Iran

IRAN is an Islamic Republic (formally known as Persia); it nestles between the Persian Gulf (Middle East) and the Asian continent.

Profile

Country Number (28?)	1969	FIRST WAVE
Region	Middle East
Television commenced	1966
Colour System	1973	SECAM
Population	1966	22.5 million
TV Sets	1966	100,250
Language/s	Farsi	Dubbed

Television Stations / Channels

Iran began its television service in 1966. To begin with, there was one commercial television broadcaster: Television of Iran, which operated through Channel 3.

By 1969, this had become National Iranian Radio & Television (NIRTV / NITV), which operated Channels 3 and 7 & 9.

Doctor Who aired on Channel 3.

A second broadcaster was AFRTS, which was a US Air Force station; this was AFTV-Channel 8.

Colour transmissions began on NIRTV / NITV in 1973 using the SECAM colour broadcast system.

Language/s

27 May 1969 TV listing in Farsi (see below)

27 May 1969 TV listing in English (see above)

The principal language of Iran is Farsi. English is also recognised as a secondary language. All television is dubbed into Farsi. (It is a possibility that some programming was also simulcast in English.)

Doctor Who written in Persian, appears as (read from right to left):

دکتر هو

DOCTOR WHO IN IRAN

Iran was the 28th country to screen Doctor Who. It was the fourth in the greater Middle East region (see Selling Doctor Who).

BBC Records

On 20 October 1967, the NZBC (New Zealand) sent episodes one and two of Marco Polo to Iran. These must have been supplied as "audition" prints (see Selling Doctor Who for more on these types of prints). Although Marco Polo was not included in the package of William Hartnell stories offered to non-English language countries (e.g. Arabic, Spanish), Iran must have considered Doctor Who a worthy purchase...

The Seventies records a sale of "(7)" stories by 28 February 1977. The Handbook identifies these as being: C, F, G, J, N, Q and R.

In DWM, Iran is identified in 8 story Archives: the same as above, plus L.

Although there are only eight stories officially recorded, Iran appears to have purchased the standard package of twelve stories, 56 episodes that were supplied to non-English speaking countries (such as with Arabic and Spanish):

Stories bought and broadcast

WILLIAM HARTNELL

Twelve stories, 56 episodes:

A	An Unearthly Child	4
B	The Daleks	7
C	Inside the Spaceship	2
E	The Keys of Marinus	6
F	The Aztecs	4
G	The Sensorites	6
J	Planet of Giants	3
K	The Dalek Invasion of Earth	6
L	The Rescue	2
N	The Web Planet	6
Q	The Space Museum	4
R	The Chase	6

Iran therefore bought GROUP A, B, C, D and E (but minus the four historicals) of the standard non-English package of William Hartnell stories.

The programme was supplied as 16mm black and white film prints.

Transmission

WILLIAM HARTNELL

Doctor Who aired on Channel 3.

Only 21 listings for Doctor Who have been identified between Tuesday, 27 May and 21 October 1969 (there was no episode on 5 August due to it being Constitutional Revolution Day).

The start time was variable, with the first six (recorded) episodes at 9.00pm, then 7.30pm for the remaining 15 episodes.

It's not known whether this run of 21 is the beginning, the middle or the end of the series. Assuming that the stories aired in the correct order, the only combinations of consecutive stories that could make up 21 are:

• C (2), E (6), F (4), G (6), and J (3)
• F (4), G (6), J (3), K (6), and L (2)
• J (3), K (6), L (2), N (6), and Q (4)

The remaining 35 episodes aired before and/or after these 21 – and possibly even in several blocks covering several months; but the papers did not always have billings for Channel 3. (Our gut instinct is that it's the second of these three; it's unlikely the station would stop the first run after only the first two serials / 11 episodes, or end the run with only one more / 6 episodes left to play.)

There is no record that Iran screened Doctor Who again, even after the switch to colour in 1973.

Fate of the Prints

Since Iran did its own dubbing into Farsi, it could have been supplied with prints that were in English or had just music and effects.

• In 1984, when Ian Levine spent hours telephoning or writing to foreign television stations in the search for missing episodes, he contacted an Iranian TV station asking if they still had any episodes of Doctor Who; the reply he got back was: "In the name of Allah, what are you talking about?" With there being three TV stations in Iran, from that response, it would appear that Levine may have contacted the wrong one!

TV listings

Channel 3's line up, with Dr Who at ٠٠, ٢١ (21.00)

Dr Who = دکتر هو at ٠٠, ٢١ (21.00)

Same listing, in English; Dr Who at 21.00

"Dr Who?" at 19.30

Farsi listings are from the Persian / Iranian newspaper, Ittila'at.

English TV listings are from the English-language Iranian newspapers The Kayhan (International Edition) and Tehran Journal. Most of the Journal's listings for the Doctor Who timeslot say "FILM".

The first few listings give the title as "Dr Who", then "Dr Who?", complete with question mark.

Prior to 27 May 1969, the paper did not always have listings for Channel 3, or the timeslot that Doctor Who occupied was simply marked with "To Be Announced".

There are 35 episodes unaccounted for.

Iran / Persia in Doctor Who

• Barbara says she feels like "Scheherezade", the teller of the Arabian Nights (The Crusade).

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