THIS WEEK IN DOCTOR WHO - Fri, 30 Apr 1999

By Benjamin F. Elliott

KNME New Mexico picks up Doctor Who this week! Huge applause for New Mexican fans!

Attention Louisiana Who fans! Louisiana Public Broadcasting http://www.lpb.org/ has put up its May schedule. On May 15th, they will air 3 episodes instead of their usual 2, allowing them to finish airing Planet Of The Spiders. That is the last scheduled broadcast. A movie airs May 22nd, and another series takes Doctor Who's slot on May 29th. It is unclear if LPB is preparing to move the show to another time slot or if they are dropping the Doctor.

BBC Prime http://www.bbcprime.com/ , the BBC's European Cable
channel, is having a sci-fi theme week from May 3rd through the
7th (ie: 5 nights of Red Dwarf at 10PM). There will be *2*
Doctor Who specials included in this theme week. On Monday, they will air 30 Years In The TARDIS, a 1993 Documentary. And on Thursday they are airing ... THE 1996 MOVIE with Paul McGann. It is unclear whether they will air the complete version or not. BBC Prime is not, to my knowledge, aimed at the UK, so the BBFC probably won't be demanding that the cut version run. However, it is a BBC station, so they might choose to air the edited version. Still, at least it's on.

I don't know how I missed it until now, but an Australian fan has actually put up an accurate listing of FOXTEL's scheduled episodes. I'm adding a link to his page.

Apparently the BBC has learned about US ratings sweeps periods. It's the first weekend of sweeps, and The Android Invasion is having its BBC America debut. Note that the 11AM Saturday broadcast has been discontinued after only one month. It was probably too convenient for viewers.

Also, BBC America's website now has a Dr. Who (it's the name they use) page at http://www.bbcamerica.com/programs/dr_who.html See what you think of it.

As always, any corrections, updates, and additions can go to my e-mail address, bfelliott@jnpcs.com . And now, on to the schedules:

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Europe:

UK Gold
Late Friday from 12:40 to 2:35AM BST The Mind Robber movie version
Sunday from 9:15 to 11:05AM BST The Face of Evil movie version
UK Gold enters May with 2 surrealistic stories. In Mind Robber, the 2nd Doctor is forced to take the TARDIS out of time and space, and winds up in a bizarre realm, where nothing is ever as it seems. In Face Of Evil, the 4th Doctor arrives on a jungle planet where he is known as "the evil one". The only one who will trust him is a savage named Leela. What is the secret behind Xoanon, and how is all of this the Doctor's fault?

UK Gold Classics
Sunday from 6PM to (unknown) BST The Face of Evil movie version
UK Gold's digital second station gives people a chance to see The Face of Evil at a more convenient time.

BBC Prime
http://www.bbcprime.com/
Late Friday at 1AM CET The Ribos Operation episode 2 of 4
Saturday at 9:40AM and 6PM CET The Ribos Operation episode 3 of 4
Monday at 11PM CET 30 Years In The TARDIS - 1993 Documentary
Thursday at 11PM CET DOCTOR WHO the 1996 telemovie with Paul McGann
In the regular episodes two charming rouges, one unbalanced ex-dictator, and the TARDIS crew battle for control of the first segment of the Key To Time, disguised as a valuable rock. On Monday, it's the documentary the BBC made for the series' 30th anniversary. Late Thursday, the 7th Doctor tries to return the Master's ashes to Gallifrey. When the ashes send the TARDIS lurching towards Earth in 1999, the Doctor's life gets far more complicated. With Sylvester McCoy and Paul McGann.

» the next edition noted that the TV Movie was shown on the 2nd at 10:30pm, and 30 Years on the 7th May at 11:00am.

Australia:

FOXTEL's UK-TV
http://www.foxtel.com.au/ and
http://varos.simplenet.com/drwho/uktv/
Saturday at 1PM, Sunday at 2 and 8AM The Romans all 4 episodes (The Slave-Traders, All Roads Lead To Rome, Conspiracy, Inferno)
Monday at 11:30PM The Pyramids Of Mars episode 4 of 4
Tuesday through Friday at 11:30PM The Talons of Weng-Chiang episodes 1 through 4 of 6
The Who-Files examine historical stories. Over the weekend, the 1st Doctor, Ian, Barbara, and Vicki travel to 1st Century Italy, where the Doctor is mistaken for a musician, and Ian and Barbara are sold into slavery. A surprisingly humourous story, where the power of coincidence seems to drive everyone towards a fiery end. Monday, Sutekh the Destroyer wants to escape his tomb, and has enlisted the help of people in 1911. By coincidence, Sutekh's people are using the property that will eventually be UNIT HQ. In the rest of the weekday episodes, the 4th Doctor brings Leela to the 19th Century to experience the culture of her ancestors. Instead, they find murder, mayhem, and evidence of an ancient evil from the future. The Doctor dispenses with his usual costume for a more Sherlock Holmesian look in this story only.

