THIS WEEK IN DOCTOR WHO - March 2, 2001

Vol 4, No 9
by Benjamin F. Elliott
Doctor Who is a BBC Trademark. Copyright 2001.

Does everyone remember National Doctor Who Night? Produced in October, aired on several US PBS stations in November and December, making large amounts of money in nearly all cases. Well, in my best Jack Nicholson voice - "It's Ba-a-ack." 4 known airings so far this month, though presumably stations that have aired it before could run it by surprise during Viewer's Choice Nights:

1) WCET 48 Cincinnati, OH - Sat, March 3 11PM-2AM EST (rerun)
2) MPT Maryland 22,28,31,36,62,67 - Sat, March 3 11:30PM-2AM EST (rerun)
3) IPTV Iowa 11,12,21,24,27,32,32,36 - Fri, March 9 10:30PM-1:30AM CST (first time on IPTV)
4) KERA 13 Dallas, TX - Sat, March 10 11:30PM-1:30AM CST (first time on KERA)

For those who have forgotten, TJ Lubinsky from WQED and Elaine from NHPTV hosted this special, with Sylvester McCoy (7th Doctor) as the in-studio guest. An online poll of fans resulted in the movie version of Remembrance of the Daleks being the featured story. Featured pledge highlight - the Galaxy Collection - 4 Sylvester McCoy videos being discontinued by Warner Video (Time and the Rani, Paradise Towers, Dragonfire, Ghost Light), available as a set with Sylvester's signature. (I saw Syl sign the labels - it's his real signature.)

Yes, fans in the Dallas area, you read the material above correctly. Doctor Who is returning on March 10, and first up is the Doctor Who Night special. Now, they did say in December that they would begin airing 2 Jon Pertwee episodes a week long about this time of year. Jon Pertwee is certainly not on the March schedule - Who Night is the only Doctor Who feature. Presumably they will make an announcement during Who Night regarding the start date for weekly episodes.

Tapes fouled up in Philadelphia again. WYBE 35 has been trying, but they have had periodic problems getting the tapes in the right order. Recently Mawdryn Undead was delayed 3 weeks due to this problem. They proudly announced they were back on track on February 17th when the 1st 2 episodes of Mawdryn aired. But last week they derailed again, airing episodes 1+2 of Terminus. WYBE has always tried to air all the episodes eventually, so my guess is that the second half of Mawdryn Undead will air this weekend in the regular timeslot.

Ironically, WYBE is having a party to celebrate going to 24 hours a day with an all-night party tonight (Friday). Multiple Doctor Who episodes will be airing as part of the festivities. They won't say how many episodes (they will almost certainly be 4th and 5th Doctor installments). They won't give the time. Could be anywhere between 11PM and 6AM. If you can't stay up all night, your best bet is an 8 hour tape and just get it all.

Meanwhile, WYIN in Gary, Indiana is finally trying to clean up its act. WYIN has been the worst offender at airing episodes at random, last minute changes, mixing up the tapes, etc. After roughly 4 months where it wasn't even worth guessing anymore, they are finally paying attention to the show.

For the next 3 Saturdays, complete stories will air as pledge specials. And they are consecutive stories!! They even have the titles of the stories in their listings. Maybe they're turning a corner.

Finally, if you tuned into WPBR AM1340 in West Palm Beach last weekend, you did not hear Interstellar Transmissions, Joey Reynold's sci-fi radio show with Doctor Who news in it. There was a pre-emption. It is off the air again this weekend, so the installment originally expected for last weekend will actually air March 11.

Notice a lack of announcements about stations outside the US. Well, that's because I haven't heard about any exciting news regarding those stations. Either they're airing the show week-in, week-out without making waves, or word about their manicness is not getting to me.

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

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RADIO:

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WPBR 1340AM West Palm Beach, FL http://hometown.aol.com/scifiradioguy/
Interstellar Transmissions returns next week, with the installment originally described in last week's column.

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TV:

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UK:

UK Gold http://www.sceneone.co.uk/s1/tv/listings
Sun 11:05AM-1PM GMT Revenge of the Cybermen movie
(Hmm - later time - much nicer for viewers.) Welcome to Nerva Beacon, a space beacon designed to keep ships from crashing into an asteroid that's not on all the star charts yet. Feel free to relax, have a good time, die from a plague, be killed by Cybermen, be killed by Vogons, practice ballet dancing, or be distracted by a curly-haired man in a long scarf who seems to know what he's doing.

