Difference between revisions of "Poland"

From BroaDWcast
Jump to navigationJump to search
(46 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
'''[[Wikipedia:Poland|POLAND]]''' is in Eastern Europe.  
+
'''[[Wikipedia:Poland|POLAND]]''' is in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by [[Germany]], and the [[Czech Republic]].
 
{{TOC right}}
 
{{TOC right}}
 
==Profile==  
 
==Profile==  
 
{| {{small-table}}  
 
{| {{small-table}}  
 
|-  
 
|-  
|'''Country Number (N/K)'''||1990s||[[Selling Doctor Who|THIRD WAVE]]  
+
|'''Country Number (N/K)'''||1990s? / 2002||[[Selling Doctor Who|THIRD WAVE]]  
 
|-  
 
|-  
 
|'''Region'''||[[:Category:Europe|Europe]]||  
 
|'''Region'''||[[:Category:Europe|Europe]]||  
Line 10: Line 10:
 
|'''Television commenced'''||1953||
 
|'''Television commenced'''||1953||
 
|-  
 
|-  
|'''Colour System'''||1972||[[:Wikipedia:SECAM|SECAM]]  
+
|'''Colour System'''||1971||[[:Wikipedia:SECAM|SECAM]]  
 
|-  
 
|-  
 
|'''Colour System'''||1995||[[:Wikipedia:PAL|PAL]]  
 
|'''Colour System'''||1995||[[:Wikipedia:PAL|PAL]]  
 
|-
 
|-
|'''Language/s'''||Polish||Dubbed
+
|'''Language/s'''||Polish||Dubbed, Subtitled or Narrated
 
|-  
 
|-  
 
|}
 
|}
Line 20: Line 20:
 
==Television Stations / Channels==
 
==Television Stations / Channels==
  
Poland began its television service in 1953. There is just one television station: '''[[wikipedia: Telewizja Polska|Telewizja Polska]]''' ([http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/TVP1 TVP1])
+
Poland began its television service in 1953. There is one national television broadcaster - '''[[wikipedia: Telewizja Polska|Telewizja Polska]]''' ([http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/TVP1 TVP1]).
  
 
Colour transmissions began in 1971 using the [[Wikipedia:SECAM|SECAM]] colour broadcast system that was common throughout [[:Category:Europe|Europe]]. TVP changed to the PAL system in 1995.
 
Colour transmissions began in 1971 using the [[Wikipedia:SECAM|SECAM]] colour broadcast system that was common throughout [[:Category:Europe|Europe]]. TVP changed to the PAL system in 1995.
  
In Poland, foreign programmes are usually always dubbed.
+
In Poland, foreign programmes are sometimes dubbed or subtitled, but the most common translation method was having Polish narration spoken over the original dialogue explaining what was happening (a bit like the old Howard da Silva narrations on the 1970s US broadcasts). This was known locally as Polish Lektor ('Polish Reader').
  
By the 2000s, Poland had satellite stations. It was on digital station '''[[wikipedia:Tele 5 (Poland)|TELE5]]''' (launched on 19 April 2002) that '''Doktor Who''' aired 2002 to 2003. (TELE 5 broadcast off the Astra-satellite, orbital position: 19,2° East, 10.832Ghz, horizontal, 27500Bytes)
+
Television viewers in Poland also had access to several foreign satellite stations, such as [[Germany]]'s '''RTL-Plus''' (on which '''Doctor Who''' aired), and the European '''FilmNet''' and '''Sky One'''.  
  
 +
By the 2000s, Poland had its own satellite stations. It was on digital station '''[[wikipedia:Tele 5 (Poland)|TELE5]]''' (launched on 19 April 2002) that '''Doktor Who''' aired 2002 to 2003. (TELE 5 broadcast off the Astra-satellite, orbital position: 19,2° East, 10.832 Ghz, horizontal, 27500 Bytes.)
  
=='''DOCTOR WHO (DOKTOR WHO) IN POLAND'''==
 
  
Poland was one of the last – at least ahead of [[Sweden]] – countries in Europe to screen the series (see [[Selling Doctor Who]]).
+
=='''DOCTOR WHO IN POLAND (DOKTOR KTO)'''==
  
In Polish, the series was probably called '''Doktor Who'''.
+
Poland was one of the last countries in Europe – at least ahead of [[Sweden]] – to screen the series (see [[Selling Doctor Who]]).
 +
 
 +
In Polish, the series was called '''Doktor Kto''' and '''Doktor Who'''.  
  
  
Line 40: Line 42:
 
Poland is not mentioned in '''The Seventies''', '''The Handbook''' or '''DWM'''.
 
