Germany
GERMANY is in central Europe, and borders with France, the Netherlands, Denmark and Poland.
Profile
| Country Number (66?) | 1989 | THIRD WAVE |
| Region | Europe | |
| Television commenced | 1949 | |
| Colour System | West 1967 | PAL |
| Colour System | East 1969 | SECAM |
| Population | 1988 | 61 million |
| TV Sets | 1988 | 22 million |
| Language/s | German (Deutsche) | Dubbed |
Television Stations / Channels
Germany began its television service in 1947.
By 1989, the Federal Republic of German (West Germany) had many broadcasters, from government-owned channels, to private stations such as the American, Belgian and French Forces services.
From late 1989, Doctor Who aired on two different channels:
- RTL-PLUS, which launched in January 1984
- VOX, a subsidiary channel of RTL, which launched in January 1993
All foreign television programmes are dubbed into German.
DOCTOR WHO IN GERMANY
Doctor Who was sold throughout Europe in the late 1980s – during the THIRD WAVE of sales (see Selling Doctor Who).
In DWM #151 (August 1989), it was reported that German Network Channel RTL had purchased 42 episodes, after attending the annual BBC Showcase in Brighton. Of note, season 26 had not yet aired in the UK at that time.
The sale to Germany was completed by BBC Enterprise's Arthur Jearum, who accompanied Sylvester McCoy and John Nathan-Turner on a promotional visit to Berlin. DWM 156 (January 1990) reports that the sale was made possible due to the popularity in German discos of the KLM / The Time Lords' 1988 hit Doctorin' the TARDIS...
A few months later in DWM #155 (December 1989), it's said that Germany was the 66th country to have bought the series; a tally that is fairly accurate by our calculations. (The news item was illustrated with a photograph of Sylvester McCoy climbing the broken Berlin Wall, during a publicity visit in August 1989.)
BBC Records
In DWM, Germany is identified in 21 story Archives: 4A, 6J, 6S, 6T, 6V, 6X, 6Y, 6Z, 7C (Vervoids), and all 12 Sylvester McCoy stories, 7D through to 7P.
The listings for 4A and 6J are errors; and may instead have been supposed to be 7A and 6K. Also missing from the Archives are 6W and 7B.
Stories bought and broadcast (1989-1993)
SYLVESTER McCOY
12 stories, 42 episodes, but not screened in order:
| 7D | Time and the Rani | 4 | Terror auf Lakertia | Terror on Lakertia |
| 7E | Paradise Towers | 4 | Der Fluch des Kroagnon | The Curse of Kroagnon |
| 7F | Delta and the Bannermen | 3 | Delta und die Bannermänner | Delta and the Bannermen |
| 7G | Dragonfire | 3 | Der Feuer das Drachen | The Fire of the Dragon |
| 7H | Remembrance of the Daleks | 4 | Die Hand des Omega | The Hand of Omega |
| 7J | The Greatest Show in the Galaxy | 4 | Die Todesmanege auf Seganox | The Death Circus on Seganox |
| 7K | Silver Nemesis | 3 | Das Vermächtnis der Nemesis | The Legacy of the Nemesis |
| 7L | The Happiness Patrol | 3 | Die Macht der Fröhlichkeit | The Power of Happiness |
| 7N | Battlefield | 4 | Excalibur Vermächtnis | Excalibur's Legacy |
| 7Q | Ghost Light | 3 | Da Haus der Tausend Schrecken | The House of a Thousand Horrors |
| 7M | The Curse of Fenric | 4 | Die Todesbucht der Wikinger | The Death-Cove of the Vikings |
| 7P | Survival | 3 | Der Tod auf Leisen Sohlen | The Death on Quiet Soles / Death on Tiptoes |
Germany therefore bought all of the Sylvester McCoy stories.
The programme was supplied as PAL colour video tapes.
The programmes were dubbed into German. The man providing the voice for the Doctor, was German actor, Michael Schwarzmaier
The voice of Ace (Sophie Aldred) was provided by Carin C Tietze:
Transmission (1989-1993)
SYLVESTER McCOY
1989-1990
The series commenced on Wednesday, 22 November 1989, at 1.05pm on RTL-PLUS. The first serial was Time and the Rani. The English titles captions and credits were retained.
DWM #155 (January 1990) reports that the debut was preceded by a special lead-in written by John Nathan-Turner and featuring Sylvester McCoy, introducing viewers to the background to Doctor Who.
The second episode aired on Sunday, 26 November. Broadcasts continued on Sundays for the next three instalments. The second serial to air was actually the third story, Delta and the Bannermen. Part two aired on Monday, which was Christmas Day, and Part Three on 26 December.
The third serial was the second, Paradise Towers. Parts one and three aired on a Sunday, part two was on a Monday. With the exception of two further episodes, all screened on a Sunday, around 2.00pm.
The season 25 stories aired in production order. Mid-way through The Greatest Show in the Galaxy, there was a break for one week (25 March 1990). Part two of Silver Nemesis aired on the Monday, the day after part one.
