THIS WEEK IN DOCTOR WHO - September 15, 2000

Well, a lot happened in Doctor Who broadcasting this week, so let's get started.

UK - After several weeks, it looks like UK Gold 2's replay of UK Gold's Doctor Who broadcasts has been pulled indefinitely, replaced by reruns of Knotts Landing omnibuses. (I seem to recall Knotts Landing being an American show.)

Europe/Africa/Asia - The time slots, they are a'changin' at BBC Prime. A new Fall season at BBC Prime is moving Doctor Who around, generally to less desirable time slots. The new slots for each episode are:
Sun (first broadcast) 11:30AM CET
Late Thursday 12:35AM CET
Late Friday 1 (or 1:05)AM CET* (not shown in all regions of BBC Prime)
Saturday 3:30PM CET
Viewers outside Central Europe need to adjust these times to match their local time zone.

USA - Is BBC America giving up on airing their 16 Doctor Who stories in broadcast order? When they add their 8AM weekday broadcast on September 25th, the first four stories to air will be Robot, The Ark In Space, Genesis of the Daleks, and The Android Invasion. Hmm.

USA - On September 2nd, WYBE Philadelphia aired the last two episodes of Warriors' Gate in the wrong order (episode 4 followed by episode 3). As a result, they reran the episodes in the correct order last week (September 9th) instead of the first two episodes of The Keeper of Traken, as indicated in this column.

USA - MPT in Maryland pulled a surprise on viewers last week. The schedules claimed that the original 90 minute version of The Five Doctors would air. However, people tuning in that night or watching their VCR recordings later found themselves watching The Five Doctors Special Edition. This is the third time the special edition has aired on MPT since becoming available to stations several years ago, but the first time it has aired with no pledge interruptions or on a night with clear television reception in the area. The special edition is about 15 minutes longer, so hopefully people setting their VCRs allowed for extra time as a matter of principle, as MPT frequents starts or ends their shows late.

Canada - Finally, I think we should all give a big round of applause to Shannon Patrick Sullivan, former editor of Shannon's Doctor Who News Page (the definitive Who news page of the mid to late 90s, now merged with Outpost Gallifrey and edited by Shaun Lyon and Mark Phippen). Shannon qualified for the pilot episodes of the Canadian Who Wants To Be A Millionaire series. In his appearances on the show this week, he won a total of $1,000 Canadian.

Additions and corrections are welcome at bfelli...@gallifreyone.com , bfelli...@earthlink.net , or bfelliott3 on AOL IM. And now, the listings:

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UK/IRELAND:

UK Gold http://www.sceneone.co.uk/s1/tv/listings
Sun 7:40-9:40AM BST Terror of the Autons movie
Deadly games begin when an old acquaintance of the Doctor shows up on Earth to take part in an alien invasion plan. Meanwhile, Plastic learns to kill!

UK Gold 2 http://www.sceneone.co.uk/s1/tv/listings
No longer being rerun on UK Gold. This Week will monitor this station in case the reruns resume at a later date.

TG4/TnaG http://www.tg4.ie/tg4.htm http://www.sceneone.co.uk/s1/tv/listings
Sat 5:05PM BST The Mutants ep 5 of 6
No Sunday broadcast this weekend. Note: I suspect TG4 will either be changing the timeslot or canceling the series any week now, as the fall season is beginning and The Mutants was the furthest TG4 went in its previous Pertwee run. But first, the Doctor plots for the Investigator to meet with Professor Sondergaard and the Mutants, in hopes of ending the Marshall's plans.

