THIS WEEK IN DOCTOR WHO - Fri, 25 Feb 2000

by Benjamin F. Elliott
Email: bfelliott@gallifreyone.com

Goodbye, Doctor. Hello, Will Smith.

UK - Bad news struck in London last weekend. BBC2 is discontinuing its Tuesday Doctor Who broadcasts due to lackluster audience ratings. The episodes were averaging 2 million viewers, as did their recent hit Gormenghast. The last scheduled episode is Genesis of the Daleks 6, airing 29 February. It will be replaced in the Tuesday 6PM slot by The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air, a US comedy series from the early 1990s which occupied the spot before the Doctor Who reruns began. That comedy show starred Will Smith, now a well-known actor who was among the many people rumoured to be on the list of candidates to be the next Doctor when stories of a new movie (that didn't get made) surfaced last year.

TG4 will continue airing Doctor Who episodes Tuesdays through Thursdays at 6PM GMT. TG4 reaches just about all of Ireland and parts of Northern Ireland and Wales.

USA - BBC America is beginning a shipment of new (to them) stories this weekend. First up - The Deadly Assassin.

USA - Fans (particularly people in underserved Who areas) might be interested in WQED Pittsburgh's latest pledge offering. The Face of Evil is being released over here under the CBS/FOX label in March. WQED has a pre-order arrangement in place for people who pledge $100 during their marathon (11PM-2AM EST Saturday night). The Face of Evil will be sent out to those pledgers immediately, hopefully to arrive before the stores that actually carry Doctor Who videos get them in. Anyone outside WQED's viewing area that wants to pledge money to keep the show on the air in that market can find out how to pledge at their website - http://www.wqed.org/ .

Note - WQED has had chronic trouble with people who pledge money and then don't pay the pledge. This kind of stunt creates ill will with stations, particularly if they've ordered episodes based on money which never arrives. This time, anyone who chooses to pledge to WQED or any other Who station, but then skips town when the bill comes due, will be fed to a pit of Horda creatures.

Additions and corrections are welcome at bfelliott@gallifreyone.com . And now, the listings:

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UK/IRELAND:

BBC2
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schedules/
Tue 6PM GMT Genesis of the Daleks ep 6 of 6
Davros faces an ethical dilemma. The Doctor doesn't but thinks he does.
**Last Scheduled Episode. The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air gets the slot next week.**

Channel 4
http://www.channel4.co.uk/
Harry Hill comedy show
Sun 9:30PM GMT 'Episode 301'
A popular Doctor Who villain, hard up for money, is reduced to going on a comedy show and menacing badgers. The villain begged to at least be allowed to appear on the sci-fi sketch. Did the villain succeed?
» featured Nicholas Courtney as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart

TG4/TnaG
http://www.tnag.ie/
http://www.sceneone.co.uk/s1/tv/listings
Tue-Thu 6PM GMT Day of the Daleks eps 2 - 4 of 4
After seeing a Dalek, the Doctor begins to suspect that the Daleks are involved.

UK Gold
http://www.sceneone.co.uk/s1/tv/listings
Sun 9:25-11:15AM Planet of Fire movie
An archaeological find spooks Turlough. A teenager is betrayed by her step-father.

UK Gold Classic
http://www.sceneone.co.uk/s1/tv/listings
Sun 6-7:50PM Planet of Fire movie
See UK Gold.

EUROPE/AFRICA:

BBC Prime
http:/www.bbcprime.com/
Late Fri 1AM (not Africa), Sat 5PM CET The Horns of Nimon ep 3 of 4
Sun+Mon 11:30AM CET The Horns of Nimon ep 4 of 4
The Doctor battles the Nimon. Romana learns the truth. Soldeed recoils from the memory of a rather hideous show that aired on the WB network in the US for two months in 1998 - THREE.

