THIS WEEK IN DOCTOR WHO - October 16, 1998

A mysterious quiet settles over the world of Doctor Who broadcasting. There is a sense that something big is coming, but not quite here yet. This brief lull before the 35th anniversary gives people a chance to reflect. So sit back and remember the glories of the past and the craziness yet to come while you read THIS WEEK IN DOCTOR WHO - October 16th, 1998

News: (Such as it is):

Kinda Conniptions. WUSF 16 Tampa, Florida must still be a bit disorganized after Hurricane Georges. Within hours of last week's column going out, they had decided to add episode 4 of Kinda to their Saturday night pledge drive. I sent out a notice to rec.arts.drwho to alert what readers I could about the change. So Saturday night, with just hours before the broadcast, they let their employee / man on air during pledge drive / Doctor Who fan Charles Martin know that they were going back to just airing episode 3, when it was too late to make any announcement. On the positive side, the one and a half pledge drives given over to the Doctor raised $2000. At last word, episode 4 would air this week.

KTEH 54 San Jose, California has just sent out their plans for a Doctor Who anniversary night. They will celebrate the Doctor's 35th on November 29th with a prime time story (Five Doctors Special Edition), their regular broadcast, and I Was A Doctor Who Monster!. They were considering having the event on November 22nd, closer to the anniversary, but the 29th is part of their pledge season, so they moved.

And here's an announcement from Dan McGrath, who runs the Who Shop in Minnesota:

"Calling all Minneapolis area fans! This is a reminder that Red Dwarf starts on Sunday, October 18th at 11:00 PM on KTCA 2. Please show your support for this program. We're hoping with enough support, Red Dwarf will lead to the return of Doctor Who in five months. Thanks, and enjoy!"

As always, if you notice a mistake or learn some news you feel I should know about for the column, send an e-mail. (Positive comments can be sent to the same address. :-) And now, the schedules:

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The UK:

UK Gold - Satellite and Cable Channel
Saturday morning from 9:35AM to 12:05PM - The Dominators - movie format
Sunday morning from 10:25AM to 12:20PM - The Curse of Peladon - movie format
In Saturday's broadcast the 2nd Doctor, Jamie, and Zoe land on an island riddled with radiation - a few minutes after the radiation mysteriously disappears. Is this an example of perfectly timing your vacation? If so, explain the oddly voiced robots and the guys with the "shoulder pads of doom'. Then on Sunday, the 3rd Doctor and Jo are highjacked in the TARDIS by the Time Lords who send them to investigate a planet trying to join the Galactic Federation. They discover a society at the crossroads, betrayal, and the Ice Warriors. This station airs commercials in the stories.

Mainland Europe:

BBC Prime - Cable and Satellite Channel
Saturday morning at 1:05 and 10AM - The Talons of Weng-Chiang - episode 6 of 6
Saturday evening at 6PM - Horror of Fang Rock - episode 1 of 4
In the early broadcast, the 4th Doctor and Leela fight Weng-Chiang and the evil puppet in a classic battle. Failure means that Weng-Chiang will use the time cabinet, which he doesn't realize will destroy him and London. In the evening airing, the 4th Doctor and Leela get lost in the fog and wind up at an old lighthouse. A ship crashes outside. Then people begin to die.

Australia:

UKTV - a channel on FOXTEL's system
Saturday afternoon at 1PM - The War Games - episodes 1 through 5 of 10
Sunday morning at 2AM and 8AM - The War Games - episodes 1 through 5 of 10
Weeknights at 11:30PM - The War Games - episodes 6 to 10 of 10
This week's featured story is - you guessed it - The War Games. The epic saga that changed the face of Doctor Who, in more ways than one. The TARDIS and the sonic screwdriver are there, but the recorder is conspicuously missing from most of the adventure. Episode 10 of this story is responsible for several Who scenes surviving the 70s junkings. The water scene comes from Fury From the Deep. The Zoe scene is the alternate ending to The Wheel In Space. And the Jamie scene is the alternate ending of The Highlanders.

