This Week In Doctor Who - December 23 1998

And a Merry Christmas to all of you at home!
THIS WEEK IN DOCTOR WHO CHRISTMAS 1998

I've got a special Christmas feature further down, but there has been some Who news of interest this week.

Nathan Skreslet reported on rec.arts.drwho Monday that his PBS station, WCVE, had been interested in the National Feed of Who episodes, but that the feed was now not going to happen! T J Lubinski (Whosaver), the man working on launching the feed, gave an update that is both discouraging and encouraging. His two posts have been combined into one for easier formatting.

"Yes its true -- not enough interest to make it to contract. But that's not all bad -- the offer peaked the interest of about 26 or so stations that otherwise would not have considered it and now the rights are back with the Worldwide sales staff, who promises to make the episodes available as economically as possible (remember residuals still play a big factor) But overall, things are still positive. The original half-hour episodes are available for stations to run if they contact the BBC sales rep directly. In some markets, this may actually be less expensive than the proposed feed would have been. I'll have a more detailed email to follow soon - TJ"

Mr. Lubinski also some bad news for his fellow Pittsburghians regarding WQED's Doctor Who broadcasts. Doctor Who is averaging less then 200 viewers on a given week in its Saturday 10:30PM timeslot. Red Dwarf, its lead-in, is pulling in 3000 viewers, but that's not very good either. There has been a drop-off in pledges, only 30% of people pledging in August actually paid up, and when they've substituted other programming, the ratings and pledges have skyrocketed. Ironically, when they've run Doctor Who nights, the ratings have spiked right near Midnight, implying that fans want to watch later at night (a foreign concept to me personally). So, effective January 2nd, the Red Dwarf / Doctor Who hour is moving to 11PM.

TJ wants people to know that WQED is still interested in making Doctor Who work, and Lubinski's cooked up a scheme that sounds interesting. When their current Red Dwarf run ends in April, the Tom Baker 4th Doctor shows move to 11PM. At 11:30PM, for 10 weeks, they have a one time only deal to show 2 black & white stories. They will air The Keys of Marinus and The Tomb of the Cybermen (Tomb's first showing in Pittsburgh). After that, if people pledging actually pay up, they will probably return Red Dwarf to the lineup. WQED's e-mail address, if you want to thank them for not canceling the show, which frankly I might if I was programming it with those results, is http://www.wqed.org/ .

In other news, Ken Patterson from KTEH in San Jose, California notes that this station is trying to decide which episodes to air when they finish their run of Sylvester McCoy stories. The station seems to be considering three options - Tom Baker episodic format, William Hartnell movie format, or William Hartnell episodic format. Mr. Patterson hopes they'll air Hartnell episodic, though apparently the tide is leaning towards Hartnell movie. KTEH airs a complete story most Sunday nights, and has aired them in the original episode versions since shortly after the last run through Hartnell and Troughton. If you have an opinion on the matter, especially if you'll pledge money to KTEH to back up the opinion, they can be contacted through their website at http://www.kteh.org/ .

And there's a brief update on New Hampshire Public Television's Doctor Who time change. This week (December 25th) is the final Friday 10PM broadcast, with The Ambassadors of Death 1 and 2. Beginning Sunday January 3rd, Doctor Who airs at 3PM, starting with The Ambassadors of Death 3 and 4.

With those updates out of the way, we can relax and enjoy Christmas. The day when Earth steps back and ponders over when God sent his son to be born in a stable in Bethlehem. Billions of people, whether they believe that religion or not, pause on this day. More then any other holiday, Doctor Who has covered the various aspects of Christmas. Here is a (hopefully) complete list of Who's yuletide appearances:

