Arabic
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al-Doctor Who
To the Arabic speaking countries, the series was known as al-Doctor Who. al is Arabic for The, the definite article; curiously the name Who is used and spoken as per the English pronunciation rather than being translated into the Arabic equivalent for the word "Who".
In Arabic script (read from right to left), the programme title would be:
WILLIAM HARTNELL
The BBC dubbed its programming into Arabic using a company called The Art Union, or The Union of Art. They were used also by the BBC for the dubbing radio plays into other languages for consumption in the Middle East.
Only nine of the first eleven William Hartnell stories (40 episodes) were dubbed into Arabic:
| 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 |
These nine serials in Arabic were sold to:
In some of these countries, such as Algeria, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, only the first episode of An Unearthly Child was screened, making the total episodes seen 37.
For reasons not readily clear, two stories were not dubbed into Arabic: Marco Polo and The Reign of Terror. These two were also not dubbed into Spanish. It is possible that these historical serials were not made available to non-English speaking countries simply due to their subject matter being of little interest to Muslim nations. It has been often stated that The Crusade was not sold to Muslim speaking countries so as not to offend those countries due to its subject matter. But given that none of the Hartnell stories beyond The Rescue was sold, this theory holds little water.
There has been a long-held belief that The Crusade wasn't sold to Muslim countries because of its subject matter (which resulted in some prints of the sixth episode of The Web Planet being re-edited so the NEXT EPISODE caption read THE SPACE MUSEUM rather than THE LION; however the actual truth is that none of the stories after The Rescue was dubbed into Arabic or sold to Muslim countries anyway.
Archive holdings
In 1976, when the Lively Arts documentary Whose Doctor Who was being researched, the BBC held at least the following Arabic prints:
| A | An Unearthly Child | ALL |
| B | The Daleks | ALL |
| C | Inside the Spaceship | ALL |
| E | The Keys of Marinus | ALL |
| F | The Aztecs | ALL |
| G | The Sensorites | ALL |
| J | Planet of Giants | ALL |
| K | The Dalek Invasion of Earth | ALL |
| L | The Rescue | ALL |
By late 1978, only the following were still held:
| C | Inside the Spaceship | ALL |
| E | The Keys of Marinus | 1 |
| J | Planet of Giants | ALL |
| K | The Dalek Invasion of Earth | 1,2,4,6 |
| L | The Rescue | ALL |
It is known that a couple of additional episodes with Arabic soundtracks exist in private hands, such as The Aztecs part 4, which was used as a alternative language option on the DVD release of that story.
Extracts on DVD / video
- An Unearthly Child 4 - a November 1973 edition of Blue Peter (available as an extra on The Three Doctors DVD) includes clips from part 4, altWhogh all the Arabic dialogue has been carefully edited out! (Is this because at the time anniversary tribute was compiled the BBC only had access to the Arabic positive print of this serial?)
- Inside the Spaceship part 1 - a brief clip appears on the Nationwide interview extract on The Stones of Blood DVD release
- Inside the Spaceship part 2 - a brief clip appears on The Hartnell Years video
- Planet of Giants] 1 - in the 198x US documentary "Once Upon of a Time Lord", made in conjunction with station KRMA in Denver
- The Dalek Invasion of Earth 6 - two clips are included in the "Missing in Action" mini-documentary from 1993 that aired before a BBC repeat of Planet of the Daleks 3 (although the first clip is erroneously attributed to The Edge of Destruction!)
DVD Translations
The following is a translation (as best can be determined) of the narration that accompanies the opening and closing titles of the two Arabic soundtracks that feature as the alternative audio options on the DVDs for Inside the Spaceship part 2, and The Aztecs episode 4. For these foreign versions, some of the detail in the dialogue has been changed; for instance in the original English, the Doctor tells Ian that his Ulster was given to him by Gilbert and Sullivan whereas in the Arabic, the Doctor tells Ian that his coat was like one that Ferdinand de Lesseps - who built the Panama and Suez canals - used to wear.
Curiously, the narration spoken over the closing credits of The Aztecs part four appears to describe to viewers what they will be seeing in the next episode, and yet the plot description bears absolutely no resemblance whatsoever to The Sensorites; if anything sounds like it's describing a story concerning a motorcade and an ambush... Alternatively, the narration might be describing an adventure that occurred during the fade-to-black.
Inside the Spaceship (episode 2)
- OPENING TITLES
NARRATOR: "al-Doctor Who". This episode, Edge of Disaster, written by David Whitaker. Translated into Arabic and prepared by The Art Union.
- END OF EPISODE
IAN: Does this coat suit me?
DOCTOR: Yes, it does suit you. Did you know that Ferdinand de Lesseps, the man who built the canals, wore a similar coat to this?
IAN: Really? No, I didn't know that. Shall we go out now?
DOCTOR: Yes, my pleasure.
SUSAN: Grandfather. Look. It's a footprint on the ground. It must be a monster!
NARRATOR: The ship has now landed on another planet. Wonder, what type of adventure they will face. The truth will be revealed in the next TV episode of "al-Doctor Who". The director of this episode is Frank Cox. Translated into Arabic and prepared by The Art Union.
The Aztecs (episode 4)
- OPENING TITLES
NARRATOR: "al-Doctor Who". This episode: Dark Days. Written by John Lucarotti. Translated into Arabic by The Art Union.
- END OF EPISODE
IAN: What's going on, Doctor?
DOCTOR: This is very odd, Ian.
IAN: What's odd?
DOCTOR: It's the engines. These instruments indicate that we've stopped, but these controls are still running.
IAN: Maybe we've stopped on top of something.
DOCTOR: Sure.
BARBARA: Or inside something.
NARRATOR: The motorcade moved away when the conspiracy, and those who were involved in it, had been exposed. But al-Doctor Who managed to discover, at the right place and the right time, the best way to escape from the street ambush that had almost killed all of them. The engines of al-Doctor Who's ship started and moved them away through space and time, and soon after stopped. Can you guess on which new planet and on which new adventure al-Doctor Who will find himself and his companions? This is what you are going to see in the next exciting episode of al-Doctor Who. Directed by John Crockett.
JON PERTWEE
Some (but certainly not all) of Jon Pertwee's stories were screened in the following countries:
It is known that both Lebanon and Saudi Arabia broadcast the episodes in black and white. The other countries broadcast only the handful of PAL colour stories that existed in their entirety.
It is not clear in which languages - were they fully dubbed or broadcast (or simulcast?) in English? In the 1974 WRTH, BBC Managing Director Huw Wheldon makes mention of having seen "Dr Who dubbed into Arabic". Given the April 1973 date of his address, it is very likely that he was referring to Pertwee stories rather than Hartnell.
TOM BAKER
Some (but certainly not all) of Tom Baker's stories were screened in the following countries:
All episodes that aired were broadcast in PAL colour.
It appear that these stories aired in English.
In his 1997 autobiography, Who on Earth is Tom Baker?, Baker makes the observation that he is popular in Abu Dhabi.
