Thursday 10 October 2013

" ... little to thrill."


Due to a power-cut in some areas of the UK on 23rd November 1963, many people were unable to view the first episode of Doctor Who*.  To rectify the situation, the episode was re-broadcast the following week before the second episode.

The Guardian's Mary Crozier, it seems was unimpressed ...



[*On Friday 22nd, JFK had been assassinated, and it is commonly claimed that this was the Primary reason for re-broadcasting the first episode of Doctor Who the following week - that many adults were otherwise occupied with news coverage of the death.
Now certainly, this may well have been a contributing factor in the decision to re-broadcast the first episode. However, unlike today, where news of a presidential assassination would probably entirely take over TV 24/7 for many days, this did not happen in 1963 - certainly not in the UK.
Also, as Doctor Who was billed as a children's programme, comparatively few adults would have been bothered watching it even if they weren't that engrossed in the events 'across the pond'.]