• 'TV Comic 4 week strip December 1965: Christmas Story aka A Story For Christmas' - The 1st Doctor, John, and Gillian battle the Demon Magician to save Santa Claus' toys. This story appears to have been forgotten over the years. Indeed, the only reference I've seen is in Jean- Marc Lofficier's The Terrestrial Index'. This strip was in issues 732-735.
• The Daleks' Master Plan: The Feast of Steven - The only regular episode in the TV series to revolve around Christmas. When the producers realized that episode 7 of their big Dalek serial would air on December 25th, 1965, they decided to experiment. The 1st Doctor, Steven, and Sara have a series of comedic misadventures traveling through time at Christmas. At the end of this cheery episode, William Hartnell addresses the TV audience as himself. This episode is among the ones apparently destroyed by the BBC, though the audio survives. At the moment, Matrix Mutterings has a big feature on The Feast Of Steven which you can access from http://members.aol.com/~troughton/cover.htm
• The Tenth Planet - four episode story that aired in October 1966, the final 1st Doctor story. It seems that this story is set around Christmas 1986. The Grinches (aka The Cybermen) try to spoil Christmas by draining all the energy from Earth, an action that would destroy the planet. When they finally realize the problem with their plan, their planet's heart grows three sizes as the overload of energy destroys it.
• K9 and Company: A Girl's Best Friend - the 1981 pilot for a planned K9 spinoff series. This 50 minute programme was the most watched Who story of the 1980s, and the Doctor didn't appear. Sarah Jane Smith, former companion of the 3rd and 4th Doctors, moves into her aunt's house in a sleepy little town. In a package left by the Doctor, Sarah finds K9 Mark 3, given as a present. Meanwhile, Sarah's aunt has mysteriously disappeared, and Sarah begins to suspect that there may be foul play. This story takes place in the weeks leading up to Christmas, and the closing scene occurs at a Christmas party. K9 even gets to sing a Christmas Carol. Warning: the opening / closing music is, to put it kindly, painful.
• 'Timewyrm: Revelation' - the 4th novel in the Doctor Who New Adventures. Based on the back cover blurb, some of the story takes place in a British village around Christmas 1992. It's presumably one of the subplots that leads up to the battle in the Doctor's mind that this book is remembered for.
• 'Nightshade' - the 8th novel in the Doctor Who New Adventures (I actually read this one). Christmas 1968 in a sleepy English village where something terrible happened in the English Civil War. The 7th Doctor and Ace arrive for a break after recent events. The Doctor's very moody and considering giving up time travel, but he still manages to be more cheerful then most of the residents. On the surface, the residents appear to be suffering from the regrets and malaise that many people feel at this time of year, but it's something much deeper and dangerous. Soon people begin to die and it becomes impossible to leave the village. It seems that those who have the most regrets about the past are dying first. A gripping, if morose, story, with a surprise guest that may destroy the Doctor. Not a Merry Christmas.
• 'Christmas On A Rational Planet' - the 52nd novel in Doctor Who: The New Adventures. The 7th Doctor, Chris, and Roz arrive in America about Christmas 1799. Their festivities are interrupted by friendly people acting unusually violent, the TARDIS battling the Doctor, an extremely rational person under attack from a being of irrationality. Confused? So am I. I'm going by the reviews and the back cover blurb, and it appears that no two people remember reading the same book. Hopefully it's a good tale.
• 'Autumn Mist' - the 21st 8th Doctor Novel in the BBC line, due to be published in April 1999. The authour tells me that it begins on December 16th, and takes place over the next couple of weeks. It features the 8th Doctor, Sam, and Fitz. No word yet on whether they'll take time off to celebrate Christmas.

As of yet, I don't think Doctor Who's remade "It's a Wonderful Life". Still, it's only a matter of time.

If you have any additions or corrections, e-mail me as always.

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The UK and Europe:

UK Gold - satellite / cable
No Friday broadcast
Sunday from 8:25 to 11:10AM - Invasion of the Dinosaurs - movie version
The original Jurassic Park, only it takes place in London instead of on a tropical island. And one member of the cast will join the villains in this story. Episode 1 only exists in black & white, so I imagine the movie version will have a Wizard Of Oz-style feel when it switches to colour for part 2.

BBC Prime - http://www.bbcprime.com/
Late Friday at 1:05AM, Saturday at 9:55AM - Image of the Fendahl - episode 2 of 4
Saturday at 6PM CET - Image of the Fendahl - episode 3 of 4
A skull is making a group of scientists act crazily. Can the 4th Doctor find out why in time to stop a tragedy? And what part did the Doctor's own people play in this mess?