North America:

SPACE: The Imagination Station
http://www.spacecast.com/ and
http://www.hwcn.org/~an933/spacedw.htm
Saturday at 7:30AM EDT The War Machines episode 4 of 4
Sunday through Wednesday at 7:30AM EDT The Tomb of the Cybermen episodes 1 through 4 of 4
Thursday and Friday at 7:30AM EDT The Dominators episodes 1 to 2 of 5

Saturday, the 1st Doctor tries to turn one of The War Machines against WOTAN, in the final surviving William Hartnell story. Then, the 2nd Doctor, Jamie, and Victoria visit the planet Telos, where the last of the Cybermen are buried, hopefully forever. Finally, the 2nd Doctor, Jamie, and Zoe go to Dulkis for a nice relaxing vacation on an island riddled with radiation. But the radiation is gone. I guess this means the vacation's off.

MPBC Maine 10, 10, 12, 13, 26
http://www.mpbc.org/
Saturday at 9PM EDT The Seeds of Doom episodes 3 and 4 of 6
The 4th Doctor and Sarah return to England, where the mysterious Harrison Chase has brought the deadly Krynoid pod to his garden to germinate. Once it germinates, all animal life on Earth will be at risk.

NHPTV New Hampshire 11, 49, 52
http://nhptv.org/
Sunday at 3PM EDT The Dæmons episode 5 of 5
Sunday at 3:30?PM EDT Day of the Daleks episode 1 of 4
First up, Azal the Daemon tries to decide whether to grant all his powers to someone else, or destroy the planet. Then, in "Day", Sir Reginald Styles, a respected diplomat is attacked shortly before a critical world peace conference. The 3rd Doctor begins to suspect that the potential assassins came from the future ...

WQED / WQEX 13, 16 Pittsburgh, PA
http://www.wqed.org/
Saturday at 11PM EDT The Android Invasion episode 2 of 4
Immediately afterward - The Keys of Marinus episode 6 of 6
In "Android Invasion", the 4th Doctor learns that everyone in the village and at the space station are duplicates. Where did all the real people go? Then, in the conclusion of "Keys Of Marinus", the 1st Doctor tries to overturn the court's verdict before Ian is executed. The surviving cast members then try to return the keys of Marinus to Arbitan, but may find it more difficult then they thought.

WYBE 35 Philadelphia, PA
http://www.wybe.org/
Saturday at 11PM EDT Genesis of the Daleks eps 5 and 6 of 6
Davros forces the 4th Doctor to reveal how the Daleks will be destroyed and humiliated throughout history. He plans to use the tape of the information to redesign the Daleks to make them invincible. Instead of altering history for the better, the Time Lords crazy idea to send the Doctor has now made things far worse. Meanwhile, Davros is betrayed by an unlikely source.

MPT Maryland 22, 28, 31, 36, 62, 67
http://www.mpt.org/
Late Friday and Saturday at Midnight EDT Colony In Space movie version
The Time Lords begin their practice of frequently manipulating the Doctor's travels through time, the first step towards the tragedy mentioned in WYBE's episodes. This time, they've sent the 3rdDoctor 500 years into the future to mediate a peace between colonists and miners on a distant planet, and to ensure that the person who stole the files on the Doomsday Weapon does not gain control of that device. Of course, they don't bother to TELL the Doctor about this Doomsday Weapon, making it slightly harder for him to defend.

WUFT 5 Gainesville, FL
http://www.wuft.org/
Saturday at 4:40PM EDT The Happiness Patrol movie version
Saturday at 5:50PM EDT Silver Nemesis movie version
It's a double bill of the 7th Doctor this week, as WUFT moves through the 25th anniversary season. First up, the Doctor and Ace visit Terra Alpha, a bizarre world where anyone who is unhappy is killed. Offended by this, the Doctor and Ace start a revolution. Keep an eye out for the Kandyman and the Doctor playing a harmonica. In Silver Nemesis, a 17th Century lady learns how to travel through time and comes to 1988 with two goals. One, gain control of the statue Nemesis, which will give her ultimate power. Two, expose the Doctor's true identity and destroy him.

WUSF 16 Tampa, FL
http://wusftv.usf.edu/
Saturday at 11:30PM EDT Terminus episode 2 of 4
Nyssa has contracted Lazaar's Disease. Turlough and Tegan are trapped with each other - a fate far worse than death.