Poland is not mentioned in '''The Seventies''', '''The Handbook''' or '''DWM'''.
  
The Polish version of WikiPedia: ([http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Who POLISH DOCTOR WHO]) says:
+
In the Polish version of WikiPedia: ([http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Who POLISH DOCTOR WHO]) it said (the section has since been deleted):
  
''W Polsce widzowie mogli po raz pierwszy zobaczyć Doktora Who w październiku 1979 r., kiedy TVP1 pokazała dwa niekanoniczne filmy kinowe o jego przygodach (Dr Who wśród Daleków oraz Inwazja Daleków). Na początku lat 90. XX w. jedna z prywatnych stacji telewizyjnych wyemitowała kilkanaście odcinków z Tomem Bakerem w roli czwartej inkarnacji Doktora. W 1997 r. TVP1 pokazała film telewizyny BBC Doctor Who z 1996 r.''
+
:''Na początku lat 90. XX w. jedna z prywatnych stacji telewizyjnych wyemitowała kilkanaście odcinków z Tomem Bakerem w roli czwartej inkarnacji Doktora. W 1997 r. TVP1 pokazała film telewizyny BBC Doctor Who z 1996 r.''
  
 
'''This translates as:'''
 
'''This translates as:'''
  
''In Poland, viewers could see '''Doctor Who''' in '''October 1979''', when TVP1 showed two non-canonical motion picture adventures ('''"Dr Who and the Daleks"''' and '''"The Invasion of the Daleks"'''). In the early 1990s, one of the private television stations aired a few episodes with Tom Baker as the fourth incarnation of the Doctor. In 1997, TVP1 showed the 1996 BBC [[TV Movie]] '''"Doctor Who"'''.''
+
:''In the early 1990s, one of the private television stations aired a '''few''' episodes with Tom Baker as the fourth incarnation of the Doctor. In 1997, TVP1 showed the 1996 BBC [[TV Movie]] '''"Doctor Who"'''.''
 +
 
 +
('''NOTE''': The paragraph in question has since been deleted from the Wikipedia page; this may have been done so because of doubt as to whether or not Tom Baker episodes did air on a Polish channel.)
 +
 
 +
[[File:Poland 2003.JPG|400px|right|thumb|2003 Panopticon Handbook – 40 Fabulous Facts]]
 +
It is not known what "private station" this is, as no private TV stations are recorded in the 1990 or any subsequent [[WRTH|World Radio Television Handbook]]. (A list of current Polish TV stations – both public and private - can be seen '''[[wikipedia:Television in Poland|HERE]]''').
 +
 
 +
Of these, the most likely station to have carried '''Doctor Who''' in the early 1990s is the privately-owned commercial station '''[[wikipedia:Polonia 1|Polonia 1]]''', as it appears to be the only one that was in operation at the time in question, having been launched in March 1993. (And with the novelisations (see below) being published in 1993/1994, it's logical that these would have come out around the same time as the broadcasts.)
  
[[File:Poland 2003.JPG|400px|right|thumb|Panopticon Handbook – 40 Fabulous Facts]]
+
An unofficial site by fans of Polonia 1 has quite an extensive online "archive" of material, including lists and examples of daily schedules of the various programmes the station aired over the years (see [http://two.xthost.info/polonia1/g_opr93.htm POLONIA 1], as well as a general Polish TV listings "archive" at [http://forum.media2.pl/viewtopic.php?pid=30515 POLISH TV LISTINGS]), but despite our searching in both sites for references to '''Doctor Who''', '''Doktor Who''' or '''Doktor Kto''', none could be found. Of course, not being able to read Polish doesn't exactly help!
It is not known what "private station" this is, as no private TV stations are recorded in the 1990 [[WRTH|World Radio Television Handbook]].
+
 
 +
One likely scenario is that the "privately-owned" station was in fact one of the many satellite stations that had coverage across most of Europe during the mid-1990s. But the fact that earlier Polish newspapers -- from 1990 and 1993 (see below) -- carried billings for the [[Germany|German]] satellite station '''RTL-Plus''' strongly suggests that the Wikipedia entry is actually referring to those -- except that the episodes that aired featured not Tom Baker but Sylvester McCoy!
  
 
Poland is mentioned as having aired the series in the '''2003 Panopticon Convention''' souvenir handbook, under the 40 Fabulous Facts section: "''Doctor Who'' has been shown in 66 countries around the world, from [[Abu Dhabi]] and [[Algeria]], to '''Poland''', [[Qatar]], [[Taiwan]] and [[Rhodesia / Zimbabwe|Zimbabwe]]". (The reference to 66 countries is out slightly – at best count, Polish was nearer the 70th mark...)
 