Canada:

SPACE: The Imagination Station - a specialty tier channel
Sunday at 8AM Eastern (3:30AM repeat) - The Romans: The Slave Traders - episode 1 of 4
Monday through Thursday at 7:30AM Eastern - An Unearthly Child - all 4 episodes (An Unearthly Child, The Cave Of Skulls, The Forest Of Fear, The Firemaker)
Friday at 7:30AM Eastern - The Daleks: The Dead Planet - episode 1 of 7
In the weekend installment, the 1st Doctor and company spend a month in Italy in 64AD. They do not go unnoticed, however. The weekday episodes cycle back to the earliest stories of Doctor Who. An Unearthly Child is the story that began the series. And at the end of "The Daleks - The Dead Planet", Barbara is the first TARDIS crewmember to ever meet you-know-who.

Some Canadians can also view PBS stations with Doctor Who. New Brunswickians should look up Maine Public Broadcasting. Some Ontarians can access KBDI Denver. And viewers in British Columbia and Alberta can look up KSPS Spokane. Note: this information is based on the claims of PBS online. I have only been able to confirm KSPS' reception. Has anyone in Canada seen one of the other two signals, or one not listed here?

The USA:

Maine Public Broadcasting - channels 10, 10, 12, 13, 26, 39
Saturday night at 9PM Eastern - The Ark In Space - episodes 1 and 2 of 4
The 4th Doctor, Sarah, and Harry arrive on a space station holding the survivors of the human race. They also find something else, something rather ... green. Some viewers in New Brunswick and New Hampshire can also see these episodes.

New Hampshire Public Television - channels 11, 15, 18, 49, 52
Friday night at 10PM - The War Games - episodes 3 and 4 of 10
The 2nd Doctor and company use a map showing all the time zones and wars to try to find the aliens responsible for this mess. On the way, they discover a resistance movement. Viewers in several other New England states can see this broadcast.

WQED / WQEX Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - channels 13, 16
Saturday night at 10:30PM - Genesis of the Daleks - episode 2 of 6
The Doctor encounters the first Daleks. Some of the Kaleds begin to wonder if Davros has been telling them the truth.

Maryland Public Television - channels 22, 28, 31, 36, 62, 67
Friday and Saturday night at Midnight - The Keys of Marinus - movie format
The 1st Doctor, Ian, Barbara, and Susan must collect four keys needed to operate a mind control machine that keeps peace on the planet Marinus. Otherwise, they will never be able to reopen the TARDIS. 2 . hours of Doctor Who aired twice for people who'll either stay up all night or set their VCRs.

WUFT Gainesville, Florida - channel 5
Saturday afternoon at 5PM - Mawdryn Undead - movie format
A confusion in time linking events in 1977 and 1983. Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart suffering from a nervous breakdown. Creatures with Time Lord technology. And a dark figure wanting to get revenge on the 5th Doctor. Is your appetite whetted yet? I thought so. About 90 to 95 minutes. First part of a trilogy.

WUSF Tampa, Florida - channel 16
Saturday late night at 11:30PM - Kinda - episode 4 of 4
The 5th Doctor sets a trap to defeat the Mara. But which one of them will the Kinda tribe support?

WCET Cincinnati, Ohio - channel 48
Saturday late night at 11PM - The Curse of Fenric - movie format
World War 2 is raging on. The British have a new special cypher for decoding German messages. The Russians have come to steal it. Oh, and the dead are rising. Surprisingly, the locals don't seem to notice a link between these three events until it's too late. And the Doctor must finish a game he began playing a long time ago. Next to last story in the original series. 90 minutes.

WFWA Fort Wayne, Indiana - channel 39
Saturday night at Midnight - Full Circle - movie format
The Doctor returns Romana to Gallifrey to comply with a Time Lord order. Well, the TARDIS claims it's Gallifrey. Hey, the co-ordinates were correct, OK? Stop staring like that! The TARDIS was never designed to deal with negative co-ordinates! Why? Because it wasn't supposed to get shot through a CVE into E-Space, that's why! Well, now I'm out of time to describe the other 85 minutes of the story, so you'll just have to watch for yourself, won't you? About 90 minutes.

