This Week In Doctor Who - March 23, 2001
(posted 23rd Mar 2001, via rec.arts.drwho)

THIS WEEK IN DOCTOR WHO - March 23, 2001
Vol 4, No 12
by Benjamin F. Elliott
Doctor Who is a BBC Trademark. Copyright 2001.

Good news in New Hampshire! New Hampshire Public TV (NHPTV) shocked fans three months ago by moving Doctor Who from Sunday afternoons to late Thursday nights, a very difficult time slot for all but the most die-hard viewers. Now they are adding a second airing of Doctor Who at a more convenient time for people to see it. Beginning Saturday, April 7th, there will be a Midnight rerun of the Thursday episodes. While Late Saturday at Midnight is by no definition a *good* time for Doctor Who, it is earlier in the evening than 12:30AM and a more customary night for people to look for sci-fi. The first story to benefit from multiple airings will be The Pirate Planet.

WYBE 35 in Philadelphia, PA had better be careful. Now that WYIN has sworn off incompetence and confusion, WYBE could develop a bad reputation. Last weekend Doctor Who was going to be pre-empted by an all day Ballykissangel marathon that was running until Midnight. Except that the marathon was over by 11PM and the first 2 episodes of Enlightenment aired in the regular time slot when people were not expecting it. Now their website has announced that The 5 Doctors will air as a special this Saturday Night. What will this mean for Enlightenment? Which version of 5 Doctors? And what's the start time? This is not quite to the level of airing random episodes from seasons you've already finished yet, but it is rapidly approaching chaos for anyone who can't stay up and uses a VCR.

Speaking of WYIN 56 in Gary, IN - does anyone know how they did in last weekend's pledge drive? The renewal of the show was going to be based on how the pledge night went, so it would be interesting to know if the show will continue. It would also be nice to have some indication when KERA 13 in Dallas, TX finally plans to begin its weekly showings of Doctor Who.

New Zealand fans might notice that Prime TV renewed its Doctor Who contract recently, so the show will continue beyond Image of the Fendahl. They have currently ordered the episodes through TheHornsOfNimon, which is likely to air in May at their current rate of showing episodes. Thanks to the discussion board on http://www.tetrap.com/drwho/nzdwfc/ for that tidbit.

Prime TV in New Zealand is cutting back its number of Doctor Who episodes. Beginning Sunday, 1 April, Prime will air 1 episode a day at 6PM (Sundays through Fridays) instead of 2 episodes in movie format. So, onlly 6 episodes a week instead of 12. Stingray will air at 6:30PM. Thanks to Alden Bates for the alert.

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

---

RADIO:

---

WPBR 1340AM West Palm Beach, FL http://hometown.aol.com/scifiradioguy/
MP3 Archive http://www.live365.com/
Sun 11:05PM EST Interstellar Transmissions sci-fi radio show
Joey Reynolds' weekly sci-fi news/talk show. Weekly Doctor Who updates. Last week's installment had Doctor Who fan Charles Martin as co-host. This week - the people behind Bitch Comics discuss their female oriented comic book lines (and their unusual name).

---

TV:

---

UK:

UK Gold http://www.sceneone.co.uk/s1/tv/listings
Sun 11:05AM-1PM BST Pyramids of Mars movie
The Doctor and Sarah make it back to Earth, but in 1911, not 1980. So, instead of meeting up with U*N*I*T, he encounters robotic mummies, a walking dead man, and an effort to unleash a millennia-old evil from its tomb.

EUROPE/AFRICA/ASIA:

(While CET is, as far as I know, the acronym for Central European Time
year-round, it should be noted that Friday and Saturday shows are on
Standard Time, while shows from Sunday on are on Daylight Savings Time.
Since some areas do not change time zones, adjust the times shown here
accordingly or you'll miss the Doctor.)

BBC Prime http://www.bbcprime.com/
Late Fri 1AM*, Sat 3:30PM, Sun 11:30AM CET Snakedance ep 1 of 4
Late Thu 12:30AM CET Snakedance ep 2 of 4
*Not seen in all regions. As the Mara (from Kinda) tries to retake control of Tegan's mind, the 5th Doctor and Nyssa rush to the homeworld of the Mara to destroy it once and for all before it can find a way to the macro world.

AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND:

UKTV Australia http://www.varos.com/drwho/uktv/
Sun 7AM, Late Sun 1AM AEST The Deadly Assassin all 4 eps
(with apologies to Jim Henson)
Why are there so many - Doctor Who titles with death in them?
What is the ob-ses-sion?
Why are there so many - writers who like dying?
It seems a bit much - for fun.
Characters keep on dying while young viewers keep on crying -
But the writers will win their hearts - wait and see.
Some day we'll find it. The Death Title Connection.
The writers, the viewers, and me.
La-da-da-dee-da-da-do, La-la-dee-da-do-dee-da-DO!
Mon-Thu 11:30PM AEDT Horror of Fang Rock eps 1 - 4 of 4
It comes from Outer Space. It can hide in the water and alter the atmosphere. It can assume the form of living things. And once it lays its eyes on you, you're dead. The Doctor and Leela race to protect the people in a lighthouse from a devil in the dark - all this week on Doctor Who.
» the following edition indicated that The Sun Makers: Part One aired instead of episode 4
Fri 11:30PM AEDT The Invisible Enemy ep 1 of 4
An intergalactic parasite sets up home in the Doctor's brain as part of a scheme to take control of time and space.