EUROPE/AFRICA/ASIA:

BBC Prime http://www.bbcprime.com/
Late Fri 1AM*, Sat 3:30PM, Sun 11:30AM CET Arc of Infinity ep 2 of 4
Late Thu 12:30AM CET Arc of Infinity ep 3 of 4
*Not seen in all regions. The Time Lords get it into their heads that if they just execute the person who the anti-matter creature is trying to bond with, the universe can be safe. Alas, the anti-matter creature is trying to merge with the Doctor. Colin Baker guest stars as Maxil, leader of the Guards. Ironic as he later plays the 6th Doctor.

AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND:

UKTV Australia http://www.varos.com/drwho/uktv/
Sun 7AM, Late Sun 1AM AEDT The Seeds of Doom all 6 eps
The Doctor and Sarah, on one final mission for U*N*I*T, travel to the South Pole and rural England to thwart efforts to revive two alien seed pods. If revived, the pods will grow into Krynoids, intelligent plants that can take mental control of other plants and inspire them to kill humans.
Mon 11:30PM AEDT The Deadly Assassin ep 4 of 4
The Master's role as the leader of the scheme is revealed - 5 minutes after he dies. But is death enough to keep the Doctor's biggest enemy from seeking revenge against him and all of Gallifrey? Hint - the answer is two letters long, and begins with n.
Tue-Fri 11:30PM AEDT The Face of Evil eps 1 - 4 of 4
The Doctor comes across a world where his interference in the past has created a schizoid culture, a paranoid computer, and mass death. Well, he can't get everything right.

Prime TV New Zealand http://www.tetrap.com/drwho/nzdwfc/
http://www.primetv.co.nz/
Sun-Fri 6PM - 2 episodes in movie format daily
Sun The Brain of Morbius movie, pt 2 of 2
Last rerun in 1987. Professor Solon decides to operate to give Morbius mobility again, even if he can't get the Doctor's head. The result - Chop Suey The Galactic Emperor!
Mon-Wed The Seeds of Doom movie, pts 1 - 3 of 3
Last rerun in 1987. See UKTV Australia for details.
Thu-Fri The Masque of Mandragora movie, pts 1 - 2 of 2
Last rerun in 1987. A new TARDIS interior (and a new exterior) for this opening story of the famous 14th season. A semi-historical story, as an alien ball of energy hijacks the TARDIS to get to the 15th Century for a massacre and a plot to take over the world.

USA:

BBC America http://www.bbcamerica.com/
Mon-Thu 8AM EST (5AM PST)/Tue-Fri 5AM EST (2AM PST) - 2 episodes in movie format daily
Mon-Tue/Tue-Wed The Seeds of Doom movie, pts 2 - 3 of 3
See UKTV Australia for details.
Wed-Thu/Thu-Fri The Face of Evil movie, pts 1 - 2 of 2
See UKTV Australia for details.

NHPTV New Hampshire 11,49,52 http://www.nhptv.org/
Pre-empted this week and next. Returns Late Thursday, March 22.

WQED/WQEX 13,16 Pittsburgh, PA http://www.wqed.org/
Sat 11:30PM-1AM EST 30 Years In The TARDIS 1993 documentary
This is the original 50 minute version, not the later 90 minute video release, as the video release has never been cleared for television

WYBE 35 Philadelphia, PA http://www.wybe.org/
Fri 11PM-Sat 6AM EST "Pajama Jam" a WYBE all-night event
WYBE goes to 24 hours, with celebrations all night long. Why include that in the column? Well, they will air multiple Doctor Who episodes during the night. Times and episodes have not been released, and I wouldn't be too surprised if they haven't decided yet.
» they showed The King's Demons at 11:00pm
Sat 11PM EST Mawdryn Undead? eps 3+4 of 4
WYBE aired the wrong episodes again. These two episodes were supposed to air last week, and are therefore the most likely ones to air this week. Those I suppose they could air Terminus episodes 3+4 also.
» it was reported this was Terminus 1+2 again!

MPT Maryland 22,28,31,36,62,67 http://www.mpt.org/
Sat 11:30PM-2AM EST National Doctor Who Night 2000 with Sylvester McCoy
By the way, Remembrance of the Daleks, the story that airs in Who Night, had its first showing on MPT exactly 12 years ago this weekend. The viewership could have been higher, but a heavy rainstorm wiped out reception that night for people in outer viewing areas without Cable. Hopefully history won't repeat itself - I think rain's in the weather forecast. This is the second airing of Who Night on MPT - the first airing made $15,000.

