in [[New Zealand]] starting in '''July 1981'''. (The commercials feature on the [[Destiny of the Daleks]] DVD.)
 +
*[http://nzdwfc.tetrap.com/archive/tsv26/primecomputers.html PR1ME COMPUTER ADS  in NZ]
 +
{{clear}}
 +
 
 +
----
 +
 
 +
===Block 14: T BAKER / DAVISON ---- '''March 1982 to December 1982'''===
 +
[[File:NewFace26Apr82.JPG|right|thumb|250px|The "New Face" - Peter Davison arrives on the ABC; Sydney Morning Herald, 22 April 1982]] 
 +
{| {{small-table}}
 +
|-
 +
|'''First Run'''||'''{{5N}}----{{5Q}}----{{5R}}----{{5P}}----{{5S}}----{{5T}}----{{5V}}----{{5Z}}----{{5W}}----{{5Y}}----{{5X}}----{{6A}}----{{6B}}----{{6C}}'''
 +
|-
 +
|'''Repeats'''||'''{{4N}}----{{4M}}----{{4C}}----{{4E}}----{{4D}}----{{4F}}----{{4H}}----{{4G}}----{{4J}}----{{4L}}----{{4Q}}----{{4R}}----{{4S}}----{{4V}}----{{4T}}----{{4X}}----{{4W}}----{{4Y}}----{{4Z}}'''
 +
|}
 +
 
 +
 
 +
Although they had purchased the bulk of Tom Baker's final season in early 1981, the ABC decided to delay screening them, instead choosing to wait until Peter Davison's first season was also available, and airing the two back to back early the following year: 
 +
 
 +
 
 +
'''NEW EPISODES'''
 +
 
 +
*Tom Baker's final season commenced on Monday, '''8 March 1982''', at 6.30pm in all regions bar '''HOBART''', where it commenced the following day, placing that region out of sync with the rest of the country by one day for the full run.
 +
*'''MELBOURNE''' and '''ADELAIDE''' were a day late getting part one of {{5T}} on '''13 April 1982''', putting them out of step by one day as well for the remainder of the run.
 +
*'''Peter Davison''' made his Australian debut on Monday, '''26 April 1982''', a matter of four months after his arrival on British screens.
 +
*'''MELBOURNE''' then aired {{6C}} parts three and four back to back on '''8 June 1982''' in order to catch up, having pre-empted the series on '''12 April 1982'''.
 +
 
 +
 
 +
'''REPEATS'''
 +
 
 +
* From '''9 June 1982''', the day after part four of {{6C}}, a run of regional repeats commenced, mainly to accommodate coverage of the football World Cup. All regions apart from HOBART (which was still lagging behind) saw two episodes back to back of {{4N}}, picking up from where the October 1980 repeat had ended. This was followed a few weeks later by {{4M}}, again with two episodes back to back. This was followed by {{4C}}, screening two episodes back to back across two days nation-wide, while HOBART was still one week behind. The rest of season 12 and 13 aired Mondays to Thursdays, then a jump to {{4Q}}; after {{4R}} part four on Thursday, '''23 September 1982''', the TV schedules were dominated by coverage of the Commonwealth Games for the next two weeks.
 +
*The repeats resumed from '''11 October 1982''' with {{4S}} through to {{4W}}, with some regions then skipping {{4Y}}, and the run ended with {{4Z}}6 (some regions aired with parts one and two back to back) by '''6 December 1982'''.
 +
*On Monday, '''7 June 1982''', an episode of '''Doctor Who''' aired at 6pm in '''DARWIN'''. It is not known if the station was still connected via relay to and still receiving broadcasts from BRISBANE, as it had been during the late 1970s, or whether it was back broadcasting its own scheduled programming locally. 
 +
 
 +
 
 +
'''VHS'''
 +
 
 +
The [[Peter Cushing]] film, '''"Dr Who and the Daleks"''' was released in Australia for the first time on VHS and Betamax through Thorn EMI by '''October 1982''', predominantly for the Rental market. (The tape did not have a classification rating, as there was then no legal requirement for tapes to be rated.)
 +
 
 +
 
 +
*'''CONTINUED: [[Australia TX 1983-1985|1983-1985]]'''
 +
 
 +
 
 +
{{Aus tx nav}}
 +
{{Aus date nav}}
 +
{{Blank lines|2}}
 +
==Links==
 +
*[[Australia]]
 +
*[[Doctors]]
 +
*[[Main Page]]
 +
*[[Broadcasts around the World]]

Latest revision as of 23:04, 11 January 2025

AUSTRALIAN TRANSMISSION HISTORY (Part Six) (1979-1982)

