THIS WEEK IN DOCTOR WHO - Fri, 19 Feb 1999

By Benjamin F. Elliott

Somehow, I think the column will annoy a few people this week. Too bad. It's about time something was done about this particular matter ...

Well, it's happened for the second week in a row. A Doctor Who broadcaster (Lousiana Public Broadcasting in this case) was sent the **5** episode version of Invasion of the Dinosaurs again! As most Who fans are aware, by the late 1980s Planet of the Daleks and Invasion of the Dinosaurs were often distributed without the segments that only survive in Black & White. I assume the people syndicating did this on the theory that people would be confused by the story switching between colour and BW. A few years back, they must have realized that Doctor Who fans are more interested in having a coherent story that switches formats than an incomplete story that stays in colour. I know that the complete versions of Planet of the Daleks and Invasion of the Dinosaurs have aired in places in recent years. But the incomplete versions are still out there. The movie versions of Planet and Invasion are missing the BW portions, and stations ordering the syndication packages are still being sent the 5 episode versions. Indeed, LPB (http://www.lpb.org/) lists the codes for the episodes they receive. The Time Warrior ends with code 11004. Invasion of the Dinosaurs episode 2 is code 11005. Unless a station programmer is extremely aware of the ins and outs of Doctor Who, he or she will never know that they are being sent an incomplete product.

Why? How much more expensive would it be to send out the 6 episode versions than the 5 episode versions? Admittedly, movie format is harder, but a 10 second onscreen message alerting viewers to what will happen should satisfy people.

At the moment, there are 6 broadcasters that are airing / about to air the Pertwee stories. 4 of them (NHPTV, MPT (movie versions), WCET, and IPTV) have not yet reached Planet of the Daleks or Invasion of the Dinosaurs. It might be a good idea for viewers to politely contact these stations to make sure they know about the incomplete versions still out there (they have e- mail links from their web sites listed elsewhere in the column). These versions sometimes feature renumbered episodes, so Planet of the Daleks 4 could be Planet of the Daleks 3 and Invasion of the Dinosaurs 2 could be Invasion of the Dinosaurs 1, so warn them. I sincerely doubt that any of the current Doctor Who stations want to send out incomplete, chopped up products. If they know that viewers want the complete version, maybe they'll inquire WHY the incomplete versions are still being sent out. Maybe.

As always, any additions, corrections, or suggestions for the column can be emailed. And now, on to the schedules:

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Europe:

UK Gold:
Late Friday from Midnight to 3AM The Web Planet movie version
Sunday from 9:30 to 11:20AM Revenge of the Cybermen movie version
This weekend, UK Gold offers up two stories that often get unfairly criticized for having dated very poorly. The 1st Doctor tale 'Web Planet' gets attacked for the gunk on the camera lenses, the Zarbi legs, the Doctor's coughing being heard from the other side of the planet, Jon Pertwee's colour opening credits appearing in the middle of a fight sequence (or is that just my copy), etc. Revenge is probably the victim of being right after Genesis of the Daleks and being the oldest surviving Cybermen story for a long time. The Cybersuits look clanky, the recording spool used in the 30th Century would be replaced by the mid 1980s (it was actually changed to an audio tape in the American novelization), the introduction of gold as a Cyber weakness, and more. But if you're not in the mood to play 'find the mistakes', the stories are fun, and a nice diversion from reality.

BBC Prime
http://www.bbcprime.com/
Late Friday at 1:05AM, Saturday at 10AM Underworld episode 2 of 4
Saturday at 6PM CET Underworld episode 3 of 4
The Minyan ship crashes into a planet, where they find the ship with their race bank. Getting it back could prove somewhat tricky, as the ship is protected by deadly robot guards and other defenses. Meanwhile, they discover a slave civilization to rescue.

