Doctor Who Episode With Debut Dalek Appearance to Air in Color for First Time

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Doctor Who Episode With Debut Dalek Appearance to Air in Color for First Time

Today is Doctor Who’s 60th anniversary and there’s a host of celebratory Gallifreyan goodness on offer for it, most notable of all being the 60th Anniversary specials, that feature a returning David Tennant, which begins airing this Saturday.

A Classic Doctor Who Story Gets a Facelift

But the modern series isn’t the only one getting treats. No, one of the earliest episodes of the original series is being aired in color for the first time ever today in the UK.

The episode titled The Daleks marked the first encounter with The Doctor’s most famous foe and first aired in black and white back in 1963. The show has been colorized by a team led by fan Rich Tipple to mark the show’s 60th anniversary.

Tipple, who was the lead colorization artist on the project, said it was a “huge honor” and a “personal dream come true” to work on the show.

The 75-minute “blockbuster edit” not only adds vibrant color to the episode, it also features a new music score by composer Mark Ayres.

Doctor Who debuted on November 23, 1963 with William Hartnell being the first of many to take on the mantle of The Doctor, a time-travelling alien who goes on many adventures and encounters many memorable foes. The original series ended in 1989 with Sylvester McCoy being the last actor of that run to play The Doctor.

While the series lay dormant, a movie was made starring Paul McGann as The Doctor and featured Eric Roberts as long-time nemesis The Master. It failed to spark a series into life and for a decade, Doctor Who was out of the public eye.

Then on March 17, 2006, a rebooted series began with Christopher Eccleston playing the Doctor. In the past 17 years the likes of David Tennant (Jessica Jones), Matt Smith (House of the Dragon), Peter Capaldi (The Suicide Squad), Ian Hurt (Alien), and Jodie Whittaker have taken on the role.

Tennant returns this weekend as a different version to his previous incarnation. He’ll then be transforming into the Fifteenth Doctor played by Sex Education’s Ncuti Gatwa for a new series by returning showrunner Russell T. Davies.

The Daleks in Color is on BBC Four at 19.30 PM GMT in the UK and on BBC iPlayer after that.