Australia:

FOXTEL's UK-TV - http://www.foxtel.com.au/
Saturday at 1PM, Sunday at 2 and 8AM - Terror of the Autons - all 4 episodes
Monday through Thursday at 11:30PM - The Dæmons - episodes 2 to 5 of 5 Friday at 11:30PM - ?
FOXTEL airs Terror and Daemons, the bookends for the 8th Series of Doctor Who, where the Master was the villain in all 5 stories. These episodes have had the colour restored on prints that are available worldwide, but UK-TV is airing them in black & white. Due to the early publication this week, I do not know what the Friday episode is.

Canada:

SPACE: The Imagination Station http://www.spacecast.com/ and http://www.hwcn.com/~an933/spacedw.htm
Sunday at 8AM EST, Monday at 3:30AM - The Space Museum - episode 1 of 4
Monday to Thursday at 7:30AM - The Space Museum - the four episodes (The Space Museum, The Dimensions Of Time, The Search, The Final Phase)
Friday at 7:30AM - The Chase: The Executioners - episode 1 of 6
SPACE has reached an interesting crossroads, where the weekday episodes catch up with the Sunday shows and move ahead. As a result, episode 1 of The Space Museum gets 3 airings in a 24 hour period. Thank goodness it's the best episode of that offbeat story. Once the 1st Doctor and company survive the Museum (if they survive), they experience episode 1 of The Chase, where a vacation is interrupted by something disturbing on the telly. Looking into the future at your own deaths and being chased by your oldest enemies. What a way to end the year!

The USA:

Maine Public Broadcasting 10, 10, 12, 13, 26, 39 http://www.mpbc.org/
Saturday at 9PM - Terror of the Zygons - episodes 1 and 2 of 4
The 4th Doctor, Sarah, and Harry have been recalled to Earth by the Brigadier to investigate the destruction of oil rigs. The good news - the environmentalists have not gone off their rockers in an attempt to end the use of oil, forcing people to use more pollution causing substitutes. The bad news - the Loch Ness Monster may be real! It's an interesting story, so I hope they have better prints then the ones used for my copy, which were just plain horrific.

New Hampshire Public Television 11, 12, 15, 49, 52 http://nhptv.org/
Friday at 10PM - The Ambassadors of Death - episodes 1 and 2 of 7
8 months ago, a space mission to Mars disappeared without a trace. Now they are approaching Earth with no communications. Are they still alive after all this time? Or is something more sinister heading Earth's way? Episode 1 does survive in colour, but will probably air in black & white to match episode 2.

WQED / WQEX 13, 16 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania http://www.wqed.org/
Saturday at 10:30PM - Revenge of the Cybermen - episode 3 of 4
The Cybermen are back, and they're ticked!

Maryland Public Television 22, 28, 31, 36, 62, 67 http://www.mpt.org/
Friday and Saturday at Midnight - The Time Meddler - movie version
The 1st Doctor, Vicki, Steven, and Steven's teddy bear land in 11th Century England on the eve of the Norman invasion. There's just a few problems or two. Why would Vikings have wristwatches, atomic bazookas be hidden in the forest, a monastery have a gramophone record in it, and a Monk be plotting to lure Vikings into a trap? Could someone be making unauthorized time travel? About 90 minutes.

WUFT 5 Gainesville, Florida http://www.wuft.org/
Saturday at 5PM - The Twin Dilemma - movie version
The Doctor's botched regeneration leaves him virtually psychotic, and more of a danger to the universe then a friend. The villains have an unusually pathetic plan involving kidnaping twins and moving planets, but the 6th Doctor's neuroses are so severe that the villains might actually win, dooming the galaxy. This study in Time Lord insanity runs just over 90 minutes.

WUSF 16 Tampa, Florida http://wusftv.usf.edu/
Saturday at 11:30PM - Time-Flight - episode 1 of 4
They killed Adric! And the Doctor wouldn't undo it? Nyssa won't act, and I can't go back for him myself. We've actually landed at Heathrow Airport at last, but it seems pointless. And who cares about missing Concordes, anyway?

WCET 48 Cincinnati, Ohio http://www.wcet.org/
Saturday at 11:30PM - Doctor Who And The Silurians - episodes 3 and 4 of 7
As humans become aware of the Silurians, the 3rd Doctor tries to broker a peace between the species before a war can break out. Color-restored episodes.

