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Doctor Who's Tragical History TourDoctor Who's Tragical History Tour
  • Nu-Who
    • Ncuti Gatwa
    • Jodie Whittaker
    • Peter Capaldi
    • Matt Smith
    • David Tennant
    • Christopher Eccleston
  • Tweeners
    • John Hurt
    • Paul McGann
    • The Master List
    • Regeneration X
    • The Mystery Guest
    • The Hand of Fear
  • Colo(u)r
    • Sylvester McCoy
    • Colin Baker
    • Peter Davison
    • Tom Baker
    • Jon Pertwee
  • Monochrome
    • Patrick Troughton
    • William Hartnell
  • Tour du Jour
    • On This Day in Doctor Who History
    • The House of Holmes
    • 60 for 60
    • 50 for 50
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  • Nu-Who
    1. Ncuti Gatwa
    2. Jodie Whittaker
    3. Peter Capaldi
    4. Matt Smith
    5. David Tennant
    6. Christopher Eccleston
    7. View All

    The Demon Barber of Story Beats

    May 12, 2025

    The Sunday Stratagem

    May 4, 2025

    Five Regenerations Past Midnight

    April 27, 2025

    RTD Has His JN-T Moment

    April 20, 2025

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (24→19)

    November 10, 2023

    Who Told You There Wouldn’t Be Any Math?

    December 5, 2022

    B-Bye Bradley

    October 6, 2022

    Svelte 16

    May 8, 2022

    2024Kristmas #4 – Twice Upon the First

    December 21, 2024

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (18→13)

    November 13, 2023

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (36→31)

    October 12, 2023

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (42→37)

    October 5, 2023

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (12→7)

    November 17, 2023

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (24→19)

    November 10, 2023

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (30→25)

    October 28, 2023

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (48→43)

    September 28, 2023

    2024Kristmas #3 – The Man With All The Toys

    December 16, 2024

    2024Kristmas #2 – It’ll Be a Wild Blue Christmas

    December 10, 2024

    2024Kristmas #1 – Seasons Beastings

    December 3, 2024

    Pre-Embering the Fireplace

    May 5, 2024

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (24→19)

    November 10, 2023

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (42→37)

    October 5, 2023

    The Dark Jacket Dimension

    November 13, 2021

    The (W)hole Ruth

    January 31, 2020

    The Demon Barber of Story Beats

    May 12, 2025

    The Bearable Light-ness of Doctoring

    May 10, 2025

    The Sunday Stratagem

    May 4, 2025

    Five Regenerations Past Midnight

    April 27, 2025
  • Tweeners
    1. John Hurt
    2. Paul McGann
    3. The Master List
    4. Regeneration X
    5. The Mystery Guest
    6. The Hand of Fear
    7. View All

    Hurt So Good: A Doctor and His Umbrella

    April 27, 2023

    Who Told You There Wouldn’t Be Any Math?

    December 5, 2022

    Svelte 16

    May 8, 2022

    Ten’ll Get You Five

    September 4, 2020

    Double Doctor Dastardly Danger

    April 25, 2024

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (60→55)

    September 15, 2023

    McGann Before McGann

    May 26, 2023

    … And All That Yaz

    November 16, 2022

    The Demon Barber of Story Beats

    May 12, 2025

    The Bearable Light-ness of Doctoring

    May 10, 2025

    The Sunday Stratagem

    May 4, 2025

    Five Regenerations Past Midnight

    April 27, 2025

    Ghost Re-Write

    November 16, 2021

    The (W)hole Ruth

    January 31, 2020

    Dup-topia

    January 29, 2020

    The Glue Guy

    June 24, 2018

    Doctor on Doctor ACTION!

    November 19, 2017

    The Wheel in Cheese

    August 10, 2014

    The Hurt Locker

    May 25, 2013

    The Demon Barber of Story Beats

    May 12, 2025

    The Bearable Light-ness of Doctoring

    May 10, 2025

    The Sunday Stratagem

    May 4, 2025

    Five Regenerations Past Midnight

    April 27, 2025

    The Demon Barber of Story Beats

    May 12, 2025

    The Bearable Light-ness of Doctoring

    May 10, 2025

    The Sunday Stratagem

    May 4, 2025

    Five Regenerations Past Midnight

    April 27, 2025
  • Colo(u)r
    1. Sylvester McCoy
    2. Colin Baker
    3. Peter Davison
    4. Tom Baker
    5. Jon Pertwee
    6. View All

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (36→31)

    October 12, 2023

    A Studio Film (or rather a film in the studio)

    June 9, 2023

    … And All That Yaz

    November 16, 2022

    Fivey at Forty: The First Companion Death of 1982

    March 16, 2022

    Sweet, not Effete

    April 5, 2025

    Arguably Arguable

    August 19, 2024

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (48→43)

    September 28, 2023

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (60→55)

    September 15, 2023

    The End of Enlightenment

    January 13, 2025

    What’s in a Number? Occasionally Everything

    November 23, 2024

    A Spot of Gray in a Sea of Color

    November 19, 2024

    ⅔ of a Magic Number, but None Too Shabby Either

    October 1, 2024

    The Truth That Supports the Lie

    March 15, 2025

    The Golden Sweep of Tom Baker Begins

    December 28, 2024

    Déjà Who, All Over Again

    February 8, 2024

    XCited for Tom

    January 27, 2024

    Living Day-to-Day with The Candy Man

    July 31, 2024

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (6→1)

