THIS WEEK IN DOCTOR WHO - 8 JANUARY 1999

Well, this is my first edition of this column to be produced solely by me and only one piece of news has come by since the last edition. I hope you all at home have recovered from your New Year's hangovers. We start off this week's edition with some good news. Thanks to Artimus Brown for providing the following info for Primestar viewers:

"I was recently surfing through the channels on Primestar and came accross BBC America on channel 55. Although I haven't found any news on their site or in the programing guide, it is there. I can only hope that it will remain. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know and I'll try to find more info on it's status for Primestar and pass it on."

So this is good news for Doctor Who fans who wish to see BBC America. Let's hope for more of these kinds of announcements in the future. You can find out what this week's episode of Doctor Who is showing on BBC America by going further to the bottom of this column.

THE UK AND EUROPE:

UK Gold - satellite / cable
Friday (early Saurday morning) from 12:00 to 2:30 AM - The Keys of Marinus - movie version
Sunday from 8:25 to 11:20AM - The Monster of Peladon - movie version
UK Gold resumes its run of B&W stories with this classic Hartnell serial. Here, the Doctor and company are entrusted to search for the missing keys to a machine which will bring peace back to the planet. Watch out for the Voords sporting the latest fashion in diving outfits. The Doctor revisits the planet Peladon Sunday morning only to find that nothing much has changed (besides a queen now ruling instead of a king). This story marks the appearance of a certain Ice Warrior whose namesake is also the same as the alias a certain troller on rec.arts.drwho goes under.

BBC Prime http://www.bbcprime.com/
Late Friday at 1:05AM, Saturday at 10:00 AM - Image of the Fendahl - episode 4 of 4
Saturday at 6PM CET - The Sun Makers - episode 1 of 4
In the final episode of 'Image of the Fendahl', the Doctor buys time with an ancient charm as he tries to come up with a way to defeat the Fendahl and save mankind. And in 'The Sunmakers', the Doctor is mystified to find Pluto inhabited by humans.

AUSTRALIA:

FOXTEL's UK-TV http://www.foxtel.com.au/
Saturday at 1PM, Sunday at 2 and 8AM - The Sea Devils - all 6 episodes
Monday through Thursday at 11:30PM - The Deadly Assassin - episodes 1 to 4 of 4
Friday at 11:30 PM - The Keeper of Traken - episode 1 of 4
The spotlight on Master continues on FOXTEL this week starting this weekend with '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? The Master returns to Gallifrey in 'The Deadly Assassin' and his appearance has changed. He's used up his regenerations and his sinister plans involve much more than the Doctor here. In 'Keeper of Traken', the Doctor receives a call for help to try and prevent a great evil from taking control. Will the Doctor be able to stop it in time and who is this mysterious Melkur?

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 Search - episode 3 of 4
Monday at 7:30 - The Chase: The Planet of Decision episode 6 of 6
Tuesday through Friday at 7:30AM - The Time Meddler - episodes 1 to 4 of 4 (The Watcher, The Meddling Monk, A Battle of Wits, Checkmate)
Three different stories are represented on SPACE this week. The weekend episode has our heroes making an attempt on trying to escape from the situation they're in. Ian makes a startling discovery at the end of this episode. Then on Monday, the time travellers are taken prisoner by the Mechanoids and then escape, but not without consequence to the daleks that were chasing them. This is the last story with Ian and Barabara and a touching video montage is featured at the end of this episode. The week closes out when the Doctor gains a new companion in the form of Steven Taylor. The TARDIS lands in England in the year 1066, but the Doctor finds items from the 20th and is surprised to learn that the local Monk is one of his own people.

THE USA:

Maine Public Broadcasting 10, 10, 12, 13, 26, 39 http://www.mpbc.org/
Saturday at 9PM - Planet of Evil - episodes 1 and 2 of 4
After a devastating attack and counter-attack by Anti-Matter Monsters, Professor Sorenson's space expedition from the planet Morestra is dramatically rescued by the Doctor.

New Hampshire Public Television 11, 12, 15, 49, 52 http://nhptv.org/
Sunday at 3PM - The Ambassadors of Death - episodes 5 and 6 of 7
The fate of the Earth hangs in the balance as the Doctor is given an ultimatum to return the alien ambassadors. Will the Doctor get to the bottom of things in time?

WQED / WQEX 13, 16 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania http://www.wqed.org/
Saturday at 11:30PM - Terror of the Zygons - episode 1 of 4
When is Scotland not Scotland in Doctor Who? When it involves the Zygons. The Doctor, Sarah, and Harry are called in by the Brigadier (in his last appearance for many years) investigate a series of attacks on North Sea oil rigs. What's behind these attacks and since this supposed to be Scotland, are they going to use the Loch Ness monster in this episode?

