50 years of Doctor Who in Australia Overview

This year marks 50 years of Doctor Who in Australia. On January 12th the first episode screened on the ABC Perth at 7:30, three days later the first episode was screened in Sydney, where I was living at the time, my parents allow me to stay up to watch the first episode and continued allow me to watch these early episodes even when marked by the Australian censors AO, my parents could not see any reasons why these episodes were classified as such. Also in that year I read my first article on the program in "Australian Woman Weekly", I came upon the article as I was looking for the comic strip Mandrake. The article was
looking at the making of the Web Planet, seeing the pictures kept my interest in the show, wanting to see the butterfly people, I had to wait for awhile before the story of screened. I enjoy watching William Hartnell as the Doctor, but I could say I was true fan of the show, until Patrick Troughton became the Doctor,

I enjoyed the different approach that Troughton took the Doctor, also I found enjoyed stories more and his companions than Hartnell. I'm lucky to remember what many of  missing Troughton episodes were like, due to repeats in Australia during the school holidays and then living in New Zealand in the early seventies.

When I return to Australia, on screen was Jon Pertwee as the Doctor, the man of action, I found myself engross by the stories and the cast, this continue when Tom Baker arrive as the Doctor, at school everyone knew me as a fan of the show.
The Target books started to come out, so I started to buy those, during the sixties I had collected TV annuals, Doctor Who was one of  the titles, that I still collect today.

As new actors played the Doctor I kept on watching,some fans stopped watching the series if they don't like actor or the stories, It was sad when the series had ended, I thought it was starting to get back on track.

During the early 80's I joined the West Lodge a Doctor Who club in Western Australia, the club was  my first introduction to fandom. Also I found some my closest friend there, and my wonderful wife.

We all waited for Who to return, in 1996, a TV  film was made, sadly in missed the mark. Then 2005 the new Who was screened and has taken the world by storm.

So to pay tribute to show I had been watching and listening all the Doctor Who stories that have been screen in Australia, minus two stories that did not pass the censors, "Mission to Unknown", prequel to the epic "The Dalek Masterplan".

next my blog will take look at the first season of Doctor Who.