Difference between revisions of "Slipback"

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{{episodes||"22"|6|25 Jul to 8 Aug 1985|Revelation of the Daleks|The Trial of a Time Lord|}}'''SLIPBACK''' was a 6-part radio serial broadcast over three weeks on BBC Radio 4 as part of its Thursday morning '''"Pirate Radio 4"''' magazine programme for children. Written by Eric Saward, and starring Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant, it was made while the television series was on its enforced hiatus.  
+
{{episodes||"22"|6|25 Jul to 8 Aug 1985|Revelation of the Daleks|The Trial of a Time Lord|}}
 +
{{TOC right}}
 +
'''SLIPBACK''' was a 6-part serial broadcast over a three week period on BBC Radio 4 as part of its Thursday morning '''"Pirate Radio 4"''' magazine programme for children. Written by Eric Saward, and starring Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant, it was made while the television series was on its enforced 18 month hiatus.
 +
{{TOC right}}
 +
Parts 1 and 2 aired on Thursday, '''25 July 1985''' (at 10am and 11.45am respectively); parts 3 and 4 on '''1 August 1985''' (at 9.50am and 11.26am); and the final two episodes on '''8 August 1985''' (at 9.44 and 11.36am). Parts 1 to 5 were just over 10 minutes each, while the sixth and final instalment was slightly longer at 11 minutes.  
  
−
Parts 1 and 2 aired on Thursday, '''25 July 1985''' (at 10am and 11.45am respectively); parts 3 and 4 on '''1 August 1985''' (at 9.50am and 11.26am); and the final two episodes on '''8 August 1985''' (at 9.44 and 11.36am). Parts 1 to 5 were just over 10 minutes each, while the sixth and final instalment was slightly longer at 11 minutes.
+
{{image table
 +
|[[File:1985-07-20 Radio Times.jpg|150px|thumb|Parts 1-2]]
 +
|[[File:1985-07-27 Radio Times p65.jpg|350px|thumb|Parts 3-4. ''Back Pages'' at the [http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Pirate_of_the_airwaves Cuttings Archive]]]|[[File:1985-08-03 Radio Times.jpg|200px|thumb|Parts 5-6]]
 +
}}
  
−
The serial was likely later broadcast on the [[wikipedia:BBC World Service|BBC's World Service]] radio, and therefore heard in parts of Europe, Africa, the Middle East, north America, the Caribbean, and Asia. 
+
The story was subsequently novelised by Saward and published by Target Books in '''1986'''. The radio recording was later released as a double-cassette by BBC Audio in '''1988''' (this was paired with the abridged edition of [[Genesis of the Daleks]] that had been issued as an LP in 1979). In '''2001''', the two-story set was put out on CD under the BBC Radio Collection brand.  
−
[[File:SlipWVIK.jpg|thumb|right|350px|Newspaper ad for WVIK FM radio, 31 January 1986]]
 
−
[[File:SlipLARadio.JPG|right|thumb|275px|LA Times listing for KCRW-FM, 7 May 1986]]
 
−
The story was subsequently novelised and published by Target Books in 1986. The radio recording was also later released on BBC Audio cassette (in 1988; paired with the abridged edition of [[Genesis of the Daleks]] that had been issued as an LP) and as a BBC Radio Collection CD (in 2001).  
 
  
−
From '''22 November 2003''', BBC's '''Radio 7''' aired the serial as part of the broadcaster's week-long 40th Anniversary celebrations.
+
From '''22 November 2003''', BBC's '''Radio 7''' repeated the serial for the first time as part of the broadcaster's week-long '''Doctor Who''' 40th Anniversary celebrations.  
  
  
 
==Foreign Transmissions==
 
==Foreign Transmissions==
  
−
Unsurprisingly, the radio serial had very few broadcasts outside the UK.
+
The radio serial had few broadcasts outside the UK. Only the following are known about, but there may well be others.
  