WUSF 16 Tampa, FL http://www.wusftv.usf.edu/
Sat 11:30PM EST Remembrance of the Daleks ep 1 of 4
No, this is not a presentation of Who Night. Nice timing though. And you get to see episode 1 as intended, with the first scene "before" the opening credits. The 7th Doctor and Ace discover Daleks at work in London in November 1963. To add insult to injury, the Daleks are operating out of 76 Totters Lane.

WCET 48 Cincinnati, OH http://www.wcet.org/
Sat 11PM-2AM EST National Doctor Who Night 2000 with Sylvester McCoy
This is the third airing of Who Night on WCET. TJ certainly knew how to throw a good party together at the last minute. I don't know if this will have the same local cut-outs from the November airing or if they will do the local bits fresh. And by now, rest assured - if you order [s{TheEdgeOfDestruction}}/Pilot Episode/Missing Years/Underwater Menace 3 video for a pledge, you should get the correct version.

WYIN 56 Gary, IN (Chicago, IL) http://www.wyin.org/
Sat 10PM-Mid CST The Stones of Blood all 4 eps
Crossing fingers that WYIN actually airs its advertised story - for once, anyway. Especially since this is airing as a fundraiser. First of three weekends with complete stories. :-) The 3rd segment of the Key To Time brings the Doctor a pleasant surprise - it's on Earth. But is Earth ready for Romanadvoratrelundar?

WILL 12 Urbana, IL http://www.will.uiuc.edu/
Sat 10:30-11:40PM CST Genesis of the Daleks eps 5+6 of 6
I think this is WILL's first pledge drive for Doctor Who since reviving the show. Davros has key knowledge of the future, which could make the Daleks invincible. This is not the best option for his health.
Sat 11:40PM CST Revenge of the Cybermen ep 1 of 4
See UK Gold for details. Next episode airs March 17.

TPT 2 St. Paul, MN http://www.tpt.org/
Sat 11:30PM, Sun 5:30AM CST The Ribos Operation ep 2 of 4
The 4th Doctor and Romana break into a museum where the tracer thinks the 1st segment of the Key To Time is. But they're not the only thieves in town. The SPCS (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Schrievenzales) objected to this episode.

IPTV Iowa 11,12,21,24,27,32,32,36 http://www.iptv.org/
Sat 11:05PM CST The Leisure Hive eps 1+2 of 4
Expensive sets, elaborate special effects, and rather short episodes are highlights in this tale about a leisure world. The operators are the survivors of a twenty-minute nuclear war that left them all sterile. When sabotage begins to affect the Hive, fears mount. Is there a misguided effort to get revenge afoot, or someone trying to accomplish the total destruction that the war could not? Will conclude on March 23.

PPTV North Dakota 2,3,4,6,9,13,19 http://www.pptv.org/
No episode this week. Returns March 23.

KERA 13 Dallas, TX http://www.kera.org/
Doctor Who returns next week for one special. Still awaiting word on when it will resume airing the show weekly.

KBDI/K32EO 12,32 Denver/Colorado Springs, CO http://www.kbdi.org/
No episodes this week. Returns March 31.

KUED 7 Salt Lake City, UT http://www.kued.org/
Sat 11PM MST The Deadly Assassin ep 4 of 4
See UKTV Australia for details. The late Saturday rerun may or may not be airing this week - the entire late night schedule is under a to be announced blanket.

KBTC/KCKA/K65BU 28,15,65 Tacoma/Centralia/Gray's River, WA
http://www.kbtc.org/
Sat 7PM, Late Sat 12:30AM PST The Sun Makers eps 1+2 of 4
The Doctor is blackmailed into trying using a stolen credit card to defraud a corrupt regime. Alas, this corrupt regime has decent security. Can Leela save the Doctor from the tender mercies of the Correction Center.

KTEH 54 San Jose, CA http://www.kteh.org/
Sun 11PM PST The Rescue both eps (The Powerful Enemy, Desperate Measures)
The TARDIS lands the crew on the planet Dido, a place the Doctor has been before. A world of peace-loving people, who allegedly massacred the crew of a space ship.

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Thanks for reading. Until next week, take care.