THIS WEEK IN DOCTOR WHO - Fri, 26 Feb 1999

By Benjamin F. Elliott

It's a pretty quiet week Doctor Who wise. NHPTV and WQED are airing Doctor Who marathons to raise money and keep the show on their schedules. And that's really about it. Consider it a nice lull. March will see the Comic Relief Doctor Who special, SPACE rearranging their schedules without further downgrading the series (for once), wild and wonderful Doctor Who pledge scheduling on PBS stations, and an edition of this column written by The Doctor (12thincarnation).

Input is appreciated. If you know of any corrections or additions to the listings here, please contact me. And now, on to the schedules:

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Europe:

UK Gold
Late Friday from 11:55PM to 1:40AM The Space Museum movie version
Sunday from 9:10 to 11AM Terror of the Zygons movie version
UK Gold offers viewers a sneak preview of upcoming BBC releases this weekend. Friday the 1stDoctor, Ian, Barbara, and Vicki come face to face with the problems of time travel after seeing the future - where they are dead. Sunday morning the 4th Doctor, Sarah, and Harry return to Earth and head to Scotland, where the Brigadier is investigating sunken oil rigs. Two classic stories. Of course, the video releases later in the year will have crisper pictures and unedited cliffhangers.

BBC Prime
http://www.bbcprime.com/
Late Friday at 1AM CET Underworld episode 3 of 4
Saturday at 10AM and 6PM Underworld episode 4 of 4
The 4th Doctor, Leela, and K9 battle to save the Minyan racebank from a deranged computer and its robotic servants.

Australia:

FOXTEL's UK-TV
http://www.foxtel.com.au/
Saturday at 1PM, Sunday at 2 and 8AM The Invasion of Time all 6 episodes
Monday through Wednesday at 11:30PM The Two Doctors episodes 1 through 3 of 3 (45 minute episodes)
Thursday and Friday at 11:30PM The Tomb of the Cybermen episodes 1 to 2 of 4
In the weekend story, the 4th Doctor declares himself President of Gallifrey and begins acting more erratic then ever before. Has he finally lost his mind? The weekday episodes begin with the 2nd and 6th Doctors teaming up to keep the Sontarans from getting control of a working time machine. Later in the week, the 2nd Doctor, Jamie, and Victoria land on the planet Telos, where archaeologists single-mindedly search to find the lost tombs of the Cybermen.

North America:

SPACE: The Imagination Station
http://www.spacecast.com/ and
http://www.hwcn.org/~an933/spacedw.htm
Early Monday at 3:30AM EST The Chase: The Planet of Decision episode 6 of 6
Monday through Friday at 7:30AM The Seeds of Death episodes 1 to 5 of 6
Very early Monday, the Daleks finally catch up with the 1st Doctor. Unfortunately for them, another menacing alien race is in the way. Ian and Barbara leave the show forever in this fiery conclusion. In The Seeds of Death, the 2nd Doctor, Jamie, and Zoe try to keep the Ice Warriors from conquering Earth.

Maine Public Broadcasting 10, 10, 12, 13, 26
http://www.mpbc.org/
Pre-empted again due to High School Basketball! Doctor Who returns on March 13th.

New Hampshire Public TV 11, 15, 18, 49, 52
http://nhptv.org/
Sunday at 2PM The Mind of Evil all 6 episodes
The Keller Machine can remove all the evil thoughts from a criminal, leaving him a completely friendly if dim person. The perfect way to end violent crime. Too perfect. A villian's plans to blackmail Earth go awry when the machine decides to act for itself, endangering everyone. This is a pledge special, but they claim to have cut 1 hour out of the scheduled pledge drives to be nice to the viewers. Black & White episodes, because the color prints are missing. Ends at 5PM.

WQED / WQEX 13, 16 Pittsburgh, PA
http://www.wqed.org/
Saturday at 11:30PM Horror of Fang Rock all 4 episodes
How's this for a clever pledge plan? After the last episode of the "Legendary Lighthouses" series, the station airs the 4th Doctor story set in a lighthouse. This is a great chance to prove that Doctor Who can actually get an audience, so if you're in WQED's broadcast range, make sure to get your friends to watch and pledge.

