This Week In Doctor Who - June 15, 2001
(posted 15th Jun 2001, 10:09am - TWIDW post #0019)

THIS WEEK IN DOCTOR WHO - June 15, 2001
by Benjamin F. Elliott
Vol 4, No 24
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thisweekindoctorwho/
thisweekindoctorwho@yahoogroups.com

The big news over the past week has been that BBC Online plans to finally broadcast the pilot episode of the planned Doctor Who radio series that was abandoned by BBC Radio 4 late last year. Only episode 1 was recorded of a story that has been alternately reported as being 5 or 6 episodes long. Episode 1 of Death Comes To Time features Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred as the 7th Doctor and Ace, with various guest stars including Stephen Fry. A preview will be available to download on http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/ beginning today, June 15th. The full episode, broken into 6 downloadable segments, will go up on Friday, July 13th, the third anniversary of This Week In Doctor Who (alas, a coincidence). It will also be the weekend that the Sci-Fi Channel in the US airs the McGann Doctor Who movie for the first time since its FOX broadcast in 1996.

KTEH 54 had a very successful pledge night on the 10th, celebrating Doctor Who's 20thanniversary on their station. They raised more than enough money to pay for the Jon Pertwee stories they will begin airing next month. (They're returning to episode format for the Pertwee episodes.) For those who participated in the online poll to pick the episodes for the marathon, the winners were:

1st - An Unearthly Child ep 1 - 16% of 1st Doctor voters
2nd - The War Games ep 10 - 27% of 2nd Doctor votes
3rd - The Daemons ep 5 - 13% of 3rd Doctor votes
4th - City Of Death ep 4 - 18% of 4th Doctor votes
5th - The Five Doctors (4 ep version) ep 4 - 17% of 5th Doctor votes
6th - The Two Doctors (6 ep version) ep 2 - 25% of 6th Doctor votes
7th - Survival ep 3 - 13% of 7th Doctor votes

Popular runner-up episodes that just missed getting into the marathon included The Chase ep 6, The Tomb Of The Cybermen ep 1, The Tomb Of The Cybermen ep 4, The Mind Robber ep 3, The Three Doctors ep 4, Earthshock ep 4, The Caves Of Androzani ep 4, The Ultimate Foe ep 2, Dragonfire ep 3, Silver Nemesis ep 3, and Battlefield ep 4. Congratulations to all the episodes that placed well.

KTEH also presented old pledge pitches made in previous drives for KTEH by Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Nicholas Courtney, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, and Sylvester McCoy.

This column usually refrains from noting news about video releases, since I try to keep the focus here on the actual TV broadcasts. But I must admit to being rather enthused about the US VHS & DVD news that has been publicly revealed this week. Warner Video has figured out that FOX's policy of pricing single Doctor Who tapes at $19.98 when virtually all VHS releases in the US were cheaper doesn't sell tapes, so the prices of Doctor Who videos will be reduced to a price level where they might actually sell well on September 11th, the day the first US DVD releases come out ($12.95 for single tapes). Also, beginning early next year, new releases will come out simultaneously on VHS and DVD in the US. Full details and updates at Outpost Gallifrey http://www.gallifreyone.com/ . Click on their news page.

Additions and corrections are welcome at bfelliott@... , bfelliott@... , or bfelliott3 on AOL IM. And now, the listings:

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INTERNET:

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Interstellar Transmissions http://www.scifiradioguy.com/ sci-fi news/radio show
Sunday - Relaunches as an internet exclusive show. See the website for details. The show will now be available immediately online, as opposed to when it was a radio show, with a 10 day delay before going online. Doctor Who guests (including yours truly) periodically show up on the show, as well as weekly updates on Doctor Who news.

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TV:

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UK:

UK Gold http://www.sceneone.co.uk/s1/tv/listings
Sun 8:05-10AM BST Image of the Fendahl movie
Black magic, science, the pentagram, and an evil skull collide in the quiet English countryside. The 4th Doctor and Leela search for the answers before the end of the world hits. Or at least until tea time.

