TV4 Science Fiction
TV4 Science Fiction was a Swedish satellite and cable television channel dedicated to the SF genre. It was launched on 29 February 2008, and was available in:
- Denmark
- Finland (simulcast on MTV3 Scifi) (also available in the Baltic regions)
- Norway (simulcast on TV2 Science Fiction)
- Sweden
TV2 Science Fiction shut down in December 2011, and both TV4 Science Fiction and MTV3 Scifi closed down in August 2012.
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Stories Bought and Broadcast
TV4 SF screened all the available serials of the first seven Doctors, and aired them in production rather than story order. The stories were all broadcast in English. (The various stations would have added their own local-language subtitles if required.)
They also showed the two Peter Cushing Dalek movies.
But there were rights issues with some of the TV Dalek stories, which mean that The Daleks, Genesis of the Daleks, Resurrection of the Daleks and Remembrance of the Daleks were not shown.
The episodes were all simulcast on the Finnish station MTV3 Scifi.
In April 2009, the series was also simulcast on the Norwegian station, TV 2 Science Fiction.
Transmission
Episodes usually screened several times daily, first in the early evening, then just after midnight, then again around 3.00am the following morning.
The first episode was An Unearthly Child on Monday, 3 March 2008. The Daleks was not included in the line-up.
The Patrick Troughton era commenced on Wednesday 16 April 2008, with The Tomb of the Cybermen.
Jon Pertwee debuted on Friday, 9 May 2008. The stories aired in production order. Planet of the Daleks and Invasion of the Dinosaurs aired in full, i.e. with black and white episodes.
Robot part 1 aired on Thursday, 7 August 2008. All the Tom Baker stories aired (albeit without Genesis of the Daleks, which was not included) in production order, which made for some odd continuity regarding Adric when it came to season 18!
The Peter Davison stories also aired in production order, so Four to Doomsday was first, from Wednesday, 3 December 2008, and Castrovalva aired fourth. The Five Doctors aired, but Resurrection of the Daleks was skipped.
Colin Baker arrived on Tuesday, 20 January 2009. The Season 22 stories aired in their 45 minute versions.
The seventh Doctor debuted on Friday, 20 February 2009. Remembrance of the Daleks was not shown, and the remaining Sylvester McCoy stories were screened in production order, which meant Ghost Light was last, with part three airing 19 March 2009.
The first Peter Cushing Dalek movie was shown on TV4 SF nine times between 14 February 2009 and 22 November 2009, while the second was shown eight times during the period 15 March 2009 and 29 November 2009. These would have been in English with subtitles.
The short documentary Resistance is Useless was shown in 19 March 2009, ahead of the return of the William Hartnell stories later that same day.
The stories were all cycled through again, although the entire Pertwee era was skipped!
From 27 April 2009 (mid-way through The Chase), TV4 SF was simulcast with the Norwegian station TV2 Science Fiction until it shut down on 30 December 2011, mid-way through The Two Doctors.
From January 2010, the series was also showing on another Swedish channel, TV4 Guld (TV4 Gold).
This repeat cycle ended on 11 September 2011.
This was followed by the Davison, Colin Baker and McCoy eras again (although some season 19 Davisons were skipped). These three Doctors only were then cycled through again several times again, concluding with Ghost Light part three and another showing of Resistance is Useless on Monday, 18 June 2012.
Two months later, in August 2012, both TV4 Science Fiction and MTV3 Scifi closed down.
Airdates
Full listings for TV4 SF, MTV3 SF and TV2 SF are recorded in the This Week in Doctor Who site, and general info on TV4 and TV4 Guld are on a fan-site:
