Malta
MALTA is a small island of XXXX km2, in the Mediterranean, XXX kms off the south tip of Sicily. A British colony, it is a member of the British Commonwealth.
Contents
Population
When Doctor Who screened in Malta in 1965, the population was 326,130, and licensed TV sets numbered 29,000 (per WRTH, 1966). In 1979, the population was XXXXXX, and TV sets number XXXX (WRTH, 1979).
TV & system
Malta began its television service in 1962.
There is just one television station: The Malta Television Service Ltd (MTV), a government-owned commercial broadcaster. This was renamed XXXXXXXX.
Doctor Who returned to Malta soon after the launch of colour transmissions in 1978 using the PAL colour broadcast system.
Due to its close proximity to Italy, Malta could also receive Italian TV transmissions, and therefore included RAI-TV programme listings.
Language/s
The main language of Malta is English, with Maltese and Italian recognised as secondary languages.
DOCTOR WHO IN MALTA
Malta was the 6th country to screen Doctor Who (see Selling Doctor Who).
BBC Records
The Stanmark Productions Ltd advertisement from 1966, identifies Malta as one twelve countries screening Doctor Who in that year.
In DWM, Malta is identified in 8 story Archives: A, B, C for Hartnell; YYY for Pertwee; and 4A, 4C, 4D, and 4E for Baker.
The Eighties the Lost Chapters records a sale of 4 stories (by 10 February 1987). As the airdates show, Malta screened four Jon Pertwee and four Tom Baker stories, so the 1987 document is only partially complete.
Gibraltar was the previous country in Europe to screen the Hartnell episodes, so it’s possible that Malta was sent the same set of prints shortly after transmission in Gibraltar.
During the 13 year gap between the Hartnell and Pertwee transmissions, residents of Malta could enjoy the adventures of the Doctor in the form of the Target novelisations, which were available on the island from 1974 until at least 1983. The back covers of the following novels carry a price in Maltese currency:
- The Auton Invasion (1974) 30c
- The Doomsday Weapon (1974) 35c
- The Cybermen (1974) 40c
- The Giant Robot (1975) 40c
- The Revenge of the Cybermen (1976) 45c
- The Web of Fear (1976) 50c
- The Making of Doctor Who (1976) 65c
- The Seeds of Doom (1977) 55c
- The Tomb of the Cybermen (1978) 65c
- The Hand of Fear (1979) 65c
- The Day of the Daleks (1979 reprint) 75c
- The Dinosaur Invasion (1980 reprint) 80c
- The Stones of Blood (1980) 80c
- The Power of Kroll (1980) 90c
- The Enemy of the World (1981) £M1.00
- The Programme Guide Vols 1 & 2 (1981) £M1.30
- The Leisure Hive (1982) £M1.30
- The Ice Warriors (1982 reprint) £M1.40
- The Auton Invasion (1982 reprint) £M1.55
- The Revenge of the Cybermen (1983 reprint) £M1.25
- Meglos (1983) £M1.35
- Earthshock (1983) £M1.35
Stories bought and broadcast
WILLIAM HARTNELL
Eleven stories, 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 |
Malta therefore bought GROUPs A, B and C of the William Hartnell stories.
The programme was supplied as 16mm black and white film prints with English soundtracks.
JON PERTWEE
Four stories, 18 episodes:
| AAA | Spearhead from Space | 4 |
| RRR | The Three Doctors | 4 |
| UUU | The Time Warrior | 4 |
| YYY | The Monster of Peladon | 6 |
Malta therefore bought only a small number of the nine full colour PAL stories that the BBC had on offer. These were supplied as PAL colour video tapes with English soundtracks.
TOM BAKER
Four stories, 14 episodes:
| 4A | Robot | 4 |
| 4B | The Sontaran Experiment | 2 |
| 4C | The Ark in Space | 4 |
| 4D | Revenge of the Cybermen | 4 |
Malta therefore bought part of GROUP A of the Tom Baker stories, supplied as PAL colour video tapes with English soundtracks. Although DWM records 4E as being purchased by Malta, it did not screen, as there are not enough airdates to support this six-parter.
Transmission
WILLIAM HARTNELL
Doctor Who began on Monday, 24 May 1965, at 6.30pm, screening for 53 uninterrupted weeks until 23 May 1966. It is assume that the stories aired in the correct story order.
JON PERTWEE
Thirteen years later, an 18-week run of Jon Pertwee stories in colour commenced on Friday, 20 April 1979, at 6.30pm, running until 17 August 1979. As noted above, Malta purchased only four of the nine available Pertwee stories that the BBC was selling in full colour.
TOM BAKER
Immediately after part six of The Monster of Peladon on 17 August 1979, Tom Baker's debut serial Robot aired. After a one week break on 21 September, the series continued for a further ten weeks, with serials 4B, 4C and 4D airing in production order.
TV listings
TV listings have been obtained from the newspapers The Times of Malta and Daily News.
The Times gave the title as either Dr Who or Doctor Who. None of the Hartnell episodes titles were identified by title. The 24 May 1965 issue had a short preview: DR WHO: A new series of space adventures for children, starting on MTV today at 6.30pm".
On 16 August 1977, The Times ran a feature about the series – two years before it actually returned to the airwaves – which was an interview with then-producer Philip Hinchcliffe, and commented on the fact that with the Doctor having only thirteen lives, the series could come to an end in 2011!
While the main listings for the 1979 episodes did not have titles, the TV Highlights pages did often preview and name each new story.
Fate of the Prints
The next country to air Doctor Who was Nigeria, from August 1965. It is possible that Malta sent its prints of the Hartnell stories to Nigeria.
Malta in Doctor Who
There are no direct references to Malta in Doctor Who.
References