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Block 12: T BAKER ---- February 1979 to October 1979

First Run 4V----4T----4X----4W----4Y----4Z----5A----5B----5C----5D----5E----5F
Repeats AAA----KKK----PPP----RRR----TTT----UUU----XXX----YYY----ZZZ----4A----4B----4C----4E----4D----4F----4G----4H----4J----4L----4M
Print ad for Tom Baker signing during his visit to Australia in February 1979


TOM BAKER VISITS AUSTRALIA #1

From 2 February 1979 until the end of the month, Tom Baker was in Australia on a publicity tour sponsored by the ABC. He did press, TV and radio interviews, plus book signings at various stores, such as the Grace Bros chain. On 12 February 1979 he made a surprise visit to Neutral Bay Public School in North Sydney; footage of his talk with the kids was later shown on the ABC.

After Sydney, Baker went to BRISBANE, then MELBOURNE (on 15 February), and later called on the former Telecom Australia depot in ADELAIDE on 24 February, where decommissioned street telephone boxes were stockpiled waiting to be sold or destroyed. Photos of him standing inside one of these boxes appeared in local newspapers the following day.

Baker appeared on various shows, such as Countdown (interviewed by Molly Meldrum; aired 22 February) and This Week (aired 29 February) and the Mike Walsh Show. He was interviewed for "TV Times" (which was the cover story of the 24-30 March 1979 issue – see Australia Sales).

Baker's visit to Neutral Bay Public School in Sydney on 12 February was shown on the ABC's Behind the News programme.

It was also during this tour that a series of charity-sponsored videos were recorded for the "Keep Australia Beautiful" campaign. These aired on the commercial stations 7, 9 and 10 but not the ABC.




Tom Baker on Countdown



Tom Baker visits Neutral Bay school




Keep Australia Beautiful - "May Day"



Keep Australia Beautiful - "Bruce"




Keep Australia Beautiful - "Darren"



Keep Australia Beautiful - "Australia Day"

Sydney Morning Herald, 19 February 1979

Starting in 1979, the ABC was for the first time actively attempting full unification across the networks, with the same episodes of most programmes screening across all regions on the same day, albeit allowing for the two hour difference between coasts. The odd regional variance would generally occur around coverage of live sporting events. However, from this point on, this overview will no longer cover every regional variance.


NEW EPISODES

  • From Monday, 19 February 1979 to Wednesday, 23 May 1979, seasons 15 and 16 aired back to back, four nights per week (not Fridays) on all stations. This run coincided with Tom Baker's visit – see above.
  • There were several days of pre-emptions during the last week of March 1979 to allow for coverage of cricket "live from Perth". As it was hosting the event live, and because there was still a two hour time difference west and east, PERTH did not have to drop any episodes of Doctor Who to make way for the cricket broadcasts, and as such Western Australia became the first region to air Season 16, and the run of repeats that followed, with the other regions catching up a few days later.


REPEATS

  • Starting in May 1979 was another repeat run of the colour Jon Pertwee stories, followed by Tom Bakers from 4A to 4M only. MELBOURNE had fallen out of sync a few times, due to other sports coverage; while the regions ended simultaneously on 24 October 1979, Victoria ended the run a week later on 30 October.
  • It was during this repeat run that the ABC considered acquiring some further examples of the edited-down compilations that had been repeated by the BBC during the 70s; a truncated edition of 4K had already been purchased (see previous Block, and below), and a shortened version of 4G was submitted to the censors in June 1979, but although it was classified with a "G" rating, it was never broadcast.


Block 13: T BAKER ---- January 1980 to October 1980

First Run 5J----5H----5G----5K----5L
Repeats 4K----4A----4B----4C----4D----4E----4F----4H----4V----4T----4X----4W----4Y----4Z----5A----5B----5C----5D----5E----5F----5J----5H----5G----5K----5L----4G----4J----4L----4M
Screen grabs from the four Pr1me Computer ads


PRIME COMPUTER ADS (1)

Starting in January 1980, and running for several months, commercials for Prime Computer of Australia Ltd (aka Prime Computer / Pr1me Computer) played at cinemas and aired on TV networks 7, 9 and 10. (Although it was the home of Doctor Who, the ABC could not show the adverts because it was a non-commercial station.)

The two commercials – both with the slogan "Step into the 80's!" – were filmed in late 1979 (in the UK) and aired in Australia in early 1980 (the first was 1 minute, the other 30 seconds).

The ads were supported by print material such as postcards and posters.