EUROPE/AFRICA/ASIA:

BBC Prime http://www.bbcprime.com/
Late Fri 1:05AM*, Sat 3:30PM CET Logopolis ep 4 of 4
*Not seen in all regions. The Master and the 4th Doctor team up to use the Pharos Project on Earth to stop the destruction of the universe. The jokes are gone, the hair is graying, and the scarf is not long enough to save the day anymore. BBC Prime bids Tom Baker goodbye.
Sun 11:30AM, Late Thu 12:35AM CET Castrovalva ep 1 of 4
Peter Davison begins his tenure as the Doctor with a regeneration crisis. Complete peace and calm is needed for the Doctor's recovery, or he will die. So naturally, the TARDIS finds itself on a direct line for destruction. Most poignant scene - what happens to the scarf.

AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND:

UKTV Australia http://www.varos.com/drwho/uktv/
Sun 7AM, Late Sun 1AM AEDT The Sea Devils all 6 eps
Desperate to escape the Olympics, the Doctor and Jo contrive an excuse that they want to visit the Master in prison. But to their utter horror, he is actually doing something wrong. Production assisted by the Royal Navy.
Mon-Wed 11:30PM AEDT The Mutants eps 4 - 6 of 6
Fleeing thousands of Olympic fanatics, the Investigator looks into the abuses on the planet Solos, instead of letting the usual few decades of paperwork build up first.
Thu-Fri 11:30PM AEDT The Time Monster eps 1 - 2 of 6
The Master poses as a scientist at Cambridge to develop a way to pass matter through interstitial time. He swears it is not a way to see the Olympic games live in spite of his local station's decision to air everything tape-delayed.

Prime TV New Zealand http://www.tetrap.com/drwho/nzdwfc/
http://www.primetv.co.nz/
Sun-Thu 6:30PM The War Games eps 6 - 10 of 10
Never before televised in New Zealand. Jamie and Zoe get deeply involved in the resistance movement against the aliens, while the Doctor gets an unexpected job offer. The final story intended to be in Black & White, as the entire current cast leaves the series.
Fri 6:30PM Spearhead From Space ep 1 of 4
Last rerun in 1991. Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and his super-secret military organization U.N.I.T (in the phone book under U) are bedeviled by two technically impossible meteor showers. When a police box is found nearby the meteor landing, the Brigadier thinks he will be able to get just the right expert to solve the problem. Jon Pertwee and the colour era begin with this episode.

USA:

BBC America http://www.bbcamerica.com/
Weekdays 5AM EDT (2AM PDT) - 2 episodes edited together daily
Mon-Tue The Deadly Assassin eps 1 - 4 of 4
Gallifrey's most famous black sheep - The Doctor - finds that the only way to solve the assassination of the Lord President of the Time Lords is to run for the office himself. A surreal, startling epic that got the show knocked off the air for a month, pushed to a later timeslot, and the producer replaced a few months later.
Wed-Thu The Face of Evil eps 1 - 4 of 4
The 4th Doctor faces the consequences of his past when he arrives on the world of the Sevateem, the Tesh, and a cranky computer.
Fri The Sontaran Experiment both eps
A cynical ploy by BBC America to pad the schedule until the 8AM showing begins next week. It's an interesting story, the only 2 part Tom Baker story, and established the Sontarans as part of the official pantheon of returning monsters, but it's still a cynical ploy by BBC America to pad out this week. Enjoy it anyway.

NHPTV New Hampshire 11,49,52 http://nhptv.org/
Sun 3PM EDT The Hand Of Fear eps 3+4 of 4
Eldrad, last survivor of the Kastrian race, asks Jeff Probst for her $1,000,000 for being the Survivor. But since it wasn't on an island in the South Pacific and it wasn't televised, Eldrad must settle for a TARDIS trip back home to try to relaunch her civilization.

WQED/WQEX 13,16 Pittsburgh, PA http://www.wqed.org/
Sat 11PM EDT Image of the Fendahl ep 4 of 4
The scientists discover the nature of the force they unleashed - a little too late. Now it's up to the Doctor, Leela, rock salt, and a shotgun.
Sat 11:30PM EDT The Sun Makers ep 1 of 4
The Doctor stops a suicide and finds himself involved in the terror of taxes.
» these episodes were actually deferred to the following week owing to a concert.

