Difference between revisions of "Mexico"

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|'''Country Number (25)'''||1968||[[Selling Doctor Who|FIRST and SECOND WAVE]]  
 
|'''Country Number (25)'''||1968||[[Selling Doctor Who|FIRST and SECOND WAVE]]  
 
|-  
 
|-  
|'''Region'''||[[:Category:Central America|Central America]]||  
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|'''Region'''||[[:Category:Central America|Central American]]||  
 
|-  
 
|-  
 
|'''Television commenced'''||1950||
 
|'''Television commenced'''||1950||
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=='''DOCTOR WHO (EL DOCTOR MISTERIO) IN MEXICO'''==
+
=='''DOCTOR WHO IN MEXICO'''==
 +
'''EL DOCTOR MISTERIO'''
 
[[File:Dr Misterio logo.JPG|200px|right|Doctor Misterio logo]]
 
[[File:Dr Misterio logo.JPG|200px|right|Doctor Misterio logo]]
  
Mexico was the '''25th''' country to screen '''Doctor Who'''. It was the '''second''' to screen the series in [[Spanish]] (see [[Selling Doctor Who]]).
+
Mexico was the '''25th''' country to screen '''Doctor Who'''. It was the '''second''' (after [[Venezuela]]) to screen the series in [[Spanish]] (see [[Selling Doctor Who]]).
 +
 
 +
 
 +
==[[Peter Cushing|PETER CUSHING]] / Dalek Movies?==
 +
 
 +
As far as we can tell, neither of the two Cushing / Dalek films was released in cinemas in Mexico, but the first was dubbed for and shown on television in Central and South American countries in the late 1970s / early 1980s (see [[Argentina]], [[Chile]] and [[Guatemala]]).
 +
 
 +
According to these two dubbing wikis, both films had Spanish language tracks recorded in Mexico, but it's not clear when this was, nor for which medium.
 +
*[https://doblaje.fandom.com/es/wiki/Doctor_Misterio_y_los_Daleks Dubbing Wiki 1]
 +
*[https://doblaje.fandom.com/es/wiki/Doctor_Misterio_y_los_invasores_de_la_Tierra Dubbing Wiki 2]
 +
 
 +
Peter Cushing was voiced by '''Raúl de la Fuente''' for the first film, and by '''Juan Domingo Méndez''' for the second. Since Méndez died on 2 July 1990, this indicates he did this dubbing work in the 1970s or 1980s. We therefore think these two dubbing sessions were for television, although recorded several years apart, since different actors are credited for Dr Who and Susan for each film.  
  
  
 
==[[BBC Records]]==
 
==[[BBC Records]]==
 +
Mexico is one of the 27 countries named in '''The Making of Doctor Who''' 1972 Piccolo edition.
  
 
'''The Seventies''' records a sale of '''"(9)"''' stories by 28 February 1977. '''The Handbook''' identifies '''eight''': {{A}}, {{C}}, {{E}}, {{F}}, {{G}}, {{J}}, {{L}} and {{Q}}; the incorrect total of nine is due to Mexico being listed '''twice''' under {{J}} in the 1977 document.
 
'''The Seventies''' records a sale of '''"(9)"''' stories by 28 February 1977. '''The Handbook''' identifies '''eight''': {{A}}, {{C}}, {{E}}, {{F}}, {{G}}, {{J}}, {{L}} and {{Q}}; the incorrect total of nine is due to Mexico being listed '''twice''' under {{J}} in the 1977 document.
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In '''DWM''', Mexico is identified in '''29''' story Archives: 12 Hartnells - the same as the 1977 list above, plus {{B}}, {{K}}, {{N}} and {{R}}; and 17 Tom Bakers: all the stories from {{4A}} to {{4Z}}, but omitting {{4A}}, {{4L}}, {{4R}}, {{4X}}, {{4Y}} and {{4Z}}.
 
In '''DWM''', Mexico is identified in '''29''' story Archives: 12 Hartnells - the same as the 1977 list above, plus {{B}}, {{K}}, {{N}} and {{R}}; and 17 Tom Bakers: all the stories from {{4A}} to {{4Z}}, but omitting {{4A}}, {{4L}}, {{4R}}, {{4X}}, {{4Y}} and {{4Z}}.
  
A letter from Martin Bonfil Olivera of La Candelaria, Coyoaca'n [sic] in Mexico appeared in '''DWM''' #62 (March 1982). He writes: "I have been a fan of the Doctor since the early 70s, when the William Hartnell series were shown here. But I could see only a few episodes, because the series wasn't very successful and was taken off the air. After about 8 years, the state tv station showed the early Tom Baker episodes, from [[Robot]] to [[The Invasion of Time|Invasion of Time]]. Since then they have been periodically re-showing those episodes."
 
  
(Olivera is slightly out with this dates; the Hartnells aired in 1968, whereas the Bakers aired eleven not eight years later. Assuming he wrote the letter in late 1981, he is accurate with respect to his comments about the Baker repeats, the last of which aired in August 1981. Of course, it is possible that there was a further series of repeats of the Hartnells stories in the early 1970s, and it is to those that Olivera is referring. We are still investigating and researching this...)
+
'''DWM'''
  
 +
A letter from Martin Bonfil Olivera of La Candelaria, Coyoaca'n [sic] in Mexico City appeared in '''DWM''' #62 (March 1982). He writes: ''"I have been a fan of the Doctor since the early 70s, when the William Hartnell series were shown here. But I could see only a few episodes, because the series wasn't very successful and was taken off the air. After about 8 years, the state tv station showed the early Tom Baker episodes, from [[Robot]] to [[The Invasion of Time|Invasion of Time]]. Since then they have been periodically re-showing those episodes."''
  
==PETER CUSHING==
+
Assuming Olivera wrote the letter in late 1981, he is accurate with respect to his comments about the Baker repeats, the last of which aired in August 1981. Working back 8 years from 1980, this takes us to 1972, when indeed there was a run of repeats on Canal 5, one that was cut short mid-story, exactly as Olivera describes.  
[[File:Y Los Daleks.jpg|thumb|right|175px|Dr Who y los Daleks poster]]
 
[[File:Losdaleksinvadenlatierra dvd.jpg|thumb|right|175px|Daleks Invasion Earth 2150AD DVD Cover]]
 
The first Peter Cushing / Dalek movie was released under the Spanish title '''"Dr Who y los Daleks"'''; presumably this version was also released in Mexico.(NOTE: This was the film's title used in '''[[Spain]]''', which was presumably also the one used for the Latin American releases...)
 
  
The second Peter Cushing movie, '''"Daleks Invasion Earth 2150AD"''' was released under the title '''"Los Marcianos Invaden la Tierra"'''
 
 
The film was later available on video, and for its DVD it was released under the title '''"Los Daleks Invaden la Tierra 2150AD"'''.
 
