THIS WEEK IN DOCTOR WHO - Fri, 29 Jan 1999

By Benjamin F. Elliott

Well, after a surprisingly short recuperation time (the doctor was pleasantly surprised), I'm back on the job typing up the column. It's been funny not writing for a few weeks. Episode 1 of The Crusade was found, probably the biggest TV Who story of the year, and I wasn't writing this column to comment on it. Thankfully Jefferson Eng did a great job covering for me on short notice.

Now that I'm back, I'd like to announce another absence. This one is more pleasant. I'll be in Greece on Friday, March 19th due to Spring Break. So, I have made arrangements with the 12th Doctor (Sean Corcoran) to cover for me that week and give his memories of the episodes airing that week. It should be an interesting installment.

KSPS 7 Spokane, Washington has mysteriously replaced Doctor Who with 3 Red Dwarf episodes. At last word, it was unknown whether this was a temporary or permanent change.

The SPACE channel in Canada has discontinued its Sunday 8AM EST broadcast to air 'Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea' at the same time 7 days a week. The last episode to air their was episode 1 of The Chase. Interestingly, the 'rerun' broadcast at 3:30AM EST the next day (3:15AM this week) has not been discontinued. This leaves Doctor Who as one of only a few shows on SPACE without any same day reruns.

Prairie Public TV of North Dakota appears to be airing Doctor Who in production order, rather then the original broadcast order. This may confuse some viewers who saw the conclusion to The Ark In Space last week and get the beginning of Revenge of the Cybermen this week.

If you have any changes, updates, or other input, send to my e-mail address. And now, on to the schedules:

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The UK and Europe:

UK Gold - satellite / cable channel
Late Friday from Midnight to 1:20AM - Planet of Giants - movie version
Sunday from 8:35 to 10:20AM - The Ark In Space - movie version
Sunday from 10:20 to 11:20AM - The Sontaran Experiment - movie version (moved to following week)
The weekend begins with the adventure where the 1st Doctor finally got Ian and Barbara back to 20th Century Earth. Slight problem - they've all be shrunk to an inch in height. While they're trying to decide what to do next, a man is killed to cover up a secret that endangers all their lives. On Sunday morning fans get a double feature of the 4th Doctor. The Doctor, Sarah, and Harry land on a space station where the survivors of humanity sleep, waiting for a wake-up call that may never come. Then they stop by Earth to see if it is now ready for human habitation again, only to find that it isn't as uninhabited as people think. Great Doctor Who stories, albeit on at times when most viewers will be asleep or at Church. Thank goodness for VCRs.

BBC Prime http://www.bbcprime.com/
Late Friday at 1:05AM, Saturday at 9:55AM - The Sunmakers - episode 3 of 4
Saturday at 6PM CET - The Sunmakers - episode 4 of 4
One of my favourite 4th Doctor stories continues this weekend. The 4th Doctor, Leela, and K9 try to stage a revolution against the forces enslaving humanity on Pluto. Warning: the revolutionary tactics in these episodes are done by professionals. Don't try this at home, at least not without a lot of help.

Australia:

FOXTEL's UK-TV http://www.foxtel.com.au/
Saturday at 1PM, Sunday at 2 and 8AM - Logopolis - all 4 episodes
Saturday at 3PM, Sunday at 4 and 10AM - The King's Demons - both episodes
Monday through Wednesday at 11:30PM - Planet of Fire - episodes 2 to 4 of 4
Thursday and Friday at 11:30PM - Mark Of The Rani - episodes 1 and 2 of 2 (45 minute episodes)
The Who Files continue, currently showing the best of The Master. Logopolis features the end of the 4th Doctor, as the Master's cunning plan goes a little bit farther then even he anticipated, threatening the entire universe. The King's Demons is a compact adventure in 1215 England when the 5th Doctor, Tegan, and Turlough meet King John at a castle in the British countryside, while he is supposed to be in London signing the Magna Carta. Planet Of Fire is an intriguing tale, where a series of unrelated events tie together to bring the 5th Doctor, Turlough, Kamelion, and a college student named Peri to a planet on the point of collapse. It turns out that Turlough has kept a few secrets from the Doctor. Finally, in Mark Of The Rani, someone is making Luddites more dangerous then they actually were in 19th Century England, and the 6th Doctor must figure out why.

Canada:

SPACE: The Imagination Station http://www.spacecast.com/ and
http://www.hwcn.org/~an933/spacedw.htm
Early Monday at 3:15AM EST - 'The Chase: The Death of Time' - episode 2 of 6
Monday and Tuesday at 7:30AM - The War Machines - episodes 3 to 4 of 4
Wednesday through Friday at 7:30AM - The Tomb of the Cybermen - episodes 1 to 3 of 4
Early, early Monday or late, late Sunday, the 1st Doctor, Ian, Barbara, and Vicki try to escape the Aridians before they are handed over to vengeful Daleks. If they escape, the Daleks will kill the Aridians. The regular weekday episodes begin with the end of the last complete 1st Doctor story. The Doctor develops a plan to outwit WOTAN, but time is running out. The week concludes with 'Tomb Of The Cybermen', the famous lost story recovered in 1992. The 2nd Doctor, Jamie, and Victoria join an expedition searching for the last resting place of the Cybermen. But two of the archaeologists on the team have a more sinister motive. Until a few weeks ago, these episodes were the newest recovered ones.

The USA:

Maine Public Broadcasting 10, 10, 12, 13, 26, 39
http://www.mpbc.org/
Saturday at 9PM - The Pyramids Of Mars - episodes 3 and 4 of 4
Sutekh the Destroyer sets the stage for his escape from Mars. The 4th Doctor takes Sarah to "1980". Watch for the reference to Death to the Daleks in these tense episodes.