The Canberra Times of 5 March 1980 reported on the success of the campaign.

Full-page ads continued to appear in print, such as the 7 July 1980 (cover-dated) Australian edition of Time magazine.

In October 1980 there were print ads for Prime Computer featuring only Tom Baker; these were published to coincide with Prime's appearance at the Eighth World Computer Congress (said to be the biggest computer exhibition ever in Australia) which was being held in MELBOURNE, from 14-17 October.

A second pair of commercials was made and aired in early 1981 – see below.

Prime Computer ads are a success; Canberra Times, 5 March 1980
Image cropped from Prime Computer print ad October 1980



The Brain of Morbius Omnibus edition, 24 January 1980 (TV Week)
The Brain of Morbius Omnibus edition, 24 January 1980 (Sydney Morning Herald)
The Brain of Morbius Omnibus edition, 24 January 1980 (Melbourne Age)

NEW EPISODES

  • On Thursday, 24 January 1980, at 9.30pm, the 60 minute edited compilation of 4K screened for the first time in all regions and repeated in ADELAIDE. It's unknown whether it was seen in DARWIN, but since they were still connected to the BRISBANE network, it is likely that they did.
  • A month later, from Monday, 18 February 1980, Season 17 started, again screening four nights a week, at 6.30pm. The fourth part of 5L aired 20 March 1980.


TOM BAKER VISITS AUSTRALIA #2

Tom Baker was back in Australia on a second promotional tour during this run of episodes. He arrived on 27 February 1980. (He had been in Egypt filming The Curse of King Tut's Tomb, and flew on to Australia afterwards.) He was in SYDNEY to begin with, then visited other city centres. He appeared on various news and chat shows, such as The John Singleton Show (aired 4 March).

After being away from the UK for almost two whole months, Baker returned home in mid-March jet-lagged and feeling very much under the weather - and as such he was still unwell when he arrived on Brighton Beach to begin filming The Leisure Hive…


REPEATS

  • A week after the conclusion of season 17, a further run of Baker repeats aired in all regions (the exact airdates for some PERTH episodes are unknown, but there are enough airdates to allow for all serials from 4A to 5H to play, but there has to be with one day when no episode aired to fit the available run of dates), starting with 4A, getting only as far as 4H, after which, from 12 May 1980, came repeats of 4V through to 5L, only six months after the initial screening. It was then back to season 13 again, with 4G from 15 September.
  • During the screening of 4B 2 in BRISBANE on 1 April, there was a technical fault.
  • The repeats ended with 4M on 14 October 1980, in SYDNEY and BRISBANE. In MELBOURNE and HOBART the run ended two days later, on 16 October 1980; at least two episodes would have been pre-empted at some stage to push those two regions out of sync. In PERTH, the run concluded on 21 October 1980.


MORE PERTWEE IN COLOUR?

In late 1979, the ABC had looked into the possibility of acquiring further Jon Pertwee episodes in colour. They received a copy of the existing PAL tape of part 1 of CCC in January 1980, but the BBC had long since wiped the rest. The ABC started making enquiries into where colour copies of this and other stories could be obtained from overseas.

Jon Pertwee in Cabaret; Sydney Morning Herald, 17 May 1980

When it was discovered that OOO had screened in colour on the Canadian channel TVO in March 1980, members of the Australian Doctor Who Fan Club contacted the ABC to see if they were able to acquire the rights to that story. Surprisingly, the ABC did not take up this suggestion.

But the following month, April 1980, the ABC approached the US distributor Time-Life to see if they had copies of stories in NTSC, but months after their enquiry they were informed that the US tapes had been wiped. (Note: the ABC had the ability to transmit from NTSC without the need to convert to PAL first.)

The ABC also contacted the chief censor to see if three stories that had been given "A" ratings nine years previously - DDD, FFF and JJJ – could be reclassified. The censor responded that these still did not qualify for "G" classifications.

Any notion of screening further third Doctor stories in colour this year was therefore abandoned, but the ABC did revisit the idea a couple of years later…

The ABC may have been planning to screen the 'new' colour third Doctor episodes to coincide with Pertwee's visit to Australia: the actor brought his "JON PERTWEE IN CABARET" tour for a multi-city engagement. The tour opened in SYDNEY, for three nights at the Theatre Restaurant at the Bankstown Town Hall from Thursday, 29 May 1980 until Saturday, 31 May. Tickets cost A$18.00, which included pre-dinner drinks, a three course meal and show. The tour then went to other cities around the country.

Pertwee also appeared on various TV chat shows while in Australia, such as "The John Singleton Show" and "This Week". He also held signings at malls, and was the special guest at a Fan Cub event in SYDNEY on 15 June 1980.