EUROPE/AFRICA/ASIA:

BBC Prime http://www.bbcprime.com/
Late Fri 1AM*, Sat 3:30PM, Sun 11:30AM CET Enlightenment ep 1 of 4
Late Thu 12:30AM CET Enlightenment ep 2 of 4
*Not seen in all regions. Feeling betrayed by the Black Guardian, Turlough actively helps the 5thDoctor look into the mysteries on board a sailing ship run by immortals. But no matter what he does, guilt, doubt, and the Black Guardian seem destined to destroy him.

AUSTRALIA:

UKTV Australia http://www.varos.com/drwho/uktv/ http://www.uktv.com.au/
Sun 7AM, Late Sun 1AM AEST The Pirate Planet all 4 eps
Douglas Adams' history with Doctor Who began with this story, the search for the second segment of the Key To Time. The second segment is apparently on the planet Calufrax. But when the 4th Doctor and Romana go to search for it, another planet has taken its place. A planet seemingly run by a pirate captain with a robotic killer parrot.
Mon-Tue 11:30PM AEST City of Death eps 3 - 4 of 4
Another story Douglas Adams wrote, but the pen name David Agnew was used due to contract conditions (Douglas Adams was also the script editor). The 4th Doctor, Romana, and Duggan discover seven Mona Lisa's in Count Scarlioni's basement - all genuine. Now, assuming that you could make have seven genuine Mona Lisa's, what would you need them all for?
Wed-Fri 11:30PM AEST The Creature from the Pit eps 1 - 3 of 4
On a jungle world where metal is precious and the ruleress is ruthless, the Doctor finds himself in a pit as potential monster food and K9's existence is threatened. Geoffrey Bayldon steals the story as Organon, a not-necessarily-completely-genuine Court Astrologer.

» schedules were inaccurate owing to Sun/Mon programmes being pre-empted the previous week, so Sun-Fri were The Ribos Operation, City of Death 2-4, CreatureFromThePit 1-2

USA:

The SCI-FI Channel http://www.scifi.com/
Coming July 15th - DOCTOR WHO (1996) starring Paul McGann

NHPTV New Hampshire 11,49,52 http://www.nhptv.org/
Late Sat Mid EDT The Armageddon Factor eps 1+2 of 6
Late Thu Mid EDT The Armageddon Factor eps 3+4 of 6
The final segment of the Key To Time. In his search for the first five segments, the Doctor had to deal with madmen, monsters, plots, and threats. But he never had to worry about competition. Now he does. And the competition - named "The Shadow" - knows where the 6th segment is.

WQED/WQEX 13,16 Pittsburgh, PA http://www.wqed.org/
Sat 11:30PM EDT The Creature from the Pit eps 3+4 of 4
See UKTV Australia for story details.

WYBE 35 Philadelphia, PA http://www.wybe.org/
Sat 4AM EDT Planet of Fire eps 1+2 of 4
Sat 11PM EDT Planet of Fire eps 3+4 of 4
Perpeguillium Brown, an American student vacationing with her step-father, comes across Turlough, a shady red-headed character who saves her life. Unfortunately, she also meets Kamelion, an android who may be falling back under the control of the Master, a creepy man in Black. And then there's the weirdo in the cricket outfit.

MPT Maryland 22,28,31,36,62,67 http://www.mpt.org/
Late Sat Mid EDT The Rescue 50 minute movie (The Powerful Enemy, Desperate Measures)
The 1st Doctor has lost a step following the departure of Susan. So the TARDIS takes him to Dido, a world where the natives are peaceful. And apparently trying to kill his crew. Hmm - something does not add up.

WUSF 16 Tampa, FL http://www.wusftv.usf.edu/
Sat 11:40PM EDT Battlefield ep 2 of 4
Special time due to long movie. Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart is called out of retirement to help deal with the knights from another dimension and the surprise return of the Doctor. The Brigadier's wife Doris is less than amused at the prospect of her aging husband putting himself into danger one more time.

WCET 48 Cincinnati, OH http://www.wcet.org/
Sat 11:30PM EDT The Pirate Planet eps 2+3 of 4
See UKTV Australia for details.

