THIS WEEK IN DOCTOR WHO - Fri, 5 May 2000

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

"The following message is vital to the future of you all." - The Master, Logopolis

First on the agenda, This Week has learned information that should be of interest to American fans of the Paul McGann movie. No wonder no network has scooped up the rights this year yet.

"Sources indicate that the US rights to the 1996 Tele-film are held by Studios USA (formally Universal.) FOX's rights to the program expire May, 2000 not the previously rumored New Year's Eve 1999 expiration. The cost to purchase the rights to the program are, unfortunately, prohibitive for PBS stations (somewhere in the ballpark of half a million dollars.) Studios USA, however, is owned by Barry Diller, who also owns the USA Network and the Sci Fi Channel, so it is possible that the movie could turn up on one of those two outlets."

Regeneration - KTCA 2 and KTCI 17 in St. Paul, MN rebranded themselves this week and now want to be known as TPT (Twin Cities Public Television). Apart from new logos and a Sunday 5:30AM Doctor Who rerun, no immediate difference will be felt for Doctor Who fans.

There could be trouble in the Twin Cities down the road, of course. The March pledge drive brought in just under $8,000 of a $10,200 goal. A couple of the sponsors are considering pulling out, and the show costs The Station Formally Known As KTCA (TSFKAK) $420 an episode, plus shipping + duplication expenses. Add to this the point that the show is identified with Red Dwarf, which is doing very badly on TPT in its pledge drives, and Doctor Who may have problems getting renewal next time (previous successful pledge drives on KTCA got it renewed into early 2001 and The Invasion of Time). The Doctor's not in drastic straits in Minnesota yet, but Dan McGrath of Red Dragon Hobby (a Doctor Who sponsor on TPT) wanted to get the word out before the August pledge drive comes around. We've lost enough DW stations in the last few months without letting another one get in trouble.

When Sleepy Technicians Fumble - WYIN 56 in Gary, IN made yet another gaff in their Doctor Who showings. This time, they aired episode 1 of Robot, thinking it was episode 1 of The Robots of Death. I understand that WYIN's frequent foul-ups regarding which episodes should air, unexpected pre-emptions, etc. are starting to irritate parts of its audience. Instead of getting angry at the station, my recommendation would be to donate some black coffee for their Saturday night technicians to enable them to focus better on their jobs.

After the column went to press last week, Gavin Winters in Ireland reported that TV3 was going to air the 1996 Telemovie on Monday 3 May, the first time the film had ever aired on an Irish station. It was too late to update the versions of This Week that appeared on rec.arts.drwho or in the Alliance Newsletter, but most of the web pages hosting the column inserted the information. My apologies to anyone who missed the movie due to reading a non-updated version of the column.

And remember - Prime TV in New Zealand begins weekday Doctor Who broadcasts on 15 May!

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

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UK/IRELAND:

TG4/TnaG
http://www.tg4.ie/tg4.htm
http://www.sceneone.co.uk/s1/tv/listings
Tue-Thu 6PM BST Inferno eps 3 - 5 of 7
The 3rd Doctor's foolhardy efforts to recreate a sideways shift in time leave him trapped in an alternate universe, disturbingly similar to his own. In both timelines, Stahlmann continues the drilling countdown to penetration of the Earth's core in spite of mounting evidence of danger.

UK Gold
http://www.sceneone.co.uk/s1/tv/listings
Sun 8:55-10:45AM BST The Trial Of A Time Lord: Mindwarp movie, pt 2 of 4
The Valeyard raises the stakes in the Doctor's trial by showing the events that led to his being taken out of time. It appears that the 6th Doctor created a crisis that he was unable to control ...

UK Gold 2/Classic
http://www.sceneone.co.uk/s1/tv/listings
Sun 6-7:50PM BST The Trial Of A Time Lord: Mindwarp movie, pt 2 of 4
Time-shifted. Warning to first time viewers - the ending is quite alarming.

EUROPE/AFRICA:

BBC Prime
http://www.bbcprime.com/
Late Fri 1AM*, Sat 5PM CET Full Circle ep 1 of 4
Sun+Mon 11:30AM CET Full Circle ep 2 of 4
*Not seen on African feed of BBC Prime.
The 4th Doctor and Romana land on a planet the TARDIS claims is Gallifrey. Instead, it's a jungle world with monsters, tropical fruit, and a magpie named Adric.

AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND:

UKTV Australia
http://www.varos.com/drwho/uktv/
Sun 7AM, Late Sun 1AM AEST The War Machines all 4 eps
The 1st Doctor and Dodo arrive in 1966 London, where a computer capable of running all other computers on Earth is about to go online.
Mon-Wed 11:30PM AEST The Dominators eps 3 - 5 of 5
The 2nd Doctor's only chance to save Dulkis from the Dominators is to keep the Dominators squabbling with each other.
Thu-Fri 11:30PM AEST The Mind Robber eps 1 - 2 of 5
The aftereffects of the end of The Dominators endanger the TARDIS' life. To save the TARDIS, the Doctor takes everyone outside of reality, and into a land of insanity.

PrimeTV NZ
http://www.tetrap.com/drwho/nzdwfc/
http://www.primetv.co.nz/
Coming Next Week (15 May), weekdays at 6:25PM! Starting with episode 1.

