Moments in Time: the first international broadcastBookmark and Share

Thursday, 18 September 2014 - Reported by Paul Scoones and Chuck Foster
Moments in TimeOn the 23rd November 2013 the world celebrated Doctor Who reaching its fiftieth anniversary, receiving a Guinness World Record as some 94 countries were officially recorded as having shown the anniversary episode. However, the 18th September 2014 sees another milestone celebrated as, fifty years ago, An Unearthly Child was to receive its first-ever international broadcast.

The country in question was New Zealand, with the Doctor's very first appearance outside the United Kingdom to be broadcast by Christchurch's CHTV-3. The episode was shown at 7:57pm, sandwiched between news programme NZBC Reports... and a documentary about Dr. Gordon Seagrave, The Burma Surgeon Today, and was introduced by the weekly magazine The New Zealand Listener as:

The first of a new adventure series about an exile from another world and a distant future, travelling with his granddaughter and two London school teachers through time and space. Starring William Hartnell as Doctor Who and Carol Ann Ford (sic) as his granddaughter. In tonight's episode Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright, two school teachers, decide to try and find out more about one of their pupils who is puzzling them.

You can read the country's introduction to the Doctor from the Listener below.

CHTV-3 Schedule for 18 Sep 1964 (Credit: The Listener) Article on series (Credit: The Listener) Article Image (Credit: The Listener)





FILTER: - First Doctor - International Broadcasting - Moments in Time - New Zealand