Maryland Public TV 22, 28, 31, 36, 62, 67
http://www.mpt.org/
Late Friday and Saturday at Midnight The War Games movie version, part 1 of 2
The 2nd Doctor, Jamie, and Zoe land in no-mans-land in the middle of World War I, where they are almost immediately arrested as spies. When they are brought in for their court-martial, they notice that the British commander is acting rather oddly. Things get stranger when they stumble into a Roman Legion. They might not be on Earth after all. About 2 hrs, 2 minutes.

WUFT 5 Gainesville, FL
http://www.wuft.org/
Saturday at 5PM The Trial Of A Time Lord movie version, part 3 of 4
Also known as "Terror Of The Vervoids". A rather shaken 6th Doctor begins his defense with an adventure from his own future. In the 30th Century, a luxury space freighter travels from Mogaria to Earth. A killer is on board. About 90 minutes.

WUSF 16 Tampa, FL
http://wusftv.usf.edu/
Late Saturday at Midnight Snakedance episode 1 of 4
Tegan's mind is invaded by the Mara, who is plotting a return to his homeworld as the first step in a new reign of terror. Special time.

WCET 48 Cincinnati, OH
http://www.wcet.org/
Saturday at 11:30PM Inferno episode 7 of 7
Late Saturday at Midnight Terror of the Autons episode 1 of 4
In Inferno, the 3rd Doctor returns to the regular Earth, attempting to stop them from breaking the crust. But no one will listen to him. Then, watch the episode where the Master appeared for the first time, hopefully in the color-restored version.

Louisiana Public Broadcasting 13, 18, 24, 24, 25, 27
http://www.lpb.org/
Saturday at 10PM Invasion of the Dinosaurs episodes 4 and 5 of 6
The 3rd Doctor is betrayed by an old friend, and Sarah's search for the truth leaves her trapped on a spaceship heading for another planet. Conclusion airs March 27th.

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 3 and 4 of 5
Azal has been awakened. But he's hardly a willing servant of the Master. Meanwhile, the residents of Devil's End are unable to leave the village.

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 5 of 6
Davros has learned about nearly all future Dalek defeats, and plans to design the Daleks to ensure those defeats never happen. It now appears that erasing the Daleks from history is the universe's only hope.

KBDI 12, 11, 32 Denver, CO
http://www.kbdi.org/
Friday at 11PM Invasion of the Dinosaurs episode 5 of 6
Friday at 11:30PM, Saturday at 10PM Invasion of the Dinosaurs episode 6 of 6
Operation Golden Age's agents get the 3rd Doctor accused of being a traitor, hampering his efforts to prevent the erasure of Earth history. There is no 2nd episode on Saturday night this week.

KSPS 7 Spokane, WA
http://www.ksps.org/
Saturday at 10:30PM The Armageddon Factor movie version
The 4th Doctor and Romana hunt for the final segment of the key to time. It's hidden somewhere in an interplanetary war between Atrios and Zeos. A new sense of urgency hits when they discover another force looking for the same segment. And when the Doctor learns the truth behind the segment, he may decide that no danger is worth the price of completing his mission. About 2 hours, 20 minutes.

KBTC / KCKA 28, 15 Tacoma, WA
Saturday at 7PM and 12:30AM Survival episodes 2 and 3 of 3
The end of the original series, the final 2 episodes of the last story. The 7th Doctor, Ace, and company are trapped on a dying planet with intelligent cheetahs who live to hunt. Remaining on the planet for any period of time can turn you into an animal. No Monday broadcast.

KTEH 54 San Jose, CA
http://www.kteh.org/
Sunday at 11PM Survival all 3 episodes
Late Sunday at 12:15AM Interview With Sylvester McCoy 2 a 1988 sequel to the 1987 interview they did with him.
The same story that KBTC's airing, but KTEH is running all 3 episodes. Then they have another interview with the last Doctor from the weekday series, Sylvester McCoy.

BBC America
http://www.bbcamerica.com/
Saturday at 5PM EST, Sunday at 2PM The Pyramids Of Mars movie version, part 2 of 2
Sutekh defeats the Doctor's traps and readies himself for a return to the galaxy. Devastation and the death of every living thing to follow, right after teatime. Edited for commercials. 1 hour.

Central / South America:

HBO OLE
http://www.hbo-ole.com/
Saturday at 5:15PM* Dr. Who the 1996 Telemovie
*ESTE Feed, Argentina Time and OESTE Feed, Mexico Time
The final (for now) scheduled broadcast of the Paul McGann movie on HBO OLE, airing in the same timeslot that Doctor Who originally had in England in the 60s. Commercial free. 90 minutes.

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Until next week, take care.