    November 23, 2023

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (30→25)

    October 28, 2023

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (48→43)

    September 28, 2023

    The Demon Barber of Story Beats

    May 12, 2025

    The Bearable Light-ness of Doctoring

    May 10, 2025

    The Sunday Stratagem

    May 4, 2025

    Five Regenerations Past Midnight

    April 27, 2025
  • Monochrome
    1. Patrick Troughton
    2. William Hartnell
    3. View All

    Stock(s) Company

    September 9, 2024

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (18→13)

    November 13, 2023

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (24→19)

    November 10, 2023

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (36→31)

    October 12, 2023

    The TARDIS whirled on it’s way again…

    December 24, 2024

    Have a Feast @ Doctor Who’s Tragical History Tour!

    December 6, 2024

    Quarter Zip

    July 21, 2024

    Roll Without the Rock, or the Schlock

    July 15, 2024

    The Demon Barber of Story Beats

    May 12, 2025

    The Bearable Light-ness of Doctoring

    May 10, 2025

    The Sunday Stratagem

    May 4, 2025

    Five Regenerations Past Midnight

    April 27, 2025
  • Tour du Jour
    • On This Day in Doctor Who History
    • The House of Holmes
    • 60 for 60
    • 50 for 50
    • The Randomizer
    • THT Rand-o-pix of the Day
    • The Feast of Steven
    • Tour Notz
    • The Watcher
    • Contact the Tour
Doctor Who's Tragical History TourDoctor Who's Tragical History Tour
Tour Updates Peter Davison Tom Baker Jon Pertwee

The Beginnings of Colour … In Glorious Black and White!

By -- DSWSeptember 22, 201902 Mins Read
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The Tour, via the RadioTimes, was reminded that September marks the 50th Anniversary of the beginning of colour production of Doctor Who with Spearhead From Space.

The Tour has written about Spearhead before but it’s worth some slight reiteration here.  It’s a unique story in the whole of Classic Who not so much because it heralded the dawn of the color era of the show, or that it was the first story for a new Doctor, or even that it sits somewhat apart even from the stories of an otherwise exceptional Season, the seventh.  Rather it’s all down to the fact that Spearhead From Space was entirely (owing to a BBC strike) shot on film.  As a result Spearhead From Space is glorious to look at and an ideal fit for HD as film inherently holds more information in each frame than videotape.

The article in the RadioTimes also included a dozen or so gorgeous shots of Pertwee in all of his resplendency which we have folded into our own gallery.  Most of these we had already but not in this quality.  The hilarious part is that these shots are all in magnificent monochrome.

When the first wave for Doctor Who hit the states in the mid-eighties and expanded beyond Tom Baker’s considerable output, PBS stations where and when they could went both forward and backward for their offerings.  Peter Davison got incorporated in but so did Jon Pertwee, with a catch.

The Great Purge of the BBC Archives touched the Pertwee era in considerable and wildly inconsistent ways and at that time the Pertwee stories were complete, both not all in color.  It wasn’t uncommon to see Inferno in color one week and Terror of the Autons in black and white the next.  Invasion of the Dinosaurs fared worst of all, with episode 1 in B&W and the rest in color.

Poorer quality color versions of these stories would eventually surface, and restorations would heal many others, so seeing Pertwee as an extension of the 60’s monochrome era wasn’t all that unusual back then.  Of course, it’s also worth remembering that many license payers didn’t even own a color set back in 1970, so seeing Pertwee in grey was just part of the overall experience.

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The Most Magnificent Caps in the History of History Itself Cyber-Leader is the New Black The Grizzled of Blahs
Spearhead From Space Terror of the Autons Inferno Tour Updates Tom Baker Peter Davison Jon Pertwee
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On This Day in Doctor Who History

May 2025

Saturday May 17

1969: The War Games [5]
Recurs yearly
2008: The Unicorn and the Wasp
Recurs yearly
2025: The Interstellar Song Contest
Recurs yearly

Sunday May 18

1968: The Wheel in Space [4]
Recurs yearly
1974: Planet of the Spiders [3]
Recurs yearly
2013: The Name of the Doctor
Recurs yearly
2024: Boom
Recurs yearly

Monday May 19

1973: The Green Death [1]
Recurs yearly
2007: 42
Recurs yearly

Tuesday May 20

1967: The Evil of the Daleks [1]
Recurs yearly
1972: The Time Monster [1]
Recurs yearly
2006: The Age of Steel
Recurs yearly
2017: Extremis
Recurs yearly

Wednesday May 21

1966: The Gunfighters [4--The OK Corral]
Recurs yearly
2005: The Empty Child
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Random Thoughts

The Great Migration Begins

By -- DSWJanuary 4, 2014 Tour Updates 2 Mins Read

Doctor on Doctor ACTION!

By -- DSWNovember 19, 2017 Tangential Tardis 2 Mins Read

The (School) Ties That Bind

By -- DSWMarch 23, 2014 Tour Updates 2 Mins Read
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  6. ► City of Death
  7. ► The Giggle
  8. ► Planet of Fire
  9. ► Lucky Day -- Screen Captures
  10. ► Lucky Day
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