AUSTRALIA:

UKTV
http://www.varos.com/drwho/uktv/
Sun 7AM+1AM AEDT The Sensorites all 6 eps (Strangers In Space, The Unwilling Warriors, Hidden Danger, A Race Against Death, Kidnap, A Desparate Venture)
The 1st Doctor, Susan, Barbara, and Ian encounter aliens on board a human spaceship.
Mon-Fri 11:30PM AEDT The Dalek Invasion of Earth eps 1 - 5 of 6 (World's End, The Daleks, Day Of Reckoning, The End Of Tomorrow, The Waking Ally)
The TARDIS finally makes it back to London, England. Kinda. Sorta.

CANADA/USA:

SPACE: The Imagination Station
http://www.hwcn.org/~an933/spacedw.htm
Sat-Wed 7:30AM EST Doctor Who And The Silurians eps 3 - 7 of 7
The Silurians make themselves known to the world. Are they willing to live with humanity? Is humanity willing to accept intelligent reptiles sharing the planet with them? Black & White version.

Thu-Fri 7:30AM EST The Ambassadors of Death eps 1 - 2 of 7
Mars Probe 7, missing for 8 months, has begun a return journey to Earth. The world is watching to see what has happened to the British astronauts. They are in for some interesting television. Black & White version. No Colour
version is available to purchase, due to the colour version of episodes 2-7 being destroyed and the failure of a restoration attempt.

BBC America
http://www.bbcamerica.com/
The Deadly Assassin movie version, pt 1 of 2
Sat 7AM, Sun 8AM+5PM EST Eastern Feed (PST Pacific Feed)
First of several Doctor Who stories making their BBC America debut. See KNME for details.

NHPTV New Hampshire 11, 49, 52
http://nhptv.org/
Sun 3PM The Ark In Space eps 1+2 of 4
The Doctor, Sarah, and Harry discover a space wheel containing the survivors of humanity. This is their story.

WQED/WQEX 13, 16 Pittsburgh, PA
http://www.wqed.org/
Sci-Fi Pledge Night Celebrating Doctor Who, hosted by TJ Lubinsky and Alicia Maloney?
Sat 11PM-2AM EST The Face of Evil all 4 eps
The 4th Doctor encounters a tribe of primitive humans who believe him to be a being of pure evil. Did the Doctor make a terrible mistake in his past or future? Next episode airs March 25.

WYBE 35 Philadelphia, PA
http://www.wybe.org/
Sat 11PM EST The Stones of Blood eps 1+2 of 4
In search of the 3rd segment of the Key To Time, the Doctor and Romana visit Earth, an obscure blue planet where significant events rarely occur. While there, they meet two ladies investigating the mystery of an ancient stone circle, and discover that high heels are terrible for British mud.

MPT Maryland 22, 28, 31, 36, 62, 67
http://www.mpt.org/
Late Sat Mid EST The Androids of Tara all 4 eps
Romana finds the 4th segment of the Key To Time, only to become embroiled in a quasi-medaevil plot regarding the future of the Taran throne. Meanwhile, the Doctor's scarf is attacked.

WUSF 16 Tampa, FL
http://www.wusftv.usf.edu/gateway.htm
Sat 11:30PM EST Attack of the Cybermen 4 part version, ep 4
Lytton's machinations come to fruition. The Doctor turns on the heat.

WCET 48 Cincinnati, OH
http://www.wcet.org/
Sat 11:30PM EST Planet of the Spiders eps 2+3 of 6
Lupton stages a surgical strike on UNIT trying to gain control of the Metebelis crystal.

WYIN 56 Gary, IN (Chicago, IL)
http://www.wyin.org/
Sat 10PM-Mid CST The Hand Of Fear all 4 eps
An explosion in a rock quarry buries Sarah, where a crystalline hand takes over her mind in a final effort to return to life.