On Tuesday, 24 April 1990 things went a bit awry, when part one of Battlefield was broadcast instead of the first episode of The Happiness Patrol. (The 'missing' segment was not broadcast until the July 1993 omnibus 'repeat'!)
From 6 May 1990, the Sunday afternoon screenings were retained through until the end of the run on 19 August.
The September 1990 issue of DWM #164, reports that the series had attracted 2 million viewers, and that RTL was looking at buying a package of colour Jon Pertwee stories, although such a sale did not eventuate.
1993
Three years later, RTL repeated the McCoy stories, this time as "omnibus" movies. The run commenced on Friday, 2 July 1993, with Time and the Rani. The following day, Saturday, 3 July, the next "movie" aired. The series continued on this Friday / Saturday cycle through until 7 August 1993. Ghost Light screened at the very late time of 1.40am, due to it being pushed back in favour of live boxing coverage!
During this run, on 24 July 1993, the first episode of The Happiness Patrol was finally aired for the first time!
- DWB #122 (January 1994) carried a report on the RTL screenings, and noted the following points of interest:
- The songs of Delta and the Bannermen were retained, although sometimes playing at different points within the episodes
- The Russian dialogue at the start of The Curse of Fenric was subtitled, with the German text 'covering' over the English subtitles. To get around Sorin's line "From now on, everything in English", the German subtitle substituted "From now on, nothing in Russian"
- The BBC TV announcement in Remembrance of the Daleks was reworded – and the announcer does say Doctor Who
- In Silver Nemesis, all the dialogue references to the year being 1988 were replaced with "1989" – despite the on-screen caption still saying it' 1988
TV listings
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SYLVESTER McCOY
The German TV Guide, and TV listings magazines had full billings for the series, often illustrated with a photograph. However, one magazine had the first episode starting on 22 November 1989 as being Paradise Towers.
In a 22 November 1989 listing for the first episode of the "Neue Serie", it says the Doctor is a "Hexenmeister ... vom Planet Gallifrey", (a Witchmaster from Gallifrey!) who travels in time and space with Melanie and his "Roboterhund, "K9"!
EPISODIC SCREENINGS:
1993 OMNIBUS SCREENINGS:
Stories bought and broadcast (1995)
Two years after the McCoy repeats, Doctor Who returned to German television screens, but now on the VOX channel, which had launched in January 1993.
This run included nine stories, featuring the fifth and sixth Doctors - and the first, the second, the third, and the fourth...
PETER DAVISON
One story, one episode (but broadcast as three):
| 6K | The Five Doctors | 3 | Funf Doktoren | Five Doctors |
The programme was supplied as PAL colour video tapes.
As with the McCoy episodes, Michael Schwarzmaier dubbed for Der Doktor – all five of them!
Transmisson (1995)
PETER DAVISON
The VOX run commenced with The Five Doctors, on Thursday 2 February 1995. Subsequent episode aired weekdays.
The original opening title captions were retained. The 90 minute "movie" was, however, cut into three segments. The new endings occurred at the following points:
- Part One ended (at 24 minutes) as the first and fifth Doctors set up the computer scan to see "what's out there..." (page 53 of the novelisation)
- Part Two ended after the third Doctor helps Sarah up onto the tower balcony, and she tells him "Sie sind verrückt!" ("You are mad")
A caption slide "FORTSETZUNG FOLGT" (to Be Continued) was superimposed over the image.
Other cuts were made to the serial to trim the running time of each segment to roughly 24 minutes. Sequences featuring the Master were often targeted for cuts.
Actor Klaus Kindler voiced the Brigadier. (In Battlefield Nicholas Courtney was dubbed by Herbert Weicker.)
Anthony Ainley was dubbed by Reinhard Glemnitz. (In Survival, he was voiced by Klaus Kindler.)
For the voice-dubs, both K9 and the Daleks were given high-pitched squeaky "computer" voices, sounding rather like Smurfs! If you are interested to hear what a Dalek sounds like in German, click:
Stories bought and broadcast (1995)
COLIN BAKER
Eight stories, broadcast as 44 episodes, although these did not play in the correct order.
| 6S | The Twin Dilemma | 4 | Zweimal Einstein | Twice Einstein |
| 6T | Attack of the Cybermen | 4 | Angrigg der Kybermanner | Attack of the Cybermen |
| 6V | Vengeance on Varos | 4 | Revolte auf Varos | Revolt on Varos |
| 6W | The Two Doctors | 6 | Androiden in Sevillia | Androids in Saville |
| 6X | The Mark of the Rani | 4 | Die Rache des Meisters | The Revenge of the Masters |
| 6Y | Timelash | 4 | Das Amulett | The Amulet |
| 6Z | Revelation of the Daleks | 4 | Planet der Toten | Planet of the Dead Ones / of the Deceased |
| 7A-7C | The Trial of a Time Lord | 14 | Das Urteil | The Judgement |
Germany therefore bought all the Colin Baker stories.