WYBE 35 Philadelphia, PA http://www.wybe.org/
Sat 11PM EDT The Keeper of Traken eps 1+2 of 4
Postponed from an earlier date. The 4th Doctor and Adric are hired to find the source of an evil that threatens to wipe out the peaceful harmony of Traken.

MPT Maryland 22,28,31,36,62,67 http://www.mpt.org/
Late Sat Mid EDT Warriors From The Deep movie
The Silurians and The Sea Devils reawaken, determined to take back Earth, the planet they used to rule. First stop - a 21st century seabase involved in a new cold war.

WUSF 16 Tampa, FL http://www.wusftv.usf.edu/gateway.htm
Sat 11:30PM EDT The Trial Of A Time Lord ep 7 of 14 (Mindwarp ep 3 of 4)
A deranged paranoid is torturing Peri, fawning on Sil, and aiding Crozier in his disgusting experiments. And if the Trial evidence is correct - it's the Doctor!

WCET 48 Cincinnati, OH http://www.wcet.org/
Sat 11:30PM EDT The Masque of Mandragora eps 2+3 of 4
In an O'Henry like twist, the original villain of this story is being manipulated by an unlikely source. And I don't mean the Mandragora energy, though that is causing lots of trouble too.

WYIN 56 Gary, IN (Chicago, IL) http://www.wyin.org/
Sat 10PM CDT Image of the Fendahl ep 1 of 4 (it was The Invisible Enemy: Part Four)
Dr. Fendelman's research into a 12 million year old skull draws the attention of the Doctor, who notes a force that will destroy the Earth if not turned off.

TPT 2 St. Paul, MN http://www.tpt.org/
Sat 11:35PM, Sun 5:35AM CDT Horror of Fang Rock ep 3 of 4
Instead of locking the monster out of the lighthouse, the Doctor has locked it inside with them - in the form of Reuben the old lighthouse keeper.

IPTV Iowa 11,12,21,24,27,32,32,36 http://www.sffn.com/ http://www.iptv.org/
Fri 11:30PM CDT The Ribos Operation eps 3+4 of 4
The Graff Vynda-K wants the Jethryk whatever the price. The Doctor cannot let him have it though, as it is the first segment of the Key To Time.

PPTV North Dakota 2,3,4,6,9,13,19 http://www.pptv.org/
Fri 10:30PM CDT (9:30PM MDT) Underworld ep 4 of 4
Jackson's crew wants to escape with the race banks before the Underworld is destroyed. But the Doctor believes they have forgotten something important.

KBDI/K32EO 12,32 Denver/Colorado Springs, CO http://www.kbdi.org/
No episodes this week.

KUED 7 Salt Lake City, UT http://www.kued.org/
Sat 11PM, Late Sat 12:30AM MDT The Brain of Morbius ep 1 of 4
See KBTC for description.

KBTC/KCKA/K65BU 28,15,65 Tacoma/Centralia/Gray's River, WA
http://www.kbtc.org/
at 7PM, Late Sat 12:30AM PDT The Brain of Morbius eps 1+2 of 4
Job opening - head donor. Must be male, young to early middle-age, Time Lord preferred. Excellent health insurance and dental care. Please contact Dr. Hogwald Solon, planet of Karn, constellation of Kasterborus.

KTEH 54 San Jose, CA http://www.kteh.org/
Sun 11PM "Possible filler Who segments"
If the KTEH September auction ends early as it did last year, KTEH may air one or more of the cast interviews they have filmed over the years. Possible interviews unknown at press time.
Late Sun Mid PDT The Trial Of A Time Lord eps 1,2,3,+4 of 14 (The Mysterious Planet all 4 eps)
Could start late if the auction runs over-length. The 6th Doctor is put on trial on charges of interfering with the affairs of other planets. That shouldn't be too hard to prove.

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Thanks for reading. Until next week, take care.
Benjamin F. Elliott