  
  
 
==Stories bought and broadcast==
 
==Stories bought and broadcast==
 +
[[File:Mex Dalek.JPG|thumb|right|350px|Doctor Misterio; Dalek and Sontaran cropped from cover artwork of The Second Doctor Who Monster Books]]
 +
[[File:Dr Misterio.JPG|350px|thumb|right|Doctor Misterio; artwork cropped from cover of The Doctor Who Monster Book and The Second Doctor Who Monster Book]]
 +
[[File:Mex A1.JPG|thumb|right|250px|The title of an episode of The Jetsons is printed in error instead of An Unearthly Child Part One? (Note the low numbering for the Authorisation Code)]]
 +
[[File:Mex C2.JPG|thumb|right|250px|Inside the Spaceship Part One]]
 +
[[File:Mex K2.JPG|thumb|right|250px|The Dalek Invasion of Earth Part Two]]
 +
[[File:Mex N1.JPG|thumb|right|250px|The Web Planet Part One]]
 +
[[File:Mex R5.JPG|thumb|right|250px|The Chase Part Five]]
 +
[[File:Mex Nina.JPG |right|thumb|250px|Repeat: An Unearthly Child, part one; 6 January 1972]]
 +
[[File:Mex MrWho.JPG |right|thumb|250px|"Mr Who"]]
 +
[[File:MexGaleks.JPG |right|thumb|250px|The last episode of this repeat run: The Dalek Invasion of Earth, part two; 3 March 1972]]
 +
[[File:Mex C13.JPG|thumb|right|250px|1979 Canal 13 TV Listings Box – NOTE: The Doctor and Reuben from Horror of Fang Rock]]
 +
[[File:Mex ROD.JPG|thumb|right|250px|Robot of Death cropped from cover of The Second Doctor Who Monster Book]]
 +
[[File:Mex Baker.JPG|thumb|right|250px|Tom Baker, and cropped artwork of Azal, a Silurian and an Ice Warrior from cover of The Doctor Who Monster Book]]
 +
[[File:Mex Sontaran.JPG|thumb|right|250px|Sontaran photo cropped from Time-Life publicity card]]
 +
[[File:Mex Cyber.JPG|thumb|right|250px|Revenge of the Cybermen]]
 +
[[File:Mex Cyberman.JPG|thumb|right|250px|Artwork Cyberman artwork cropped from The Doctor Who Monster Book]]
 +
[[File:Mex 4E.JPG|thumb|right|250px|Genesis of the Daleks (1981 Repeat)]]
 +
[[File:Mex Venganza.JPG|thumb|right|250px|Revenge of the Cybermen]]
 +
[[File:Mex Hombres.JPG|thumb|right|250px|Revenge of the Cybermen – alternative title?]]
 +
[[File:Mex 4F.JPG|thumb|right|250px|Terror of the Zygons]]
 +
[[File:Mex 4J.JPG|thumb|right|250px|The Android Invasion]]
 +
[[File:Mex 4L.JPG|thumb|right|250px|The Seeds of Doom]]
 +
[[File:Mex 4Q.JPG|thumb|right|250px|The Face of Evil]]
 +
[[File:Mex Sol.JPG|thumb|right|250px|The Sun Makers]]
 +
[[File:Mex 4Y.JPG|thumb|right|250px|Underworld]]
 +
[[File:MexCanal8.JPG|thumb|right|250px|Generic 2.30pm listing, Canal 8 Monterrey, July 1980]]
  
 
===[[William Hartnell stories|WILLIAM HARTNELL]]===
 
===[[William Hartnell stories|WILLIAM HARTNELL]]===
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====Origin of the Prints?====
 
====Origin of the Prints?====
  
Mexico was the '''second''' of the '''four''' [[Spanish]]-speaking countries to screen the [[William Hartnell stories]]. The previous country was [[Venezuela]], where the episodes had aired in early 1967.  
+
Mexico was the '''second''' of the '''three''' known [[Spanish]]-speaking countries to screen the [[William Hartnell stories]]. The previous country was [[Venezuela]], where some of the episodes had aired from early 1967 to early 1967. Given the crossover of screenings by the two countries, Mexico must have had its own set of prints.
 +
 
 +
As covered in the [[Spanish]] page, Venezuela appears to have been responsible for dubbing the first seven serials, with the other five dubbed by the Mexican broadcaster.  
  
  
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23 stories, 98 episodes:
 
23 stories, 98 episodes:
[[File:Mex Dalek.JPG|thumb|right|350px|Doctor Misterio; artwork cropped from cover of The Second Doctor Who Monster Books]]
 
[[File:Dr Misterio.JPG|350px|thumb|right|Doctor Misterio; artwork cropped from cover of The Doctor Who Monster Book and The Second Doctor Who Monster Book]]
 
 
{| {{small-table}}
 
{| {{small-table}}
 
|-
 
|-
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'''NOTE''': '''''IF''''' the newspaper TV listings are completely accurate, then the way '''Doctor Who''' screened in Mexico was a very confusing affair, with stories airing in a random order, with some episodes not screening at all, or being scheduled '''during''' an entirely different serial.  
 
'''NOTE''': '''''IF''''' the newspaper TV listings are completely accurate, then the way '''Doctor Who''' screened in Mexico was a very confusing affair, with stories airing in a random order, with some episodes not screening at all, or being scheduled '''during''' an entirely different serial.  
  
[[File:Mex A1.JPG|thumb|right|250px|An Unearthly Child Part One (Note Authorisation Code)]]
 
[[File:Mex C2.JPG|thumb|right|250px|Inside the Spaceship Part One]]
 
[[File:Mex K2.JPG|thumb|right|250px|The Dalek Invasion of Earth Part Two]]
 
[[File:Mex N1.JPG|thumb|right|250px|The Web Planet Part One]]
 
[[File:Mex R5.JPG|thumb|right|250px|The Chase Part Five]]
 
 
To make some sense out of the screening history, we have '''ASSUMED''' that the listings were not always accurate, and that on some occasions the billed episode was not necessarily the episode that did air that night, and that additional episodes aired on Fridays even when there was no billing.  
 
To make some sense out of the screening history, we have '''ASSUMED''' that the listings were not always accurate, and that on some occasions the billed episode was not necessarily the episode that did air that night, and that additional episodes aired on Fridays even when there was no billing.  
  
The series started on Monday, '''25 March 1968''', and screened weekdays at 6.30pm. No titles were given for the first eleven episodes; the '''9 April''' episode was billed as part four of [[The Sensorites]]. If that serial commenced on '''4 April''', then it's only the first eight episodes that are not identifiable. Since it does not get another billing until the run of repeats, [[The Daleks]] must have aired at this time. The big question is, what was the stray eighth episode? It might have been part one of [[An Unearthly Child]], but that is later billed on '''2 May'''; did it screen '''twice''' within such a very short time?
 
  
It is '''possible''' that one of these first eight episodes was pre-empted – did the series perhaps start on Tuesday, '''26 March''' instead?
+
'''FIRST RUN'''
 +
 
 +
The series started on Monday, '''25 March 1968''', and screened weekdays at 6.30pm. No titles were given for the first eleven episodes; the '''9 April''' episode was billed as part four of [[The Sensorites]]. If that serial commenced on '''4 April''', then it's only the first eight episodes that are not identifiable.
 +
 
 +
Since it does not get another billing until the run of repeats, [[The Daleks]] must have aired at this time. The big question is, what was the stray eighth episode? It might have been part one of [[An Unearthly Child]], but that may also have been the episode billed as '''"Senorita Sistema Solar"''' on '''2 May'''; did it screen '''twice''' within such a very short time? Or was one of these first eight episodes pre-empted? Did the series perhaps start on Tuesday, '''26 March''' instead?
 +
 
 +
(The [[Spanish]] title for the very first episode was '''"Una Niña Que No Es De Este Mundo"''', however two of the Mexican newspapers published the title '''"Senorita Sistema Solar"''' for the episode that aired on 2 May 1968, but this appears to have been an accidental substitution of the title of an episode of the Hanna Barbera animated series '''[[Wikipedia:The Jetsons|The Jetsons]] (called "Los Supersonicos" in Mexico)''', which aired an hour ahead of "Dr Misterio" in 1968. "La Senorita Sistema Solar" was the 20th episode of [http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anexo:Episodios_de_Los_Supers%C3%B3nicos Los Supersónicos].)
 +
 
 +
As noted below, the 2 May episode had the Authorisation Code 4919-A, which was the lowest of all the codes assigned to the episodes of "Dr Misterio", which suggests that this episode was actually a repeat of [[An Unearthly Child]] part one.
 +
 
 +
BUT it is also possible that '''Doctor Who''' was pre-empted by an episode of '''The Jetsons''', and the papers published the correct episode title but the wrong series name.
  