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 Horror of Fang Rock movie, pt 2 of 2
Only previous NZ airing in 1987. See UKTV Australia for details.
Mon-Tue The Invisible Enemy movie, pts 1 - 2 of 2
Last rerun in 1987. See UKTV Australia for details.
Wed-Thu Image of the Fendahl movie, pts 1 - 2 of 2
Last rerun in 1987. It's the brink of disaster when Dr. Fendelman operates a time scanner in rural England, bringing Earth to the edge of destruction and awakening an ancient skull of enormous power.
Fri The Sun Makers movie, pt 1 of 2
Only previous NZ airing in 1987. The 4th Doctor is forced to try to rob the oppressive government that holds humanity captive on the planet Pluto. Will he succeed? Well, he's a Time Lord, but he's no Robin Hood.

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 Robots of Death movie, pts 1 - 2 of 2
The 4th Doctor and Leela find themselves in a web of murder and mayhem on board a Sandminer.
Wed-Thu/Thu-Fri Genesis of the Daleks movie, pts 1 - 2 of 3
The Doctor is sent back in time to prevent the creation of the Daleks. If the Doctor succeeds, all of history will be changed.

» it was later reported that the episodes were awry: should have been The Android Invasion 3-4, The Robots of Death 1-4, and Genesis of the Daleks 1-2

NHPTV New Hampshire 11,49,52 http://www.nhptv.org/
Late Thu 12:30AM EST The Ribos Operation eps 3+4 of 4
The Graff Vynda-K wants the Jethryk, and is willing to kill everyone to get it. Since the Jethryk is also the first segment of the Key To Time, the Doctor and Romana cannot let the Graff win, no matter how much everyone on the ice world deserves such a fate.

WQED/WQEX 13,16 Pittsburgh, PA http://www.wqed.org/
Pre-empted this week. Returns March 31.

WYBE 35 Philadelphia, PA http://www.wybe.org/
Sat TBA PM EST The Five Doctors format unknown
At press time, it was unclear whether it would be 2 episodes of the 4 episode version, the original 90 minute movie, or the 105 minute Special Edition. It was added to their schedule too late to be certain on the start time. Probably 9, 10, or 11PM. If 11PM, it will probably rerun Monday morning at 4AM.
Sat 11PM, Mon 4AM EST Enlightenment eps 3+4 of 4
The first 2 episodes of Enlightenment aired without notice last week, so these episodes should air this week. May be pre-empted by The Five Doctors.

MPT Maryland 22,28,31,36,62,67 http://www.mpt.org/
Sat 11:45PM EST Battlefield movie
(New time due to Robot Wars.) Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart is called out of retirement to help U*N*I*T when the 7th Doctor, Ace, two armies of knights with hyperactive weapons, and Morgaine the evil witch all converge on Cornwall at an inconvenient moment. But the Brigadier is not as young as he used to be. If not careful, this mission could be his last. And that would make his wife Doris very annoyed with him.

WUSF 16 Tampa, FL http://www.wusftv.usf.edu/
Sat 11:30PM EST Remembrance of the Daleks ep 4 of 4
The 7th Doctor takes a drastic step to deal with the Daleks. Ace learns the truth about Mike. The leader of the Imperial Daleks makes an appearance.

WCET 48 Cincinnati, OH http://www.wcet.org/
Sat 11:30PM EST Underworld eps 2+3 of 4
Captain Jackson finds the P7E, but there are a few complications. 1) It's buried inside a planet. 2) There are a lot of people between him and the race banks. 3) The P7E's computer has gone psycho. Think Xoanon, without the charm.

WYIN 56 Gary, IN (Chicago, IL) http://www.wyin.org/
Sat 10PM CST The Armageddon Factor ep 1 of 6
The search for the final segment of the Key To Time leads the Doctor, Romana, and K9 to the planet Atrios, which is in the midst of a devastating war with the planet Zeos.

WILL 12 Urbana, IL http://www.will.uiuc.edu/
Sat 11:35PM CST Revenge of the Cybermen ep 3 of 4
(New time due to Robot Wars.) The Cybermen take control of Nerva Beacon, and decide to use the Doctor & co. as live bombs to destroy the planet Voga.

TPT 2 St. Paul, MN http://www.tpt.org/
Sat 11:30PM, Sun 5:30AM CST The Ribos Operation ep 4 of 4
See WQED for details.

IPTV Iowa 11,12,21,24,27,32,32,36 http://www.sffn.com/ http://www.iptv.org/
Fri 11:05PM CST The Leisure Hive eps 2+3 of 4
Late Fri 12:45AM CST The Leisure Hive ep 4 of 4
Episode 2 was originally scheduled for March 2, but IPTV aired the wrong episode by mistake. Hence the unusual schedule tonight, with Space Island One between episodes 3+4 at 11:55PM. The Doctor is framed for murder. But his attempt to prove his innocence goes horribly wrong.

PPTV North Dakota 2,3,4,6,9,13,19 http://www.pptv.org/
Fri 10:30PM CST (9:30PM MST) The Androids of Tara ep 4 of 4
The climatic battle between Count Grendel, Prince Reynart, Princess Strella, Romana, and the Doctor can't hold a candle to the latest danger K9 faces - a moat.

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

KUED 7 Salt Lake City, UT http://www.kued.org/
Sat 11PM, Late Sat 12:30AM MST The Face of Evil ep 2 of 4
Xoanon cons the Sevateem tribe into preparing for a disastrous attack on the shield barrier.

KBTC/KCKA/K65BU 28,15,65 Tacoma/Centralia/Gray's River, WA
http://www.kbtc.org/
Sat 7PM, Late Sat 12:30AM PST Underworld eps 3+4 of 4
See WCET for details.

KTEH 54 San Jose, CA http://www.kteh.org/
Sun 11PM PST The Space Museum movie (The Space Museum, The Dimensions Of Time, The Search, The Final Phase)
A glimpse of the future sends the Doctor, Ian, Barbara, and Vicki into conniptions. It seems they die and are turned into exhibits. Can they outwit time, or is their future set in stone?

---

Thanks for reading. Until next week, take care.