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Public Broadcasting Service: Difference between revisions
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== The general shape of PBS stations' buying patterns == | == The general shape of PBS stations' buying patterns == | ||
Although a handful of pioneering PBS stations may have begun broadcasting ''Doctor Who'' with a few [[Jon Pertwee]] stories (Chicago's WTTW showed some episodes in 1975, sometimes without a discernible order), <ref>http://chicago.epguides.com/doctorwho/WTTW.asp</ref> ''Doctor Who'' broadcasting on PBS stations largely began with the Time + Life distribution of [[season 12|seasons 12]] to [[season 15|15]]. These initially appeared as individual episodes, with [[Howard Da Silva]] linking narration at the top of episodes to explain things for viewers who may have forgotten where the narrative had left off. These three seasons were put onto a loop my most of the stations that carried them, because the stations had bought the right to show the episodes a certain number of times. The fact that this initial package ended with ''[[The Invasion of Time]]'' allows us to date general American involvement with ''Doctor Who'' to no earlier than about 1978. | Although a handful of pioneering PBS stations may have begun broadcasting ''Doctor Who'' with a few [[Jon Pertwee]] stories (Chicago's WTTW showed some episodes in 1975, sometimes without a discernible order), <ref>http://chicago.epguides.com/doctorwho/WTTW.asp</ref> ''Doctor Who'' broadcasting on PBS stations largely began with the Time + Life distribution of [[season 12|seasons 12]] to [[season 15|15]]. These initially appeared as individual episodes, with [[Howard Da Silva]] linking narration at the top of episodes to explain things for viewers who may have forgotten where the narrative had left off. These three seasons were put onto a loop my most of the stations that carried them, because the stations had bought the right to show the episodes a certain number of times. The fact that this initial package ended with ''[[The Invasion of Time (TV story)|The Invasion of Time]]'' allows us to date general American involvement with ''Doctor Who'' to no earlier than about 1978. | ||
PBS would then obtain rights to subsequent seasons. Usually, the prospect of getting the new season was used as an incentive during PBS donation requests, or "pledge drives". As each new season was added to the library of the particular station, the "Tom Baker loop" would grow ever longer. Each station would go as far as they could with their Baker episodes, then snap back to ''[[Robot (TV story)|Robot]]'', and do it all again. Thus, Tom Baker is particularly vivid in the minds of many American fans because his adventures were played so often. Eventually, the [[Peter Davison]] and [[Colin Baker]] seasons were added to many PBS station libraries. | PBS would then obtain rights to subsequent seasons. Usually, the prospect of getting the new season was used as an incentive during PBS donation requests, or "pledge drives". As each new season was added to the library of the particular station, the "Tom Baker loop" would grow ever longer. Each station would go as far as they could with their Baker episodes, then snap back to ''[[Robot (TV story)|Robot]]'', and do it all again. Thus, Tom Baker is particularly vivid in the minds of many American fans because his adventures were played so often. Eventually, the [[Peter Davison]] and [[Colin Baker]] seasons were added to many PBS station libraries. | ||
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Arguably, the influence of the PBS broadcasts reached their zenith on November 23, 1983, the 20th anniversary of ''Doctor Who'', when PBS broadcasters aired the anniversary special ''[[The Five Doctors (TV story)|The Five Doctors]]'', several days ''before'' the BBC. | Arguably, the influence of the PBS broadcasts reached their zenith on November 23, 1983, the 20th anniversary of ''Doctor Who'', when PBS broadcasters aired the anniversary special ''[[The Five Doctors (TV story)|The Five Doctors]]'', several days ''before'' the BBC. | ||
Sales to PBS stations began to drop off around the time ''[[The Trial of a Time Lord]]'' went up for sale. There were a variety of reasons. One of the biggest was the advent of the VHS recorder. This allowed American fans to copy episodes of ''Doctor Who'', which were being replayed on a regular basis. It was possible for viewers in some markets to get a complete Tom Baker-Colin Baker run in about a year, if they were so inclined. Also, [[BBC Video]] had begun releasing official NTSC VHS editions of stories at that point. Thus, there was simply less actual need for a PBS station. Negative press surrounding the Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy eras may have played a contributing factor, but this cannot be proven, and certainly many PBS stations continued to air the series all the way through to ''[[Survival (TV story)|Survival]]'', which began to appear on PBS broadcasters in Detroit and elsewhere in 1990. | Sales to PBS stations began to drop off