“Red and Yellow and Pink and Green, Purple and Orange and Blue”

Seen: 20th April 1985

Dr Who And The Daleks,a 1965 cinema film adaptation of Doctor Who’s first Dalek serial, had its British television premiere on 1st July 1972. This was exactly one week after the conclusion of Doctor Who’s then most recent series, and in an early evening slot which almost overlapped with that just vacated by The Time Monster. In response to this bit of what we might now call “brand synergy”, Jon Pertwee complained in person to BBC One Controller Paul Fox, citing both his own low opinion of the film’s quality and his alarm at the possibility that it might distract viewers from the version of Doctor Who in which he was starring. 

On one level you can see Pertwee’s point. Everyone involved in Doctor Who had worked very hard to make it a success again after its near-death experience of 1969/70, and the series was undeniably on the up. Viewing figures? AI? Public engagement and critical response? Tick tick tick tick! But there’s also a paradoxical element to his complaint. If the film was bad, then how could it detract from the work he and his colleagues had been doing? It may have been that the actor, now fully established as Doctor Who and about to embark on an unprecedented fourth year in the role, was sensitive about people being reminded that other actors had played his part. In which case, the imminence of guest turns by both his television predecessors must have been positively alarming.