THIS WEEK IN DOCTOR WHO - Fri, 7 Jan 2000

by Benjamin F. Elliott

Happy New Year, everyone. And welcome back to everyone reading in the Doctor Who Alliance Newsletter. It's a great resource that Shaun puts so much effort into compiling, and I'm very glad to be a part of it. Here's looking to many more years together.

Many people in the British Isles are about to face a VCR crisis. For the last few months, TG4 in Ireland (which reaches parts of Northern Ireland and Wales, dunno if it can be received farther in) has been airing 2 Jon Pertwee Doctor Who episodes on Friday nights. Now, TG4 is moving its episodes to Tuesday and Wednesday at 6PM. Tuesday at 6PM is of course where BBC2 is airing Doctor Who episodes. BBC2 can be seen by roughly 80% of households in Ireland. The first showdown will come on 11 January, where BBC2 is airing Doctor Who And The Silurians ep 5 and TG4 is airing Terror of the Autons 1.

Last week, MPT Maryland aired an episodic version of Image of the Fendahl instead of a movie version of The Invisible Enemy. Hmm.

An explanation has come in for WYIN Gary, IN apparently flipping from the middle of Brain Of Morbius to the middle of Seeds Of Doom. Way back on December 4, WYIN was going to air Doctor Who's Who's Who. However, the tape didn't turn up in time, so they aired all of The Brain of Morbius that night. The published listings for December 18 and {t{=54225=25}} were wrong, as instead of showing the first 2 episodes of The Brain of Morbius they showed the first 2 episodes of The Seeds of Doom. No word on when or if the Who's Who tape will turn up, or if WYIN will air it.

If anyone tried to send me e-mail since last week's column went out and hasn't received a response yet, then I'm afraid I didn't get it. The incoming e-mail server crashed several times over New Years, started working intermittently, then died. Shaun Lyon (editor of the Alliance Newsletter) has kindly offered to set up a new permanent e-mail address for the column that will work no matter which service I wind up with in the end. It is either active now or will be within the next few days. (Shaun - remember to make one of your New Year's resolutions to sit back and relax occasionally.) And now, the listings:

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UK/IRELAND:

BBC2
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schedules/
Tue 6PM GMT Doctor Who And The Silurians ep 5 of 7
The most difficult episode of this story to restore the colour to, as the colour video recording was missing the last minute or so. The video version has some rainbow patterning as the quality of the colour degenerates near the end. Apparently the patterning problem has been solved, and this version of episode 5 will look better than the video.

TG4/TnaG
http://www.tnag.ie/
http://www.sceneone.co.uk/s1/tv/listings
Tue-Wed 6PM GMT Terror of the Autons eps 1 - 2 of 4 (actually confirmed as 1-3)
Suave. Sophisticated. Smart. Utterly ruthless. An old friend of the Doctor's comes to Earth to kill him and take over the planet. A friend known as ... The Master. I don't know if they were sold the Black & White version or the Colour one, but they were sold the Black & White version of Silurians. Episode 1 airs at the same time as the BBC2 broadcast of Silurians ep 5, and these two terrestrial stations have some overlapping viewing areas.

UK Gold
http://www.sceneone.co.uk/s1/tv/listings
Late Fri 12:35-2:20AM GMT The War Games movie, pt 1 of 2
The 2nd Doctor, Jamie, and Zoe land in No-Man's Land in 1917, right next door to the battleground of a Roman legion and one of the battles of the War Between The States. Something is fishy about this planet...
Sun 8:55-10:50AM GMT Enlightenment movie
The Black Guardian decides that it would be more fun to drive Turlough insane and use a more elaborate means to actually kill off the Doctor. Needless to say, Turlough does not enjoy this. Meanwhile, a soulless, immortal, amoral creature falls in love with Tegan. She sure can pick them, can't she?

UK Gold Classics
http://www.sceneone.co.uk/s1/tv/listings
Sun 6-7:55PM GMT Enlightenment movie
Time shifted from UK Gold.