 
From the week commencing '''15 April''', episodes no longer regularly aired on Fridays. However, in order to account for "missing" episodes, it does seem likely that episodes '''did''' occasionally air on Friday but were not billed.  
 
From the week commencing '''15 April''', episodes no longer regularly aired on Fridays. However, in order to account for "missing" episodes, it does seem likely that episodes '''did''' occasionally air on Friday but were not billed.  
  
There was no episode billing for Monday 20 May 1968, however since there is no listing for part three of [[The Space Museum]], it seems likely that that episode '''did''' air that night.   
+
There was no episode billing for Monday, '''20 May 1968''', however since there is no listing for part three of [[The Space Museum]], it seems likely that that episode '''did''' air that night.   
  
 
According to the newspaper listings, the stories aired in this order:
 
According to the newspaper listings, the stories aired in this order:
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* [[The Aztecs]]
 
* [[The Aztecs]]
  
53 of the 56 episodes had aired between 25 March and 13 June; this was followed by a run of repeats, which aired in this order:
+
53 of the 56 episodes had aired between '''25 March and 13 June'''.
 +
 
 +
 
 +
'''REPEATS # 1'''
 +
 
 +
The first run was followed by a run of repeats, which aired in this order:
  
 
* [[The Sensorites]]
 
* [[The Sensorites]]
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Midway through [[The Chase]], on '''5 August''', part two of [[An Unearthly Child]] aired on its own.  
 
Midway through [[The Chase]], on '''5 August''', part two of [[An Unearthly Child]] aired on its own.  
 +
 +
 +
'''REPEATS # 2'''
  
 
Commencing from '''16 September 1968''' was a further repeat run; between [[Planet of Giants]] and [[The Rescue]], parts two, three and four of [[An Unearthly Child]] aired, which was (it would seem) the '''first time''' for the latter two of those episodes:
 
Commencing from '''16 September 1968''' was a further repeat run; between [[Planet of Giants]] and [[The Rescue]], parts two, three and four of [[An Unearthly Child]] aired, which was (it would seem) the '''first time''' for the latter two of those episodes:
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The final regular episode ([[The Keys of Marinus]] part six) aired on Thursday, '''14 November 1968'''. There were no further listings in 1968, or during 1969.
 
The final regular episode ([[The Keys of Marinus]] part six) aired on Thursday, '''14 November 1968'''. There were no further listings in 1968, or during 1969.
  
There are 134 airdates accounted for, plus three dates on which it is not clear whether the series aired, and one day for which the paper was missing, giving us potentially '''138''' episodes in total.  
+
There are 134 airdates accounted for in 1968, plus three dates on which it is not clear whether the series aired, and one day for which the paper was missing, giving us potentially '''138''' episodes in total.  
  
In summary – and with a fair bit of manipulation of the listed episode versus what SHOULD have aired instead - with the possible exception of three from the first serial, all episodes aired ''twice'', with a handful airing for a ''third'' time:
+
In summary – and with a fair bit of manipulation of the listed episode versus what SHOULD have aired instead - with the possible exception of three from the first serial, in 1968 all episodes aired ''twice'', with a handful airing for a ''third'' time:
  
 
* [[An Unearthly Child]] = once, but parts one and two twice?
 
* [[An Unearthly Child]] = once, but parts one and two twice?
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And as note earlier, there is a possibility that there was a further repeat run of these twelve Hartnells in the early 1970s. We are still researching this...  
+
 
 +
'''REPEATS # 3'''
 +
 
 +
A third (and final?) re-run aired on Mexico City's Canal 5 in 1972. It was this run that Martin Bonfil Olivera saw. These screened four days a week (with no episode on Mondays), starting on Thursday, '''6 January 1972''', at 6.30pm. For the first time, the episodes aired in correct story order. This listings for this run give the title of the first episode as '''"Una Niña Que No Es De Este Mundo"'''.
 +
 
 +
The 34th and final episode of this run aired Friday, '''3 March 1972''', and was part two of [[The Dalek Invasion of Earth]]; as noted by Olivera in ''DWM'', this repeat run appears to have been dropped mid-story due to poor ratings. There were certainly no further listings for the series for the rest of 1972 or in 1973. 
 +
 
 +
 
 +
'''REPEATS # 4?'''
 +
 
 +
According to '''Televisa SA''', the William Hartnell serials also aired in Ensenada on the Baja California peninsula around the same time as the Canal 5 screenings, circa 1973.  The local station there was '''[[wikipedia:XHS-TV|XHS-TV]], Canal 23'''.
 +
 
 +
XHS-TV was a sister station to '''[[Wikipedia:XEWT-TV|XEWT-TV]]''' channel 12 in Tijuana, whose coverage extended across the US border and was available in [[San Diego]], [[California]]. If XEWT and XHS piggy-backed each other, that would have made those repeats the first time since 1965 that any William Hartnell stories had been available to viewers in the [[United States]] -- albeit understood only by those who spoke Spanish! 
 +
 
 +
Newspapers from Ensenada have not been located. The San Diego edition of ''TV Guide'' and the ''San Diego Union'' did include TV listings for '''XEWT''' during 1972, 1973 and 1974, however there was no sign of '''Dr Misterio''' on that channel. It should be noted that both publications tended to list only ''some'' of the daily XEWT schedules (perhaps they only included those programmes that would be of interest to American viewers, or which also had English soundtracks?) so it's possible that '''Dr Misterio''' did air but simply wasn't included in either American publication.  
  
  
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The basic content of this BLOG (which it must be noted gets the year and channel number wrong) is that the episodes of '''Doctor Who''' might have been converted onto videotape prior to transmission. The site states that the BBC wanted to retain those tapes for its own use, but Telesistema wiped them as they needed the tapes to record coverage from the Mexico Olympic Games. This act apparently displeased the BBC, and as a result, further episodes of '''Doctor Who''' were not supplied to Mexico for ten years...  
 
The basic content of this BLOG (which it must be noted gets the year and channel number wrong) is that the episodes of '''Doctor Who''' might have been converted onto videotape prior to transmission. The site states that the BBC wanted to retain those tapes for its own use, but Telesistema wiped them as they needed the tapes to record coverage from the Mexico Olympic Games. This act apparently displeased the BBC, and as a result, further episodes of '''Doctor Who''' were not supplied to Mexico for ten years...  
  
When '''Televisa''' was contacted by the BBC in 1984, they replied that they still held their 16mm prints of all 56 of the Hartnell episodes. (See [http://gallifreybase.com/forum/showthread.php?t=62275&page=6 FORUM POSTING].)
+
(We have to admit that the idea that the BBC would cease providing Mexico with any further programmes because of this business with the tapes seems a bit far-fetched, so where did the author of the blog get this notion from if it wasn't something they had themselves researched and discovered to be the case?)
 +
 
 +
'''Televisa SA''' was contacted by Paul Vanezis in 1984, and they replied confirming that they had last shown the series in Ensenada in 1973, but there was nothing in their letter to indicate what had happened to their films, nor any hint that they still had them.  
  