WYIN 56 Gary, IN (Chicago, IL) http://www.wyin.org/
Sat 10PM CDT City of Death eps 3+4 of 4
See UKTV Australia for details.

WILL 12 Urbana, IL http://www.will.uiuc.edu/
Sat 11:35PM CDT Pyramids of Mars ep 3 of 4
Sutekh decides that the Doctor is becoming a nuisance.

TPT St. Paul, MN http://www.tpt.org/
analog KTCA 2, digital KTCI-DT 16 (2.5)
Sat 11:30PM, Sat 5:30AM CDT The Androids of Tara ep 2 of 4
The Doctor is hired to make a robot act like a prince. Romana is ordered to impersonate a robot impersonating a princess.

IPTV Iowa 11,12,21,24,27,32,32,36 http://www.sffn.com/ http://www.iptv.org/
Fri 11:05PM CDT Castrovalva eps 1+2 of 4
Peter Davison takes over as the 5th Doctor. The Doctor's regeneration begins to fail, forcing him to retreat to the Zero Room to recover. The Doctor needs plenty of time to relax. Naturally, the Master takes the opportunity to redirect the TARDIS towards certain heat death.

PPTV North Dakota 2,3,4,6,9,13,19 http://www.pptv.org/
Fri 10:30PM CDT (9:30PM MDT) Destiny of the Daleks ep 2 of 4
The Doctor and the Movellans race the Daleks to find the mysterious item the Daleks are searching for. But the Movellans seem to know too much about the Daleks' mission.

KERA 13 Dallas, TX http://www.kera.org/
Late Fri Mid CDT Doctor Who And The Silurians eps 1+2 of 7
Color-restored version. Energy drains at an experimental nuclear power plant bring the 3rdDoctor, Liz, and the Brigadier to investigate. The only clue to the power failures is that several people have been killed or driven mad in the caves connected to the power station.

KBDI/K32EO 12,32 Denver/Colorado Springs, CO http://www.kbdi.org/
Pre-empted by pledges, again. Finally returns June 23.

KUED 7 Salt Lake City, UT http://www.kued.org/
Sat 11PM, Late Sat 12:30AM MDT The Talons of Weng-Chiang ep 6 of 6
With key and Time Cabinet in hand, Magnus Greel prepares to return to the 51st Century, refusing to accept that such a trip will rip apart the fabric of time. KUED is airing the stories in production order instead of broadcast order, so they will skip to The Invisible Enemy next week.

KBTC/KCKA/K65BU 28,15,65 Tacoma/Centralia/Gray's River, WA
http://www.kbtc.org/
Sat 7PM, Late Sat 12:30AM PDT The Power of Kroll eps 1+2 of 4
Batman had the Bat-tucci dance, which shocked its viewers. Star Trek had the Tribbles, which confounded its viewers. Babylon 5 had Zathras and his brother Zathras. And Doctor Who had the "Kroll" dance. Tonight - the Kroll dance!

KTEH 54 San Jose, CA http://www.kteh.org/
Sun 11PM PDT The War Games movie, pt 1 of 2
The 2nd Doctor, Jamie, and Zoe stumble across a series of Earth wars mixed together like a deadly jumble sale. Where are they? Who's in charge? And was Lieutenant Carstairs being groomed as a possible new companion for the Doctor? The 2nd Doctor's epic final adventure begins.

BBC America http://www.bbcamerica.com/
Mon-Thu 8AM EDT (5AM PDT)/Tue-Fri 5AM EDT (2AM PDT) - 2 episodes in movie format daily
Mon/Tue The Deadly Assassin movie, pt 2 of 2
23 years before Keanu Reeves investigated the secrets of "The Matrix", the 4th Doctor entered the APC Net section of the Time Lord matrix to find out the identity of the true assassin, or die trying.
Tue-Thu/Wed-Fri The Seeds of Doom movie, pts 1 - 3 of 3
Secrets agents Doctor and Sarah are on a mission to protect the Earth from two newly discovered seed pods, which have the ability to turn all plants against humanity.

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Thanks for reading. Until next week, take care.

Doctor Who is a BBC Trademark. Copyright 2001.