USA:
(border stations can be seen in parts of Canada)

BBC America
http://www.bbcamerica.com/
Revenge of the Cybermen eps 1+2 of 4
Sat 6AM, Sun 8AM+5PM EDT Eastern Feed (PDT Pacific Feed)
Back on Nerva Beacon, the humans are dying from a Space Plague. The Doctor fears that the plague is no coincidence, that the station may be facing the return of an old menace.

NHPTV New Hampshire 11, 49, 52
http://nhptv.org/
Sun 3PM EDT Revenge of the Cybermen eps 3+4 of 4
The Cybermen decide to destroy Voga, because it is the home of the supply of gold that almost wiped out their species. The Vogans decide to destroy Nerva Beacon, because it is the new home of the Cybermen that almost wiped out the Vogans. And the Doctor's stuck between both sides.

WQED/WQEX 13, 16 Pittsburgh, PA
http://www.wqed.org/
Sat 11:30PM EDT The Robots of Death ep 2 of 4
The 4th Doctor is rescued from a bin filled with grain and a dead body. Will the people on the ship be pleased about getting bigger commissions, or annoyed about the impurities in the grain?

WYBE 35 Philadelphia, PA
http://www.wybe.org/
Sat 11PM EDT City of Death eps 1+2 of 4
The 4th Doctor and Leela take a vacation in Paris. For once, it looks like they will be able to relax. But don't count on it.

MPT Maryland 22, 28, 31, 36, 62, 67
http://www.mpt.org/
Late Sat Mid EDT Full Circle all 4 eps
The E-Space Trilogy begins on Alzarius, where a boy tries to prove his worth while his people flee back into their spaceship to escape the onset of Mistfall.

WUSF 16 Tampa, FL
http://www.wusftv.usf.edu/gateway.htm
Sat 11:30PM EDT The Two Doctors 6 pt version, ep 2
The Doctor investigates his own death, and allegations that the Time Lords may be involved. The investigations would be easier if the space station wasn't trying to kill him.

WCET 48 Cincinnati, OH
http://www.wcet.org/
Sat 11:30PM EDT Genesis of the Daleks eps 2+3 of 6
Davros activates the Daleks, the species that will become the greatest plague in the universe. But some of his people have different plans for the future of our metal enemies.

WYIN 56 Gary, IN (Chicago, IL)
http://www.wyin.org/
Sat 10PM CDT Robot OR The Robots of Death ep 2? of 4
WYIN aired episode 1 of Robot last week instead of episode 1 of The Robots of Death. The Robots Of Death episode 2 is still scheduled to air. What will WYIN do? Tune in and find out.
» the next edition confirmed this was The Robots of Death: Part One

TPT 2 St. Paul, MN
http://www.tpt.org/
Sat 11:30PM, Early Sun 5:30AM CDT The Deadly Assassin ep 2 of 4
(Note new Sunday rerun time.) The 4th Doctor tries to find a way to avoid being executed for the murder he apparently committed. His method is unique, to say the least.

IPTV Iowa 11, 12, 21, 24, 27, 32, 32, 36
http://www.sffn.com/
http://www.iptv.org/
Fri 11:35PM CDT The Android Invasion all 4 eps
The 4th Doctor and Sarah return to Earth and find it nearly abandoned. Everything looks somewhat fake, like it's a BBC TV production instead of real life.

PPTV North Dakota 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 13, 19
http://www.pptv.org/
Fri 10:30PM CDT (9:30PM MDT) Horror of Fang Rock ep 2 of 4
The "horror" has rendered the lighthouse impotent, endangering far more than just the Doctor and a shipwrecked crew of morally dubious gentry.

KBDI/K32EO 12, 32 Denver/Colorado Springs, CO
http://www.kbdi.org/
Late Fri 12:30AM MDT The Talons of Weng-Chiang eps 5+6 of 6
The Doctor takes his battle against Magnus Greel to his home base, hoping to stop the madman from returning to the 51st Century and starting a catastrophe.
Sat 10PM MDT Horror of Fang Rock eps 1+2 of 4
On a dark and cloudy night, a menace suspiciously like one in old Lighthouse operators' fables begins to attack the residents.

KNME 5 Albuquerque, NM
http://www.knmetv.org/
Sat 10:30PM MDT The Sun Makers movie
The 4th Doctor and Leela set out to topple an empire where the power of taxation is used to keep humanity in slavery. Am I the only one who thinks that Robert Holmes was audited shortly before writing this?

KUED 7 Salt Lake City, UT
http://www.kued.org/
Sat 11PM, Late Sat 12:30AM MDT Revenge of the Cybermen ep 2 of 4
To save Sarah from the "plague", the Doctor sends her to the surface of Voga. The reception is less than warm.

KSPS 7 Spokane, WA
http://www.ksps.org/
No episodes this month. Awaiting decision on show's renewal.

KBTC/KCKA 28, 15 Tacoma/Centralia, WA
http://www.kbtc.org/
Sat 7PM, Late Sat 12:30AM PDT Planet of the Spiders eps 3+4 of 6
The spiders want Lupton to steal the blue crystal from the Doctor. Watch for the chase sequence that puts some James Bond chases to shame.

KTEH 54 San Jose, CA
http://www.kteh.org/
Sun 11PM PDT Mawdryn Undead all 4 eps
A problem student at the school where the Brigadier works gets a modest proposal from the Black Guardian, who's still ticked off with the Doctor over that pesky Key To Time.

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Thanks for reading. Until next week, take care.