EUROPE/AFRICA:

BBC Prime
http://www.bbcprime.com/
Late Fri 1AM (not Africa), Sat 5PM CET The Creature from the Pit ep 4 of 4
The Doctor learns that the Creature has another agenda, and that Chloris may not be as safe as it thinks it is.
Sun 11:30AM, Mon 11:35AM CET Nightmare of Eden ep 1 of 4
A traffic accident in space leaves two ships linked together in an impossible feat of physics, their respective captains fuming at each other. Enter the Doctor, Romana, and K9.

AUSTRALIA:

UKTV
http://www.varos.com/drwho/uktv/
http://www.uktv.com.au/
Thu-Fri 11:30PM AEDT An Unearthly Child eps 1 - 2 of 4 (An Unearthly Child, The Cave Of Skulls)
UKTV resumes its Doctor Who broadcasts. This time, they plan to air every complete story in their original broadcast order. The previous time they aired all the stories (1996-1998), many of the early stories aired out of order. First up - two schoolteachers who are concerned about an unusual pupil of theirs wind up encountering the mysteries of the 4th Dimension.

CANADA/USA:

SPACE: The Imagination Station
http://www.hwcn.org/~an933/spacedw.htm
http://www.spacecast.com/

Sat 7:30AM EST The Ark: The Bomb ep 4 of 4
The Monoids intend to become the only species on the previously uninhabited Refusis. Well, previously *thought* to be uninhabited.

Sun-Wed 7:30AM EST The Gunfighters eps 1 - 4 of 4 (A Holiday For The Doctor, Don't Shoot The Pianist, Johnny Ringo, The OK Corral)
After the Doctor's tooth is wounded due to his battles with The Celestial Toymaker, the TARDIS crew sets down in Tombstone so that a dentist can be found. Unfortunately, the Doctor has arrived just a few days before the famous Gunfight at the OK Corral. The first (and so far only) story to be narrated by a ballad.

Thu-Fri 7:30AM EST The War Machines eps 1 - 2 of 4
The Doctor returns Dodo to her own time, just as a supercomputer gets the idea to link up with all the other computers on Earth in a World Wide Web of evil. Remember, this story was written and telecast in 1966.

BBC America
http://www.bbcamerica.com/
The Seeds of Doom movie, pt 1 of 3
Sat 7AM, Sun 10AM+5PM EST Eastern Feed (PST Pacific Feed)
At the South Pole, alien seed pods are found. An expert from UNIT has been called in to determine the true nature of the pods. He is not the only person interested in these rare plants.

NHPTV New Hampshire 11, 49, 52
http://nhptv.org/
Sun 3PM EST The Monster of Peladon eps 3+4 of 6
UN Peacekeepers, er, Ice Warrior Peacekeepers are called in to bring peace on Peladon. But when the cure becomes worse then the disease, all sides become dissatisfied.

WQED/WQEX 13, 16 Pittsburgh, PA
http://www.wqed.org/
Sat 11:30PM EST The Deadly Assassin ep 2 of 4
The Doctor escapes a death sentence by running for President. Sadly, many lawmakers on all continents have seen this episode, and picked up the wrong message.

WYBE 35 Philadelphia, PA
http://www.wybe.org/
http://www.tvquest.com/ zip 19128
Sat 11PM EST The Invasion of Time eps 1+2 of 6
The Doctor returns to Gallifrey and declares himself President. This also appears to have led many lawmakers onto the wrong path.

MPT Maryland 22, 28, 31, 36, 62, 67
http://www.mpt.org/
Late Sat Mid EST The Sun Makers? The Invisible Enemy? all 4 eps or movie version
Image of the Fendahl, the story originally for this slot, aired last weekend. One of these stories is the most likely to air instead, in one of these two formats.
» it was the episodic version of The Invisible Enemy.

WUSF 16 Tampa, FL
http://www.wusftv.usf.edu/gateway.htm
Sat 11:30PM EST The Twin Dilemma ep 1 of 4
(With no descriptions available, I am assuming that they are airing stories in order.) A nasty toxin has forced the Doctor to regenerate prematurely, driving him dangerously close to insanity.