 
{| {{small-table}}
 
{| {{small-table}}
 +
|-
 +
|BBC World Service||Jan 86||Internationally
 
|-
 
|-
 
|[[United States]]||Feb 86||National Public Radio
 
|[[United States]]||Feb 86||National Public Radio
Line 22: Line 28:
 
|-
 
|-
 
|}
 
|}
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*'''[[wikipedia:WVIK|WVIK (90.1 FM)]]''' aired the "mini-series" from Saturday, '''1 February 1986''' at 9.15am, as part of its '''Saturday Morning Live''' programme. (It's unknown if it aired in a single session on this date, or if it was serialised over several hours, or days or weeks.). The station was based at Augustana College, Rock Island, [[Illinois]], and was one of the [[United States]] [[wikipedia:National Public Radio|National Public Radio]] (NPR) stations available in parts of [[Iowa]] and [[Illinois]].
+
 
 +
 
 +
===BBC WORLD SERVICE===
 +
 
 +
From '''early 1986''', the serial was broadcast on the [[wikipedia:BBC World Service|BBC's World Service]] radio network. The BBCWS - which was primarily for news and current affairs - could be heard in certain parts of '''Europe, Africa, the Middle East, North America, the Caribbean, Asia and Australasia''', however drama content would likely have been only on the feeds going to countries where English was spoken.
 +
 
 +
Comprehensive listings for BBC World Service rarely appear in foreign newspapers - which tend to print only the schedules for local radio stations - so the full extent of which countries got '''Slipback''' is unknown. (Based on available information, we are fairly certain the serial did ''not'' play on BBCWS in [[Australia]] or [[New Zealand]] in the 1980s...)
 +
 
 +
 
 +
'''ASIA'''
 +
 
 +
The serial ''did'' air in this region - listings for '''Slipback''' have been found in a [[Singapore]] newspaper. The broadcasts heard in '''Singapore''' could also be received in '''[[Malaysia]]'''. BBCWS was also available in [[Hong Kong]], so it's likely it was also heard there.
 +
[[File:RadioSingapore1986.JPG|right|thumb|350px|Radio Highlights: Singapore Straits Times, 12 January 1986]]
 +
 
 +
The Singapore ''Straits Times'' for '''12 January 1986''' carried a small preview in its '''Radio Highlights of the Week''' section, although it states the serial was on Wednesdays, not also Mondays.   
 +
 
 +
Part one of '''Slipback''' aired on Monday, '''13 January 1986''' in a 10 minute timeslot from 12.45pm to 12.55pm in the afternoon. The episode aired again on Wednesday, '''15 January 1986''' in the mid-evening slot of 7.15 to 7.25pm.
 +
 
 +
The serial continued to air those two weekdays in the same slots.
 +
 
 +
Coincidentally (?), a brief run of Tom Baker serials commenced on [[Malaysia|Malaysian]] TV from  '''6 February 1986''', the same week that the advertised fourth instalment of the radio play aired - and a mix up at the newspaper ''Malay Mail'' placed a synopsis for '''Slipback''' against the billing for [[Meglos]] part 1!
 +
 
 +
Both the ''Straits Times'' and Singapore ''Business Times'' contained weekly radio listings for '''"Doctor Who"''' through until Monday, '''24 February 1986''' and Wednesday, '''26 February 1986'''.
 +
 
 +
HOWEVER, that's a span of '''seven''' weeks. Since there were only six instalments, there must have been at least one pre-emption of each episode during that period but it is unknown which week/s this was. 
 +
 
 +
{{Image table
 +
|[[File:RadioSingaporelisting.JPG|right|thumb|250px|Generic Monday listings from Singapore Business Times - "Doctor Who" at 12.45pm]]|[[File:RadioSingaporelisting2.JPG|right|thumb|300px|Generic Wednesday listings from Singapore Straits Times - "Doctor Who" at 7.15pm]]|[[File:Malay Meglos.JPG|thumb|right|200px|Malay Times synopsis error; 6 February 1986]]
 +
}}
 +
{{clear}}
 +
 
