This Week In Doctor Who - July 27, 1998

Welcome everyone to the latest edition of This Week In Doctor Who. Every Monday, I try to give a complete update on the stations broadcasting Doctor Who across the world and which episodes are airing, with a few opinions of my own. The US stations get their own edition on Friday so I can get more up to date information on them and get both editions out on time. If I think there is important news about Doctor Who or if I need to make a correction, I include it at the start of the next edition, whichever one it is.

I've only been working on this for two weeks, but already I have received a lot of support for my stumbling efforts. In fact, you can now read these columns in four different ways. The original way is to go to the newsgroup rec.arts.drwho and look for the subject "This Week In Doctor Who" or "This Week In Doctor Who USA". You can also read the latest editions of these columns uncut as I write them at Siobahn Morgan's web page. Go to http://nitro9.earth.uni.edu/doctor/homepage.html and look for my (misspelled) name. A third version exists at Outpost Gallifrey's web site (http://www.gallifreyone.com). This version combines the latest editions of my columns into one article. Finally, members of the Doctor Who Alliance Of North America (go to Outpost Gallifrey or Siobahn's page for details) get one slightly edited version on Fridays with the (hopefully updated) Canadian information included with the American stations. I can't help wondering if I even need to bother writing this, as you're reading this in one of those forms anyway. But then again, last week's Monday edition didn't get to rec.arts.drwho until Thursday, and only then did I get most of my feedback. If you know all the ways to read this column, you can go to a different version if one doesn't get updated on time. And I promise never to bore people with this again unless someone asks.

2 "oops"es to report this week. Last Monday, my information for UK Gold's schedule was apparently mistaken. More recent online listings indicate that the Saturday broadcast of The Sensorites ran at *9:05*AM instead of *10:05*AM. And on Sunday, they pulled a double feature, offering both Ghost Light and The Curse of Fenric, beginning at 9:05AM. I know the Doctor's a time traveller, but changing the start time each week is rather ridiculous.

Also, in Friday's USA edition I gave the wrong address for the IPTV Sci-Fi Friday night web page. The correct address is http://www.mach3ww.com/sffn . The page I gave Friday actually goes to the person's home page, which happened to be down due to a server problem Friday.

And now, on to the listings:

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The UK:

UK Gold offers people in the British Isles with Satellite or Cable weekend omnibuses of Doctor Who. But they don't offer very good online listings. As of press time, I could not find listings for next weekend. Based on the broadcast times for the last two weekends, I'm going to make some assumptions. Saturday is their William Hartnell broadcast, which should be Planet of Giants. Sunday mornings have been their Sylvester McCoy slot, and they've reached Survival. Each of these stories is 3 episodes long, and they like to end around noon. Most likely, they'll begin between 10 and 10:30AM. Hmm ... the first 3 part story and the last. And both involve cats in the episode 1 cliffhanger. Probably coincidence. If someone out there has a reliable source of information on UK Gold, please let me know.

Europe:

BBC Prime offers Who fans in most of Europe 3 Saturday showings. Tune in at 1:05AM or the more rational 10AM for episode 3 of The Face of Evil. Then, at 5:30PM, see The Face of Evil, episode 4. Will Leela or Neeva be the Doctor's next companion? And what does Xoanon have to say about it?

Canada:

It seems that the Space channel isn't the only way to see Doctor Who in Canada after all. Many Alberta residents can enjoy KSPS' movie format broadcasts on ,span class="bdcast">Saturday nights. This week they can see The Ark In Space at 10:30PM Pacific time (11:30PM Mountain). And some viewers in Ontario can enjoy KBDI Denver's episode format Who. This week they have an encore showing of The Mutants episodes 1 and 2 Friday night at 11PM Mountain time (1AM Eastern) and the concluding 4 episodes of The Mutants Saturday night at 10PM Mountain time (Midnight Eastern). For the rest of you, Space is still the best way to enjoy classic Doctor Who. The weekday episodes air at 7:30AM and 1:30PM, with a 3rd broadcast at 3:30AM that night. Monday's episode is The Gunfighters part 3 (Johnny Ringo). Tuesday's episode is The Gunfighters part 4 (The O.K. Corral). Wednesday thru Friday, you can enjoy the first 3 episodes of The War Machines. Classic William Hartnell as the 1st Doctor approaches the end of his tenure. The end of the individually named episodes and the 1st modern day story. The weekend episode airs twice at 8AM Sunday and 3:30AM the next morning. This week - Planet of Giants part one. The original TARDIS crew shrink in size and see life from a new perspective.

Australia:

Australians with FOXTEL's UKTV get to see more of Season 26 this week, as they approach the end of the series. Weeknights at 11:30PM enjoy Doctor Who in episode format. Monday and Tuesday you can see the concluding two episodes of Battlefield, with guest stars Jean Marsh and Nicholas Courtney. Wednesday thru Friday you can see the final produced story of the series, though not the last one broadcast. It's all 3 episodes of Ghost Light, as the Doctor learns why Ace burned down a house in her hometown. And if you miss the weeknight broadcasts, you can enjoy two omnibuses this week, instead of one. A two-hour broadcast of Battlefield followed by a 90 minute broadcast of Ghost Light, for 3 and a half hours of Who excitement. Catch the weekend Doctor Who omnibus Saturday afternoon at 1PM, very early Sunday at 2AM, and Sunday morning at 8AM.

Thanks for reading and your patience as I slowly figure out how to write a feature like this.

Benjamin F. Elliott

"This Week In Doctor Who" and "This Week In Doctor Who USA" are written solely by Benjamin F. Elliott, except for quotes. Doctor Who was produced by the BBC. Siobahn Morgan maintained the episode list that I used when I first developed this column. Siobahn, Shaun Lyon, Whosaver, and many more have been very supportive and deserve your thanks. Copyright 1998.