WCET 48 Cincinnati, OH
http://www.wcet.org/
Saturday at 11:30PM EDT The Claws of Axos episode 4 of 4
Late Saturday at Midnight EDT Colony In Space episode 1 of 6
The 3rd Doctor offers to let Axos use his TARDIS to travel in time and space. Later that night, the Doctor finally gets his TARDIS to work (or so he thinks). First stop: a colony world 500 years in the future.

WYIN 56 Gary, IN (Chicago, IL)
http://www.wyin.org/
Saturday at 10PM CDT The Ark In Space episode 1 of 4
Now that you've seen The Sontaran Experiment, see the story that was supposed to go before it. In episode 1, the 4th Doctor, Sarah, and Harry arrive on an apparently abandoned space station, holding the last remains of Earth.

LPB Louisiana 13, 18, 24, 24, 25, 27
http://www.lpb.org/
Saturday at 10PM CDT The Monster of Peladon episode 6 of 6
Saturday at 10:24?PM CDT Planet of the Spiders episode 1 of 6
In the first episode, the Ice Warriors and Eckersley make a final attempt to take over Peladon, and they don't care who dies in the struggle. Later, the 3rd Doctor receives the Metebelis Crystal back from Jo, who sends a confusing message about it causing problems. Meanwhile, a monestary is influenced by a great evil, and the only person who realizes it is Mike Yates.

IPTV Iowa 11, 12, 27, 32
http://www.iptv.org/ and http://www.mach3ww.com/sffn/
Friday at 11:05PM CDT Planet of the Daleks eps 2 and 3 of 6
The 3rd Doctor witnesses Jo's death at the hands of the Daleks. Now, he must move on and prevent the Daleks' plans to conquer the galaxy. NOTE: Episode 3 is in Black & White. It is the first time this particular station has aired episode 3 of the story. Yes, this is the same episode 3 that some other PBS stations have skipped over lately because it was not part of the standard syndication package. If you missed it, I would suggest getting a friend in Iowa fast.

PPTV North Dakota 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 13, 19
http://www.prairiepublic.org/
Friday at 10:30PM CDT Planet of Evil episode 3 of 4
The Morestans try to leave Zeta Minor, but they forget to return all the anti-matter.

KBDI 12 Denver, CO
http://www.kbdi.org/
Friday at 11PM MDT The Monster of Peladon eps 3 and 4 of 6
Saturday at 10PM MDT The Monster of Peladon eps 5 and 6 of 6
The Ice Warriors are brought in as Galactic Federation "peacekeepers" to solve the dispute between Peladonian workers and the government, even though neither side wants them there. But who's keeping an eye on the peacekeepers? These episodes are surprisingly relevant these days, so don't miss them.

*****RELAUNCH*****
KNME 5 Albequerque, NM
http://www.knmetv.org/
Saturday at 11PM MDT Robot movie version

KNME begins airing Doctor Who again with the opening episode of Tom Baker's era. A rash of bizarre military thefts attracts the attention of UNIT. They fall exactly into the area that UNIT's scientific advisor usually handles. But he's just changed his face, lost his mind, and wants to leave the planet. Can their recalcitrant employee, known only as "Doctor", focus his attention long enough to save the day?
*****RELAUNCH*****

KSPS 7 Spokane, WA
http://www.ksps.org/
Saturday at 10:30PM PDT Full Circle movie version
The 4th Doctor and Romana find themselves trapped in E-Space, a pocket universe with few planets and less life. On Alzarius, mistfall is coming.

KBTC / KCKA 28, 15 Tacoma, WA (Seattle, WA)
Saturday at 7PM and 2:30AM PDT The Ambassadors of Death episodes 4 and 5 of 7
No Monday episodes this week!
Black & White due to the poor quality of the only known color print.
Evidence mounts that the conspiracy surrounding the astronauts is much more extensive then anyone imagined. The 3rd Doctor decides to go to Mars to investigate personally.

KTEH 54 San Jose, CA
http://www.kteh.org/
Saturday at 11PM PDT The Android Invasion all 4 episodes
The 4th Doctor and Sarah finally get back to Earth, only to find it mostly deserted. The only survivors appear to be both insane and indestructible. And there appears to be no past anymore. Final appearances of RSM Benton and Harry Sullivan.

BBC America
http://www.bbcamerica.com/home.html
Saturday at 5PM EDT, Sunday at 8AM EDT The Android Invasion movie version, part 1 of 2
See the KTEH listing, but it's only the first half, the cliffhanger is edited together, footage has been cut, and commercials have been added to make it last 1 hour. On the other hand, BBC America can be received nationwide. BBC America premiere for this episode.

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That's all for this week. Until next time, take care.