New Hampshire Public TV 11, 12, 15, 49, 52 http://nhptv.org/
Sunday at 3PM - Inferno - episodes 4 and 5 of 7
On the alternate Earth, the Inferno project is about to penetrate the Earth's crust. If they succeed, they will all be doomed to death, and the 3rd Doctor will be unable to stop it. Watch for the radio scene in episode 5 that was cut from the original BBC broadcast. My guess is that the alternate universe 3rd Doctor was a radio broadcaster.

WQED / WQEX 13, 16 Pittsburgh, PA http://www.wqed.org/
Saturday at 11:30PM - Terror of the Zygons - episode 4 of 4
The Zygons prepare to attack London. The 4th Doctor offers the Loch Ness Monster a treat.

Maryland Public TV 22, 28, 31, 36, 62, 67 http://www.mpt.org/
Friday at 11:59PM, Saturday at Midnight - The Dominators - movie version
The 2nd Doctor, Jamie, and Zoe land on Dulkis, a peace-loving planet, for a vacation. The vacation is cut short by 2 Dominators, who plan to destroy the planet to refuel their spaceship. About 2 hours, 2 minutes. It starts 1 minute early on Friday to accomodate their late night schedule.

WUFT 5 Gainesville, FL http://www.wuft.org/
Saturday at 5PM - Timelash - movie version
It's an unusual tale of deception and monkeying with the laws of time travel when the Doctor Who series attempts to make a sequel to a story that was never made. The planet Karfel's future is endangered by its ruler, a man who is erasing all known mentions of "The Doctor" from his civilization. Guest starring H G Wells.

WUSF 16 Tampa, FL http://wusftv.usf.edu/
Saturday at 11:40PM - Arc of Infinity - episode 2 of 4
Time approximate after pledge drives. The Time Lords take drastic actions to keep the anti- matter being from crossing over to the regular universe. Is it right to kill an innocent man to protect the universe?

WCET 48 Cincinnati, OH http://www.wcet.org/
Saturday at 11:30PM - The Ambassadors of Death - episodes 6 and 7 of 7
General Carrington is determined to start a war with the aliens, and will go to any lengths to accomplish this goal. The 3rd Doctor works on a peaceful arrangement. A television broadcast is scheduled. Black and White version. (If you happen to have a good quality color version - instead of the problematic version floating around - the BBC would love to borrow it for restoration purposes.)

Louisiana Public Broadcasting 13, 18, 24, 24, 25, 27
http://www.lpb.org/
Saturday at 10PM - The Green Death - episodes 5 and 6 of 6
Jo has fallen deeply in love with Professor Jones, who hovers between life and death. BOSS activates its plan to take mental control of everyone on Earth. The maggots go on the offensive. Final appearance of Katy Manning in the series.

Iowa Public TV 11, 12, 27, 32 http://www.iptv.org/ and
http://www.mach3ww.com/sffn/
Late Friday at 12:05AM - Colony In Space - episodes 1 and 2 of 6
IPTV's entire late Friday schedule will air an hour late due to wrestling The Time Lords send the 3rd Doctor and Jo 5 centuries in the future to unravel a twin dilemma. A mining corporation wants the rights to a planet that a colony has established itself on. Little do the two sides know of the potential danger lurking nearby.

Prairie Public TV of ND 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 13 http://www.prairiepublic.org/
Friday at 10:30PM - Revenge of the Cybermen - episode 1 of 4
» The next issue confirmed this was in fact Genesis of the Daleks episode 1
The 4th Doctor, Sarah, and Harry return to Nerva millenia before they left it, and are immediately confronted by a space plague.

KBDI 12 Denver, CO http://www.kbdi.org/
Friday at 11PM - The Green Death - episode 6 of 6
Friday at 11:30PM, Saturday at 10PM - The Time Warrior - episode 1 of 4
Saturday at 10:30PM - The Time Warrior - episode 2 of 4
In the conclusion of The Green Death, the 3rd Doctor battles BOSS while the maggots begin to hatch into a new deadlier species. In The Time Warrior, Sarah Jane Smith, intrepid freelance reporter, thinks she's got the story of the year when scientists disappear from a top-secret installation. Her top suspect is a Doctor John Smith, who owns a Police Box.

KSPS 7 Spokane, WA http://www.ksps.org/ - MISSING FROM SCHEDULE!!

KBTC / KCKA 28, 15 Tacoma, WA
Saturday at 7PM and 12:30AM, Monday at 7:30PM - Ghost Light - episodes 1 and 2 of 3
Late Monday at 12:30AM - Ghost Light - episode 2 of 3
The 7th Doctor takes Ace back in time to visit her worst nightmare. Unfortunately, some pesky aliens are there too. Worse, everyone's mumbling. Who's the real enemy - one of the aliens, a human, or the creep who forgot to turn on the microphones?

KTEH 54 San Jose, CA http://www.kteh.org/
Sunday at 11PM - The Greatest Show in the Galaxy - all 4 episodes
Late Sunday at 12:40AM - "Mythmakers: Jon Pertwee"
Junk mail invades the TARDIS and lures the 7th Doctor and Ace to an intergalactically famous circus. The Doctor expects to have a good time, but Ace fears that a great evil is present. Ace is right. After the story, stick around for a Mythmakers interview with Jon Pertwee.

BBC America http://www.bbcamerica.com/
Saturday at 5PM EST, Sunday at 2PM - Terror of the Zygons - movie version, part 2 of 2
The second half of the story. The Zygons decide to kill the Doctor, unleash the Loch Ness Monster on London, and plot to conquer the Earth. Some scenes may be cut to fit the time slot and allow more commercials. This is the first broadcast of this story on BBC America. 1 hour.

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Until next week, take care.