around the time ''[[Season 23|The Trial of a Time Lord]]'' went up for sale. There were a variety of reasons. One of the biggest was the advent of the VHS recorder. This allowed American fans to copy episodes of ''Doctor Who'', which were being replayed on a regular basis. It was possible for viewers in some markets to get a complete Tom Baker-Colin Baker run in about a year, if they were so inclined. Also, [[BBC Video]] had begun releasing official NTSC VHS editions of stories at that point. Thus, there was simply less actual need for a PBS station. Negative press surrounding the Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy eras may have played a contributing factor, but this cannot be proven, and certainly many PBS stations continued to air the series all the way through to ''[[Survival (TV story)|Survival]]'', which began to appear on PBS broadcasters in Detroit and elsewhere in 1990. | ||
It was around this time that many PBS stations chose to look backward instead of forwards. In the late 1980s, they began to more strongly buy existing [[serial]]s from the [[William Hartnell]], [[Patrick Troughton]] and [[Jon Pertwee]] eras. | It was around this time that many PBS stations chose to look backward instead of forwards. In the late 1980s, they began to more strongly buy existing [[serial]]s from the [[William Hartnell]], [[Patrick Troughton]] and [[Jon Pertwee]] eras. | ||
== The PBS "omnibus" == | == The PBS "omnibus" == | ||
PBS broadcasts of ''Doctor Who'' in the 1980s and 1990s often used an "omnibus" format. Instead of airing each individual episode on a weekly or daily basis, each [[serial]] was edited together into a movie format. This meant that individual broadcasts could be as short as 45 minutes (for broadcasts of 2-episode stories), to 90 minutes which was the most common length for airing a stiched-together four-episode story, to a four hour marathon in the case of ''[[The War Games]]'' (''[[The Trial of a Time Lord]]'', however, was never broadcast as a single omnibus, but was aired in four instalments broken down by the generally-defined story arcs — three 90-minute episodes followed by a 45-minute conclusion). Due to the independent nature of affiliate stations, however, viewers in one part of the United States often had a very different experience of ''Doctor Who'' than those in another. Some stations exclusively aired omnibus editions, some never did. And some stations broadcast omnibuses on the weekend, while transmitting standard episodes during the week. | PBS broadcasts of ''Doctor Who'' in the 1980s and 1990s often used an "omnibus" format. Instead of airing each individual episode on a weekly or daily basis, each [[serial]] was edited together into a movie format. This meant that individual broadcasts could be as short as 45 minutes (for broadcasts of 2-episode stories), to 90 minutes which was the most common length for airing a stiched-together four-episode story, to a four hour marathon in the case of ''[[The War Games (TV story)|The War Games]]'' (''[[Season 23|The Trial of a Time Lord]]'', however, was never broadcast as a single omnibus, but was aired in four instalments broken down by the generally-defined story arcs — three 90-minute episodes followed by a 45-minute conclusion). Due to the independent nature of affiliate stations, however, viewers in one part of the United States often had a very different experience of ''Doctor Who'' than those in another. Some stations exclusively aired omnibus editions, some never did. And some stations broadcast omnibuses on the weekend, while transmitting standard episodes during the week. | ||
The omnibus format varied in quality with regards to episode transitions. Sometimes cliffhangers were edited together smoothly, while other times the "electronic scream" episode-ending sound effect and sometimes a few moments of the episode opening credits were accidentally left in (this occurred frequently with Davison-era episodes). Some Pertwee omnibus episodes would switch from colour to black and white and back again in the case of serials where only B&W prints of some episodes survived; ''[[Invasion of the Dinosaurs (TV story)|Invasion of the Dinosaurs]]'' was the only incomplete serial to be broadcast by PBS, with its then-missing first episode omitted (when the missing episode was recovered, a complete omnibus was compiled). | The omnibus format varied in quality with regards to episode transitions. Sometimes cliffhangers were edited together smoothly, while other times the "electronic scream" episode-ending sound effect and sometimes a few moments of the episode opening credits were accidentally left in (this occurred frequently with Davison-era episodes). Some Pertwee omnibus episodes would switch from colour to black and white and back again in the case of serials where only B&W prints of some episodes survived; ''[[Invasion of the Dinosaurs (TV story)|Invasion of the Dinosaurs]]'' was the only incomplete serial to be broadcast by PBS, with its then-missing first episode omitted (when the missing episode was recovered, a complete omnibus was compiled). | ||
