And a Happy WHO Year!
THIS WEEK IN DOCTOR WHO - January 1st, 1999!

This is my first column of the year, yet also my last for a while. Due to an incident involving ice, a sidewalk, and an elbow, I will be taking a brief leave of absence from this column, probably for the rest of the month. This column requires a lot of typing, too much for me to do with one working hand. Jefferson Eng has graciously offered to substitute until I'm ready to resume.

Until I return, take care. - Benjamin F. Elliott

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THE UK AND EUROPE:

UK Gold - satellite / cable
No Friday broadcast
Sunday from 9:15 to 11:10AM - Death to the Daleks - movie version
The 3rd Doctor and Sarah's intergalactic search for a beach is interrupted when the TARDIS loses all power, landing on a barren, rocky planet. The natives are hostile, the human interlopers are desparate, and as most viewers will guess from the title, the Daleks are going to turn up. Interestingly, everyone, even the Daleks, have no power. Will the Doctor or the Daleks get to the Root of the problem first?

BBC Prime http://www.bbcprime.com/
Late Friday at 1:05AM, Saturday at 9:55AM - Image of the Fendahl - episode 3 of 4
Saturday at 6PM CET - Image of the Fendahl - episode 4 of 4
The 4th Doctor learns the secrets of the Fendahl and why there is no official information on their existence. And why they must be stopped from their plan to destroy Earth.

AUSTRALIA:

FOXTEL's UK-TV http://www.foxtel.com.au/
Saturday at 1PM, Sunday at 2 and 8AM - The Dæmons - all 5 episodes
Monday through Friday at 11:30PM - The Sea Devils - episodes 1 to 5 of 6
Saturday (Late Friday) at 12:00 AM - The Sea Devils - episode 6 of 6
The spotlight is on the Delgado Master as his fate is decided in these back to back stories as FOXTEL continues their Who Files into the new year. In the weekend story, the Doctor attempts to prevent the uncovering of a dig in the village of Devil's End. And in The Sea Devils, the Doctor and Jo visit the Master in his high-security prison when the Doctor starts investigating the occurrence of ships mysteriously disappearing at sea. What.s behind these mysterious disappearance and how is the Master behind it all? Find out by tuning into FOXTEL's UKTV channel.

CANADA:

SPACE - The Imagination Station http://www.spacecast.com/ and
http://www.hwcn.org/~an933/spacedw.htm
Sunday at 8AM EST, Monday at 3:30AM - The Space Museum: The Dimensions of Time - episode 2 of 4
Monday through Friday at 7:30AM - The Chase - episodes 1 to 5 of 6 (The Executioners, The Death Of Time, Flight Through Eternity, Journey Into Terror, The Death Of Doctor Who)
Get the new year off right with a healthy dose of Hartnell. Sunday sees the Doctor and company, finally in the present, trying to alter the future in which they wind up as dead exhibits. The weekday episodes feature the Daleks hunting the TARDIS crew, in a terrifying battle that will wind up splitting the four apart forever. Viewers may note that SPACE interrupted its weekday Who rotation for the first time ever on January 1st, so the weekday episodes are one day behind what viewers may remember from the last 2 cycles.

THE USA:

Maine Public Broadcasting 10, 10, 12, 13, 26, 39 http://www.mpbc.org/
Saturday at 9PM - Terror of the Zygons - episodes 3 and 4 of 4
The 4th Doctor, Sarah, Harry, and the Brigadier (in his last appearance for many years) race to outwit the shape changing Zygons before they conquer Earth. Naturally, the Zygons believe that taking London is the key. Note the Female Prime Minister in this story. The story was assumed (never mentioned on-screen) to take place in the early 1980s, when Margaret Thatcher had indeed become Prime Minister.

New Hampshire Public Television 11, 12, 15, 49, 52 http://nhptv.org/
Sunday at 3PM - The Ambassadors of Death - episodes 3 and 4 of 7
New Day and Time. The Ambassadors are kidnapped, and as the 3rd Doctor searches for them, evidence emerges that they might not be who people think they are.

WQED / WQEX 13, 16 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania http://www.wqed.org/
Saturday at 11:30PM - Revenge of the Cybermen - episode 4 of 4
New Time. It's a race between the planet Voga and Nerva Beacon to determine which one will be destroyed in the "biggest bang of history".

Maryland Public Television 22, 28, 31, 36, 62, 67 http://www.mpt.org/
Friday and Saturday at Midnight - The Ark - movie version
The 1st Doctor, Steven, and Dodo land in the far future on a space ship carrying the final survivors of humanity. The TARDIS' crew's actions may well shape the future of human civilization. So of course they mess up. About 95 minutes.