Poland is mentioned as having aired the series in the '''2003 Panopticon Convention''' souvenir handbook, under the 40 Fabulous Facts section: "''Doctor Who'' has been shown in 66 countries around the world, from [[Abu Dhabi]] and [[Algeria]], to '''Poland''', [[Qatar]], [[Taiwan]] and [[Rhodesia / Zimbabwe|Zimbabwe]]". (The reference to 66 countries is out slightly – at best count, Polish was nearer the 70th mark...)
  
This would be in relation to the then-recent screenings of [[Tom Baker stories]] on the Polish satellite station '''TELE5''', from early 2002 to mid-2003, which oddly enough is ''not'' mentioned in the Wikipedia entry...  
+
The inclusion of Poland in this publication would probably be in relation to the then-recent screenings of [[Tom Baker stories]] on the Polish satellite station '''TELE5''', from early 2002 to mid-2003, which oddly enough is ''not'' mentioned in the Wikipedia entry... (Unless the Wiki entry reference to "early 1990s" is actually wrong, and they instead mean "early 2000s" in reference to the TELE5 broadcasts...?)
  
  
==Stories bought and broadcast==
+
==[[Peter Cushing|PETER CUSHING]] Movies==
 +
[[File:DalekInvasion79.JPG|thumb|right|350px|"Najazd Daleków na Ziemię"(Daleks Invasion Earth 2150 AD), 26 December 1979]]
 +
Both of the [[Peter Cushing]] Dalek movies have been shown on TV in Poland:
  
===PETER CUSHING MOVIES===
+
*'''"Doktor Who i Dalekowie"''' ("Dr Who and the Daleks")
 +
*'''"Najazd Daleków na Ziemię"''' ("Daleks Invasion of Earth")
  
*'''"Dr Who and the Daleks"'''
+
The first aired on Saturday, '''6 October 1979''', at 4.30pm, on station '''PR I, Studio-2''', and the second film on Wednesday, '''26 December 1979''', at 2.55pm, on '''PR II'''.
*'''"Daleks Invasion Earth 2150 AD"'''
+
{{clear}}
  
 +
==Stories bought and broadcast==
  
===[[Tom Baker stories|TOM BAKER]]===
+
===[[Tom Baker stories|TOM BAKER]] (1990s?)===
 +
[[File:Poland14M90.JPG|right|thumb|250px|Billing for "Doktor Kto" at 10.35 on RTL-Plus in Polish newspaper, Dziennik Lodzki, 14 May 1990]]
 +
[[File:Poland18Ju90.JPG|right|thumb|350px|Billing for "Doktor Kto" at 10.30 on RTL-Plus in Polish newspaper, Dziennik Lodzki, 18 June 1990]]
 +
[[File:PolRTL93.JPG |thumb|right|250px|Billing for "Dr Kto" at 1.40 on RTL in Polish newspaper, Trybuna, 3 July 1993]]
  
It is not known which [[Tom Baker stories]] would have been screened in the 1990s, but since the BBC always seemed to offer new purchasers Baker's first season - starting with [[Robot]] – it's likely these stories were the ones seen.  
+
It is not known what [[Tom Baker stories]] screened in the 1990s – if any even did. (Since the BBC always seemed to offer new purchasers Baker's first season - starting with [[Robot]] – it's likely a selection of those stories were the ones seen.)
  
Four stories, 14 episodes?
+
As noted above and below, it is more than likely that the broadcasts referred to in Wikipedia were another regional satellite or cable station, most likely being the Sylvester McCoy episodes airing on [[Germany]]'s '''RTL-Plus'''. 
 
 
{| {{small-table}}
 
|-
 
|4A||[[Robot]]||4
 
|-
 
|4B||[[The Sontaran Experiment]]||2
 
|-
 
|4C||[[The Ark in Space]]||4
 
|-
 
|4D||[[Revenge of the Cybermen]]||4
 
|-
 
|}
 
  
  
 +
----
 
===[[Sylvester McCoy stories|SYLVESTER McCOY]]===
 
===[[Sylvester McCoy stories|SYLVESTER McCOY]]===
 
===[[Paul McGann stories|PAUL McGANN]]===
 
===[[Paul McGann stories|PAUL McGANN]]===
Line 93: Line 99:
  
  
===[[Tom Baker stories|TOM BAKER]] (Continued)===
+
----
 +
===[[Tom Baker stories|TOM BAKER]] (2000s)===
  
Ten stories, 40 episodes?
+
Seven stories, 28 episodes (not in correct story order):
  