  
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===[[Tom Baker stories|TOM BAKER]]===
 
===[[Tom Baker stories|TOM BAKER]]===
[[File:Mex 4E.JPG|thumb|right|250px|Genesis of the Daleks (1981 Repeat)]]
 
[[File:Mex Venganza.JPG|thumb|right|250px|Revenge of the Cybermen]]
 
[[File:Mex Hombres.JPG|thumb|right|250px|Revenge of the Cybermen – alternative title?]]
 
[[File:Mex 4F.JPG|thumb|right|250px|Terror of the Zygons]]
 
[[File:Mex 4J.JPG|thumb|right|250px|The Android Invasion]]
 
[[File:Mex 4L.JPG|thumb|right|250px|The Seeds of Doom]]
 
[[File:Mex 4Q.JPG|thumb|right|250px|The Face of Evil]]
 
[[File:Mex Sol.JPG|thumb|right|250px|The Sun Makers – NOTE: "Based on the Books"]]
 
[[File:Mex 4Y.JPG|thumb|right|250px|Underworld – Based on the Book!]]
 
  
Eleven years after the first Doctor aired in Mexico, the [[Tom Baker stories]] screened in syndication, airing on several different stations across the country. We only have airdates for '''[[wikipedia:Canal 13|Canal 13]]''', which served much of the country.  
+
Eleven years after the first Doctor aired in Mexico, the [[Tom Baker stories]] screened in syndication, airing on several different stations across the country.  
 +
 
 +
We only have airdates for two of these: '''[[wikipedia:Canal 13|Canal 13]]''' (Mexico City), and '''Canal 8''' (in Monterrey).  
  
  
'''CANAL 13'''
+
'''CANAL 13 (Mexico City)'''
  
 
The fourth Doctor episodes aired weekly on '''Canal 13''' (Channel 13) Fridays at 5.30pm, commencing '''4 May 1979'''. Two episodes aired back-to-back in a one hour timeslot.
 
The fourth Doctor episodes aired weekly on '''Canal 13''' (Channel 13) Fridays at 5.30pm, commencing '''4 May 1979'''. Two episodes aired back-to-back in a one hour timeslot.
  
The series featured as part of the '''"LAS MIL Y UNA TARDES"''' ("A Thousand and One Afternoons") line-up of children's programmes. (That TARDES is very similar to TARDIS can't possibly be a coincidence! Did the programme schedulers have an ironic sense of humour?)
+
The series featured as part of the '''"LAS MIL Y UNA TARDES"''' ("A Thousand and One Afternoons") line-up of children's programmes. (This is a pun on the Spanish title for the book ''Arabian Nights'', which is known as "Las Mil y Una Noches"  ("A Thousand and One Nights"). And the fact that TARDES is very similar to TARDIS is probably purely coincidental!)
  
 
The stories of seasons 12 and 13 generally aired in production code order, although [[Revenge of the Cybermen]] and [[Genesis of the Daleks]] did actually play in the correct narrative order.  
 
The stories of seasons 12 and 13 generally aired in production code order, although [[Revenge of the Cybermen]] and [[Genesis of the Daleks]] did actually play in the correct narrative order.  
  
There were no billings for [[The Ark in Space]], [[The Deadly Assassin]] or [[Image of the Fendahl]], however there are enough airdates to account for these; certainly [[The Ark in Space]] aired in the two weeks between [[The Sontaran Experiment]] and [[Genesis of the Daleks]]. And as there were more than three hour-long billings for '''La Invasion del Tempo''', in the case of [[Image of the Fendahl]] and [[The Deadly Assassin]], both appear to have aired between [[Underworld]] and [[The Invasion of Time]], with the latter maybe even immediately before [[The Invasion of Time]]. Although some of these timeslots are recorded as 5.30 to 6.00pm, at least two of them have to be an hour, otherwise two episodes are not accounted for.  
+
There were no billings for [[The Ark in Space]], [[The Deadly Assassin]] or [[Image of the Fendahl]], however there are enough airdates to account for these; certainly [[The Ark in Space]] aired in the two weeks between [[The Sontaran Experiment]] and [[Genesis of the Daleks]]. And as there were more than three hour-long billings for '''"La Invasion del Tempo"''', in the case of [[Image of the Fendahl]] and [[The Deadly Assassin]], both appear to have aired between [[Underworld]] and [[The Invasion of Time]], with the latter maybe even immediately before [[The Invasion of Time]]. Although some of these timeslots are recorded as 5.30 to 6.00pm, at least two of them have to be an hour, otherwise two episodes are not accounted for.  
  
 
From the '''7 March 1980''' episode, the timeslot shifted to 6.00pm for a few weeks, before switching to a half-hour, single-episode 5.30pm slot from '''2 May'''.  
 
From the '''7 March 1980''' episode, the timeslot shifted to 6.00pm for a few weeks, before switching to a half-hour, single-episode 5.30pm slot from '''2 May'''.  
 +
 +
 +
'''REPEATS # 1'''
  
 
From '''30 May 1980''', the week after [[The Invasion of Time]] parts five and six, a run of repeats began, consisting of four season 12 Baker stories; the first serial is named as '''"Los Hombres de Metal"''' ("The Men of Metal"), which is '''probably''' (a re-titled?) [[Revenge of the Cybermen]], rather than [[Robot]].  
 
From '''30 May 1980''', the week after [[The Invasion of Time]] parts five and six, a run of repeats began, consisting of four season 12 Baker stories; the first serial is named as '''"Los Hombres de Metal"''' ("The Men of Metal"), which is '''probably''' (a re-titled?) [[Revenge of the Cybermen]], rather than [[Robot]].  
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The repeats ended on '''26 September 1980''', with parts five and six of [[Genesis of the Daleks]].  
 
The repeats ended on '''26 September 1980''', with parts five and six of [[Genesis of the Daleks]].  
  
Ten months later, '''El Doctor Misterio''' returned to Canal 13, playing episodically, five days a week at 12.30pm in the afternoon. The first nine Baker serials aired, although curiously, [[The Sontaran Experiment]] played twice; the second and final part of that serial closed the repeat run on '''21 August 1981'''.
 
  
 +
'''REPEATS # 2'''
 +
 +
Ten months later, on Wednesday, '''1 July 1981''', '''El Doctor Misterio''' returned to Canal 13, playing episodically, five days a week at 12.30pm in the afternoon. The first nine Baker serials aired, although curiously, [[The Sontaran Experiment]] played twice; the second and final part of that serial closed the repeat run on '''21 August 1981'''.
 +
 +
 +
'''CANAL 8 (Monterrey)'''
 +
 +
The Tom Baker package also aired on Canal 8 in Monterrey, commencing on Tuesday, '''29 April 1980''' at 4.30pm, in half hour slots. None of the TV listings gave story titles.
  
'''CANAL 8'''
+
From June 1980, the slot changed to the earlier time of 2.30pm. A number of the episodes were pre-empted, such as to allow for coverage from the 1980 Moscow Olympics during July 1980. Several papers were missing, so it is not certain whether the series aired on those dates.
  
The Tom Baker package also aired on Canal 8 in Monterrey. We have no transmission information for this station.  
+
The papers for 30 September and 7 October were missing, but from 14 October the 2.30pm slot was taken by a series called '''"Los Tresors del Gato"''', making the last known billed episode for '''"Dr Misterio"''' in 1980 that for '''23 September'''.  
  
 +
The available collection of Monterrey's ''El Norte'' stopped at November 1980. It is more than likely that the series resumed at some point during 1981.
  
There is no clear record that Mexico screened '''Doctor Who''' again after those 1981 repeats.
+
There were 17 clear listings, four papers missing and three pre-emptions. If the series aired on the dates without papers, there would have been 20 episodes, which potentially makes this 1980 run all of season 12 – [[Robot]] to [[Revenge of the Cybermen]].  
  