Back in November 1979, the BBC had explored the possibility of filming a story in Australia for Tom Baker's next season (i.e. Season 18) in a co-production with the ABC. In July 1980, when the idea was raised again, new producer John Nathan-Turner wrote to his Head of Department stating that five weeks location filming in Australia could be scheduled for the following season (i.e. Season 19 to be filmed in 1981 and 1982), however nothing further came of this idea.

But it can't be a coincidence that it was only a matter of days after these latest discussions that JNT wrote the character outline for new Australian companion, Tegan Jovanka…


NO DOCTOR WHO IN 1981

Prime Computer ad from Time magazine, April 1981

There were no screenings at all in 1981, mainly due to further complaints to the ABC about the number of repeats of the same early Tom Baker serials over and over (for instance, by this time 4A had already aired five times).


PRIME COMPUTER ADS (2)

Although there were no new episodes on the ABC, the second pair of Prime Computer ads (see above) were shown on the commercial stations circa March 1981.

The onscreen captions for these two new ads were "Dr Who and the Aliens" (1 minute) and "Dr Who meets his match" (30 secs). The tagline was amended to "On through the 80s".

These had been recorded while Baker was filming his final story; he wore his Season 18 burgundy coat and scarf. (The aliens are from Liprogopolis. The similarity between that name and Logopolis can't possibly be a coincidence…)

This follow-up promotion was supported by further colour print ads, one of which appeared in the publicity brochure for the annual Canberra Day Festival which is held in mid-March. Another appeared in February and April 1981 issues of the Australian edition of Time magazine.

The four TV ads later aired in New Zealand starting in July 1981. (The commercials feature on the Destiny of the Daleks DVD.)


Block 14: T BAKER / DAVISON ---- March 1982 to December 1982

The "New Face" - Peter Davison arrives on the ABC; Sydney Morning Herald, 22 April 1982
First Run 5N----5Q----5R----5P----5S----5T----5V----5Z----5W----5Y----5X----6A----6B----6C
Repeats 4N----4M----4C----4E----4D----4F----4H----4G----4J----4L----4Q----4R----4S----4V----4T----4X----4W----4Y----4Z


Although they had purchased the bulk of Tom Baker's final season in early 1981, the ABC decided to delay screening them, instead choosing to wait until Peter Davison's first season was also available, and airing the two back to back early the following year:


NEW EPISODES

  • Tom Baker's final season commenced on Monday, 8 March 1982, at 6.30pm in all regions bar HOBART, where it commenced the following day, placing that region out of sync with the rest of the country by one day for the full run.
  • MELBOURNE and ADELAIDE were a day late getting part one of 5T on 13 April 1982, putting them out of step by one day as well for the remainder of the run.
  • Peter Davison made his Australian debut on Monday, 26 April 1982, a matter of four months after his arrival on British screens.
  • MELBOURNE then aired 6C parts three and four back to back on 8 June 1982 in order to catch up, having pre-empted the series on 12 April 1982.


REPEATS

  • From 9 June 1982, the day after part four of 6C, a run of regional repeats commenced, mainly to accommodate coverage of the football World Cup. All regions apart from HOBART (which was still lagging behind) saw two episodes back to back of 4N, picking up from where the October 1980 repeat had ended. This was followed a few weeks later by 4M, again with two episodes back to back. This was followed by 4C, screening two episodes back to back across two days nation-wide, while HOBART was still one week behind. The rest of season 12 and 13 aired Mondays to Thursdays, then a jump to 4Q; after 4R part four on Thursday, 23 September 1982, the TV schedules were dominated by coverage of the Commonwealth Games for the next two weeks.
  • The repeats resumed from 11 October 1982 with 4S through to 4W, with some regions then skipping 4Y, and the run ended with 4Z6 (some regions aired with parts one and two back to back) by 6 December 1982.
  • On Monday, 7 June 1982, an episode of Doctor Who aired at 6pm in DARWIN. It is not known if the station was still connected via relay to and still receiving broadcasts from BRISBANE, as it had been during the late 1970s, or whether it was back broadcasting its own scheduled programming locally.


VHS

The Peter Cushing film, "Dr Who and the Daleks" was released in Australia for the first time on VHS and Betamax through Thorn EMI by October 1982, predominantly for the Rental market. (The tape did not have a classification rating, as there was then no legal requirement for tapes to be rated.)



Airdates in Australia
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Key: BOLD = first airing | ITALICS = repeat
Table of Repeats | ABC's Regional Stations
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