Maryland Public Television 22, 28, 31, 36, 62, 67 http://www.mpt.org/
Friday and Saturday at Midnight - The Gunfighters - movie version
The Doctor needs to go to the dentist so he lands the TARDIS in the Wild West. Unfortunately, the local dentist's name is Doc Holliday and it seems the Doc is engaged is old-fashioned western feud and the TARDIS find themselves caught in the middle of it. This classic Hartnell story features the song that everybody loves to hate: "The Ballad of the Last Chance Saloon". About 100 minutes.

WUFT 5 Gainesville, Florida http://www.wuft.org/
Saturday at 5PM - Vengeance on Varos - movie version
The Doctor's TARDIS needs a rare ore called zeiton 7, which seems to only available on a planet called Varos. There, the Doctor and Peri stumble in on the only entertainment for the Varosians, public torture. Will the Doctor be able to get what he came for without blundering into danger? About 90 minutes.

WUSF 16 Tampa, Florida http://wusftv.usf.edu/
Late Saturday at 12:10AM - Time-Flight - episode 3 of 4
Special time. Kalid reveals himself to be the Master and his plans are revealed. The Doctor must stop the Master from taking the power of the Xeraphin.

WCET 48 Cincinnati, Ohio http://www.wcet.org/
Saturday at 11:30PM - Doctor Who And The Silurians - episode 7 of 7
Saturday (Early Sunday) at 12AM - Ambassadors of Death - episode 1 of 7
The Doctor tricks the Silurians into hibernation before investigating the disappearance of Mars Probe 7.

Louisiana Public Broadcasting 13, 18, 24, 24, 25, 27 http://www.lpb.org/
Saturday at 10:30PM - Planet of the Daleks - episode 5 of 6
The daleks attempt to unleash a harmful bacteria onto all the inhabitants of the planet Spiridon. Will the Doctor be able to stop the daleks spreading the bacteria?

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 5 and 6 of 6
The Master's plans come to fruition as the Keller Machine become increasingly out of control, but the Doctor comes to save the day at the last moment. Will the Master be caught in the end? 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 2 of 4
The survivors begin to awake as the Doctor investigates the cause of the ark's sabotage, but one of the survivors begins to act strangely toward the others. Hrmmmm, I wonder.....

KBDI 12 Denver, Colorado
Friday at 11PM - Planet of the Daleks - episode 6 of 6
Friday at 11:30PM - The Green Death - episode 1 of 6
Saturday at 10PM - The Green Death - episodes 2 and 3 of 6
The Doctor attempts to put the daleks on ice (literally) before returning back to Earth to investigate the sudden death of a Welsh coal miner. Meanwhile, Jo joins a commune in Wales.

KSPS 7 Spokane, Washington http://www.ksps.org/
Saturday at 10:30PM - The Pirate Planet - movie version
The search for the key to time brings the TARDIS crew to a planet that's not where it belongs. The Doctor comes face to face with plundering pirate who squeezes out the resources of any planet of his own choosing. His next target, though, is Earth. With the Doctor, Romana, an K9 stop the mad pirate in time?

KBTC / KCKA 28, 15 Tacoma, Washington
Saturday at 7PM, Monday at 7:30PM and 1:00AM - The Greatest Show in the Galaxy - episodes 3 and 4 of 4
The Doctor discovers the secret of the Circus while attempting to keep the audience entertained. Ace and a new-found friend try to keep themselves alive.

KTEH 54 San Jose, California http://www.kteh.org/
Sunday at 11PM - Rememberance of the Daleks - all 4 episodes
The TARDIS arrives in London in 1963, where the Doctor and Ace encounter two rival factions of daleks seeking an ancient Gallifreyan artifact that the Doctor left behind on Earth long ago. The Doctor has a plan up his sleeve and we're wondering what's going on. This story was later retconned by a certain BBC Books author; find out why.

BBC America - cable / Dish Network channel 135 / Primestar channel 55
http://www.bbcamerica.com/
Saturday at 5PM EST, Sunday at 2PM - Revenge of the Cybermen - movie version, part 1 of 2
The Doctor and his friends return to the Ark to recover the Tardis, but things have changed. What is behind the space plague? Can the Doctor save Sarah's life when she becomes infected by the venom from a cybermat? Edited to make room for commercials. 1 hour.

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That's it for this week's edition of and I dare say that it's not a bad effort if I do say so myself. I should only count my blessings for so long, though, and hope that Benjamin recovers from his injury soon. And now that Primestar viewers now have access to BBC America, this just goes to show that good things come in nice packages. Until next week, take care.

Jefferson Eng

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