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Friday 6th April 2001



This Week In Doctor Who - April 6, 2001
(posted 6th Apr 2001, 12:00pm - TWIDW post #0002)
THIS WEEK IN DOCTOR WHO - April 6, 2001
by Benjamin F. Elliott
Vol 4, No 14
Mailing list - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thisweekindoctorwho
To subscribe - thisweekindoctorwho-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Welcome to the weekly column covering Doctor Who on TV and the radio around the world. Beginning with this week's edition, the column will now be available as a yahoogroup for instantaneous distribution on Friday mornings. Subscribers will get the column as soon as it goes out (usually between 7 and 8AM Eastern Time - earlier next week). This Week In Doctor Who continues to be available on the rec.arts.drwho newsgroup and through these web sites:

Also, This Week In Doctor Who is spinning off its own website - TWIDW. TWIDW will cover station histories, promote discussion about Doctor Who on TV in the past, present, and future, and hopefully give some coverage to fan productions, which the main column has not been able to do in the past. TWIDW is under construction, and will officially launch within the next few weeks. The address will not be announced publicly until then, as I make adjustments.
As the column makes these transitions, it is reluctantly saying goodbye to one of its early homes. The Doctor Who Alliance Of North America http://www.drwhoalliance.com/ is dropping the North America portion from its title, moving to bi-monthly distribution of its newsletter, and ending its inclusion of This Week in the newsletter. Publishing every two weeks will better enable Shaun to put out a quality product, but makes it impossible to continue a column like This Week. I'm sure I speak for the various contributors to This Week, the occasional substitute writers (Jefferson Eng and Sean Corcoran), and the readers when I thank Shaun for including the column in the Alliance Newsletter for the past 2 ½ years. I look forward to continued involvement between the Alliance and This Week In Doctor Who in the future.
Fans who tuned into BCB Radio's internet feed http://www.bcb.yorks.com/bcb.ram yesterday (April 5) to hear the monthly broadcast of The Who Review got a bit of a shock. Mildly profane hip-hop music was playing in its place, and the host was definitely not Tim Moon. If you listened all the way to the half-hour, vainly hoping to hear the Doctor Who show, you also heard the host thanking the listeners for tuning in on this Friday night. As it was Thursday in the UK at the time, I suspect they played an old tape by accident. I would be curious to hear from anyone in the UK who was listening on Cable radio to know if they also heard the hip-hop, or if the regular news, weather, and Who Review was provided in the UK at least. Very odd.
The BBC America listings in the column have been in error for the last few weeks. They have now been corrected.
UKTV in Australia will pre-empt Doctor Who from Friday 13 April through Monday 16 April for a marathon showing of The Bill. I'm not sure what a cop show has to do with Easter, but that's the marathon. All the Doctor Who episodes will air - they will just be pushed back a few days.
Additions and corrections are welcome at bfelliott@... , bfelliott@..., or bfelliott3 on AOL IM. And now, the listings:


RADIO:


BBC Radio 4 FM and LW http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/
Realplayer http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/realplayer/index_fm.html and
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/realplayer/index_lw.html
Dead Ringers ep 401
Fri 6:30PM BST (1:30PM EDT, 10:30AM PDT); Sat 12:30PM BST (7:30AM EDT, 4:30AM PDT)

First of 4 new episodes of the comedy show from the UK. Frequently has parody skits of Doctor Who in general or of Tom Baker in particular.
WPBR 1340AM West Palm Beach, FL http://hometown.aol.com/scifiradioguy/
MP3 Archives - http://www.live365.com/
Sun 11:05PM EDT Interstellar Transmissions hourlong sci-fi news/chat show
Joey Reynold's weekly sci-fi show. Doctor Who news near the top of the hour.
This week's guest - Ben Bova.
» this episode wasn't broadcast owing to channel being off-air


TV:


UK:
UK Gold http://www.sceneone.co.uk/s1/tv/listings
Sun 10:05AM-12:00PM BST The Brain of Morbius movie
The 4th Doctor and Sarah are drawn to a world where any ship that lands is destroyed. Meanwhile, UK Gold has shifted Doctor Who's timeslot one hour earlier to make room for The A-Team. I pity da fool that decided to move Doctor Who yet again.
EUROPE/AFRICA/ASIA:
BBC Prime http://www.bbcprime.com/
Late Fri 1AM*, Sat 3:30PM, Sun 11:30AM CET Snakedance ep 3 of 4
Late Thu 12:30AM CET Snakedance ep 4 of 4
*Not seen in all regions. Under the control of the Mara, Tegan prepares a hostile takeover. Meanwhile, the Doctor must seek out a man who communes with snakes.
AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND:
UKTV Australia http://www.varos.com/drwho/uktv/ http://www.uktv.com.au/
Sun 7AM, Late Sun 1AM AEST The Robots of Death all 4 eps
The Doctor and Leela are the prime suspects when a series of murders occur on a sandminer. Every victim has a red disk on their wrist.
Mon-Tue 11:30PM AEST Image of the Fendahl eps 3 - 4 of 4
A Time Lord secret can provide the Doctor the knowledge he needs to defeat the Fendahl. Thea Ransome embraces her destiny, much to the regret of the other scientists.
Wed-Thu 11:30PM AEST The Sun Makers eps 1 - 2 of 4
Ironic. It's tax time in the US, but this story is airing in Australia. The 4th Doctor, Leela, and K9 take on a corrupt government that taxes its citizens to death. But are these humans really worth saving? They're creeps and wimps if you ask me. Could almost be considered a backdoor pilot for Blake's 7, as the sets are reused in several Blake episodes, and Cordo is suspiciously similar to Vila.
No Friday episode.
Prime TV New Zealand http://www.tetrap.com/drwho/nzdwfc/
http://www.primetv.co.nz/
Sun-Fri 6PM The Invasion of Time eps 1 - 6 of 6
Only previous NZ airing in 1987. A semi-sequel to The Deadly Assassin. The Doctor returns to Gallifrey, declaring himself President. Betraying both friends and enemies, the Doctor proceeds to isolate himself from everything. What has so altered the Doctor's behaviour? And what will be the consequences for Leela, K9, and the universe?
USA:
BBC America http://www.bbcamerica.com/
Mon-Thu 8AM EDT (5AM PDT)/Tue-Fri 5AM EDT (2AM PDT) - 2 episodes daily in movie format
Mon-Tue/Tue-Wed Planet of Evil movie, pts 1 - 2 of 2

At the border between universes, a scientist has decided to "acquire" material from one realm to power the other realm. But this "anti-matter" has other ideas.
Wed-Thu/Thu-Fri Pyramids of Mars movie, pts 1 - 2 of 2
Before U*N*I*T was a top secret military organization, its headquarters was the mansion where Marcus Scarman lived. Now, Marcus has been taken over by the mind of Sutekh the Destroyer. To save the world, the Doctor must destroy him. But will the mansion approve?
NHPTV New Hampshire 11,49,52 http://www.nhptv.org/
Late Sat Mid EDT The Pirate Planet eps 1+2 of 4
Late Thu 12:30AM EDT The Pirate Planet eps 3+4 of 4