KTCA 2 St. Paul, MN
http://www.ktca.org/
Sat 11:30PM CST The Seeds of Doom ep 3 of 6
Back in England, the Doctor and Sarah race to find out who would want to have a rare, dangerous seed pod. The answer - (spoiler)

IPTV Iowa 11, 12, 21, 24, 27, 32, 32, 36
http://www.sffn.com/
http://www.iptv.org/
Fri 11:35PM CST The Sontaran Experiment both eps
The Doctor T-Mats down from Nerva to Earth to find out if it's safe to inhabit again. The good news - it's inhabitable. The bad news - somebody else got there first!
Late Fri 12:25AM CST Mythmakers: Tom Baker documentary
Documentary looking at Tom Baker.

PPTV North Dakota 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 13, 19
http://www.pptv.org/
Fri 10:30PM CST (9:30PM MST) The Robots of Death ep 2 of 4
The humans on the Sandminer find it easier to blame the Doctor and Leela for the unexplained deaths than to do a proper investigation. Unfortunately for them, the real murders aren't likely to go underground just because convenient fall guys have been found.

KBDI/K32EO 12, 32 Denver/Colorado Springs, CO
http://www.kbdi.org/
http://www.tvquest.com/ zip 80205
Late Fri 12:30AM MST The Deadly Assassin eps 3+4 of 4
The Doctor goes into the APC Net to face the real assassin, and learn the truth behind the peril that has befallen Gallifrey.
Sat 10PM-Mid MST The Face of Evil all 4 eps
Not exactly the same as WQED's broadcast. It appears not to be pledge-drived. Actually, KBDI appears at first glance not to be using the Doctor for their pledge drive. Next episode March 24?

KNME 5 Albuquerque, NM
http://www.knmetv.org/
Sat 10:30PM MST The Deadly Assassin movie
The Doctor receives a distress call and returns to Gallifrey, just in time to be framed for a hideous attack on Time Lord society.

KRWG 22 Las Cruces, NM (El Paso, TX)
http://www.nmsu.edu/~krwgtv/
Sat 10:30PM MST The Android Invasion movie
The Doctor and Sarah return to Earth, only to find it abandoned. Well, almost abandoned.

KUED 7 Salt Lake City, UT
http://www.kued.org/
Sat 11PM+12:30AM MST The Sontaran Experiment ep 1 of 2
See IPTV for details.

KSPS 7 Spokane, WA
http://www.ksps.org/
Pre-empted by pledge special. The Happiness Patrol airs next week.

KBTC/KCKA 28, 15 Tampa/Centralia, WA
http://www.kbtc.org/
Sat 7PM+12:30AM PST The Time Warrior eps 3+4 of 4
The Sontaran operative and the Doctor, both heavy fans of high technology, are reduced to 11thCentury Tech in their ongoing battle. Sarah must come to terms with traveling through time.

KTEH 54 San Jose, CA
http://www.kteh.org/
Peter Davison in the studio presenting the best of his era.
8PM PST Earthshock ep 4 of 4
The Cybermen want to make the Doctor suffer on a personal level when they destroy Earth. A very "special" episode.
8:36PM PST Terminus ep 3 of 4
Reaching the heart of Terminus, the Doctor learns a dark secret about the past which could have dangerous consequences in the near future.
9:12PM PST Resurrection of the Daleks 4 part version, ep 2
(KTEH has attempted to restore the sound, as the US print is missing some effects.) What could possibly have so terrified the Daleks that they would try to rescue Davros?
9:48PM PST Planet of Fire ep 3 of 4
The secrets of Turlough's past may be the only hope to stop the Master and save the people of Trion. What will it take for Turlough to reveal the truth?
10:24PM PST The Caves of Androzani ep 4 of 4
Dying from Spectrox Toxaemia, the Doctor races for a cure for Peri, seemingly oblivious to the politics and murder going on all around him.
11PM PST The Five Doctors Special Edition 1995 restoration/revision
A black-robed figure takes over the Death Zone on Gallifrey and sends all the known incarnations of the Doctor there for a dark purpose - the BBC needed an anniversary special.
12:45AM PST Interview With Peter Davison 1991
Peter Davison in an early 90s interview focusing on All Creatures Great And Small and Doctor Who.

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Until next week, take care.