Australia:

FOXTEL's UK-TV
http://www.foxtel.com.au/
Saturday at 1PM, Sunday at 2 and 8AM The Time Warrior all 4 episodes
Saturday at 3PM, Sunday at 4 and 10AM The Sontaran Experiment both episodes
Monday through Friday at 11:30PM The Invasion of Time episodes 2 to 6 of 6
More Who Files. Weekend viewers can enjoy the first two Sontaran stories. In the weekday episodes, the 4th Doctor has claimed the Presidency of Gallifrey, but can he be trusted with it? Even Leela has trouble trusting the Doctor when he behaves as he does in this twisting adventure. It's also Leela's last appearance, so maybe her suspicions are justified.

North America:

SPACE: The Imagination Station
http://www.spacecast.com/ and http://www.hwcn.org/~an933/spacedw.htm
Early Monday at 3:30AM The Chase: The Death of Doctor Who episode 5 of 6
Monday at 7:30AM EST The Mind Robber episode 5 of 5
Tuesday through Friday at 7:30AM The Krotons episodes 1 through 4 of 4
In the early Monday broadcast, the Daleks create a 'perfect replica' of the 1st Doctor, programmed to kill the TARDIS crew. Later Monday, in the shortest regular episode of the entire series (18 minutes), the 2nd Doctor, Jamie, and Zoe fight a battle of wits with the Master of the Land of Fiction. For the rest of the week, they visit a planet where a peaceful people live life unaware that they are being used in a plot to restore power to an alien spacecraft. This spacecraft will destroy their civilization when it takes off. 1st story written by famous Who writer Robert Holmes, and first appearance by the popular Philip Madoc in the series.

Maine Public Broadcasting 10, 10, 12, 13, 26
http://www.mpbc.org/
Off the air due to special Basketball programming. Doctor Who returns on March 13th.

New Hampshire Public TV 11, 15, 18, 49, 52
http://nhptv.org/
Sunday at 3PM Terror of the Autons episodes 3 and 4 of 4
The Master plans to help the Autons bring the Nestene consciousness back to Earth by creating a state of chaos. Is the Doctor capable of stopping 'flower power' before it kills half a million people? And why would the Master think that the Nestenes would give him control of Earth?

WQED / WQEX 13, 16 Pittsburgh, PA
http://www.wqed.org/
Saturday at 11PM Planet of Evil episodes 3 and 4 of 4
Red Dwarf's gone for a while, and the Doctor's got his time slot! Professor Sorenson learns the dangers of experimenting with anti-matter as he degenerates into a monster. First known case of Doctor Who exploring the consequences of drug addiction, albeit in a rather oblique way. Meanwhile, the Planet refuses to let the Morestran ship leave the atmosphere with any anti-matter aboard.

Maryland Public TV 22, 28, 31, 36, 62, 67
http://www.mpt.org/
Friday and Saturday at Midnight The Seeds of Death movie version
The Ice Warriors are back, and they want control of the Earth. Well, actually, this is their first appearance, as the other invasion occurs 9 Centuries in the future. But that invasion involved Ice Warriors who had been entombed in ice since well before this adventure. So, is it a sequel or a prequel? Never mind. They've taken over the moon, and they will wipe out humanity and colonize the planet unless the 2nd Doctor, Jamie, and Zoe do something about it. About 2 hrs, 16 minutes.

WUFT 5 Gainesville, FL
http://www.wuft.org/
Saturday at 5PM The Trial Of A Time Lord movie version, part 2 of 4
Also known as "Mindwarp." The Valeyard presents his second piece of evidence. In it, the 6thDoctor and Peri visit Thoros-Beta following up on the last words of a warlord. Just as they find evidence of experiments violating all of ethics, the Doctor's mind gets scrambled. From there, things turn nasty ... Around 90 minutes.

WUSF 16 Tampa, FL
http://wusftv.usf.edu/
Saturday at 11:30PM Arc of Infinity episode 4 of 4
The 5th Doctor, Nyssa, and Tegan reunite to stop Omega from bonding with the Doctor and remaining in our universe. Is this the resumption of a beautiful friendship?

WCET 48 Cincinnati, OH
http://www.wcet.org/
Saturday at 11:30PM Inferno episodes 5 and 6 of 7
The alternate Earth has just sentenced itself to death. They've broken through the crust of the planet. Nothing the 3rd Doctor can do will save them. And he's trapped with them.