 
{| {{small-table}}
 
{| {{small-table}}
Line 101: Line 108:
 
|4A||[[Robot]]||4
 
|4A||[[Robot]]||4
 
|-
 
|-
|4B||[[The Sontaran Experiment]]||2
+
|4C||[[The Ark in Space]]||4
 
|-
 
|-
|4C||[[The Ark in Space]]||4
+
|4E||[[Genesis of the Daleks]]||6
 
|-
 
|-
 
|4D||[[Revenge of the Cybermen]]||4
 
|4D||[[Revenge of the Cybermen]]||4
|-
 
|4E||[[Genesis of the Daleks]]||6
 
 
|-
 
|-
 
|4F||[[Terror of the Zygons]]||4
 
|4F||[[Terror of the Zygons]]||4
Line 113: Line 118:
 
|4H||[[Planet of Evil]]||4
 
|4H||[[Planet of Evil]]||4
 
|-
 
|-
|4G||[[Pyramids of Mars]]||4
+
|
 
|-
 
|-
|4J||[[The Android Invasion]]||4
+
|4B||[[The Sontaran Experiment]]?||2
|-
 
|4K||[[The Brain of Morbius]]||4
 
 
|-
 
|-
 
|}
 
|}
  
TELE5 appears to have purchased the same dubbed episodes that had been used by the other Polish station, plus additional episodes, which were either dubbed into Polish, or broadcast in English but with Polish "narration" voice-over.
+
Poland therefore bought part of GROUPs A and B of the [[Tom Baker stories]]. They were PAL colour video tapes.
 +
 +
In order to dub them, the Polish station would require copies with music and effects only, and no dialogue.
 +
 
 +
We therefore assume that they received the same set of 26 episodes that were created for the sale to [[France]] in 1986. (And that the Tele5 listings had the episodes being from "1987" supports this.)
 +
 
 +
 
 +
There is also the possibility that Poland received copies of the French tapes themselves, and broadcast them in that language with the addition of Polish Lektor. While that might sound unusual, there is precedence: when '''[[Wikipedia:Dragon Ball Z|Dragon Ball Z]]''' was shown in Poland, it was screened in that manner: the French company AB Groupe had the distribution rights to that animated series in European territories, so most of the European dubs came from the French master tapes! Here's a clip showing what it sounds like:
 +
{{YouTube table |k14OWVmd82Q|Dragon Ball Z - French dub with Polish lektor
 +
}} 
 +
{{clear}}
 +
For the run of episodes that aired in 2003, it's believed that they were all in English but with Polish Lektor, which suggests that Tele5 acquired a second set of videos, all from season 12, and including [[The Sontaran Experiment]].  
 +
 
  
  
 
==Transmission==
 
==Transmission==
  
* The two Peter Cushing Dalek movies aired on television in '''October 1979'''.
+
'''[[Tom Baker]] / [[Sylvester McCoy]]?'''
  
* A run of Tom Baker stories aired in the '''early 1990s'''.  
+
* A run of Tom Baker stories '''''may have''''' aired in the '''early 1990s'''; possibly '''1993/1994''', which was when the three novelisations were published (see below).
 +
**If these did in fact air via a UK or Eurpoean-based satellite or cable channel – such as [[BBC Prime]], [[Super Channel]] or on the German station '''RTL-Plus''' (which is supported by printed TV listings) -- then the transmissions do not count as being Polish… (and for this reason we have not included a 1990s entry for Poland in the [[Storyguide|Story Guide]] list of countries.)
 +
 
 +
 
 +
'''[[Paul McGann|PAUL McGANN]]'''
  
 
* The 1996 Paul McGann [[TV Movie]] was screened by [[wikipedia:Filmnet|Filmnet]]. The sale of the film was reported in issue 235 (October 1996) of the DWAS newsletter ''Celestial Toyroom''. Reportedly, Filmnet had the rights to screen the movie '''fifteen''' times!
 
* The 1996 Paul McGann [[TV Movie]] was screened by [[wikipedia:Filmnet|Filmnet]]. The sale of the film was reported in issue 235 (October 1996) of the DWAS newsletter ''Celestial Toyroom''. Reportedly, Filmnet had the rights to screen the movie '''fifteen''' times!
  
