This Week in Doctor Who Broadcasting (Sept. 4)

Hello again to the column. Not much new scheduling news to report this week. A couple of stations are airing the show at unusual times, but nothing big that hasn't already been reported.

There is a problem with FOXTEL, however. Their new user-friendly internet listings are far worse then the old listings. The old listings were slow, painful, and tedious. The new ones are just the same, but now it's next to impossible to find out when the shows are airing. So far, I haven't found any broadcast times yet for their planned 'Who Files' specials. Is their another online source for FOXTEL's schedule?

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The UK:

UK Gold offers Satellite and Cable viewers two movie format stories every weekend. Saturday morning the 1st Doctor, Ian, Barbara, and Vicki are on the run from vengeful Daleks in The Chase, airing from 9AM to 12:05PM. Sunday morning the 3rd Doctor faces the Master and the Blunderer (Jo Grant) for the first time in Terror of the Autons, airing from 10 to 11:55AM. This should be the colour restored version.

Mainland Europe:

BBC Prime airs Doctor Who 3 times every Saturday. An episode first airs at 5:30PM Central European Time, then repeats at 1:05 and 10AM the following week. This week the morning broadcasts are episode 4 of The Robots of Death, while the afternoon broadcast is episode 1 of The Talons of Weng-Chiang. The Doctor and Leela engage in a squeak fight with Taran Capel, then try to go to an evening show in 19th Century London.

Canada:

SPACE: The Imagination Station offers Cable and Satellite viewers across Canada the chance to enjoy Doctor Who's earliest adventures. The Sunday episode will be Day of Reckoning - episode 3 of The Dalek Invasion of Earth. An attempt to destroy the Daleks in London leads to tragedy. This episode airs at 8AM Eastern Time, with a 3:15AM repeat (note special time). The weekday episodes air at 7:30AM Eastern Time, 1:30PM, and 3:30AM. This week they will air episodes 1 - 5 of The War Games, the final 2nd Doctor adventure. NOTE: Next week SPACE is cutting back the number of weekday broadcasts due to low ratings. Doctor Who on weekdays will only air at 7:30AM. The Sunday showings at 8AM and 3:30AM will remain.

The USA:

WQED 13 / WQEX 16 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania will air episode 2 of The Ark In Space Saturday night. As the 4th Doctor and Harry try to find a way to rescue Sarah from (spoiler protected), the crew of Nerva begin to awake. But one of them is missing, with a trail of slime leaving his casket. WQED will air the episode at 10:30PM.

BBC America are also showing episode 2 of The Ark In Space Saturday night, it will air with commercials at 11:15PM Eastern with a 5:15AM repeat.

NHPTV New Hampshire will air the concluding 2 episodes of The Krotons Friday night at 10PM. The 2nd Doctor, Jamie, and Zoe learn what the Krotons are and how much danger the Gonds are in. Meanwhile, a politically ambitious Gond (Phillip Madoc in his first Doctor Who appearance) tries to take advantage of the situation. Includes the famous "headset" sequence.

MPT Maryland moves Doctor Who to Midnight late SATURDAY this weekend. (A problem with their online listings made it appear for a little while like the show was moving to Sunday night - that is not the case.) This weekend's episode is The Escape - part 3 of The Daleks. The 1st Doctor and company are suffering from radiation sickness and will die without treatment. But would the Daleks help them?

WUFT 5 in Gainesville, Florida presents the movie version of Black Orchid Saturday afternoon at 5PM. The 5th Doctor, Adric, Nyssa, and Tegan arrive in 1925. The Doctor is mistaken for another Doctor, Nyssa looks exactly like one of the locals, and Adric is hungry. Then a murder hits. This was the first 2 episode story in 7 years.

» The story broadcast was actually The Visitation, as noted in the next edition.

WUSF 16 in West Palm Beach, Florida will show episode 3 of Four To Doomsday Saturday late night at 11:30PM. Monarch's plans approach fruition, and Nyssa's life is in danger.