Yup. NHPTV has added a late Saturday rerun of the Thursday episodes. In search of the second segment of the Key To Time, the Doctor and Romana come across a world that jumps through space periodically, resulting in a sudden increase in mineral wealth. Something is rotten in the center of the world.
WQED/WQEX 13,16 Pittsburgh, PA http://www.wqed.org/
Sat 11:30PM EDT The Armageddon Factor eps 3+4 of 6
The Doctor, Romana, and K9 discover the truth behind the Atrios/Zeos War, then have to find a way to stop a disastrous confrontation.
WYBE 35 Philadelphia, PA http://www.wybe.org/
Sat 11PM, Mon 4AM EDT The Five Doctors eps 3+4 of 4 (4 part version)
As the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Doctors make their way towards the heart of the Tower Of Rassilon, the 5thDoctor uncovers evidence that the scheme to pull them out of time was caused by ... (end of sentence burned with the Black Scrolls of Rassilon)
» an additional broadcast was added at 5:30pm Saturday for The Five Doctors 1+2
MPT Maryland 22,28,31,36,62,67 http://www.mpt.org/
Sat 11:45PM EDT The Curse of Fenric movie or extended version
MPT will probably air the movie version. However, they showed the special edition of 5 Doctors a while back, and the extended version of Curse Of Fenric was in the same package of stories. If they go directly into the story, it will be the 90 minute movie version, ending around 1:15AM. If a BBC Video logo appears, assume it is the extended episode version and set the VCR to tape till 1:30AM. In either version, the Doctor and Ace visit a sleepy English village in 1943 that is about to be plunged into a conflict more deadly than the ongoing World War II. A Viking curse, human greed, and a hideous chain of coincidences come together.
WUSF 16 Tampa, FL http://www.wusftv.usf.edu/
Sat 11:30PM EDT The Happiness Patrol ep 2 of 3
Ace is sentenced to audition for the Happiness Patrol. A prospect that makes her very unhappy.
WCET 48 Cincinnati, OH http://www.wcet.org/
Sat 11:30PM EDT The Invasion of Time eps 2+3 of 6
See Prime TV New Zealand for description.
WYIN 56 Gary, IN (Chicago, IL) http://www.wyin.org/
Sat 10PM CDT The Armageddon Factor ep 3 of 6
See WQED/WQEX for description.
WILL 12 Urbana, IL http://www.will.uiuc.edu/
Sat 11:35PM CDT Terror of the Zygons ep 1 of 4
The 4th Doctor, Sarah, and Harry return to Earth in response to a call from the Brigadier. The situation must be serious - the Brig's wearing a kilt!
» this was reported as Planet of Evil: Part One
TPT St. Paul, MN http://www.tpt.org/
analog - KTCA 2
digital - KTCI-DT 16 (2.5)
Sat 11:30PM, Sun 5:30AM CDT The Pirate Planet ep 2 of 4 (confirmed as episode 1 again)
See 06 Apr 2001 for description.
IPTV Iowa 11,12,21,24,27,32,32,36 http://www.sffn.com/ http://www.iptv.org/
Fri 11:05PM CDT Meglos eps 3+4 of 4
Due to the actions of Meglos, the Doctor is blamed for the theft of the Dodecahedron. The penalty - making a sacrifice to Ti. Or, more accurately, being made a sacrifice to Ti. Jacqueline Hill (Barbara from the 1st Doctor stories) guest stars as Lexa.
PPTV North Dakota 2,3,4,6,9,13,19 http://www.pptv.org/
Fri 10:30PM CDT (9:30PM MDT) The Power of Kroll ep 2 of 4
Due to the actions of Rohm-Dutt, the Doctor is blamed for weapons that don't work. The penalty - making a sacrifice to Kroll. Or, more accurately, being made a sacrifice to Kroll. John Leeson (voice of K9 from many 4th Doctor stories) guest stars as Dugeen.
KERA 13 Dallas, TX http://www.kera.org/
It seems now that KERA is waiting until June to begin its weekly Doctor Who broadcasts, when it was previously reported to be March. Alas, we don't have any mythical creatures to sacrifice KERA to at this time, or any old guest stars who could take part. Unless we could track down John Levene - he lives in the US. (Just kidding, KERA. We'll put you back in the column when we have a premiere date.)
KBDI/K32EO 12,32 Denver/Colorado Springs, CO http://www.kbdi.org/
Late Fri 12:30AM MDT The Leisure Hive eps 1+2 of 4
Sat 10PM MDT The Leisure Hive eps 3+4 of 4
The Doctor and Romana visit a recreation facility where a new kind of science is being developed - and hideously abused. The sins of the parents will be re-enacted by the children.
KUED 7 Salt Lake City, UT http://www.kued.org/
Sat 11PM, Late Sat 12:30AM MDT The Face of Evil ep 4 of 4
Tom Baker vs. Tom Baker as the 4th Doctor battles Xoanon to save the Sevateem and the Tesh from destruction.
KBTC/KCKA/K65BU 28,15,65 Tacoma/Centralia/Gray's River, WA
http://www.kbtc.org/
Sat 7PM, Late Sat 12:30AM PDT The Invasion of Time eps 3+4 of 6
See Prime TV New Zealand for description.
KTEH 54 San Jose, CA http://www.kteh.org/
Sun 11PM PDT The Time Meddler movie (The Watcher, The Meddling Monk, A Battle Of Wits, Checkmate)
Do not adjust your sets - this story is in desperate need of cleaned up prints. As the Doctor and Vicki try to convince Steven that they have traveled through time, a Monk with wristwatches, a record player, and a toaster is making himself at home in the 11th Century.


Thanks for reading. Until next week, take care.

Doctor Who is a BBC Trademark. Copyright 2001.