WTBU Indianapolis, Indiana - channel 69
Sunday evening at 6PM - The Keeper of Traken - movie format
An older-looking 4th Doctor travels with Adric to Traken on the request of its Keeper. It seems that perpetually peaceful planet is beginning to take a turn towards unpleasantness. And it all began when the latest Melkur arrived. Anthony Ainley appears as Tremas. 90 minutes.

Louisiana Public Television - channels 13, 18, 24, 24, 25, 27
Saturday night at 10PM - The Time Monster - episodes 1 and 2 of 6
When the Master shows up in one of the 3rd Doctor's dreams, he decides to devise a device to track down any TARDISes in the area. To his surprise, a signal's coming from an institute in Cambridge.

Iowa Public Television - channels 11, 12, 27, 32
Friday night at 11:05PM - The Ambassadors of Death - episodes 1 and 2 of 7
A rescue mission has been sent to contact several astronauts who disappeared on Mars months ago. When the rescue goes awry, the Doctor arrives to help. Before he can do very much, bizarre noises begin emanating. Episode 1 of this story survives in color, but the rest of the original prints were lost. An attempt at colorizing the episodes using a taped copy was only partially successful. Probably they'll just air the complete story in Black and White to avoid confusion.

KBDI Denver, Colorado - channel 12
Friday night at 11PM Mountain - The Three Doctors - episodes 3 and 4 of 4
Saturday night at 10PM Mountain - Carnival Of Monsters - episodes 1 and 2 of 4
Friday's feature has the first three incarnations of the Doctor fightingOmega, the forgotten hero of the Time Lords, who's decided he wants revenge. Then on Saturday, the 3rd Doctor materializes the TARDIS on a ship in 1926. Of course, the slight anachronism of an alien sea monster turning up during the cruise makes the Doctor a trifle suspicious. This broadcast is also available to some viewers in Ontario, according to PBS online.

KSPS Spokane, Washington - channel 7
Saturday night at 10:30PM Pacific - The Hand Of Fear - movie format
The 4th Doctor and Sarah, after landing so many times on alien planets that look like quarry pits, finally land in a quarry pit, just before the part they're in gets blown up. Sarah takes the experience very badly under the circumstances. Indeed, she seems practically "alien". And she has a peculiar fascination with a "hand" found in the blast. Some British Columbian and Albertan viewers can see this broadcast. 90-95 minutes.

KBTC / KCKA Tacoma, Washington - channels 28, 15
Saturday night at 7PM and 12:30AM - Time and the Rani - episodes 3 and 4 of 4
Monday night at 7:30PM and 12:30AM - Time and the Rani - episodes 3 and 4 of 4
The 7th Doctor and Mel must stop the Rani from using an asteroid of strange matter for her wicked purposes. Special guest starring Albert Einstein, Newton, and others.

KRCB Rhonert Park, California - channel 22
Saturday late night at 11PM - The Caves of Androzani - episode 1 of 4
The 5th Doctor's final adventure gets off to an unsettling start. They've landed on a planet with many mud bursts. They get stuck in some yucky white mess. And they get accused of being spies. Strangely enough, this is the most cheerful episode of this gripping story.

KTEH San Jose, California - channel 54
Sunday late night at 11PM - The Two Doctors - 6 episode version
Monday early morning at 1:30AM - "Interview With Patrick Troughton 1987"
The 2nd Doctor is sent by the Time Lords to investigate the experiments of Kartz and Reimer. The investigation is cut short by his untimely demise. The 6th Doctor begins to notice that something's wrong, and visits the same location. How could his previous self have gotten killed off without his having noticed it by now? Is he really dead? And why does BBC Worldwide Americas get all the PBS stories to air this adventure before Mark Of The Rani when it was originally broadcast afterwards? Most of those questions will be answered. And after The Two Doctors, you can enjoy an interview with Patrick Troughton made shortly before his untimely demise.

BBC America - digital cable channel
Saturday at 5PM Eastern, Sunday at 2PM - Genesis of the Daleks - movie version, part 2 of 3
A traitor plots the destruction of the Kaled race. The Doctor tries to get the Kaled leadership to stop Davros' development on the Daleks. This is episodes 3 and 4, edited together and with commercials. 1 hour including ads.

Until next week, take care.

Benjamin F. Elliott

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Copyright 1998