WUFT 5 Gainesville, Florida http://www.wuft.org/
Saturday at 5PM - Attack of the Cybermen - movie version
A distress call from Earth draws the Doctor back to an old acquaintance and some old enemies. The Doctor must prevent time from being changed, but will his instability get in the way of things? About 90 minutes.

WUSF 16 Tampa, Florida http://wusftv.usf.edu/
Late Saturday at 12:15AM - Time-Flight - episode 2 of 4
Special time. Tegan, we're not at Heathrow Airport anymore. The Doctor and Company must find their way back to the present from prehistoric Earth. Who is this strange little man named Kalid and why does he act and sound so familiar?

WCET 48 Cincinnati, Ohio http://www.wcet.org/
Saturday at 11:30PM - Doctor Who And The Silurians - episodes 5 and 6 of 7
The Doctor must find a cure for the Silurian virus in time before the whole human race is wiped out. WCET is showing the recolourized prints of these episodes.

Louisiana Public Broadcasting 13, 18, 24, 24, 25, 27 http://www.lpb.org/
Saturday at 10PM - Planet of the Daleks - episodes 3 and 4 of 6
The Third Doctor, Jo, and the Thals go up against the Daleks on the planet Spiridon where the Daleks are attempting to gain the power of invisisbility. Will the good guys be able to stop the Dalek's plan fo conquest in time? Episode 3 only exist as a black and white film print in the BBC's Film and Video Library so the transistion to episode 4 may appear jarring to some.

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 3 and 4 of 6
Professor Keller reveals himself to be someone we know quite well. The Keller Machine decides to act for itself, fouling everyone's plans, even the villain's. These episodes were in Black & White because the color prints were apparently destroyed.

Prairie Public Television of North Dakota 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 13
http://www.prairiepublic.org/
Friday at 10:30PM - Ark in Space - episode 1 of 4
The Doctor, Harry, and Sarah Jane find themselves 10,000 years in the future on board space station Nerva where they find the sleeping residents of planet Earth that was to be ravaged by solar flares. But there's a fly in the ointment when Harry discovers a surprise in the boorm closet.

KBDI 12 Denver, Colorado
Friday at 11PM - Planet of the Daleks - episodes 3 and 4 of 6?
Saturday at 10PM - Planet of the Daleks - episodes 5 and 6 of 6?
(Conclusion of song)
Stanza 5: No more bombs! No more flares! No more relief space crafts! Not a single luxury. Like special effects from the 70s, It's primitive as can be! So join them here each week my friends. You're sure to get a blast On the Planet Of The Daleks - See it while it lasts!

Episode three was skipped as it was in black and white; the episodes shown were more likely 4,5 and 6/The Green Death: Episode One respectively.

KSPS 7 Spokane, Washington http://www.ksps.org/
Saturday at 10:30PM - The Ribos Operation - movie version
The 4th Doctor's vacation is ruined when a mysterious fraud calling himself "The White Guardian" convinces the Doctor to search for The Key To Time. With new companions Romana and K9 2, the Doctor travels to a medaevil society which a warlord is trying to buy to replenish his fleet of mercenaries. It's actually much more interesting then this, as viewers'll see.

KBTC / KCKA 28, 15 Tacoma, Washington
Saturday at 7PM, Monday at 7:30PM and 12:30AM - The Greatest Show in the Galaxy - episodes 1 and 2 of 4
A stubborn piece of junk mail infiltrates the TARDIS and convinces the 7th Doctor and Ace to visit a famous intergalactic circus. This could be a deadly mistake. Note the earring that Ace picks up in this story that she wore in the previous story. The story order was changed at the last minute that year due to the Olympics and Doctor Who's 25th Anniversary.

KTEH 54 San Jose, California http://www.kteh.org/
Sunday at 11PM - Dragonfire - all 3 episodes
The 7th Doctor and Mel land on Iceworld, where Sabalom Glitz searches for treasure, a girl named Ace searches for a career change, and a man named Kane wants to keep kold. What is the secret behind the treasure of Iceworld? And who on Earth designed the first cliffhanger?

BBC America - cable / Dish Network channel 135 http://www.bbcamerica.com/
Saturday at 5PM EST, Sunday at 2PM - Genesis of the Daleks - movie version, part 3 of 3
The Doctor tries to persuade Davros to give up his plans, but Davros is convinced there will be no peace until the Daleks are the supreme beings of the Universe. Can the Doctor finally destroy them? Trouble mounts as the despotic Daleks take over the bunker. Edited to make room for commercials. 1 hour.

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Well, that's about it for this week and starting next week I.m sure we'll coping for a while with this column as Benjamin recuperates from his injuries. In the meantime, though, This Week in Doctor Who, unlike the series this column represents, will continue on even though the regular editor is a little....er...accident-prone. :-)

Benjamin F. Elliott and Jefferson Eng

Doctor Who is a trademark of the BBC. Copyright 1999.