Doctor Who in the United States and Canada
Doctor Who's North American journey from CBC to cult status.
Doctor Who, the British science fiction television series, first aired in North America on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in January 1965 and later entered syndication in the United States in 1972. Its connections to distribution, broadcast, and fandom in Canada and the United States are explored here.
Quick Facts
- North american premiere
- January 1965 on CBC
- Us syndication start
- 1972
- First us exposure
- July 1966 film Dr. Who and the Daleks
- First us tv broadcast
- 1972 via Time-Life Television
- First pbs broadcasts
- 1978 (Tom Baker's first four seasons)
- Tv movie premiere
- 12 May 1996 on CITV-TV in Edmonton, Alberta
- Tv movie us broadcast
- 14 May 1996 on Fox
Facts from the source article.
History
The series was conceived by Canadian expatriate Sydney Newman while he was the BBC's Head of Drama. It may have been inspired by a segment on the Canadian version of Howdy Doody featuring a puppet named Mr. X who traveled through time and space in his "Whatsis Box"; the segment was canceled after parents complained it was "too frightening" for children. Newman oversaw that segment while working as head of programming for the CBC. He maintained a guiding influence over Doctor Who until leaving the BBC in 1967 and was in talks with the BBC in 1986 to reformat the show and become executive producer. The series made its North American premiere in January 1965 on CBC with William Hartnell's first 26 episodes, fourteen months after their BBC airing. The CBC did not renew the program, and it would not reappear on the network for 40 years. The film Dr. Who and the Daleks, released in July 1966, was the first exposure of Doctor Who in the United States but performed poorly at the box office. The BBC series was sold to US television stations in 1972 via Time-Life Television, which syndicated selected Jon Pertwee episodes. The series struggled because program directors did not realize it was an episodic serial, leading to constant schedule shuffling. In 1978, Tom Baker's first four seasons were sold to PBS stations. Time-Life had Howard da Silva record voiceover recaps and teasers, cutting up to three minutes of original material per episode. PBS planners took the show at face value, and it soon achieved cult status. A few commercial stations, including WOR-TV in New York City and KVOS-TV in Bellingham, Washington, also aired the show for a few years.
Later years
In May 1996, the Fox network aired a new Doctor Who television movie, briefly raising the show's profile in the United States. This co-production between the BBC and Universal Pictures got a fair amount of press, including a notable feature in TV Guide. The plan was for the movie to act as a potential pilot for a new series, but low ratings in the U.S. killed that hope. While many point to tough competition during the "sweeps" period—like a key episode of Roseanne—the movie also performed poorly compared to other films that had aired in the same Tuesday night slot. It earned a 5.5 rating, or about a 9-share, while Fox's usual Tuesday Movie slot pulled an 11-share. At the time, Fox was also running Sliders, a dimension-hopping sci-fi show owned by Universal. Sliders had its own ratings troubles, but Universal chose to support its wholly owned property over the co-produced Doctor Who. When Fox announced its fall lineup, Doctor Who was absent. Universal tried to place the show on another broadcast or cable network but couldn't make a deal before its agreement with the BBC ended on December 31, 1997. This TV movie was the first Doctor Who story to air simultaneously across the entire United States. Filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia—though set in San Francisco—it remains the only Doctor Who story shot in Canada. Its world premiere happened on CITV-TV in Edmonton, Alberta on May 12, 1996, two days before the Fox broadcast and fifteen days before the BBC aired it in the UK. The first Canadian cable network to carry Doctor Who was YTV, which from 1989 into the mid-1990s ran all existing episodes through Season 26 in a weekday afternoon slot, with the final two Sylvester McCoy seasons shown separately in the evening.
The new series
In 2005, the Sci Fi Channel was reportedly interested in the 2005 revival of the series but did not acquire it that year. Instead, the CBC became the sole North American broadcaster to air the show in 2005, premiering it on 5 April 2005 to strong ratings. The Canadian version differed from the British original: it included commercial breaks, specially recorded introductions by Christopher Eccleston (and Billie Piper for the Christmas special), and behind-the-scenes clips from Doctor Who Confidential during the closing credits, all used to stretch the 45-minute episodes to fill a 60-minute slot. A Region 1 DVD release was initially announced for 14 February 2006 but was limited to Canada, with the American release held back until a broadcaster was secured. When no U.S. network seemed interested, BBC Worldwide announced the American DVD would come out at the same time as the Canadian one. However, the Sci Fi Channel then picked up Series 1, so while the Canadian DVD release proceeded as planned, the American release was delayed to 4 July 2006. Sci Fi began airing Series 1 on 17 March 2006. The episodes, apparently from the same master tapes used in Canada, were edited both for time and to fit additional commercial breaks, with edits that differed from the Canadian versions. Each episode, including commercials, ran one hour. The original "Next Time" trailers were removed and replaced by Sci Fi-produced teasers displayed on the right two-thirds of the screen, while the original credits were compressed to the left side. Initial Sci Fi broadcasts of Series 1 averaged a Nielsen Rating of 1.3, representing 1.5 million viewers. Though lower than the ratings for Sci Fi's original series Battlestar Galactica, Stargate SG-1, and Stargate Atlantis, these numbers reflected a 44% increase in ratings and a 56% increase in viewership over the same timeslot in the second quarter of 2005, as well as increases of 56% and 57% in two key demographics.
Fandom
The Doctor Who Appreciation Society, the British fan club, had North American chapters but by the early 1980s divested itself of international components for administrative reasons. National fan organizations then emerged, including the North American Doctor Who Appreciation Society, the Doctor Who Fan Club of America, the Friends of Doctor Who, and the Canada-based Doctor Who Information Network (originally a DWAS chapter). Most folded by the 1990s, though Friends of Doctor Who lasted to the end of that decade. The Doctor Who Information Network continues, celebrating its 33rd anniversary in 2013, and is the longest-running Doctor Who fan club in North America. Local fan groups also emerged across the United States. Some disbanded after the series ended production, while others remain active, including The Whoosier Network (Indiana, celebrating its 29th anniversary in 2013), the North East Wisconsin Friends of The Doctor, the Prydonians of Prynceton (New Jersey), the Guardians of Gallifrey (Central Florida), Tardis Repairs Inc. (Southern Florida), Doctor Who New York and the Gallifreyan Embassy of Long Island (New York), the Atlanta Gallifreyans (Georgia), The Earthbound TimeLords (Wauwatosa, Wisconsin), The Milwaukee Time Lords (Milwaukee, Wisconsin), and the Time Meddlers of Los Angeles (California). Other notable groups have included the Unearthly Children (Pennsylvania), Friends of the Time Lord and UNIT (Massachusetts), T.A.R.D.I.S. (Arizona), the Legion of Rassilon (Northern California), Emerald City Androgums (Washington), Motor City TARDIS (Michigan), the St. Louis CIA (Missouri), Space City Time Lords and the International House of Daleks (Texas), and the Chronicles of Who (Illinois).
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