WCET 48 in Cincinnati, Ohio continues its movie format run of 7th Doctor stories with Remembrance of the Daleks late Saturday night at 11PM. The Doctor and Ace arrive in 1963 London just after the 1st Doctor left it. The Daleks are back again, and for once the Doctor seems to want them to succeed in their mission. But then a 2nd Dalek faction turns up. Watch for the "stairs" sequence.

WFWA 39 from Fort Wayne, Indiana presents the movie edition of City of Death late Saturday night at Midnight. The 4th Doctor and Romana 2 decide to take a vacation in Paris. But mysterious problems with time get in their way. Play "name the famous actor" in one of the best 4th Doctor tales and the most watched story in the entire run of the series. Okay, so the strike taking ITV off the air that month may have helped the ratings a little.

WTBU Indianapolis, Indiana offers viewers a movie broadcast of The Horns of Nimon Sunday evening at 6PM. This underrated story involves a crumbling empire promised the ability to regain its prominence. Running the empire is Soldeed (Graham Crowden), the ultimate over the top villain, and a pawn of the mysterious Nimon. Enjoy.

LPTV Louisiana presents episodes 1 and 2 of The Sea Devils Saturday night at 10PM. The 3rd Doctor and Jo visit the Master, imprisoned forever on an island. While there, they learn that a number of ships have disappeared nearby ...

IPTV Iowa presents one of the biggest turning points in the Doctor Who series Friday night at 11:05PM. First, it's the conclusion to The War Games, the final 2nd Doctor story. The Time Lords have stopped the games, but they're now after the Doctor as well. And there are some things even the Doctor can't escape. Then, at 11:30PM, episode 1 of Spearhead From Space airs. The first color episode, with an entirely different cast, deals with the aftermath of the Doctor's trial and shows a new direction for the series. Jon Pertwee plays the 3rd Doctor, with Nicholas Courtney as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and Caroline John as Liz Shaw.

KBDI 12 in Denver, Colorado offers episode format Who to viewers on both Friday and Saturday nights. Friday at 11PM Mountain Time they repeat the previous Saturday's episodes - parts 1 and 2 of The Time Monster. Then on Saturday at a special time (10:10PM Mountain Time) they air The Time Monster parts 3 and 4. The Master's on the prowl again, and this time he's after a very special crystal. Certain Ontario, Canada viewers can also see these episodes.

KTEH 54 in San Jose, California will both irritate and delight viewers this weekend. Their episode format presentation of the 5th Doctor story Resurrection of the Daleks will begin at 11:30PM Sunday night, 30 minutes later then normal. But following this story, at 1:12AM, they will present an interview they did with Terry Nation, the man who first thought up the Daleks. This interview is scheduled to end at 1:36AM. They will be offering specials like this following every Doctor Who story this month, so stay tuned.

KRCB 22 in Sonoma County, California will air the conclusion of Resurrection of the Daleks Saturday night at 11PM. This is episode 4 of a 4 episode version. The story originally aired as 2 double length episodes.

KSPS 7 from Spokane, Washington takes Who fans to the Planet of Evil Saturday night at 10:30PM Pacific Time (11:30PM Mountain for some Canadian viewers). The 4th Doctor and Sarah land on a planet at the border of the realm of anti-matter. And when you annoy anti-matter, it gets dangerous!

KBTC 28 / KCKA 15 Tacoma, Washington continues its coverage of The Trial Of A Time Lord this weekend. This week, episodes 5 and 6 of the 14 pieces of evidence are presented. The Valeyard offers a more recent example of the Doctor's meddling, one that didn't go well. The 6thDoctor and Peri are on a planet run by slugs. The head slug wants to contravene all laws of morality to continue his life. And the Doctor is only making things worse. Two creepy episodes of Doctor Who offered 4 times: Saturday at 7PM, late Saturday at 12:30AM, Monday at 7:30PM, and late Monday at 12:30AM. These episodes are also known as Mindwarp - episodes 1 and 2.

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Benjamin F. Elliott

This Week In Doctor Who is written and produced by Benjamin F. Elliott. Doctor Who is a trademark of the BBC. Web space has been provided by Siobahn Morgan and Shaun Lyon. Copyright 1998.