THIS WEEK IN DOCTOR WHO - Fri, 11 Jun 1999

June 11, 1999 - Return Of The Editor

Hello, again. I'm back again from vacation and, barring accident, I should be able to produce the column with no interruptions for the rest of the year and beyond. Thanks to Jefferson for filling in for me the last few weeks. You can get some sleep now.

Great news for Southern New Mexico and the Southwestern tip of Texas! KRWG 22 in Las Cruces, NM added Doctor Who to its lineup last week (the 5th). They are airing the 4th Doctor in movie format, with the stories in production order, instead of the original broadcast order. Doctor Who is airing there Saturdays at 10:30PM MDT.

Due to an oversight in the last column I wrote before my vacation, KTCA St. Paul has not been covered in the last 3 columns. KTCA is back in the column with this issue.

WUFT Gainesville, Florida appears to have replaced Doctor Who will Scenic Railway Journeys, beginning this week. Hopefully, this is merely temporary. If anyone knows the status of WUFT's Who broadcasts, please let me or one of the Doctor Who news sites know.

I try not to focus on Red Dwarf in this column, both because it's not Doctor Who and I don't really like that show. But viewers of Maryland Public Television who were waiting to see Season VIII ought to know that MPT aired episode 1 LAST WEEK, Saturday at 11:04PM, with no warning. It was not on any TV schedules, even MPT's online ones, until after the show had aired. A previously planned pledge special erases MPT's entire Saturday night lineup this weekend (except Doctor Who), and the rest of Red Dwarf VIII will now run Saturdays at roughly 11PM beginning on June 19th.

Here's what MPT did (note that Doctor Who did not move)

Original Summer Plan: New Summer Plan:
10PM Benny Hill Are You Being Served? Again!
10:30PM Benny Hill Black Adder
11PM Black Adder Red Dwarf VIII
11:30PM Blake's 7 Blake's 7
12:30AM Doctor Who Doctor Who

UK Gold aired the Telemovie with Paul McGann at 1:10PM on the 6th.

Since BBC Prime is available in many African countries, I have slightly amended its listing to reflect this. The African countries do not, apparently, receive the network's overnight programming, including the Friday night Doctor Who broadcast. Otherwise, both versions of BBC Prime are the same.

PBS stations which are confirmed or likely to be available in parts of Canada are now marked with a * . KBDI Denver, which PBS online lists as being available in Ontario, is not getting the * because no one in Ontario has reported being able to receive this station. A * can be added to a station if I learn some Canadians can get it, and it can be dropped if no one in Canada is getting the station.

Updates and comments are always welcome at bfelliott@jnpcs.com . And now, on to the listings:

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The UK:

UK Gold
Late Friday from 12:25 to 2:10AM The Daleks movie version, part 1 of 2
Sunday from 8:30 to 10:30AM The Sun Makers movie version
On the Friday night Black & White, the 1st Doctor and company land on a virtually dead planet, where the survivors of a nuclear war escape death by becoming mutants in pepper pot shaped casings. Can the Doctor and company avoid an ambush? Ian and Barbara travel beyond the sun for the first time in this story. On Sunday, the 4th Doctor, Leela, and K9 encounter a repressive taxation regime that uses the work of its inhabitants to protect the power of its leaders. I am always surprised when I see this story that Britain's IRS didn't lodge a complaint, and that the American IRS didn't try to keep it from airing in America. A parody from a time when government regulations were merely laughable.

UK Gold Classics
Sunday at 6PM The Sun Makers movie version
Same as the UK Gold broadcast, but later in the day.

EUROPE and AFRICA:

BBC Prime http://www.bbcprime.com/
Late Friday at 1AM CET The Pirate Planet episode 4 of 4 (not Africa)
Saturday at 9:40AM and 6PM CET The Stones of Blood episode 1 of 4
In Europe, the 4th Doctor and the Mentiads move against Queen Xanxia. In The Stones Of Blood, Romana visits Earth for the first time, and the Doctor mulls over what would happen if he was gone.