* From early '''2002''', the Polish satellite station '''TELE5''' broadcast as many as 40 episodes from Tom Baker's first two seasons, with episodes in Polish, or English, but with Polish narration. These aired Saturdays and Sunday at varying times, at 8.30am or 9.30am. Several of the season 12 stories were repeated a number of times – these were probably the ones that had been fully dubbed rather than narrated - with the run (which took a break for a few months in late 2002 / early 2003) ending in '''August 2003'''.  
+
 
 +
'''[[Tom Baker|TOM BAKER]]'''
 +
[[File:PolandDW.JPG|thumb|right|450px|First TELE5 listing for "Doktor Who", 20 April 2002]]
 +
[[File:Poland1.JPG|thumb|right|450px|"Doktor Who", episode 7 of 26, Tele5 website, 10 August 2002]]
 +
[[File:Poland2.JPG|thumb|right|450px|"Doktor Who", episode 8 of 26, Tele5 website, 11 August 2002]]
 +
 
 +
'''TELE5 (2002-2003)'''
 +
 
 +
Starting from Saturday, '''20 April 2002''', the Polish satellite station '''TELE5''' commenced a run of 26 Tom Baker episodes, on Saturdays and Sundays at 9.30am.
 +
 
 +
From Saturday, '''20 July 2002''', the stories were run again, presumably in the same order as before - the newspaper identify the episodes on '''10 and 11 August''' as being '''(7/26)''' and '''(8/26)''' which does tally with 26+7 and 26+8 -- see clippings at right.
 +
 
 +
From the third episode of the repeat (on '''27 July'''), the timeslot moved to the earlier time of 8.35am, then to 8.25am a few weeks after. On '''1 September''' the slot was 8.30am - presumably the slots for the remaining episodes fluctuated to the end of the run. 
 +
 
 +
The stories were cycled again, from Saturday, '''19 October 2002''', but it would appear that this third run was curtailed after only 14 episodes ([[Genesis of the Daleks]] 6), ending on Sunday, '''1 December 2002'''. 66 episodes had aired during this run. 
 +
 
 +
The second run of Tom Baker episodes commenced five months later, on Monday, '''12 May 2003''', running the five week-days at 4.40pm.
 +
 
 +
It would appear that these were different versions than the ones that had aired before, and were in English with Polish subtitles or Polish Lektor narration. This included [[The Sontaran Experiment]], which was not part of the previous run.
 +
 
 +
At some point prior to '''1 July 2003''', the series moved to the 7pm evening slot until the end of the run. 
 +
 
 +
These five stories / 20 episodes were cycled through three times each, with the final episode airing on Friday, '''1 August 2003'''.
  
  
 
==TV listings==
 
==TV listings==
 +
{{Airdates-left|Poland}}
 +
 +
We checked a couple of issues of ''Dziennik Lodzki'' – and the only listings for '''"Doktor Kto"''' (on 14 May and 18 June 1990) are for the Monday morning "repeat" screenings of the [[Germany|German]] '''RTL-Plus''' episodes starring Sylvester McCoy.
 +
 +
The Polish newspaper ''Trybuna'' has also been checked for all of 1990 to 1995; this paper did publish comprehensive TV listings for Polish as well as foreign-based terrestrial, cable and satellite channels. And here, the only listings for '''"Dr Kto"''' were also for the [[Germany|German]] station '''RTL''', which was re-screening [[Sylvester McCoy stories]] at the time – see example illustrated above. This supports our belief that the series never aired on a local Polish station in the 1990s: the Wikipedia entry is therefore incorrect, and is actually referring to the [[Germany|German]] Sylvester McCoy episodes.
 +
 +
The '''TELE5''' screenings summary has been collated from Benjamin F Elliott's online guide '''[http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/thisweekindoctorwho/msearch?query=tele5&pos=30&cnt=10 THIS WEEK IN DOCTOR WHO]''' and [https://twidw.doctorwhonews.net/channels.php?code=227&detail=broadcast&page=1 updated HERE] - although Benjamin does admits that the TELE5 website was in Polish (which he couldn't read) and didn't give titles, so the story information he provided in TWIDW was mostly assumed. While we have adopted the airdates from TWIDW, we have applied the story titles per the table above, which deviates in a few places from what Benjamin was trying to make sense of.   
 +
 
 +
The Tele5 'clippings' here are screen grabs taken from the scant few [https://web.archive.org/web/20020806220501/http://www.tele5.pl/ WayBack Machine entries] for the old Tele5 website. Of note, the '''20 April 2002''' billing dates the first serial as '''1987'''. (This might relate to when the dialogue-free episodes were prepared for the sale to [[France]].)
  
No TV listings have been found. If you are able to assist, please drop us a line.  
+
We also referred to a [http://forum.media2.pl/viewtopic.php?pid=30515 Polish fan forum] (which appears to have now closed?).  
  
The '''TELE5''' screenings summary has been collated from Benjamin F Elliott's online '''THIS WEEK IN DOCTOR WHO'''.
 