 +
----
 +
 
 +
===UNITED STATES===
 +
[[File:SlipWVIK.jpg|thumb|right|350px|Newspaper ad for WVIK FM radio, 31 January 1986]]
 +
While the serial was playing on the BBC World Service, it also appeared on a couple of US radio stations:
 +
 
 +
*'''[[wikipedia:WVIK|WVIK (90.1 FM)]]''' aired the mini-series from Saturday, '''1 February 1986''' at 9.15am, as part of its '''Saturday Morning Live''' programme. (It's unknown if it aired in a single session on this date, or if it was serialised over several hours, or days or weeks.). The station was based at Augustana College, Rock Island, [[Illinois]], and was one of the [[United States]] [[wikipedia:National Public Radio|National Public Radio]] (NPR) stations available in parts of [[Iowa]] and [[Illinois]].
  
 
*[[Los Angeles]] station '''[[wikipedia:KCRW|KCRW-FM (89.9)]]''' broadcast each episode twice per week, on Wednesdays at 7pm and again on Thursdays at 3.45pm, from '''7 May 1986''' to '''12 June 1986'''. A [[wikipedia:National Public Radio|National Public Radio]] (NPR) station, it was based on campus at Santa Monica College and broadcast to the greater Los Angeles area.   
 
*[[Los Angeles]] station '''[[wikipedia:KCRW|KCRW-FM (89.9)]]''' broadcast each episode twice per week, on Wednesdays at 7pm and again on Thursdays at 3.45pm, from '''7 May 1986''' to '''12 June 1986'''. A [[wikipedia:National Public Radio|National Public Radio]] (NPR) station, it was based on campus at Santa Monica College and broadcast to the greater Los Angeles area.   
 +
 +
There may very well have been broadcasts of '''Slipback''' on other NPR stations across the United States, but these radio listings may have simply said "Dr Who / Doctor Who" in the papers, and as such cannot be easily traced with OCR searches.
 +
{{Image table
 +
|[[File:SlipLARadio.JPG|right|thumb|275px|LA Times listing for KCRW-FM, 7 May 1986]]|[[File:SlipbackCDUSA.JPG|right|thumb|200px|US tape cassette release of the serial]]
 +
}}
 +
The '''Slipback''' / [[Genesis of the Daleks]] double-cassette (see above) was released in the States by The Mind's Eye in late '''1989'''.
 +
 +
 +
----
 +
===NEW ZEALAND===
 +
 +
Although BBC World Service was available in New Zealand, '''Slipback''' didn't air there in 1986. It was however broadcast 11 years later on local radio...
  
 
*[[New Zealand]]'s '''National Radio''' transmitted the serial to the whole country for three weeks from Saturday, '''20 September 1997''' to '''4 October 1997''', playing two episodes during a 3.06 to 4.04pm timeslot (although the three billings in the ''New Zealand Listener'' incorrectly said "Pt 1 of 6", "Pt 2 of 6", "Pt 3 of 6"). National Radio broadcast on a network basis, but on different frequencies around the country.  
 
*[[New Zealand]]'s '''National Radio''' transmitted the serial to the whole country for three weeks from Saturday, '''20 September 1997''' to '''4 October 1997''', playing two episodes during a 3.06 to 4.04pm timeslot (although the three billings in the ''New Zealand Listener'' incorrectly said "Pt 1 of 6", "Pt 2 of 6", "Pt 3 of 6"). National Radio broadcast on a network basis, but on different frequencies around the country.  
 +
[[File:Slipback1.JPG|left|thumb|500px|NZ National Radio listing for "Pt 1 of 6" [sic]; NZ Listener, 20 September 1997]]
 +
{{clear}}
 +
*It was repeated on New Zealand radio six years later, weekly on Sundays, from '''23 November 2003''' to '''28 December 2003''', during the 4.50 to 5.10pm slot. Like  BBC Radio 7 (see above), this was scheduled to celebrate the TV series' 40th anniversary.
  
