Aden
Aden is a sea port city in what is now the Republic of South Yemen; it is located by the eastern approach to the Red Sea. Aden was known as the Federation of South Arabia. The FSA was a British Protectorate until 1967, when the British army was forced to pull out following political unrest.
Contents
Population
When Doctor Who screened in Aden in 1965/66, the population was around 200,000, and licensed TV sets numbered 10,300 (per WRTH, 1966).
TV & system
Aden's sole television broadcaster, South Arabian Television Service, was a government owned station.
The TV distribution agency for the Federation of South Arabia was Television International Enterprises Ltd (See WRTH).
Language/s
The main language of Aden is Arabic; English was also a main language during the British occupation of the city.
The BBC had not yet undertaken the dubs into Arabic in 1965, so it's certain that Doctor Who was broadcast solely in English.
DOCTOR WHO IN ADEN
Aden was the 7th country to screen Doctor Who (see Selling Doctor Who).
BBC Records
The Stanmark Productions Ltd advertisement from 1966, identifies Aden as one of twelve countries screening Doctor Who.
The Seventies records a sale of four stories to "Arabia". The same volume records sales to Saudi Arabia; we believe "Arabia" in this case refers to the Federation of South Arabia, which is Aden. The Handbook identifies these four as being E, G, K, and L.
In DWM, Aden is identified under the Archives for A, C, and as Arabia for A, F, G.
Stories bought and broadcast
WILLIAM HARTNELL
Aden bought the standard package of Hartnell stories that was available at the time from BBC Enterprises; this package included the first eleven serials (53 episodes):
| A | An Unearthly Child | 4 |
| B | The Daleks | 7 |
| C | Inside the Spaceship | 2 |
| D | Marco Polo | 7 |
| E | The Keys of Marinus | 6 |
| F | The Aztecs | 4 |
| G | The Sensorites | 6 |
| H | The Reign of Terror | 6 |
| J | Planet of Giants | 3 |
| K | The Dalek Invasion of Earth | 6 |
| L | The Rescue | 2 |
The programme was supplied as 16mm black and white film prints with English soundtracks.
Transmission
WILLIAM HARTNELL
The series started on Sunday, 4 July 1965, and aired every week, with timeslots ranging from 6.40pm to as late as 9.40pm.
The first three stories aired at 7.25pm. The series screened at the earlier time of 6.40pm for the next two serials, then moved to as late as 9.40pm from The Keys of Marinus part 6, until part 4 of The Aztecs when the timeslot reverted back to 6.40pm. (TV broadcasts didn't commence until 8pm on 26 December 1965; Doctor Who aired at 9.40pm that night.)
The series ran uninterrupted until at least 17 April 1966; listings beyond this date were not available. If there were no breaks or pre-emptions, then the 53rd and last episode of Doctor Who aired on Sunday, 3 July 1966.
TV listings
TV listings have been obtained from the newspaper Aden Chronicle.
In all listings, the series was called Dr Who. A few episode titles were named towards the end of the run, but the paper often included the BBC production code as if that was the title.
The 26 August 1965 issue (midway through The Daleks) carried a small article about the series, stating: "SINISTER BBC TELEVISION PERSONALITY "DR WHO"... numerous episodes have been sold by BBC Television Enterprises to broadcasting organisations in other countries, including Australia, Canada and Aden". The article was illustrated with a publicity photograph of a Dalek emerging from the river Thames, as depicted in The Dalek Invasion of Earth.
No issues of the Aden Chronicle were available after 17 April 1966, so the listings noted beyond that date are assumed.
Aden in Doctor Who
Nicholas Courtney based his portrayal of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart on "Mad Mitch of Aden", who was Lt. Col. Colin Mitchell, a prominent military figure during the 1967 reoccupation of Aden.
References