WCET 48 Cincinnati, OH
http://www.wcet.org/
Sat 11:30PM EST Invasion of the Dinosaurs ep 6 of 6
Operation Golden Age takes effect.
Sat 11:58PM EST Death to the Daleks ep 1 of 4
The Doctor and Sarah's vacation is fouled up when the TARDIS blacks out and lands on a desolate planet in the middle of nowhere.

WYIN 56 Gary, IN (Chicago, IL)
http://www.wyin.org/
Sat 10PM CST The Seeds of Doom ep 4 of 6
The second seed pod hatches, and Harrison Chase is pleased.

KTCA 2 St. Paul, MN
http://www.ktca.org/
Sat 11:45PM CST The Android Invasion ep 4 of 4
The Doctor and Sarah try to get to Earth before the Kraals to warn of the invasion. Final appearances of the characters of Harry and Benton.

IPTV Iowa 11, 12, 21, 24, 27, 32, 32, 36
http://www.sffn.com/
http://www.iptv.org/
Fri 11:30PM CST The Monster of Peladon eps 1,2,+3 of 6
The Doctor's return to Peladon is marred by strife between the workers and the aristocracy. Alpha-Centauri returns as himself.

PPTV North Dakota 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 13, 19
http://www.pptv.org/
Fri 10:30PM CST (9:30PM MST) The Deadly Assassin ep 3 of 4
A surreal episode set inside the APC Net of the Time Lords. The Doctor hunts the assassin who killed the Time Lord president. Meanwhile, the assassin hunts him. This episode has a particularly violent ending.

KBDI/K32EO Denver/Colorado Springs, CO
http://www.kbdi.org/
http://www.tvquest.com/ zip 80205
Late Fri 12:30AM MST The Seeds of Doom eps 3+4 of 6
Sat 10PM MST The Seeds of Doom eps 5+6 of 6
The Doctor and Sarah square off against Harrison Chase, the madman who has stolen the surviving pod and plans to turn it into the jewel of his collection. If the pod doesn't kill him first.

KNME 5 Albuquerque, NM
http://www.knmetv.org/
Sat 10:30PM MST Pyramids of Mars movie
[Stories in production order. Planet of Evil airs next week.] 1911. The future headquarters of UNIT HQ. Currently the headquarters of a being of ultimate evil. Nice to know nothing changes.

KRWG 22 Las Cruces, NM (El Paso, TX)
http://www.nmsu.edu/~krwgtv/
Sat 10:30PM MST The Ark In Space movie
On board a space station, the survivors of humanity sleep away, waiting for the signal to re- emerge and rebuild the human civilization. But their alarm clock was turned off, and now they are all in deadly danger.

KUED 7 Salt Lake City, UT
http://www.kued.org/
Sat 11PM+12:30AM MST Robot ep 2 of 4
Sarah discovers a kindly robot who she thinks may be unwittingly responsible for the thefts. Professor Kettlewell blusters periodically.

KSPS 7 Spokane, WA
http://www.ksps.org/
Sat 10:31PM PST (11:31PM MST) The Trial Of A Time Lord: Terror Of The Vervoids movie
The 6th Doctor chooses an adventure in his future to serve as his defense. A shipful of humans are returning to Earth, oblivious to the peril they will place the planet in if they make it to their destination.

KBTC/KCKA 28, 15 Tacoma/Centralia, WA
http://www.kbtc.org/
Sat 7PM+12:30AM PST Planet of the Daleks eps 1+2 of 6
The Time Lords send the wounded Doctor and Jo to Spirodon, where the Daleks are suspected to be preparing their invasion plans. In seeking help for the Doctor, Jo's survival odds drop rapidly.

KTEH 54 San Jose, CA
http://www.kteh.org/
Sun 11PM PST Terror of the Autons all 4 eps
The color-restored version. The Master appears for the first time, bringing death and plastic to humanity.

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