* See [[Missing Misterio|THE MYSTERY OF THE MISSING MISTERIOS]]
 
  
.
+
 
 +
There is no clear record that Mexico screened '''Doctor Who''' again after those early 1980s repeats.
 +
 
  
 
----
 
----
  
 
===[[Paul McGann stories|PAUL McGANN]]===
 
===[[Paul McGann stories|PAUL McGANN]]===
 +
[[File:TVM VHS Mexico.jpeg|right|thumb|350px|Mexican VHS release of the TV Movie]]
 +
The 1996 Paul McGann [[TV Movie]] was available as a subtitled Rental VHS circa late '''1996''' (released by MCA/Universal/CIC Video and Videovisa) in English with Spanish subtitles.
 +
 +
The tape was titled '''"DOCTOR WHO"''', rather than '''"Doctor Misterio"'''. The cover tagline was '''"HA REGRESADO… ¡YA ERA HORA!"''' (''HAS RETURNED … IT WAS ON TIME!'').
 +
 +
The subtitling was created by a studio located in Los Angeles. The TARDIS was called "El TYDREE", which stands for "Tiempo y Dimensiones Relatívos En Espacia (or Espaciales)".
  
The 1996 [[TV Movie]] was available via the [[HBO OLE]] cable station in '''1999'''.
 
  
 +
From '''February 1999''', the film was available via the [[HBO OLE]] cable station.
  
 
 
Line 342: Line 414:
 
{{airdates-left|}}
 
{{airdates-left|}}
  
TV listings have been obtained from the newspapers ''El Día'' and ''Excelsior'', from Mexico City.  
+
TV listings have been obtained from the newspapers ''El Día'' and ''El Excelsior'', from Mexico City, and ''El Norte'' from Monterrey.
  
 
'''1960s'''
 
'''1960s'''
  
[[File:Mex C13.JPG|thumb|right|250px|1979 Canal 13 TV Listings Box – NOTE: The Doctor and Reuben from Horror of Fang Rock]]
+
 
[[File:Mex ROD.JPG|thumb|right|250px|Robot of Death cropped from cover of The Second Doctor Who Monster Book]]
 
[[File:Mex Baker.JPG|thumb|right|250px|Tom Baker, and cropped artwork of Azal, a Silurian and an Ice Warrior from cover of The Doctor Who Monster Book]]
 
[[File:Mex Sontaran.JPG|thumb|right|250px|Sontaran artwork cropped from cover of The Second Doctor Who Monster Book]]
 
[[File:Mex Cyber.JPG|thumb|right|250px|Revenge of the Cybermen]]
 
[[File:Mex Cyberman.JPG|thumb|right|250px|Artwork Cyberman artwork cropped from The Doctor Who Monster Book]]
 
 
As noted in the Transmission history above, the newspapers listings provide the titles for the vast majority of the episodes, however, due to the number of episodes that are NOT listed, and the frequency in which episodes are billed out of sequence, either the newspapers were provided with the wrong programme from the broadcaster, OR, the broadcaster simply failed to realise the serialised nature of the series and did indeed screen the series exactly as it was billed.  
 
As noted in the Transmission history above, the newspapers listings provide the titles for the vast majority of the episodes, however, due to the number of episodes that are NOT listed, and the frequency in which episodes are billed out of sequence, either the newspapers were provided with the wrong programme from the broadcaster, OR, the broadcaster simply failed to realise the serialised nature of the series and did indeed screen the series exactly as it was billed.  
  
Line 358: Line 425:
 
Listings sometimes say '''"Doctor/Dr Who proyecta..."''', '''"Doctor/Dr Who presenta..."''', '''"Doctor/Dr Who en..."''' before each episode title.   
 
Listings sometimes say '''"Doctor/Dr Who proyecta..."''', '''"Doctor/Dr Who presenta..."''', '''"Doctor/Dr Who en..."''' before each episode title.   
  
Curiously, the ''Excelsior'' also included the '''Authority Code''', which appears to be the censors' classification reference; there are a few occasions where the same code has been printed against two different episodes – for instance '''21136-A''' appears against [[The Web Planet]] part one '''and''' [[The Keys of Marinus]] part six - but presumably these duplications are merely printing errors. Does the '''A''' suffix mean the series was given an 'Adult' classification?
+
Curiously, the ''Excelsior'' also included the '''Authority Code''', which appears to be the censors' classification reference; there are a few occasions where the same code has been printed against two different episodes – for instance '''21136-A''' appears against [[The Web Planet]] part one '''and''' [[The Keys of Marinus]] part six - but presumably these duplications are merely printing errors.  
 +
 
 +
The "A" classification stood for "Appropriate for All Ages, parental guidance is recommended for children under 7 years (some profanity, sexual references, violence or crude humor) (broadcast between 05:00 and 20:00 were required to be A rated and can be broadcast any time).
 +
*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_content_rating_systems#Mexico Classifications in Mexico]
  
 
Some of the Authorisation Codes were "Pend" (i.e. Pending).
 
Some of the Authorisation Codes were "Pend" (i.e. Pending).
  
The 'lowest' of these numerical codes is '''4919-A''', which was assigned to part one of [[An Unearthly Child]]. The 'highest' known was '''23076-A''', for part two of [[The Daleks]], which indicates the codes were not assigned by story order.  
+
The 'lowest' of these numerical codes is '''4919-A''', which was assigned to the episode identified as "Senorita Sistema Solar", which based on it being the "lowest" code does support our belief that this was [[An Unearthly Child]]. The 'highest' known was '''23076-A''', for part two of [[The Daleks]], which indicates the codes were not assigned by story order.  
 +
 
 +
 
 +
'''1972'''
 +
 
 +
The billings in ''El Excelsior'' always gave the series titles as '''"DR WHO"''' rather than '''"Doctor Misterio"'''. '''"DR WHO"''' stands out as being the only programme listed that was not in colour!
 +
 
 +
For the '''1 January 1972''' billing, a misprint gave the title as '''"MR WHO"'''!
  
  
'''1970s'''
+
'''1979-81'''
  
The daily TV schedules for Canal 13 were printed exactly the same way in both papers and appear in the form of a box-out which was illustrated with a montage of images from the featured programmes.  
+
The daily TV schedules for Canal 13 were printed exactly the same way in both papers and appear in the form of a box-out which was illustrated with a collage of images from the featured programmes.  
  
 
The series was called '''"DR / DOCTOR MISTERIO"'''. The illustrations that accompanied the listings have been cropped from Chris Achilleos's artwork from the cover of Target's 1975 '''Doctor Who Monster Book''', or from the cover of the Time Life Television sales brochure (see the [[United States]] page), which in turn featured Achilleos's painting from '''The Second Doctor Who Monster Book'''.
 
The series was called '''"DR / DOCTOR MISTERIO"'''. The illustrations that accompanied the listings have been cropped from Chris Achilleos's artwork from the cover of Target's 1975 '''Doctor Who Monster Book''', or from the cover of the Time Life Television sales brochure (see the [[United States]] page), which in turn featured Achilleos's painting from '''The Second Doctor Who Monster Book'''.
Line 373: Line 450:
 
Listings sometimes say '''"DR MISTERIO Presenta"''' (Presents) or '''"CAPITULO"''' (Chapter) before each episode title.   
 
Listings sometimes say '''"DR MISTERIO Presenta"''' (Presents) or '''"CAPITULO"''' (Chapter) before each episode title.   
  