Louisiana Public Broadcasting 13, 18, 24, 24, 25, 27
http://www.lpb.org/
Saturday at 10PM Invasion of the Dinosaurs episodes 2 and 3 of 6
The 3rd Doctor, Sarah, the Brigadier, Benton, and Yates investigate the appearance of Dinosaurs in Central London. Of course, if you want to see how this story begins, you're out of luck. The version of Invasion Of The Dinosaurs they were given does not include episode 1.

Iowa Public TV 11, 12, 21, 24, 27, 32, 32, 32, 36
http://www.iptv.org/ and http://www.mach3ww.com/sffn/
Friday at 11:05PM The Dæmons episodes 1 and 2 of 5
Archaeologists prepare to open Devil's End, a famous site believed to harbor a great evil. Bad news, folks - the legends are right!

Prairie Public TV of ND 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 13, 19
http://www.prairiepublic.org/
Friday at 10:30PM Genesis of the Daleks episode 4 of 6
The Thals believe the war is over. They have no idea how deadly wrong they are.

KBDI 12, 11, 32 Denver, CO
http://www.kbdi.org/
Friday at 11PM Invasion of the Dinosaurs episode 3 of 6
Friday at 11:30PM, Saturday at 10PM Invasion of the Dinosaurs episode 4 of 6
Saturday at 10:30PM Invasion of the Dinosaurs episode 5 of 6
The 3rd Doctor's investigations into the Dinosaurs is hampered by a traitor inside UNIT, a person we all know well. Meanwhile, Sarah learns to much and finds herself on an alien spacecraft heading for a new planet! Or is she?

KSPS 7 Spokane, WA
http://www.ksps.org/
Saturday at 10:30PM The Power of Kroll movie version
After a 3 week hiatus, the 4th Doctor returns searching for the 5th segment of the Key To Time. But first, he must unravel the mysteries of a refinery that is impossibly successful, natives that worship an unbelievably large octopus, and a refinery employee who looks suspiciously like the actor who voices K9, who isn't in this story. About 83 minutes.

KBTC / KCKA 28, 15 Tacoma, WA
Saturday at 7PM and 12:30AM, Monday at 7:30PM and 1AM The Curse of Fenric episode 4 of 4
Saturday at 7:30PM and 1AM, Monday at 8PM and 1:30AM Survival episode 1 of 3
First, the 7th Doctor faces Fenric in the battle for humanity's survival. Then, the Doctor takes Ace back to Perivale, where most of her old friends are disappearing.

KTEH 54 San Jose, CA
http://www.kteh.org/
Sunday at 11PM The Curse of Fenric all 4 episodes (original)
The 7th Doctor and Ace go to a 1943 England village where Russians are out to steal a British code cracker being used against the Nazis. Mysterious deaths on all sides and a Viking curse make the Doctor suspect a larger plot, where they are all being used as pawns. And the enemy is preparing to go for checkmate. This is not the extended video version that KTEH aired in a recent pledge drive, but the original BBC broadcasts.

BBC America
http://www.bbcamerica.com/
Saturday at 5PM, Sunday at 2PM EST The Pyramids Of Mars movie version, part 1 of 2
In Egypt, Marcus Scarman uncovers a tomb that triggers efforts to release a deadly being from a millenia-old trap. Marcus returns to his Priory in England, where the 4th Doctor and Sarah have just arrived. The death toll begins to mount. Edited for additional commercials. 1 hour.

Central / South America:

HBO OLE
http://www.hbo-ole.com/ (Spanish language)
Late Friday at 1AM*, Early Tuesday at 4:44AM* Dr. Who the 1996 telemovie with Spanish subtitles
*Argentina time on the ESTE feed, Mexico time on the OESTE feed
Two more airings of the most recent TV Who production. The HBO OLE site lists all countries that can receive the channel, which country gets which feed, etc. Maybe if enough people watch, they'll buy some of the older episodes.

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That's about it for this week. Until next week, take care.