Surviving Doctor Who - an A-Z

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Surviving Doctor Who - an A-Z was a two part radio program originally broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra as part of The 7th Dimension and then released on BBC Sounds. Created and presented by Toby Hadoke, the two episodes defined one word or short phrase for each letter of the alphabet, providing relevant facts and information for each. This formed part of the 60th anniversary celebrations.

Toby Hadoke also acted as the announcer for BBC Radio 4 Extra. As such, he introduced the program himself. Hadoke also produced a brief trailer for the program which he shared on his Twitter account.[1]

Publisher's summary[[edit] | [edit source]]

Comedian Toby Hadoke presents a wry insight into the ups and downs of being one of the universe's most misunderstood species: the Doctor Who fan. From Anticipointment to Zarbi, via Kennedy (John F) and Underpants (Tom Baker) here's a guide to everything you need to know about surviving being a follower of one of TV's strangest and greatest hits, using a true fan's favourite thing: a list.[2][3]

Words and phrases used[[edit] | [edit source]]

Episode 1[[edit] | [edit source]]

Anticipointment[nb 1]
Hadoke defined this term as the condition experienced when one's love of something is twinged with a feeling of dread and talks about how pessimistic Doctor Who fans can be.
Broken
How the Doctor's TARDIS is broken, stuck as a police box, and how this represents how Doctor Who isn't about people who are perfect but instead about someones who's a "shambles".
Cliffhangers
Cliffhangers and how everyone has their favourite.
Diddly-dum
The Doctor Who theme tune.
Exterminate
The Daleks and their fame.
Facts
A few of Toby Hadoke's favourite facts. Namely, that Ridley Scott was originally supposed to design the Daleks, that a clip of The Beatles from a Top of the Pops episode that is now otherwise lost media was used in an episode of The Chase, that The Mutants is mentioned in The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie, that the person who punched Bernard Levin on That Was the Week That Was composed some music used in The Edge of Destruction, and that Esmond Knight was a high-end guest star in The Space Pirates but that no-one knows what his character looked like due to the episodes in question being missing and no photos being known to exist.
Grotesque 7
About how Grotesque 7 was the font used in the original end credits of Doctor Who which was later replaced by other fonts such as Futura Bold and Formula 1. Hadoke describes how the credits used to scroll a lot slower in older TV and complains that the current practice of scrolling the credits quickly and speaking over the ending music is "the start of the cultural apocalypse and the final nail in humanity's coffin".
Hanky-panky
Doctor Who's old rule of "no hanky-panky in the TARDIS" and how this has been broken.
I think you'll find
How Doctor Who fans enjoy correcting mistakes. Hadoke specificially highlights how someone likely has already contacted him to tell him that the font "Grotesque 13" was actually used for the end credits, not "Grotesque 7". Hadoke explains how this is a common misconception and that, while "Grotesque 13" is the closest electronic font, "Grotesque 7" was the actual analogue font used.
Jokes
Doctor Who's sense of humour.
Kennedy, John F.
How John F. Kennedy was assassinated the day before the first episode of Doctor Who was broadcast. Hadoke notes how this fact often suprises the "not we" (people who aren't fans of Doctor Who).
Lists
How Doctor Who fans like producing lists.
Missing episodes
How Doctor Who has many missing episodes, how episodes have been returned, how reconstructions have been produced and how the missing status of some stories has helped Hadoke to appreciate them more.

Episode 2[[edit] | [edit source]]