Some of the listings have a little box saying '''"DESDE LA REDACCIÓN"''', which means ''"from the writing"'', which strongly implies that the broadcaster may have thought the series was based on the Target books!
+
For the Monterrey listings, none of the episodes is identified by story title, so we are unsure of the order in which the serials aired.
  
  
Line 383: Line 460:
 
*[http://webspace.webring.com/people/au/um_7134/mexiwho.html DOCTOR WHO IN MEXICO (Alternative)]
 
*[http://webspace.webring.com/people/au/um_7134/mexiwho.html DOCTOR WHO IN MEXICO (Alternative)]
 
*[http://seriespropostesetcetera.blogspot.com/2009/03/doctor-who.html DR MISTERIO]
 
*[http://seriespropostesetcetera.blogspot.com/2009/03/doctor-who.html DR MISTERIO]
 
 
==Videotapes / DVD==
 
 
The 1996 Paul McGann [[TV Movie]] was available on video (released by MCA, Videovisa and CIC) in English with Spanish subtitles.  The TARDIS was called "El TYDREE", which stands for "Tiempo y Dimensiones Relatívos En Espacia (or Espaciales).
 
 
The subtitling was created by a studio located in Los Angeles.
 
  
  
Line 413: Line 483:
  
 
[[Category:Central America]]
 
[[Category:Central America]]
[[Category:North America]]
 

Latest revision as of 03:22, 1 July 2022

MEXICO is a country on the Central American isthmus, between the United States and Guatemala.

Profile

Country Number (25) 1968 FIRST and SECOND WAVE
Region Central American
Television commenced 1950
Colour System 1963 NTSC
Population 1969 39 million
TV Sets 1969 650,000
Population 1979 62.3 million
TV Sets 1979 5.6 million
Language/s Spanish Dubbed


Television Stations / Channels

Mexico began its television service in 1950. Colour transmissions began in 1963 using the NTSC colour broadcast system.

Mexico is served by several television stations: in 1968 Doctor Who aired on Canal 5 which was operated by Telesistema Mexicano, a privately-owned station. This was renamed Televisa S A in 1972.

In the late 1970s, Doctor Who entered into syndication, screening on a number of different private stations across the country, such as Canal 13, which served much of the country, and Canal 8 from Monterrey, near the border with Texas.


Language/s

The principal language of Mexico is Spanish. Foreign television programmes are dubbed into Spanish.


DOCTOR WHO IN MEXICO

EL DOCTOR MISTERIO

Doctor Misterio logo

Mexico was the 25th country to screen Doctor Who. It was the second (after Venezuela) to screen the series in Spanish (see Selling Doctor Who).


PETER CUSHING / Dalek Movies?

As far as we can tell, neither of the two Cushing / Dalek films was released in cinemas in Mexico, but the first was dubbed for and shown on television in Central and South American countries in the late 1970s / early 1980s (see Argentina, Chile and Guatemala).

According to these two dubbing wikis, both films had Spanish language tracks recorded in Mexico, but it's not clear when this was, nor for which medium.

Peter Cushing was voiced by Raúl de la Fuente for the first film, and by Juan Domingo Méndez for the second. Since Méndez died on 2 July 1990, this indicates he did this dubbing work in the 1970s or 1980s. We therefore think these two dubbing sessions were for television, although recorded several years apart, since different actors are credited for Dr Who and Susan for each film.


BBC Records

Mexico is one of the 27 countries named in The Making of Doctor Who 1972 Piccolo edition.

The Seventies records a sale of "(9)" stories by 28 February 1977. The Handbook identifies eight: A, C, E, F, G, J, L and Q; the incorrect total of nine is due to Mexico being listed twice under J in the 1977 document.

In DWM, Mexico is identified in 29 story Archives: 12 Hartnells - the same as the 1977 list above, plus B, K, N and R; and 17 Tom Bakers: all the stories from 4A to 4Z, but omitting 4A, 4L, 4R, 4X, 4Y and 4Z.


DWM

A letter from Martin Bonfil Olivera of La Candelaria, Coyoaca'n [sic] in Mexico City appeared in DWM #62 (March 1982). He writes: "I have been a fan of the Doctor since the early 70s, when the William Hartnell series were shown here. But I could see only a few episodes, because the series wasn't very successful and was taken off the air. After about 8 years, the state tv station showed the early Tom Baker episodes, from Robot to Invasion of Time. Since then they have been periodically re-showing those episodes."

Assuming Olivera wrote the letter in late 1981, he is accurate with respect to his comments about the Baker repeats, the last of which aired in August 1981. Working back 8 years from 1980, this takes us to 1972, when indeed there was a run of repeats on Canal 5, one that was cut short mid-story, exactly as Olivera describes.


Stories bought and broadcast

Doctor Misterio; Dalek and Sontaran cropped from cover artwork of The Second Doctor Who Monster Books
Doctor Misterio; artwork cropped from cover of The Doctor Who Monster Book and The Second Doctor Who Monster Book
The title of an episode of The Jetsons is printed in error instead of An Unearthly Child Part One? (Note the low numbering for the Authorisation Code)
Inside the Spaceship Part One
The Dalek Invasion of Earth Part Two
The Web Planet Part One
The Chase Part Five
Repeat: An Unearthly Child, part one; 6 January 1972
"Mr Who"
The last episode of this repeat run: The Dalek Invasion of Earth, part two; 3 March 1972
1979 Canal 13 TV Listings Box – NOTE: The Doctor and Reuben from Horror of Fang Rock
Robot of Death cropped from cover of The Second Doctor Who Monster Book
Tom Baker, and cropped artwork of Azal, a Silurian and an Ice Warrior from cover of The Doctor Who Monster Book
Sontaran photo cropped from Time-Life publicity card
Revenge of the Cybermen
Artwork Cyberman artwork cropped from The Doctor Who Monster Book
Genesis of the Daleks (1981 Repeat)
Revenge of the Cybermen
Revenge of the Cybermen – alternative title?
Terror of the Zygons
The Android Invasion
The Seeds of Doom
The Face of Evil
The Sun Makers
Underworld
Generic 2.30pm listing, Canal 8 Monterrey, July 1980

WILLIAM HARTNELL

Twelve stories, 56 episodes:

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
N The Web Planet 6
Q The Space Museum 4
R The Chase 6
  • For the Spanish episode titles, go to: SPANISH

Mexico therefore bought the standard package of the GROUP A to E of the William Hartnell stories that were dubbed into Spanish.

The programme was supplied as 16mm black and white film prints with Spanish soundtracks.

This link is to a voice recording of the opening voice-over giving the series title:


Origin of the Prints?

Mexico was the second of the three known Spanish-speaking countries to screen the William Hartnell stories. The previous country was Venezuela, where some of the episodes had aired from early 1967 to early 1967. Given the crossover of screenings by the two countries, Mexico must have had its own set of prints.

As covered in the Spanish page, Venezuela appears to have been responsible for dubbing the first seven serials, with the other five dubbed by the Mexican broadcaster.


TOM BAKER

23 stories, 98 episodes:

4A Robot 4
4B The Sontaran Experiment 2
4C The Ark in Space 4
4D Revenge of the Cybermen 4
4E Genesis of the Daleks 6
4F Terror of the Zygons 4
4G Pyramids of Mars 4
4H Planet of Evil 4
4J The Android Invasion 4
4K The Brain of Morbius 4
4L The Seeds of Doom 6
4M The Masque of Mandragora 4
4N The Hand of Fear 4
4P The Deadly Assassin 4
4Q The Face of Evil 4
4R The Robots of Death 4
4S The Talons of Weng-Chiang 6
4V Horror of Fang Rock 4
4T The Invisible Enemy 4
4X Image of the Fendahl 4
4W The Sun Makers 4
4Y Underworld 4
4Z The Invasion of Time 6
  • For the equivalent Spanish story titles, go to: SPANISH

Mexico therefore bought the standard package of Tom Baker stories that was packaged for the North, Central and South American markets by Time Life Television.

