THIS WEEK IN DOCTOR WHO - November 13, 1998

Ten days until the series' 35th anniversary. Let's start the celebrations now!
THIS WEEK IN DOCTOR WHO - November 13th, 1998

Just after last week's editions went out, news came in that WCET Cincinnati is switching to episode format in December. It will air 2 episodes a week instead of one movie when the change takes effect. Red Dwarf will air at 11PM, and Doctor Who will be demoted to 11:30PM. They will skip the Hartnell and Troughton episodes and show the Pertwee stories.

More information has now come out on WXEL's Doctor Who marathon for November 29th. They will definitely air Terror of the Autons and The Dæmons between 2 and 7PM. Doctor Who, Star Trek, and Star Wars memorabilia will be auctioned off that day. And apparently they are now interested in airing the series again. If they do well in pledges AND the pledgers actually send in the money, the series will return with weekly airings. WXEL 42 is in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Some minor corrections to the BBC Choice Doctor Who week lineup have come out. On November 22nd, instead of An Unearthly Child 1, the first televised episode, they will be airing the original pilot that did not air until 1991. Also titled An Unearthly Child, it features the same cast and the same events, but there were enough problems in the production that the decision was made to scrap this version and refilm, resulting in the version most people know. Also on the 22nd, they now plan to include 30 Years In The TARDIS among the previously announced programs. Finally, they have now decided to air The Curse of Fenric 4 on November 27th. At one point they were considering airing Remembrance of the Daleks 4 instead.

Finally, some bad news. WTBU from Indianapolis, Indiana has now confirmed that they are discontinuing Doctor Who within the next few weeks. Pressure from the BBC was cited as a reason.

As always, if you have any news regarding the Doctor Who schedules, or any corrections to the column (I do make mistakes), please let me know. Now, on to the listings:

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The UK:

UK Gold - satellite / cable channel
Late Friday from 12:25 to 3AM - The Seeds of Death - movie version
Sunday from 9 to 10:50AM - The Three Doctors - movie version
It seems that the Sunday broadcasts are beginning earlier and earlier in the morning.
The 2nd Doctor sees heavy activity this weekend. First he battles the Ice Warriors when they take over the Moon and set their eyes on Earth. Then he gets called out of his timeline to help the 3rdDoctor when he becomes the target of anti-matter creatures.

Mainland Europe:

BBC Prime - satellite / cable channel
Late Friday at 1:05AM, Saturday at 9:55AM - Horror of Fang Rock - episode 4 of 4
Saturday at 6PM CET - The Invisible Enemy - episode 1 of 4
In the early broadcasts, the 4th Doctor and Leela take on a Rutan and try to prevent an invasion. In the prime time airing, the 4th Doctor's mind is invaded by a militant virus.

Australia:

FOXTEL's UK-TV - cable / satellite channel
Saturday at 1PM, Sunday at 2 and 8AM - The Invasion of Time - all 6 episodes
Monday through Wednesday at 11:30PM - Mawdryn Undead - episodes 2 to 4 of 4
Thursday and Friday at 11:30PM - The Five Doctors - 4 episode version, episodes 1 and 2
In the weekend feature, the 4th Doctor becomes the President of Gallifrey and promptly betrays time and space. Mawdryn Undead features 2 Brigadiers, one young and vibrant, the other older and suffering the results of a nervous breakdown. And the Doctor is partially responsible for it. And then viewers get the first parts of The Five Doctors, the 20th anniversary special.

Canada:

SPACE: The Imagination Station - cable / satellite channel
Sunday at 8AM EST, early Monday at 3:30AM - .The Web Planet - episode 1 of 6
Monday through Wednesday at 7:30AM - The Aztecs - episodes 2 to 4 of 4 (The Warriors Of Death, The Bride Of Sacrifice, The Day Of Darkness)
Thursday and Friday at 7:30AM - The Sensorites - episodes 1 and 2 of 6 (Strangers In Space, The Unwilling Warriors)
Classic 1st Doctor episodes. Sunday the TARDIS is dragged down to a planet with a thin atmosphere where the laws of physics appear to be on vacation. In The Aztecs, Barbara tries to change the course of Aztec history to ensure their survival, against the Doctor's strenuous objections. In The Sensorites, the TARDIS lands on a ship perpetually orbiting a planet. The people onboard aren't dead, but they can't wake up. And then it gets weird.

The USA:

Maine Public Broadcasting - channels 10, 10, 12, 13, 26, 39
Saturday at 9PM - Genesis of the Daleks - episodes 3 and 4 of 6
Davros will go to any lengths to ensure the development of his Daleks, even giving information to his peoples' arch enemies, the Thals.

New Hampshire Public Television - channels 11, 12, 15, 49, 52
Friday at 11PM - The War Games - episodes 9 and 10 of 10
Time approximate due to a college hockey game earlier that night. The 2nd Doctor cannot clean up the War Lord's mess by himself. He needs help from his own people. But that would reveal his location and probably result in his own capture.

WQED / WQEX Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - channels 13, 16
Saturday at 10:30PM - Genesis of the Daleks - episode 5 of 6
The stakes have been raised. Davros now possesses a tape which, if its information is given to the Daleks, will enable them to succeed in all the battles through history where they've failed. In a tinge of sad irony, it appears that the future the Time Lords predicted is the fault of the Doctor's efforts to follow their directive to prevent it.