  
  
 
==Novelisations==
 
==Novelisations==
[[File:Polish books.JPG|right|200px|Polish novelisations]]
+
[[File:Polish books.JPG|right|350px|Polish novelisations]]
  
Three of the Target novels were published in Poland, issued by Publishing Empire in 1993-1994:  
+
Three of the Target novels were published in Poland, issued by Publishing Empire in 1993-1994; of these, only the third story was later shown on television:  
  
* ''Dzień Daleków'' (translates as ''Day Daleks'') ([[Day of the Daleks]])
+
* '''''DZIEŃ DALEKÓW''''' (translates as ''"Day Daleks"'') ([[Day of the Daleks]])
* ''Wladcy Czasu'' (translates as ''Rulers of Time'') ([[The Three Doctors]])
+
* '''''WLADCY CZASU''''' (translates as ''"Rulers of Time"'') ([[The Three Doctors]])
* ''Zemsta Cyborgów'' (translates as ''Revenge Cyborgs'') ([[Revenge of the Cybermen]])
+
* '''''ZEMSTA CYBORGÓW''''' (translates as ''"Revenge Cyborgs"'') ([[Revenge of the Cybermen]])
  
  
  
 
==Poland in Doctor Who==
 
==Poland in Doctor Who==
 +
*The crate of plastic cups opened in [[The Faceless Ones]] part 1 is marked "Made in Poland".
 
* The Doctor mentions Polish astronomer, Nicolas Copernicus ([[Robot]]).
 
* The Doctor mentions Polish astronomer, Nicolas Copernicus ([[Robot]]).
 
* Actress [[wikipedia:Ingrid Pitt|Ingrid Pitt]] ([[The Time Monster]], [[Warriors of the Deep]]) was born in Poland.
 
* Actress [[wikipedia:Ingrid Pitt|Ingrid Pitt]] ([[The Time Monster]], [[Warriors of the Deep]]) was born in Poland.
* Poland was annexed by Hitler in 1938, an event the Doctor attributes to the influence of the [[Silver Nemesis]].
 
 
* Tomek Bork (Captain Sorin, [[The Curse of Fenric]]), was born in Poland.  
 
* Tomek Bork (Captain Sorin, [[The Curse of Fenric]]), was born in Poland.  
 
* The Doctor claims to have known Polish-born scientist, Marie Curie ([[TV Movie]]).
 
* The Doctor claims to have known Polish-born scientist, Marie Curie ([[TV Movie]]).

Revision as of 08:07, 13 June 2020

POLAND is in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Germany, and the Czech Republic.

Profile

Country Number (N/K) 1990s? / 2002 THIRD WAVE
Region Europe
Television commenced 1953
Colour System 1971 SECAM
Colour System 1995 PAL
Language/s Polish Dubbed, Subtitled or Narrated

Television Stations / Channels

Poland began its television service in 1953. There is one national television broadcaster - Telewizja Polska (TVP1).

Colour transmissions began in 1971 using the SECAM colour broadcast system that was common throughout Europe. TVP changed to the PAL system in 1995.

In Poland, foreign programmes are sometimes dubbed or subtitled, but the most common translation method was having Polish narration spoken over the original dialogue explaining what was happening (a bit like the old Howard da Silva narrations on the 1970s US broadcasts). This was known locally as Polish Lektor ('Polish Reader').

Television viewers in Poland also had access to several foreign satellite stations, such as Germany's RTL-Plus (on which Doctor Who aired), and the European FilmNet and Sky One.

By the 2000s, Poland had its own satellite stations. It was on digital station TELE5 (launched on 19 April 2002) that Doktor Who aired 2002 to 2003. (TELE 5 broadcast off the Astra-satellite, orbital position: 19,2° East, 10.832 Ghz, horizontal, 27500 Bytes.)


DOCTOR WHO IN POLAND (DOKTOR KTO)

Poland was one of the last countries in Europe – at least ahead of Sweden – to screen the series (see Selling Doctor Who).

In Polish, the series was called Doktor Kto and Doktor Who.


BBC Records

Poland is not mentioned in The Seventies, The Handbook or DWM.

In the Polish version of WikiPedia: (POLISH DOCTOR WHO) it said (the section has since been deleted):

Na początku lat 90. XX w. jedna z prywatnych stacji telewizyjnych wyemitowała kilkanaście odcinków z Tomem Bakerem w roli czwartej inkarnacji Doktora. W 1997 r. TVP1 pokazała film telewizyny BBC Doctor Who z 1996 r.

This translates as:

In the early 1990s, one of the private television stations aired a few episodes with Tom Baker as the fourth incarnation of the Doctor. In 1997, TVP1 showed the 1996 BBC TV Movie "Doctor Who".

