Sunday 31 December 2017

The Unhelpful Dr Who Radio Times Listing Game


Oh good, it's been long enough since I last wrote an article where I just plugged something into the BBC Genome search to see what I could find that I can do another one -- erm, by which I mean, here's a special New Year's Eve treat. Some of the Radio Times descriptors for episodes of the BBC's popular science fiction serial Doctor Who have tended to be very unhelpful or vague when divorced from the context of the rest of the listing, so I've compiled a list of some and now challenge you, the reader, to tell which episode they're from. All the descriptions are reproduced in their entirety, with answers at the bottom of the post.

  1. Tardis flies far into the future and Susan decides to go paddling.
  2. The Doctor faces the unknown dangers of an alien planet.
  3. The travellers move in for the final battle, unaware of what awaits them.
  4. The future of the world is at stake as the Doctor confronts his most fearsome adversary... and loses!
  5. The Doctor's ship flies into the future and meets all the exciting mysteries of the unknown.
  6. Who are the Warriors?
  7. The Daleks conceive a plan - to exterminate Dr Who and his friends!
  8. What is the significance of the windchimes?
  9. The Tardis disappears and an invasion begins.
  10. Why are the villagers so afraid?
  11. The Doctor finds a wish come true and Barbara has a nightmare.
  12. What is the secret of the well-furnished cell?
  13. As time runs out, the Doctor plans a charge.
  14. Will the Master succeed this time?
  15. A hidden enemy threatens, and Ian is caught off guard.
  16. Who is the true demon?
  17. The Daleks prepare for action.
  18. Why is the Doctor behaving so strangely?
  19. Ian and Barbara hear the whispers of death.
  20. The Cybermen move in for their final attack.
  21. The Doctor discovers a secret that's designed to kill.
  22. Triumph for the Doctor, and a new danger appears.
  23. The Doctor plays a desperate game of bluff - will it work?
  24. Who is the unknown?
  25. Surrounded by every kind of danger, the travellers discover a new sort of death.
  26. Will the Doctor's regeneration succeed?
  27. The enemies are revealed and the Doctor plays his last trick.
  28. space adventure













ANSWERS
  1. The Keys of Marinus: "The Sea of Death" (ep 1)
  2. Colony in Space, ep 1
  3. The Web Planet: "Invasion" (ep 5)
  4. Pyramids of Mars, ep 3
  5. The Sensorites: "Strangers in Space" (ep 1)
  6. Castrovalva, ep 2
  7. The Chase: "The Executioners" (ep 1)
  8. Kinda, ep 1. Okay, you probably got that one, but it's too ludicrous for me not to include.
  9. The Time Meddler: "A Battle of Wits" (ep 3)
  10. The Visitation, ep 1
  11. The Keys of Marinus: "The Velvet Web" (ep 2)
  12. Black Orchid, ep 1
  13. Galaxy 4: "The Exploding Planet" (ep 4)
  14. Time-Flight, ep 4
  15. The Sensorites: "Hidden Danger" (ep 3)
  16. The King's Demons, ep 1
  17. The Power of the Daleks, ep 5
  18. The Trial of a Time Lord, ep 6
  19. The Keys of Marinus: "The Screaming Jungle" (ep 3)
  20. The Moonbase, ep 4
  21. The Curse of Fenric, ep 2
  22. The Sensorites: "A Race Against Death" (ep 4)
  23. The Faceless Ones, ep 6
  24. Black Orchid, ep 2
  25. Planet of Giants: "A Dangerous Journey" (ep 2)
  26. Castrovalva, ep 4
  27. The Sensorites: "A Desperate Venture" (ep 6)
  28. As you may have guessed, this one's a bit of a cheat. In the mid-1970s the show wasn't networked across all the BBC's regional channels, and this is what the show was described as in the regional variations listing for BBC One Wales, which showed the programme on a different day of the week. This could therefore apply to several episodes, but for argument's sake, let's say it's The Time Warrior part 3.

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