The programme was supplied as PAL colour video tapes.
The stories were edited into half-hour segments, presumably the same editions that were screened in other countries.
Of note, the opening title captions were replaced with equivalents in German.
As he had done with the other five Doctors, actor Michael Schwarzmaier dubbed for Colin Baker (giving him the distinction of having "played" all seven Doctors!)
In The Trial of a Time Lord and The Mark of the Rani, Anthony Ainley was dubbed by Reinhard Glemnitz. (In Survival, he was voiced by Klaus Kindler.)
Transmisson (1995)
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COLIN BAKER
On Tuesday, 7 February 1995, the day after Part Three of The Five Doctors, the first Colin Baker episode aired – The Trial of a Time Lord! The next story was Revelation of the Daleks, then Timelash, then... well, for whatever reason, VOX chose to screen the Colin Baker stories in reverse order.
The run of episodes concluded on Friday, 7 April 1995, with The Twin Dilemma, Baker's debut story!
Clips
- A clip from the German screening of Revelation of the Daleks, featuring very tinny-sounding Daleks, can be seen here:
- REVELATION IN GERMAN
- VOX ad for the Colin Baker era: VOX TV
Doctor Who did not return to terrestrial German television screens again, at last not until the new series on 2005...
Video (1997)
PAUL McGANN
The 1996 TV Movie was released on video on 15 January 1997, dubbed into German. It has never screened on German television.
Actor Harald Pages provided the voice for the seventh "Doktor", and Robert Missler provided the voice for the eighth:
Clips from the German video can be seen here:
German voices
These links contain summaries of the German actors who provided the voices for the casts of Doctor Who:
German-chendise
Novelisations
Long before Doctor Who graced German television screens, two of the Target novelisations were adapted and published by Schneider-Buch in 1980:
- Dr Who - Der Planet der Daleks (Planet of the Daleks)
- Dr Who – Kampf un die Erde (Struggle on the Earth) (The Dalek Invasion of Earth)
In 1990, as the first run of McCoy television episodes was drawing to an end, Goldmann Verlag published a set of six novelisations, five of which featured the Daleks. These were adorned with modified versions of the cover artwork from the original Target books - although bizarrely in some cases, the cover from a different book was used:
- Doctor Who und die Invasion der Daleks (The Daleks)
- Doctor Who und das Komplott der Daleks (The Dalek Invasion of Earth)
- Doctor Who und der Planet der Daleks (Planet of the Daleks)
- Doctor Who – Tod den Daleks! (Death to the Daleks)
- Doctor Who und der Schöpfer der Daleks (The Creator of the Daleks) (Destiny of the Daleks)
- Doctor Who und das Kind von den Sternen (The Child from the Stars) (An Unearthly Child)
The Goldmann translations of The Dalek Invasion of Earth and Planet of the Daleks were not the same as those that had been done by Schneider-Buch.
Comics
In 1991 – a year after the Sylvester McCoy run had ended – Conpart Verlag published three editions of "DOKTOR WHO'S REISEN DURCH RAUM UND ZEIT", which featured German adaptations of the sixth Doctor DWM strips. Mention is made on the covers of RTL-PLUS. The three comics also contain a combined "history" of Doctor Who
- Issue 1: Der Gestaltwandler (The Figure Converter / The Shape Shifter)
- Issue 2: Auf der Suche Nach der Wahrheit (On the Search for the Truth)
- Issue 3: Im Netz der Dimensionen (In the Net of the Dimensions)
Fandom
German fanclubs have a presence online, and in print.
(Grateful thanks are due to Bernhard Lürßen for information, clippings and screen-grabs)
Websites
Germany in Doctor Who
- The Doctor and Susan refer to the Kaiser's "infernal" zeppelins (Planet of Giants).
- King George II of Hanover is name-checked in The Highlanders.
- One of the Gravitron crewmembers is Fritz Schultz (played by Barry Ashton) (The Moonbase).
- Hamburg and Berlin both have T-Mat stations (The Seeds of Death).
- German soldiers from the First World War are kidnapped to play in The War Games.
- Adolf Hitler is referenced in The Daemons, The Time Monster, Silver Nemesis and The Curse of Fenric.
- Albert Einstein is named in The Daemons, The Stones of Blood, City of Death, Planet of Fire, and appears in Time and the Rani.
- The sunken German battleship Bismarck is mentioned in Terror of the Zygons.
- Count Scarlioni has to sell several Gutenberg Bibles to fund Kerensky's experiments (City of Death).
- The Doctor tells Romana of the Brothers Grimm (State of Decay).
- The Doctor mentions the great liar, Baron Münchhausen (The Trial of a Time Lord).
- De Flores and his troopers feature in Silver Nemesis. Mention is made of Wagner's opera, "Der Ring des Nibelungen".
- The coastal naval base has a replica of the German War Room in Berlin. The Ultima machine is programmed to break the codes sent to German U-Boats in the North Atlantic. Wainwright mentions the bombed city of Dresden (The Curse of Fenric).