(NOTE: The paragraph in question has since been deleted from the Wikipedia page; this may have been done so because of doubt as to whether or not Tom Baker episodes did air on a Polish channel.)

2003 Panopticon Handbook – 40 Fabulous Facts

It is not known what "private station" this is, as no private TV stations are recorded in the 1990 or any subsequent World Radio Television Handbook. (A list of current Polish TV stations – both public and private - can be seen HERE).

Of these, the most likely station to have carried Doctor Who in the early 1990s is the privately-owned commercial station Polonia 1, as it appears to be the only one that was in operation at the time in question, having been launched in March 1993. (And with the novelisations (see below) being published in 1993/1994, it's logical that these would have come out around the same time as the broadcasts.)

An unofficial site by fans of Polonia 1 has quite an extensive online "archive" of material, including lists and examples of daily schedules of the various programmes the station aired over the years (see POLONIA 1, as well as a general Polish TV listings "archive" at POLISH TV LISTINGS), but despite our searching in both sites for references to Doctor Who, Doktor Who or Doktor Kto, none could be found. Of course, not being able to read Polish doesn't exactly help!

One likely scenario is that the "privately-owned" station was in fact one of the many satellite stations that had coverage across most of Europe during the mid-1990s. But the fact that earlier Polish newspapers -- from 1990 and 1993 (see below) -- carried billings for the German satellite station RTL-Plus strongly suggests that the Wikipedia entry is actually referring to those -- except that the episodes that aired featured not Tom Baker but Sylvester McCoy!

Poland is mentioned as having aired the series in the 2003 Panopticon Convention souvenir handbook, under the 40 Fabulous Facts section: "Doctor Who has been shown in 66 countries around the world, from Abu Dhabi and Algeria, to Poland, Qatar, Taiwan and Zimbabwe". (The reference to 66 countries is out slightly – at best count, Polish was nearer the 70th mark...)

The inclusion of Poland in this publication would probably be in relation to the then-recent screenings of Tom Baker stories on the Polish satellite station TELE5, from early 2002 to mid-2003, which oddly enough is not mentioned in the Wikipedia entry... (Unless the Wiki entry reference to "early 1990s" is actually wrong, and they instead mean "early 2000s" in reference to the TELE5 broadcasts...?)


PETER CUSHING Movies

"Najazd Daleków na Ziemię"(Daleks Invasion Earth 2150 AD), 26 December 1979

Both of the Peter Cushing Dalek movies have been shown on TV in Poland:

  • "Doktor Who i Dalekowie" ("Dr Who and the Daleks")
  • "Najazd Daleków na Ziemię" ("Daleks Invasion of Earth")

The first aired on Saturday, 6 October 1979, at 4.30pm, on station PR I, Studio-2, and the second film on Wednesday, 26 December 1979, at 2.55pm, on PR II.


Stories bought and broadcast

TOM BAKER (1990s?)

Billing for "Doktor Kto" at 10.35 on RTL-Plus in Polish newspaper, Dziennik Lodzki, 14 May 1990
Billing for "Doktor Kto" at 10.30 on RTL-Plus in Polish newspaper, Dziennik Lodzki, 18 June 1990
Billing for "Dr Kto" at 1.40 on RTL in Polish newspaper, Trybuna, 3 July 1993

It is not known what Tom Baker stories screened in the 1990s – if any even did. (Since the BBC always seemed to offer new purchasers Baker's first season - starting with Robot – it's likely a selection of those stories were the ones seen.)

As noted above and below, it is more than likely that the broadcasts referred to in Wikipedia were another regional satellite or cable station, most likely being the Sylvester McCoy episodes airing on Germany's RTL-Plus.



SYLVESTER McCOY

PAUL McGANN

TVM The TV Movie 1



TOM BAKER (2000s)

Seven stories, 28 episodes (not in correct story order):

4A Robot 4
4C The Ark in Space 4
4E Genesis of the Daleks 6
4D Revenge of the Cybermen 4
4F Terror of the Zygons 4
4H Planet of Evil 4
4B The Sontaran Experiment? 2

Poland therefore bought part of GROUPs A and B of the Tom Baker stories. They were PAL colour video tapes.

In order to dub them, the Polish station would require copies with music and effects only, and no dialogue.

We therefore assume that they received the same set of 26 episodes that were created for the sale to France in 1986. (And that the Tele5 listings had the episodes being from "1987" supports this.)