The programme was supplied as NTSC colour video tapes with Spanish soundtracks.

Mexico was five days ahead of Chile in screening the Tom Baker episodes. Curiously, some of the Chilean episode titles differ from those used in Mexico - see the Spanish page for a list of the different translations.


Transmission

WILLIAM HARTNELL

NOTE: IF the newspaper TV listings are completely accurate, then the way Doctor Who screened in Mexico was a very confusing affair, with stories airing in a random order, with some episodes not screening at all, or being scheduled during an entirely different serial.

To make some sense out of the screening history, we have ASSUMED that the listings were not always accurate, and that on some occasions the billed episode was not necessarily the episode that did air that night, and that additional episodes aired on Fridays even when there was no billing.


FIRST RUN

The series started on Monday, 25 March 1968, and screened weekdays at 6.30pm. No titles were given for the first eleven episodes; the 9 April episode was billed as part four of The Sensorites. If that serial commenced on 4 April, then it's only the first eight episodes that are not identifiable.

Since it does not get another billing until the run of repeats, The Daleks must have aired at this time. The big question is, what was the stray eighth episode? It might have been part one of An Unearthly Child, but that may also have been the episode billed as "Senorita Sistema Solar" on 2 May; did it screen twice within such a very short time? Or was one of these first eight episodes pre-empted? Did the series perhaps start on Tuesday, 26 March instead?

(The Spanish title for the very first episode was "Una Niña Que No Es De Este Mundo", however two of the Mexican newspapers published the title "Senorita Sistema Solar" for the episode that aired on 2 May 1968, but this appears to have been an accidental substitution of the title of an episode of the Hanna Barbera animated series The Jetsons (called "Los Supersonicos" in Mexico), which aired an hour ahead of "Dr Misterio" in 1968. "La Senorita Sistema Solar" was the 20th episode of Los Supersónicos.)

As noted below, the 2 May episode had the Authorisation Code 4919-A, which was the lowest of all the codes assigned to the episodes of "Dr Misterio", which suggests that this episode was actually a repeat of An Unearthly Child part one.

BUT it is also possible that Doctor Who was pre-empted by an episode of The Jetsons, and the papers published the correct episode title but the wrong series name.

From the week commencing 15 April, episodes no longer regularly aired on Fridays. However, in order to account for "missing" episodes, it does seem likely that episodes did occasionally air on Friday but were not billed.

There was no episode billing for Monday, 20 May 1968, however since there is no listing for part three of The Space Museum, it seems likely that that episode did air that night.

According to the newspaper listings, the stories aired in this order:

53 of the 56 episodes had aired between 25 March and 13 June.


REPEATS # 1

The first run was followed by a run of repeats, which aired in this order:

Midway through The Chase, on 5 August, part two of An Unearthly Child aired on its own.


REPEATS # 2

Commencing from 16 September 1968 was a further repeat run; between Planet of Giants and The Rescue, parts two, three and four of An Unearthly Child aired, which was (it would seem) the first time for the latter two of those episodes:

The series took a two week break from 14 October while the television schedules were dominated with full day coverage of the 1968 Summer Olympics that were being held in Mexico City from 12 to 27 October.

The series resumed on Monday, 21 October, presumably from where it left off, with two more episodes of The Web Planet. (The other two episodes from this serial could not be accounted for; they may have aired during breaks in the Games' coverage without being scheduled.)

The final regular episode (The Keys of Marinus part six) aired on Thursday, 14 November 1968. There were no further listings in 1968, or during 1969.

There are 134 airdates accounted for in 1968, plus three dates on which it is not clear whether the series aired, and one day for which the paper was missing, giving us potentially 138 episodes in total.

In summary – and with a fair bit of manipulation of the listed episode versus what SHOULD have aired instead - with the possible exception of three from the first serial, in 1968 all episodes aired twice, with a handful airing for a third time:


REPEATS # 3

A third (and final?) re-run aired on Mexico City's Canal 5 in 1972. It was this run that Martin Bonfil Olivera saw. These screened four days a week (with no episode on Mondays), starting on Thursday, 6 January 1972, at 6.30pm. For the first time, the episodes aired in correct story order. This listings for this run give the title of the first episode as "Una Niña Que No Es De Este Mundo".

The 34th and final episode of this run aired Friday, 3 March 1972, and was part two of The Dalek Invasion of Earth; as noted by Olivera in DWM, this repeat run appears to have been dropped mid-story due to poor ratings. There were certainly no further listings for the series for the rest of 1972 or in 1973.


REPEATS # 4?

According to Televisa SA, the William Hartnell serials also aired in Ensenada on the Baja California peninsula around the same time as the Canal 5 screenings, circa 1973. The local station there was XHS-TV, Canal 23.

XHS-TV was a sister station to XEWT-TV channel 12 in Tijuana, whose coverage extended across the US border and was available in San Diego, California. If XEWT and XHS piggy-backed each other, that would have made those repeats the first time since 1965 that any William Hartnell stories had been available to viewers in the United States -- albeit understood only by those who spoke Spanish!

Newspapers from Ensenada have not been located. The San Diego edition of TV Guide and the San Diego Union did include TV listings for XEWT during 1972, 1973 and 1974, however there was no sign of Dr Misterio on that channel. It should be noted that both publications tended to list only some of the daily XEWT schedules (perhaps they only included those programmes that would be of interest to American viewers, or which also had English soundtracks?) so it's possible that Dr Misterio did air but simply wasn't included in either American publication.


Fate of the Prints?

According to the section in this BLOG that is headed "La catástrofe en México", the poster writes:

  • La primera serie del Dr. Who se transmitió en México en 1966 por el canal 13, la serie duró dos años en el aire hasta la llegada de las olimpiadas de México 68. Debido a que el canal 13 no contaba con cintas virgenes para la grabación de los juegos, decidió usar las cintas de algunos de los programas de su repertorio para grabarlos, esto incluyo la serie del Doctor Who. Cuando esto se hizo público, muchos de los fanáticos de la serie se indignaron con el canal, esto llegó a conocimiento de la BBC, quién demandó al canal y no permitió que el resto de la serie llegara a México. Se especula que algunos de los altos funcionarios del canal se quedaron con copias del programa. La serie volvió a transmitirse durante los años 80´s, de nuevo por el canal 13 a las 11 de la mañana con el cuarto Doctor, interpretado por Tom Baker. Pocos son los que la recuerdan.

The basic content of this BLOG (which it must be noted gets the year and channel number wrong) is that the episodes of Doctor Who might have been converted onto videotape prior to transmission. The site states that the BBC wanted to retain those tapes for its own use, but Telesistema wiped them as they needed the tapes to record coverage from the Mexico Olympic Games. This act apparently displeased the BBC, and as a result, further episodes of Doctor Who were not supplied to Mexico for ten years...

(We have to admit that the idea that the BBC would cease providing Mexico with any further programmes because of this business with the tapes seems a bit far-fetched, so where did the author of the blog get this notion from if it wasn't something they had themselves researched and discovered to be the case?)

Televisa SA was contacted by Paul Vanezis in 1984, and they replied confirming that they had last shown the series in Ensenada in 1973, but there was nothing in their letter to indicate what had happened to their films, nor any hint that they still had them.



TOM BAKER

Eleven years after the first Doctor aired in Mexico, the Tom Baker stories screened in syndication, airing on several different stations across the country.