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 Hand Of Fear all 4 episodes
Monday through Wednesday at 11:30PM The Invasion of Time episodes 4 through 6 of 6
Thursday to Friday at 11:30PM Warriors' Gate episodes 1 through 2 of 4
The Who-Files continue, with no signs of ending. Right now we are going through the Companion goodbye stories. Over the weekend, Sarah is possessed by the surviving hand of a silicon being. The Doctor must restore Sarah's mind and find out what the hand is up to before it causes real damage. The weekdays begin with the second half of The Invasion of Time, where the Doctor's efforts to eliminate the Vardan invasion leave Gallifrey defenseless at precisely the wrong moment. The week ends at the Warriors' Gate, where the Doctor, Romana, and K9 think they have finally found the way out of E-Space.

NORTH AMERICA:

SPACE: The Imagination Station http://www.spacecast.com/ and
http://www.hwcn.org/~an933/spacedw.htm
Saturday through Tuesday at 7:30AM EDT Doctor Who And The Silurians episodes 4 through 7 of 7
Wednesday through Friday at 7:30AM EDT The Ambassadors of Death episodes 1 through 3 of 7
In Silurians, the 3rd Doctor tries to broker a peace between Silurians and humans, but everyone seems to prefer the prospect of war. In Ambassadors, long-missing astronauts are finally returning to Earth. Suddenly, Earth loses radio contact. The Doctor tries to investigate, but forces are acting against him.

* MPBC Maine 10, 10, 12, 13, 26 http://www.mpbc.org/
Saturday at 11:30PM EDT (12:30AM ADT) The Hand Of Fear episode 4 of 4
The 4th Doctor and Sarah take Eldrad back to her home planet to restore her people. When tragedy strikes, the Doctor suspects that maybe returning Eldrad was a mistake.

* NHPTV New Hampshire 11, 49, 52 http://nhptv.org/
Sunday at 3PM EDT The Sea Devils episodes 4 and 5 of 6
The 3rd Doctor tries to broker a peace deal with the Sea Devils, just like he did with the Silurians. The Master prepares to take over Earth with the help of the Sea Devils. Jo looks around, rather worried.

WQED / WQEX 13, 16 Pittsburgh, PA http://www.wqed.org/
Pledge specials. Doctor Who returns next week.

WYBE 35 Philadelphia, PA http://www.wybe.org/
Saturday at 11PM EDT Planet of Evil episodes 3 and 4 of 4
The Morestan craft tries to leave the planet, unaware that Sorenson has hidden some anti-matter aboard. Unless the anti-matter is discovered and removed, the planet will make sure that they all die. One has to wonder why the officials in charge of planets, cities, and ships who appear in the later stories don't just watch the older Doctor Who episodes and catch on to the fact that the one person they do not suspect would carry a dark secret that endangers them all is exactly the person they need to keep a close eye on. Oh well.

MPT Maryland 22, 28, 31, 36, 62, 67 http://www.mpt.org/
Late Friday at Midnight EDT, Late Saturday at 12:30AM EDT The Time Meddler movie version
(actually The Time Monster)
A mysterious, mustached, professor without proper credentials works at Cambridge on the ultra secret TOM-TIT project, an effort to move matter through interstitial time. Meanwhile, the 3rdDoctor develops a device that will alert him the next time the Master lands on Earth. Confused. Practice the equation E=MC^3 while watching the story, and you will understand.
< The Saturday broadcast was demoted to 12:30AM effective last week. >

WUFT 5 Gainesville, FL http://www.wuft.org/
REPLACED BY SCENIC RAILWAY JOURNEYS??? Do any WUFT viewers know whether this is permanent?

WUSF 16 Tampa, FL http://wusftv.usf.edu/
Saturday at 11:30PM EDT Enlightenment episode 4 of 4
Turlough must decide whether to honor his agreement with the Black Guardian, or sacrifice forever his chances to gain ultimate Enlightenment. Meanwhile, the Space Race ends.

WCET 48 Cincinnati, OH http://www.wcet.org/
Saturday at 11:30PM EDT Day of the Daleks episodes 1 and 2 of 4
Rebel forces from the 22nd Century invade a manor house in the 20th Century, where an important peace conference is about to take place. Why are they here? Who are the hairy ape-like guys? And what is the sinister secret behind the quality of Sir Reginald Styles' cheese?