There is also the possibility that Poland received copies of the French tapes themselves, and broadcast them in that language with the addition of Polish Lektor. While that might sound unusual, there is precedence: when Dragon Ball Z was shown in Poland, it was screened in that manner: the French company AB Groupe had the distribution rights to that animated series in European territories, so most of the European dubs came from the French master tapes! Here's a clip showing what it sounds like:



Dragon Ball Z - French dub with Polish lektor

For the run of episodes that aired in 2003, it's believed that they were all in English but with Polish Lektor, which suggests that Tele5 acquired a second set of videos, all from season 12, and including The Sontaran Experiment.


Transmission

Tom Baker / Sylvester McCoy?

  • A run of Tom Baker stories may have aired in the early 1990s; possibly 1993/1994, which was when the three novelisations were published (see below).
    • If these did in fact air via a UK or Eurpoean-based satellite or cable channel – such as BBC Prime, Super Channel or on the German station RTL-Plus (which is supported by printed TV listings) -- then the transmissions do not count as being Polish… (and for this reason we have not included a 1990s entry for Poland in the Story Guide list of countries.)


PAUL McGANN

  • The 1996 Paul McGann TV Movie was screened by Filmnet. The sale of the film was reported in issue 235 (October 1996) of the DWAS newsletter Celestial Toyroom. Reportedly, Filmnet had the rights to screen the movie fifteen times!


TOM BAKER

First TELE5 listing for "Doktor Who", 20 April 2002
"Doktor Who", episode 7 of 26, Tele5 website, 10 August 2002
"Doktor Who", episode 8 of 26, Tele5 website, 11 August 2002

TELE5 (2002-2003)

Starting from Saturday, 20 April 2002, the Polish satellite station TELE5 commenced a run of 26 Tom Baker episodes, on Saturdays and Sundays at 9.30am.

From Saturday, 20 July 2002, the stories were run again, presumably in the same order as before - the newspaper identify the episodes on 10 and 11 August as being (7/26) and (8/26) which does tally with 26+7 and 26+8 -- see clippings at right.

From the third episode of the repeat (on 27 July), the timeslot moved to the earlier time of 8.35am, then to 8.25am a few weeks after. On 1 September the slot was 8.30am - presumably the slots for the remaining episodes fluctuated to the end of the run.

The stories were cycled again, from Saturday, 19 October 2002, but it would appear that this third run was curtailed after only 14 episodes (Genesis of the Daleks 6), ending on Sunday, 1 December 2002. 66 episodes had aired during this run.

The second run of Tom Baker episodes commenced five months later, on Monday, 12 May 2003, running the five week-days at 4.40pm.

It would appear that these were different versions than the ones that had aired before, and were in English with Polish subtitles or Polish Lektor narration. This included The Sontaran Experiment, which was not part of the previous run.

At some point prior to 1 July 2003, the series moved to the 7pm evening slot until the end of the run.

These five stories / 20 episodes were cycled through three times each, with the final episode airing on Friday, 1 August 2003.


TV listings

Airdates in Poland
← AIRDATES ...... (CLICK ICON TO GO TO TABLE SHOWING EPISODE BREAKDOWN AND AIRDATES - N/S = story title is Not Stated)

We checked a couple of issues of Dziennik Lodzki – and the only listings for "Doktor Kto" (on 14 May and 18 June 1990) are for the Monday morning "repeat" screenings of the German RTL-Plus episodes starring Sylvester McCoy.

The Polish newspaper Trybuna has also been checked for all of 1990 to 1995; this paper did publish comprehensive TV listings for Polish as well as foreign-based terrestrial, cable and satellite channels. And here, the only listings for "Dr Kto" were also for the German station RTL, which was re-screening Sylvester McCoy stories at the time – see example illustrated above. This supports our belief that the series never aired on a local Polish station in the 1990s: the Wikipedia entry is therefore incorrect, and is actually referring to the German Sylvester McCoy episodes.

The TELE5 screenings summary has been collated from Benjamin F Elliott's online guide THIS WEEK IN DOCTOR WHO and updated HERE - although Benjamin does admits that the TELE5 website was in Polish (which he couldn't read) and didn't give titles, so the story information he provided in TWIDW was mostly assumed. While we have adopted the airdates from TWIDW, we have applied the story titles per the table above, which deviates in a few places from what Benjamin was trying to make sense of.

The Tele5 'clippings' here are screen grabs taken from the scant few WayBack Machine entries for the old Tele5 website. Of note, the 20 April 2002 billing dates the first serial as 1987. (This might relate to when the dialogue-free episodes were prepared for the sale to France.)

We also referred to a Polish fan forum (which appears to have now closed?).


Novelisations

Polish novelisations

Three of the Target novels were published in Poland, issued by Publishing Empire in 1993-1994; of these, only the third story was later shown on television:


Poland in Doctor Who


Links