−
*It was repeated on New Zealand radio six years later, weekly on Sundays, from '''23 November 2003''' to '''28 December 2003''', during the 4.50 to 5.10pm slot. Like  BBC Radio 7, this was scheduled to celebrate the TV series' 40th anniversary.
 
  
−
*These are the only known foreign transmissions that we could identify, only because the newspapers gave the serial's title; there may well be many other NPR broadcasts in the United States where newspaper radio listings just said "Dr Who", and as such they could not be identified.
 
  
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*The only other known instance of "Slipback" overseas was the unusual appearance of a synopsis for the radio serial being used as the billing for the first episode of [[Meglos]], when it aired in [[Malaysia]] in February 1986!
 
−
[[File:Slipback1.JPG|left|thumb|450px|National Radio listing; NZ Listener 20 September 1997]]{{clear}}
 
−
==Radio Times listings==
 
−
{{image table
 
−
|[[File:1985-07-20 Radio Times.jpg|150px|thumb|Parts 1-2]]
 
−
|[[File:1985-07-27 Radio Times p65.jpg|350px|thumb|Parts 3-4. ''Back Pages'' at the [http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Pirate_of_the_airwaves Cuttings Archive]]]
 
−
|[[File:1985-08-03 Radio Times.jpg|200px|thumb|Parts 5-6]]
 
−
}}
 
 
[[Category:Documentaries and specials]]
 
[[Category:Documentaries and specials]]

Revision as of 20:44, 8 October 2021

Story Code: / Season "22" UK Airdate: 25 Jul to 8 Aug 1985 Doctor: Colin Baker
First airings by location UK Repeats / Foreign Cable and Satellite Previous Story / Next Story

SLIPBACK was a 6-part serial broadcast over a three week period on BBC Radio 4 as part of its Thursday morning "Pirate Radio 4" magazine programme for children. Written by Eric Saward, and starring Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant, it was made while the television series was on its enforced 18 month hiatus.

Parts 1 and 2 aired on Thursday, 25 July 1985 (at 10am and 11.45am respectively); parts 3 and 4 on 1 August 1985 (at 9.50am and 11.26am); and the final two episodes on 8 August 1985 (at 9.44 and 11.36am). Parts 1 to 5 were just over 10 minutes each, while the sixth and final instalment was slightly longer at 11 minutes.

Parts 1-2
Parts 3-4. Back Pages at the Cuttings Archive
Parts 5-6


The story was subsequently novelised by Saward and published by Target Books in 1986. The radio recording was later released as a double-cassette by BBC Audio in 1988 (this was paired with the abridged edition of Genesis of the Daleks that had been issued as an LP in 1979). In 2001, the two-story set was put out on CD under the BBC Radio Collection brand.

From 22 November 2003, BBC's Radio 7 repeated the serial for the first time as part of the broadcaster's week-long Doctor Who 40th Anniversary celebrations.


Foreign Transmissions

The radio serial had few broadcasts outside the UK. Only the following are known about, but there may well be others.

BBC World Service Jan 86 Internationally
United States Feb 86 National Public Radio
New Zealand Sep 97 National Radio


BBC WORLD SERVICE

From early 1986, the serial was broadcast on the BBC's World Service radio network. The BBCWS - which was primarily for news and current affairs - could be heard in certain parts of Europe, Africa, the Middle East, North America, the Caribbean, Asia and Australasia, however drama content would likely have been only on the feeds going to countries where English was spoken.

Comprehensive listings for BBC World Service rarely appear in foreign newspapers - which tend to print only the schedules for local radio stations - so the full extent of which countries got Slipback is unknown. (Based on available information, we are fairly certain the serial did not play on BBCWS in Australia or New Zealand in the 1980s...)