WYIN 56 Gary, IN (Chicago, IL) http://www.wyin.org/
Saturday at 10PM CDT Genesis of the Daleks episode 2 of 6 (actually Part Three)
The Mark 3 Travel Machine is revealed. It is shaped a bit like a pepper pot, with lots of bumps along the side. It has a peculiar eyestock on the head. A plunger acts like a hand. A stick emits a beam of death. Inside the pepper pot is a shriveled little being that used to be a man. The Kaleds hope that the Mark 3 Travel Machine will result in a new beginning for the Kaled people. The Doctor sees only his oldest enemies being born.

* KTCA 2 St. Paul, MN http://www.ktca.org/
Saturday at 11:45PM CDT The Ark In Space episode 2 of 4
The Ark's population comes to life, but Sarah has gone to sleep. Expected wake up time - about 5000 years from now.

IPTV Iowa 11, 12, 27, 32 http://www.iptv.org/ and http://www.sffn.com/
Friday at 11:05PM CDT The Curse of Peladon episode 4 of 4
Friday at 11:30PM CDT The Sea Devils episode 1 of 6
The 3rd Doctor breaks The Curse Of Peladon, then decides to return to Earth and visit the Master in prison.

* PPTV North Dakota 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 13, 19 http://www.pptv.org/
Friday at 10:30PM CDT (9:30PM MDT) The Android Invasion episode 1 of 4
The 4th Doctor and Sarah return to Earth. Most of the population is missing, no one remembers them, and people are shooting at them. In spite of these things, the Doctor suspects that something is out of the ordinary here.

KBDI 12 Denver, CO http://www.kbdi.org/
No Friday broadcast.
Saturday at 10PM MDT Robot all 4 episodes
KBDI enters the Tom Baker era with a pledge filled broadcast that runs until 12:30AM. The newly regenerated Doctor and UNIT investigate a series of thefts involving military secrets. Someone is stealing exactly the right materials to blackmail the Earth.

KNME 5 Albequerque, NM http://www.kmnetv.org/
Saturday at 11PM MDT Pyramids of Mars movie version
[Stories are airing in production order, rather then broadcast.]
In 1911, an expedition in Egypt unleashes the minions of a long-buried evil. If the evil can achieve its freedom, the universe will be laid waste.

KRWG 22 Las Cruces, NM http://www.nmsu.edu/~krwgtv/
Saturday at 10:30PM MDT The Sontaran Experiment movie version
< Stories airing in production order. >
After the events in the story you'll get next week, the Doctor, Sarah, and Harry decide to visit Earth for themselves to see if it is finally inhabitable again. Not only is Earth inhabitable, but others have gotten there first.

* KSPS 7 Spokane, WA http://www.ksps.org/
Saturday at 10:30PM PDT (11:30PM MDT) Four To Doomsday movie version
The first produced Peter Davison story (2nd one aired), where the time travelers land on a ship run by highly intelligent frogs. One of the frogs thinks that he is God. (Hint - if you're not 100% sure, you can probably rule yourself out.) This was originally planned to be Nyssa's last story, which explains one of the sub-plots very nicely.

* KBTC / KCKA 28, 15 Tacoma, WA (Seattle)
Saturday at 6 and 11:30PM PDT Terror of the Autons episodes 3 and 4 of 4
Saturday at 7PM and 12:30AM PDT Genesis of the Daleks either movie or all 6 episodes
Pledge season at KBTC means that Doctor Who gets a whole night to itself. Start times are approximate. The first broadcast of Genesis has been given 4 ½ hours, and the rerun has been given 3 ½ hours. The Who night is scheduled to end at 4AM.

KTEH 54 San Jose, CA http://www.kteh.org/
Sunday at 11:20PM PDT The Face of Evil all 4 episodes
Late Sunday at 1:03AM PDT "Time Lord Chronicles" documentary special
The 4th Doctor lands on a planet whose population is being manipulated by a sinister computer, whose voice and appearance are identical to the Doctor's! One of the Doctor's mistakes catches up with him. Afterwards, another memorable Doctor Who documentary.

BBC America http://www.bbcamerica.com/
Saturday at 5PM EDT, Sunday at 8AM EDT Robot movie version, part 2 of 2
The SRS prepare to use the Robot and the materials they have stolen to set off a nuclear war. Can the Bride of Frankenstein, er, um, ah, Professor Kettlewell save the day? Or will he allow Austin Powers, er, Miss Winters to take over the world?

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