Louisiana Public Broadcasting 13, 18, 24, 24, 25, 27 http://www.lpb.org/
Saturday at 10PM - Planet of the Daleks - episodes 1 and 2 of 6
The Time Lords direct the TARDIS to Spirodon, where Jo and a comatose Doctor face off against invisible Daleks.

Iowa Public Television 11, 12, 27, 32 http://www.iptv.org/ and
http://www.mach3ww.com/sffn/
Friday at 11:05PM - The Mind of Evil - episodes 1 and 2 of 6
The Keller Machine is designed to purge criminals of their evil impulses, turning them into useful if lowly members of society. But is it ethically right, or a worse fate then execution? And what happens to the impulses once the Machine has collected them? Meanwhile, UNIT has to deal with both a peace conference and moving a nuclear missile at the same time.

Prairie Public Television 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 13 http://prairiepublic.com/
Friday at 10:30PM - The Ark In Space - episode 2 of 4
Sarah is trapped in the hybernation section of the Ark as the crew begins to awake. And something else is beginning to stir.

KBDI 12 Denver, Colorado
Friday at 11PM - Planet of the Daleks - episodes 1 and 2 of 6
Saturday at 10PM - Planet of the Daleks - episodes 3 and 4 of 6
(Part 4 of 5 of the song)
So this is the tale of Thal castaways They're here for a long, long time. They'll have to blow up the rest of the beasts.
It's an uphill climb.

Episode three was skipped as it was in black and white, so Saturday was more likely 4,5.

KSPS 7 Spokane, Washington http://www.ksps.org/
Saturday at 10:30PM - The Invasion of Time - movie version
The 4th Doctor returns to Gallifrey of his free will and claims the Presidency. This is the saga of the least successful Presidency of Gallifreyan history! Some people are just better acting as independent agents then being granted total power. 2 hours and 20 minutes.

KBTC 28, 15 Tacoma, Washington
Saturday at 7PM, Monday at 7:30PM and 12:30AM - Silver Nemesis - episode 2 and 3 of 3
The Cybermen, Nazis, and Lady Peinforte fight for control of Time Lord technology, all unaware that they're playing the Doctor's fiendish little game.

KTEH 54 San Jose, California http://www.kteh.org/
Sunday at 11PM - Delta and the Bannermen - all 3 episodes
The 7th Doctor and Mel win a free vacation with the Navarinos in 1959 Disneyland. But since the 1987 production budget wasn't enough to afford Disneyland, they'll have to settle for crash- landing in Wales at a different resort and eluding some deadly aliens who can't understand the concept of a good time.

BBC America http://www.bbcamerica.com/
Saturday at 5PM EST, Sunday at 2PM - Genesis of the Daleks - movie version, part 2 of 3
Davros betrays his own people to ensure the development of the Daleks. Edited to make room for additional commercials. 1 hour.

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It's been a wild ride for Doctor Who fans since this column's mediocre beginnings. WQED Pittsburgh, Maine Public Broadcasting, and Prairie Public Television have picked up the series. KRCB Rhonert Park, WFWA Fort Wayne, and WTBU Indianapolis dropped the series. FOXTEL's UK-TV sent the Doctor on vacation, then brought him back with a best-of run. SPACE wasn't big enough for Doctor Who - the number of broadcasts was reduced and they canceled their order for additional episodes. UK Gold moved Doctor Who earlier and earlier into the mornings (and now into late night), but did give viewers a chance to see the Hartnell through Pertwee adventures again. BBC America finally ordered more episodes. A National Feed intended to jumpstart the series failed to take hold, but it may yet result in stations giving the series a second chance. BBC Choice aired a whole week of Doctor Who for the few UKers with digital sets. Michael Craze (Ben Jackson on the series) passed away. And I have no doubt that 1999 will make 1998 look like the calm before the storm.

A big thank you to Siobhan Morgan, Shaun Lyon, Shannon Patrick Sullivan, T J Lubinski, Ken Patterson, Mark Phippen, Sean Corcoran, Charles Martin, Daniel Frankham, Raymond Tate, Dan McGrath, Marcus Durham, and everyone else who's given me help, information, corrections, and other input. This column would not have survived as long as it has without help from its readers and contributers.

Until next year, take care.

Benjamin F. Elliott
Doctor Who is a trademark of the BBC. Copyright 1998.