ASIA

The serial did air in this region - listings for Slipback have been found in a Singapore newspaper. The broadcasts heard in Singapore could also be received in Malaysia. BBCWS was also available in Hong Kong, so it's likely it was also heard there.

Radio Highlights: Singapore Straits Times, 12 January 1986

The Singapore Straits Times for 12 January 1986 carried a small preview in its Radio Highlights of the Week section, although it states the serial was on Wednesdays, not also Mondays.

Part one of Slipback aired on Monday, 13 January 1986 in a 10 minute timeslot from 12.45pm to 12.55pm in the afternoon. The episode aired again on Wednesday, 15 January 1986 in the mid-evening slot of 7.15 to 7.25pm.

The serial continued to air those two weekdays in the same slots.

Coincidentally (?), a brief run of Tom Baker serials commenced on Malaysian TV from 6 February 1986, the same week that the advertised fourth instalment of the radio play aired - and a mix up at the newspaper Malay Mail placed a synopsis for Slipback against the billing for Meglos part 1!

Both the Straits Times and Singapore Business Times contained weekly radio listings for "Doctor Who" through until Monday, 24 February 1986 and Wednesday, 26 February 1986.

HOWEVER, that's a span of seven weeks. Since there were only six instalments, there must have been at least one pre-emption of each episode during that period but it is unknown which week/s this was.

Generic Monday listings from Singapore Business Times - "Doctor Who" at 12.45pm
Generic Wednesday listings from Singapore Straits Times - "Doctor Who" at 7.15pm
Malay Times synopsis error; 6 February 1986



UNITED STATES

Newspaper ad for WVIK FM radio, 31 January 1986

While the serial was playing on the BBC World Service, it also appeared on a couple of US radio stations:

  • WVIK (90.1 FM) aired the mini-series from Saturday, 1 February 1986 at 9.15am, as part of its Saturday Morning Live programme. (It's unknown if it aired in a single session on this date, or if it was serialised over several hours, or days or weeks.). The station was based at Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois, and was one of the United States National Public Radio (NPR) stations available in parts of Iowa and Illinois.
  • Los Angeles station KCRW-FM (89.9) broadcast each episode twice per week, on Wednesdays at 7pm and again on Thursdays at 3.45pm, from 7 May 1986 to 12 June 1986. A National Public Radio (NPR) station, it was based on campus at Santa Monica College and broadcast to the greater Los Angeles area.

There may very well have been broadcasts of Slipback on other NPR stations across the United States, but these radio listings may have simply said "Dr Who / Doctor Who" in the papers, and as such cannot be easily traced with OCR searches.

LA Times listing for KCRW-FM, 7 May 1986
US tape cassette release of the serial


The Slipback / Genesis of the Daleks double-cassette (see above) was released in the States by The Mind's Eye in late 1989.


NEW ZEALAND

Although BBC World Service was available in New Zealand, Slipback didn't air there in 1986. It was however broadcast 11 years later on local radio...

  • New Zealand's National Radio transmitted the serial to the whole country for three weeks from Saturday, 20 September 1997 to 4 October 1997, playing two episodes during a 3.06 to 4.04pm timeslot (although the three billings in the New Zealand Listener incorrectly said "Pt 1 of 6", "Pt 2 of 6", "Pt 3 of 6"). National Radio broadcast on a network basis, but on different frequencies around the country.
NZ National Radio listing for "Pt 1 of 6" [sic]; NZ Listener, 20 September 1997
  • It was repeated on New Zealand radio six years later, weekly on Sundays, from 23 November 2003 to 28 December 2003, during the 4.50 to 5.10pm slot. Like BBC Radio 7 (see above), this was scheduled to celebrate the TV series' 40th anniversary.
Retrieved from "https://broadwcast.org/index.php?title=Slipback&oldid=26883"