Nightmare Child
The Nightmare Child from The Stolen Earth, an example of an off-screen event referenced in a TV episode. Other examples include President Zarb, the Filipino Army's march on Reykjavik in the 51st century and the Zodin.
Old
How Hadoke considers episodes from 2005 to be new when they're actually old. Hadoke explains how Doctor Who's longevity is due to the "genius" idea of having the Doctor regenerate when he gets old, allowing the show to last forever.
P45 return route
Hadoke gives the P45 return route as an example of politics (which "P" could also stand for), explaining how Doctor Who often reflects the politics of its time. Other examples include Peladon trying to enter the Galactic Federation (which Hadoke likens to the Common Market), Peladon being on a miners' strike, the Slitheen manipulating the people of Earth by invoking "massive weapons of destruction which could be unleashed in 45 seconds".
Quiz of Rassilon
Hadoke explains how the Quiz of Rassilon is a quiz, named after Rassilon, which became especially significant during the lockdowns of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hadoke explains how Doctor Who led the way in lockdown with Doctor Who: Lockdown!'s tweetalongs organised by Emily Cook and describes how this led the way to David Tennant, Catherine Tate and Russell T Davies returning to the show.
Reith, Lord
Hadoke explains how Doctor Who's original purpose was to educate but how Sydney Newman's original edict of "no bug-eyed monsters" was broken with the Daleks, leading to the historical episodes being phased out.
Sofa
A metaphor due to sofas usually being pushed up against the wall, the phrase "behind the sofa" represents how Doctor Who is very scary at its best.
Target
How the Target novelisations allowed many fans to discover old stories before VHS releases were common. Hadoke explains how you can identify fans who grew up on Targets due to describing the TARDIS's materialisation as a "wheezing, groaning sound".
Underpants
The underpants in question.
About the pair of underpants produced featuring the Fourth Doctor's face. Other items of Doctor Who merchandise have included chess sets, pizza cutters and the Dalek playsuit.
Vipers, den of
Also known as the Internet, Hadoke explains how the "den of vipers" is home to Doctor Who forums where fans will be rude to others for not liking the same stories. Hadoke also explains how the 1966 story The War Machines predicted the internet.
Wobbly sets
Hadoke explains how Doctor Who is known for its wobbly sets, mostly due to "lazy journalists" when, in actual fact, Doctor Who's sets were no more wobbly than others from the time. Hadoke likens it to criticising Vincent van Gogh for not using a laser printer.
Xenephobia
Meaning "fear of foreigners or the unknown", xenephobia is, "like Doctor Who but with sadder consequences", still relevant today.
Yeti
As in "each screaming girl just hoped that a yeti wouldn't shoot her", a lyric to Doctor in Distress, a charity celebrity single created in response to "BBC overlord" Michael Grade's decision to put Doctor Who on an 18 month hiatus in 1985. The single did not do very well. Hadoke cites it as one of the silliest things Doctor Who's ever done.
The end of the alphabet
Hadoke explains how, while "Z"'s normally difficult, it's suprisingly easy for Doctor Who. He first provides "Zarbi", the creatures from The Web Planet in which all of the supporting characters are aliens. He then gives "Zagreus", a "climactic entry into Big Finish's Doctor Who canon". He final settles on "Z" being for "the end of the alphabet" as "all good things come to an end", except, says Hadoke, Doctor Who. He says that it will always exist in some form, be it on TV, in books, on audio, or in the "writings of some fledgling scribe" dreaming of bringing back the show.

Episodes used[[edit] | [edit source]]

Audio clips were used from a number of Doctor Who stories. From episode 1, these were:

From episode 2, these were:

Credits[[edit] | [edit source]]

Releases[[edit] | [edit source]]

Broadcasts[[edit] | [edit source]]

Episode 1 was originally broadcast at 12:45 am on 18 November on BBC Radio 4 Extra. It was later repeated at 4:45 pm, again on BBC Radio 4 Extra, on the same day.[2]

Episode 2 was broadcast similarly the next day, first at 12:45 am on 19 November on BBC Radio 4 Extra and then again at 4:45 pm on BBC Radio 4 Extra on the same day.[3]

BBC Sounds[[edit] | [edit source]]

Both episodes were released onto BBC Sounds after their first broadcast. This release of episode 1, however, initially suffered from a few issues. Firstly, the final few minutes of the previous program, Maleficium by Liz Lochhead, were included at the start of the episode (the episode actually starts at around 3:17). Secondly, the end of the episode was clipped off, causing the episode to end abruptly mid-sentence near the end of "missing episode". This was due to the previous program overruning.[6] These issues were later fixed.[7] Episode 2 did not experience any similar issues.

Both episodes were available on BBC Sounds for 30 days after their original broadcast.[8][9]

External links[[edit] | [edit source]]

Footnotes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  1. ↑ Presumably a merger of "anticipation" and "dissapointment".

References[[edit] | [edit source]]

  1. ↑ Toby Hadoke on Twitter. Twitter (17 November 2023). Archived from the original on 18 November 2023. Retrieved on 18 November 2023.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 BBC Radio 4 Extra - Surviving Doctor Who - an A-Z, Episode 1. bbc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 18 November 2023. Retrieved on 18 November 2023.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 BBC Radio 4 Extra - Surviving Doctor Who - an A-Z, Episode 2. bbc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 18 November 2023. Retrieved on 18 November 2023.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Given at the end of both episodes, although this is cut off in episode 1's release on BBC Sounds.
  5. ↑ Given at the end of episode 1 in the bit cut off on BBC Sounds.
  6. ↑ Toby Hadoke (18 November 2023). Tweet by Toby Hadoke. Twitter. Archived from the original on 18 November 2023. Retrieved on 18 November 2023.
  7. ↑ Toby Hadoke (20 November 2023). Tweet by Toby Hadoke. Twitter. Archived from the original on 24 November 2023. Retrieved on 24 November 2023.
  8. ↑ Surviving Doctor Who - an A-Z - Episode 1 - BBC Sounds. BBC Sounds (18 November 2023). Archived from the original on 18 November 2023. Retrieved on 19 November 2023.
  9. ↑ Surviving Doctor Who - an A-Z - Episode 1 - BBC Sounds. BBC Sounds (19 November 2023). Archived from the original on 19 November 2023. Retrieved on 19 November 2023.
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