We only have airdates for two of these: Canal 13 (Mexico City), and Canal 8 (in Monterrey).


CANAL 13 (Mexico City)

The fourth Doctor episodes aired weekly on Canal 13 (Channel 13) Fridays at 5.30pm, commencing 4 May 1979. Two episodes aired back-to-back in a one hour timeslot.

The series featured as part of the "LAS MIL Y UNA TARDES" ("A Thousand and One Afternoons") line-up of children's programmes. (This is a pun on the Spanish title for the book Arabian Nights, which is known as "Las Mil y Una Noches" ("A Thousand and One Nights"). And the fact that TARDES is very similar to TARDIS is probably purely coincidental!)

The stories of seasons 12 and 13 generally aired in production code order, although Revenge of the Cybermen and Genesis of the Daleks did actually play in the correct narrative order.

There were no billings for The Ark in Space, The Deadly Assassin or Image of the Fendahl, however there are enough airdates to account for these; certainly The Ark in Space aired in the two weeks between The Sontaran Experiment and Genesis of the Daleks. And as there were more than three hour-long billings for "La Invasion del Tempo", in the case of Image of the Fendahl and The Deadly Assassin, both appear to have aired between Underworld and The Invasion of Time, with the latter maybe even immediately before The Invasion of Time. Although some of these timeslots are recorded as 5.30 to 6.00pm, at least two of them have to be an hour, otherwise two episodes are not accounted for.

From the 7 March 1980 episode, the timeslot shifted to 6.00pm for a few weeks, before switching to a half-hour, single-episode 5.30pm slot from 2 May.


REPEATS # 1

From 30 May 1980, the week after The Invasion of Time parts five and six, a run of repeats began, consisting of four season 12 Baker stories; the first serial is named as "Los Hombres de Metal" ("The Men of Metal"), which is probably (a re-titled?) Revenge of the Cybermen, rather than Robot.

Several episodes in the 1979 to 1980 run were pre-empted due to football or, as was the case in August 1980, coverage of the Moscow Summer Olympics.

The repeats ended on 26 September 1980, with parts five and six of Genesis of the Daleks.


REPEATS # 2

Ten months later, on Wednesday, 1 July 1981, El Doctor Misterio returned to Canal 13, playing episodically, five days a week at 12.30pm in the afternoon. The first nine Baker serials aired, although curiously, The Sontaran Experiment played twice; the second and final part of that serial closed the repeat run on 21 August 1981.


CANAL 8 (Monterrey)

The Tom Baker package also aired on Canal 8 in Monterrey, commencing on Tuesday, 29 April 1980 at 4.30pm, in half hour slots. None of the TV listings gave story titles.

From June 1980, the slot changed to the earlier time of 2.30pm. A number of the episodes were pre-empted, such as to allow for coverage from the 1980 Moscow Olympics during July 1980. Several papers were missing, so it is not certain whether the series aired on those dates.

The papers for 30 September and 7 October were missing, but from 14 October the 2.30pm slot was taken by a series called "Los Tresors del Gato", making the last known billed episode for "Dr Misterio" in 1980 that for 23 September.

The available collection of Monterrey's El Norte stopped at November 1980. It is more than likely that the series resumed at some point during 1981.

There were 17 clear listings, four papers missing and three pre-emptions. If the series aired on the dates without papers, there would have been 20 episodes, which potentially makes this 1980 run all of season 12 – Robot to Revenge of the Cybermen.


There is no clear record that Mexico screened Doctor Who again after those early 1980s repeats.



PAUL McGANN

Mexican VHS release of the TV Movie

The 1996 Paul McGann TV Movie was available as a subtitled Rental VHS circa late 1996 (released by MCA/Universal/CIC Video and Videovisa) in English with Spanish subtitles.

The tape was titled "DOCTOR WHO", rather than "Doctor Misterio". The cover tagline was "HA REGRESADO… ¡YA ERA HORA!" (HAS RETURNED … IT WAS ON TIME!).

The subtitling was created by a studio located in Los Angeles. The TARDIS was called "El TYDREE", which stands for "Tiempo y Dimensiones Relatívos En Espacia (or Espaciales)".


From February 1999, the film was available via the HBO OLE cable station.


TV listings

Airdates in Mexico
← 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 newspapers El Día and El Excelsior, from Mexico City, and El Norte from Monterrey.

1960s


As noted in the Transmission history above, the newspapers listings provide the titles for the vast majority of the episodes, however, due to the number of episodes that are NOT listed, and the frequency in which episodes are billed out of sequence, either the newspapers were provided with the wrong programme from the broadcaster, OR, the broadcaster simply failed to realise the serialised nature of the series and did indeed screen the series exactly as it was billed.

Unusually for a Spanish language country, the series' title was billed as "Doctor Who" or "Dr Who" rather than "El Doctor/Dr Misterio"; it wasn't until towards the end of the run (from 3 October 1968) that the Spanish alternative was adopted for the listings for both papers (which indicates that the two publications were provided with the same programme information from the broadcaster).

Listings sometimes say "Doctor/Dr Who proyecta...", "Doctor/Dr Who presenta...", "Doctor/Dr Who en..." before each episode title.

Curiously, the Excelsior also included the Authority Code, which appears to be the censors' classification reference; there are a few occasions where the same code has been printed against two different episodes – for instance 21136-A appears against The Web Planet part one and The Keys of Marinus part six - but presumably these duplications are merely printing errors.

The "A" classification stood for "Appropriate for All Ages, parental guidance is recommended for children under 7 years (some profanity, sexual references, violence or crude humor) (broadcast between 05:00 and 20:00 were required to be A rated and can be broadcast any time).

Some of the Authorisation Codes were "Pend" (i.e. Pending).

The 'lowest' of these numerical codes is 4919-A, which was assigned to the episode identified as "Senorita Sistema Solar", which based on it being the "lowest" code does support our belief that this was An Unearthly Child. The 'highest' known was 23076-A, for part two of The Daleks, which indicates the codes were not assigned by story order.


1972

The billings in El Excelsior always gave the series titles as "DR WHO" rather than "Doctor Misterio". "DR WHO" stands out as being the only programme listed that was not in colour!

For the 1 January 1972 billing, a misprint gave the title as "MR WHO"!


1979-81

The daily TV schedules for Canal 13 were printed exactly the same way in both papers and appear in the form of a box-out which was illustrated with a collage of images from the featured programmes.

The series was called "DR / DOCTOR MISTERIO". The illustrations that accompanied the listings have been cropped from Chris Achilleos's artwork from the cover of Target's 1975 Doctor Who Monster Book, or from the cover of the Time Life Television sales brochure (see the United States page), which in turn featured Achilleos's painting from The Second Doctor Who Monster Book.

Listings sometimes say "DR MISTERIO Presenta" (Presents) or "CAPITULO" (Chapter) before each episode title.

For the Monterrey listings, none of the episodes is identified by story title, so we are unsure of the order in which the serials aired.


Websites

There are a number of Mexican and Spanish-language websites which refer to the Mexican broadcasts of the series:


Mexico in Doctor Who

  • The Aztecs is set in Mexico.
  • While exploring the caves of Atlantis, Polly finds a souvenir object (a vase?) marked "Mexico Olympiad" (The Underwater Menace).
  • Salamander hailed from Mérida, in the Yucatan area of Mexico. The Doctor thought he might be from Quintana Roo (The Enemy of the World).
  • Artoro Villa from the Mexico Civil War Zone, fought in The War Games.
  • The Doctor refers to the volcanic mountain Popocatepetl (The Brain of Morbius)


Links