Down To Earth

Welcome to WhoGold, now officially the first search result on Google when you type in "Whogold". Oh yes, I can tell you're impressed. Just don't put a space between the two words though, or you'll end up reading about obstructive lung disease. And we know bugger all about that.

The mad one with the teeth and curls finally arrived on analogue satellite channel UK Gold in late August 1993, and lucky satellite viewers had the chance to relive the Fourth Doctor's very first adventures either in their original episodic format (late on weeknights), or as omnibus editions (late on Sunday mornings). However, many fans would have been familiar with the twelfth season, which had already been released in its entirety by BBC Video.

All four parts of the second story The Ark In Space were screened together on Sunday 5th September 1993 from 9.00am-11.00am, with the Fourth Doctor and his companions beaming down to Earth a week later on Sunday 12th September 1993 for the short but sweet two-part story The Sontaran Experiment, shown at the new regular time of 11.00am.

Of course by rights Genesis Of The Daleks should have followed a week later, but it was the rights that were the problem; in its first year, UK Gold was not permitted to screen any television programmes written by Terry Nation or featuring his Dalek creations. Thankfully, the parties reached an agreement over payments and Genesis eventually featured on the channel in December 1993.

Thanks for visiting - WhoGold will return on Sunday 12th June 2011.