France

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FRANCE is in western Europe.

Profile

Country Number (63?) 1989 THIRD WAVE
Region Europe
Television commenced 1949
Colour System 1967 SECAM
TV Sets 1990 22 million
Language/s French


Television Stations / Channels

France began its television service in 1949.

All foreign television programmes are dubbed.


DOCTOR WHO (DOCTEUR WHO) IN FRANCE

French Movie poster
  • The two Peter Cushing Dalek films played in French cinemas during the 1960s: "DR WHO CONTRE LES DALEKS" and "LES DALEKS ENVAHISSENT LA TERRE".

The BBC made several attempts over the years to sell Doctor Who to France:

  • February 1977: At the annual Brighton BBC Showcase, the BBC was unsuccessful in luring European buyers to pick up the series. "TOO TERRIFYING FOR EUROPE" was the press reaction (see Europe for clipping.)
  • September 1979: In a letter to French writer, Jean-Marc Lofficier, producer Graham Williams informs him that France is to be offered the series again "later this year".
  • 1979-1981: Lofficier pens The Doctor Who Programme Guide, a side-project he developed while researching for an article about the series for a French genre magazine.
Generic Temps X billing
  • 1986: Alain Carrazé, executive producer for the 'magazine' programme Temps X, tries to interest channel TF1 into buying Doctor Who. He convinces them to let him make a documentary about the series…
Colin Baker on Temps X, Who is Who, 1986
  • May 1986: A French film crew for Temps X visits the BBC studios to film segments for Who is Who, the 16 minute documentary about the series, and interviews the cast and crew during the filming of serial 7B of The Trial of a Time Lord (aka "Mindwarp"). (The DWAS newsletter Celestial Toyroom (July 1986) carries a full report of the shoot, complete with break down of elements used in the final production.)
  • February 1987: Despite the gallant efforts of Alain Carrazé, TF1 passes on screening the series as presented. The fully dubbed episodes languish in a storage vault...
French novelisation covers
French novelisation reverse covers
  • 1987: Although the series was no longer to feature as part of the Temps X line-up, eight novelisations translated into French by Editions Garanciére, were published with covers adorned with the images of "Temps X" hosts Igor and Grichka Bogdanoff:


  • 19 February 1989: After a very long delay of several years, Carrazé's editions of Doctor Who finally make it onto French television screens, airing as part of the Club Dorothée Dimanche Sunday morning cartoon line-up - but even then, its journey is far from plain-sailing...
  • TIME SCREEN: A full account of Carrazé's struggle to get Doctor Who onto French television was published in issue #17 of Time Screen magazine (cover dated Spring 1991). The full article can be read here:


When Doctor Who finally aired in France, it joined the many European countries of the THIRD WAVE of sales in the late 1980s (see Selling Doctor Who). It was roughly the 63rd country to screen the series.


BBC Records

In DWM issue 52 (May 1981), there is a report that an omnibus edition of "La Genèse des Daleks" (Genesis of the Daleks) had screened in France, but there is no solid evidence that such a broadcast ever took place.

Since Doctor Who was sold to France in late 1986, it is not named in the 1987 memo that appears in The Eighties – THE LOST CHAPTERS.

In DWM, France is identified in 8 story Archives: 4A, 4D, 4E, 4F, 4H, 4G, 4J, 4K.


Stories bought and broadcast

TOM BAKER

11 stories, 46 episodes bought, but only six (26 episodes) screened:

La Revanche des Cybernators, 30 April 1989
4A Robot Robot 4
4C The Ark in Space L'Arche de l'Espace 4
4B The Sontaran Experiment (unknown) 2
4E Genesis of the Daleks La Genèse des Daleks 6
4D Revenge of the Cybermen La Revanche des Cybernators 4
4F Terror of the Zygons La Terreur des Zygons 4
4H Planet of Evil La Planète Diabolique 4
4G Pyramids of Mars (unknown) 4
4K The Brain of Morbius (unknown) 4
4L The Seeds of Doom (unknown) 6


France therefore bought part of GROUPs A and B of the Tom Baker stories.

The programme was supplied as PAL colour video tapes. TF1 prepared, recorded and dubbed full French soundtracks. Composer Dudley Simpson provided new music cues, including for the serials for which he did not originally provide a score.

For the opening titles, as the words DOCTOR WHO appear, the voice over announces "Docteur Woo-oo-oo" which fades as the logo moves away.


Fate of the Tapes?

The French-dubbed video tapes of the Baker stories were apparently sent to the Canadian station TVO, which aired French language programmes on Sundays.



SYLVESTER McCOY

PAUL McGANN

TV Movie, 84 minutes:

TVM The TV Movie 1


Transmission

Docteur Who listing 9.00am
Docteur Who Serie listing 6.34am

TOM BAKER

After a very long delay (see the chronology above), the series finally started on Sunday, 19 February 1989, at 9.00am, part of the line-up of CLUB DOROTHÉE DIMANCHE children's programmes. The first serial was Genesis of the Daleks. However, after only a few episodes had gone out, the series was dropped from the CDD line-up.

On 8 April, the series reappeared on Saturdays around 6.35 am (the scheduled timeslot fluctuated between 6.34 and 6.39am). From 23 April, a second episode aired on Sundays, at the same time, now just prior to CDD.

The 26th and final episode aired on Saturday, 24 June 1989. The remaining five serials (20 episodes) never aired.


  • A run down of the French episodes and titles can be found HERE.


Paul McGann Movie

The 1996 TV Movie aired on channel France 2 on Tuesday, 18 March 1997 – its title was "Le Seigneur du Temps" (The Lord of Time / The Time Lord).

For the French dubs, the following actors voiced the lads roles:

  • Pierre Hatet (for Sylvester McCoy)
  • Pierre-François Pistorio (for Paul McGann)
  • Céline Monsarrat (for Daphne Ashbrook)
  • Patrick Floersheim (for Eric Roberts)


Credits for the French version:

  • Version Française : Karina Films [Dubbing studio]
  • Direction Artistique : Claudio Ventura [artistic director]
  • Texte Français : Jacqueline Cohen [Adaptation]


Clips from the French dub of the TV movie can be seen at:


TV listings

Airdates in France
← AIRDATES ...... (CLICK ICON TO GO TO TABLE SHOWING EPISODE BREAKDOWN AND AIRDATES - N/S = story title is Not Stated)
Serie Docteur Who listing 9.00am

TV listings have been obtained from the Parisian newspapers Le Monde, France-Soir and Le Parisien Libre. Of note, all three papers give slightly different timeslots for when the series aired.

All listings give the series name as "Docteur Who". Sometimes they say Série or (Série). Only one Le Monde billing gave a story title – La Revanche des Cybernators on 30 April 1989.


Websites


France in Doctor Who


Links