Maryland Public Television - channels 22, 28, 31, 36, 62, 67
Friday at Midnight, Saturday at Midnight - The Dalek Invasion of Earth - movie version
The 1st Doctor and company land in 22nd Century London and find it virtually abandoned. And the Daleks are back. Around 2 hours, 25 minutes.

WUFT Gainesville, Florida - channel 5
Saturday at 5PM - Warriors of the Deep - movie version
An extremely dark and moody story featuring the return of two villains and the potential extinction of humanity in the 21st Century. The effect is harmed by overly bright lighting. 90 minutes.

WUSF Tampa, Florida - channel 16
Late Saturday at 12:35AM - The Visitation - episode 4 of 4
Time approximate after Red Dwarf specials. The 5th Doctor, Adric, Nyssa, Tegan, and Richard Mace track the Terrileptils to London in an effort to save humanity from extinction.

WCET Cincinnati, Ohio - channel 48
Saturday at 11PM - Terror of the Autons - movie version
WCET's best of Who run continues with one of the recolored Pertwee stories. The Time Lords alert the 3rd Doctor that his old rival, the Master, is manipulating events on Earth. This is also Jo Grant's first story. Around 90 minutes.

WFWA Fort Wayne, Indiana - channel 39
Saturday at Midnight - Logopolis - movie version
Imagine being the Watcher. You've been created in order to protect a future event, in the middle of which you will cease to exist. And the 4th Doctor's making many more mistakes then normal, forcing you to tidy everything up behind him. Would you be selfless enough to spend your entire life saving the universe from the Doctor's and the Master's mistakes? Around 92 minutes.

WTBU Indianapolis, Indiana - channel 69
Sunday at 6PM - Kinda - movie version
Kinda, a green planet filled with peace loving natives, lush foliage, and a deadly force that invades peoples' minds. Well, no planet's perfect ... Around 90 minutes.

Louisiana Public Broadcasting - channels 13, 18, 24, 24, 25, 27
Saturday at 10PM - The Three Doctors - episodes 3 and 4 of 4
The 2nd and 3rd Doctors are stuck in the anti-matter realm, and the 1st Doctor is stuck in an eddy. On the bright side, they are now in the perfect position to investigate the ruler of that realm. The 2nd Doctor's recorder disappears, and everyone's a suspect.

Iowa Public Television - channels 11, 12, 27, 32
Friday at 11:05PM - Inferno - episodes 2 and 3 of 7
The 3rd Doctor has discovered a gateway into another dimension in his attempts to get the TARDIS fixed. But he can't investigate it or work on the TARDIS anymore, because Stahlman has cut the power supply he needs. The Doctor's way of dealing with the situation has devastating consequences.

Prairie Public Television of North Dakota - channels 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, and
Friday at 10:30PM - Robot - episode 2 of 4
A giant Robot is the suspect in the robbery of sensitive government property. Is it responsible, or just a dupe of a more sinister authority?

KBDI Denver, Colorado - channel 12
Friday at 11PM - Frontier In Space - episodes 1 and 2 of 6
Saturday at 10PM - Frontier In Space - episodes 3 and 4 of 6
Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip. That started out one 26th Century night aboard this tiny ship. Jo Grant was a brave companion, the 3rd Doctor wise and sure. Two planets' ships set sail that night for a 6 episode war, a 6 episode war. (Stanza two comes next week.)

KSPS Spokane, Washington - channel 7
Saturday at 10:30PM - The Talons of Weng-Chiang - movie version
The 4th Doctor and Leela land in 19th Century London to go to a theatre. Instead they wind up investigating a series of brutal murders that lead back to a man who won't be born for over 3000 years. About 2 hours, 20 minutes.

KBTC / KCKA Tacoma, Washington - channels 28, 15
Saturday at 7PM and 12:30AM, Monday at 7:30PM and 12:30AM - Delta and the Bannermen - episode 3 of 3
Saturday at 7:30PM and 1AM, Monday at 8PM and 1AM - Dragonfire - episode 1 of 3
The 7th Doctor and Mel must stop the evil Delta from killing all the Bannermen, or is that backwards. Then they meet up with Sabalom Glitz again at the Iceworld space port, where Glitz is in search of buried treasure.

KRCB Rohnert Park, California - channel 22 - no broadcast this week

KTEH San Jose, California - channel 54
Sunday at 11PM - Trial Of A Time Lord - The Mysterious Planet - all 4 episodes
Late Sunday at 12:40AM - "Time Lord Chronicles - A Mythmakers Production"
The 6th Doctor has been pulled out of time by his people to be tried for meddling in history. Exhibit A - his activities on the planet Ravalox, a place that seems suspiciously familiar. But the Doctor from the present is having trouble remembering the past, particularly what happened to Peri. Then KTEH airs a special put out by the Mythmakers people.

BBC America - cable / Dish Network Top 100 Package channel 135
Saturday at 5PM EST, Sunday at 2PM - Robot - movie version, part 1 of 2
BBC America airs the classic 1st 4th Doctor adventure. Unfortunately, they've aired it so much this year that it's getting a little monotonous. And the heavy commercials and scenes cut out don't help. Still, if you have the Dish Network, this will only be BBC America's first broadcast of the story for you, and it's far better then no Who.

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Until next week, and the Doctor's anniversary, take care.

Benjamin F. Elliott

This Week In Doctor Who is produced by Benjamin F. Elliott.
Doctor Who is a registered trademark of the BBC.
Copyright 1998.