Italy
ITALY is part of Europe, and reaches far into the Mediterranean Sea.
Profile
| Country Number (54?) | 1980 | SECOND WAVE |
| Region | Europe | |
| Television commenced | 1954 | |
| Colour System | 1977 | PAL |
| Population | 1980 | 57 million |
| TV Sets | 1980 | 12.87 million / incl. 1.18 million colour |
| Language/s | Italian | Dubbed |
Television Stations / Channels
Italy began its television service in 1954.
There are a number of privately-owned stations, but the national broadcaster – and home to Doctor Who - is:
All foreign television programmes are dubbed into Italian.
DOCTOR WHO IN ITALY
Italy was the seventh country in Europe to screen Doctor Who. It was appears to have been the to buy the series at the end of the SECOND WAVE of sales (see Selling Doctor Who).
And as we've noted in the chapter, 110 Million Viewers, 54 countries had bought the series by then.
BBC Records
The Eighties - THE LOST CHAPTERS, records a sale of "(9)" stories to Italy (by 10 February 1987).
Given that only seven stories aired, it could be that two further stories were purchased but didn't air (one of these being 4E, if the DWM reference is correct). Of course, the records could be inaccurate, or the tally also includes the repeat screenings of two of the serials.
In DWM, Italy is identified in only 2 story Archives: 4E and 4H, in 1979. As far as we can tell, 4E did not air – see note above.
Stories bought and broadcast
TOM BAKER
7 stories, 26 episodes:
| Code | English Title | eps | Italian title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4A | Robot | 4 | Robot |
| 4C | The Ark in Space | 4 | Arca Spaziale |
| 4B | The Sontaran Experiment | 2 | Esperimento Sontaran |
| 4D | Revenge of the Cybermen | 4 | La Vendetta dei Ciberniani |
| 4H | Planet of Evil | 4 | Il Pianeta del Male |
| 4G | Pyramids of Mars | 4 | Le Piramidi di Marte |
| 4F | Terror of the Zygons | 4 | La Sconfitta degli Zigoni (The Defeat of the Zygons) |
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The programme was supplied as PAL colour video tapes, which were dubbed into Italian.
In Italian, the character of the Doctor is called "Il Dottore". The Italian actors who portrayed the lead roles were:
- Diego Reggente (The Doctor)
- Germano Long (Brigadier)
- Piera Vidale (Sarah)
- Guido de Salvi (Harry)
- For a more detailed list of the Italian actors, visit: ITALIAN ACTORS for DOCTOR WHO
And although not covered by BroaDWcast, here are details of the voice-over actor for the new series:
Transmission
TOM BAKER
Although there are nine stories recorded in the 1987 sales document, only seven stories screened.
The series started on Wednesday, 6 February 1980, at 7.20pm.
It aired weekly in the same timeslot for 22 weeks, until 1 March 1980. The six stories aired in the correct story order, which was highly unusual, as many foreign broadcasters tended to screen those stories in production code order.
Nineteen months later, on Saturday, 3 October 1981, at 12.05pm in the afternoon, the series returned, with the "missing" Zygon story. This was followed by a repeat screening of Il Pianeta del Mal and Le Piramidi di Marte (which might account for the total of nine stories in the 1987 memo.)
There were 13 weeks in this run, but only 12 episodes: La Sconfitta degli Zigoni is billed for the first five weeks, so presumably for one of those dates the episode was pre-empted.
The series ended on 26 December 1981.
As far as can be determined, the series did not screen in Italy again.
TV listings
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← AIRDATES ...... (CLICK ICON TO GO TO TABLE SHOWING EPISODE BREAKDOWN AND AIRDATES - N/S = story title is Not Stated) |
TV listings have been obtained from the Rome newspaper Il Tempo.
Listings always gave the series name as "DOCTOR WHO".
In Il Tempo, there were a number of "oddities". On 22 February, the listing given was for La Sconfitta degli Zigoni, but the following week, it was not stated (N/S),; but the next two weeks had Il Pianeta del Male; so presumably the Zygon story was dropped in favour of anther serial. (The paper also incorrectly billed Michael E Briant as the director.)
- The Italian TV Guide published in Italy ("Sorrisi & Canzoni TV") published its own listings:
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PAUL McGANN
Although the Paul McGann TV Movie has not screened on Italian television, it was released on VHS video, and dubbed into Italian:
- Marco Bolognesi (Doctor Who)
- Fabrizio Temperini (Maestro)
- Fabrizia Castagnoli (Grace)
- VIDEO: ITALIAN VIDEO
Italian DVDS (2007/2008)
Two DVD box sets of William Hartnell stories were released on DVD in the late-2000s, with Italian duds:
- Doctor Who - Gli Inizi (The Beginning) (with An Unearthly Child, The Daleks, Inside the Spaceship)
- Doctor Who - I Dalek Invadono la Terra (with The Aztecs, The Dalek Invasion of Earth, The Web Planet)
The voice-artists were:
- Enrico Maggi (The Doctor)
- Cinzia Massironi (Barbara)
- Claudio Beccari (Ian)
- Elisabetta Spinelli (Susan)
- For a more detailed list of the Italian actors, visit: ITALIAN ACTORS for DOCTOR WHO
Fandom in Italy
Italy has a very active fanbase and online presence.
- In 1983, the address of the Italian Doctor Who Fan Club was given as via Bologna 33/23, Genova 16127, Italy in the book, Doctor Who – A Celebration.
- WEBSITES:
- The following websites feature information on Doctor Who in Italy:
Italy in Doctor Who
- The Romans is set in Italy of AD 64.
- Snowcap Base crewman, Tito (Shane Shelton), is Italian (The Tenth Planet).
- Aircraft designs drawn by Leonardo da Vinci feature in The Seeds of Death.
- The Masque of Mandragora is set in San Marino, circa 1492.
- The Doctor visits Leonardo's studio in Florence in City of Death.
(Grateful thanks are due to Gabriella for providing the screen-grabs and clippings.)
