This Week in Doctor Who - July 20, 2001
(posted 20th Jul 2001, 10:07am - TWIDW post #0024)

Computers. You can't live with them. You could probably live without them, but then you couldn't read this column. Drat - the computer gets to live.

ThIS wEek iN dOCToR wHO - JULy 20, 2001
by Benjamin F. Elliott
Vol 4, No 29
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thisweekindoctorwho/

You may have noticed that several recent editions of This Week In Doctor Who have looked somewhat unfinished. Hectic schedules and the slow decay of the machine that produces this column have been the main culprits. One of those problems is being solved this weekend. The computer that has produced This Week In Doctor Who from the beginning is being retired today, and a souped-up monster machine is replacing it, with programs that don't crash if used too quickly. Readers shouldn't notice many changes, but it will be easier for me to produce this column to a standard I am happy with. That's the theory, anyway.

For anyone under a rock for the last week or so who missed it, the BBC's gone and premiered a Doctor Who episode online at http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/doctorwho/ . Follow the links from there, and I will have the direct link in next week's column. Death Comes To Time, starring Sylvester McCoy as the Doctor, with Sophie Aldred and Stephen Fry. I do not have the stats for how many people have tuned in so far, but the BBC's servers have crashed at least once. The episode is airing in the RealAudio format. It is available in both a plain format (audio only) and a deluxe illustrated edition. This episode was the pilot for an intended series on BBC Radio 4 that said station abandoned. BBC Online is considering producing the remaining episodes of the story if it performs well enough on their site. At last word, they intended to keep the episode online for one year - good news for those of us like your editor who have not had a chance to hear the show yet.

The US version of the SCI-FI Channel http://www.scifi.com/ aired the 1996 Paul McGann Doctor Who movie last Sunday. Hope you didn't miss it. Evidently the commercials were in different places from the FOX airing in 1996, and the real closing credits actually aired this time (albeit compressed to make room for an ad). I do not know if the film was edited or uncut on this broadcast. SCI-FI probably purchased multiple airings of the movie, but as of July 19th no repeats have been scheduled yet in July, August, or September. SCI-FI is known to change schedules with little notice.

Salt Lake City, UT fans will want to keep an eye on KUED 7 http://www.kued.org/ on Saturday, August 11th. They are apparently planning a Dalek Marathon. Selected episodes from Dalek stories will air. There will definitely be episodes from Genesis of the Daleks, Revelation of the Daleks, and Remembrance of the Daleks. Unknown if any more stories will be included in the marathon. Thanks to multiple sources for alerting me to various details of this event.

Additions and corrections can be folded, spindled, or mutilated through bfelliott@... , bfelliott@... , bfelliott3 on AOL IM , or thebfe on Yahoo! Groups. And now, the listings:

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INTERNET:

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BBC Online's Doctor Who Site http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/doctorwho/
Death Comes To Time 30 minute radio pilot episode
The 7th Doctor becomes entangled in a new adventure. Only airs in RealAudio format. Available in plain format and with illustrations.
The Abominable Snowmen ep 1 of 6 (photonovel)
The 2nd Doctor, Jamie, and Victoria visit the Himalayas. The photonovels for all 6 episodes of Fury From the Deep are still online.

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TV:

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In honor of computer errors and technical problems (both the old and new computers have given me so many in the last few days), I've scrambled the listings a bit. Unlike when a computer scrambles something, I've left it intelligible enough to actually understand. Enjoy.

USA:

KBTC/KCKA/K65BU 28,15,65 Tacoma/Centralia/Gray's River, WA
http://www.kbtc.org/
Sat 7PM, Late Sat 12:30AM PDT Destiny of the Daleks eps 1+2 of 4
The Randomiser guides the TARDIS to Skaro, where both the Daleks and aliens with red braids in their hair are hunting for something. Or someone.

KTEH 54 San Jose, CA http://www.kteh.org/
Sun 11:30PM PDT Doctor Who And The Silurians eps 3+4 of 7
Color-restored version. Doctor Quinn (not the one played by Jane Seymour) has discovered a hibernating race of intelligent reptiles, and is helping to awaken them. Of course, he won't tell anybody, and there's a fair chance these reptiles might decide they want the planet back from humanity. No one said Doctor Quinn was practical.

KUED 7 Salt Lake City, UT http://www.kued.org/
Sat 11PM, Late Sat 12:30AM MDT Horror of Fang Rock ep 1 of 4
What happened to K9? Relax. KUED's airing the stories in production order, so even though this story usually runs before The Invisible Enemy, KUED is airing it after. On a foggy night, a lighthouse becomes the home to murder, intrigue, snotty rich people, and a tall man with a long scarf.

KBDI/K32EO 12,32 Denver/Colorado Springs, CO http://www.kbdi.org/
Late Fri 12:30AM MDT The Keeper of Traken all 4 eps
The 4th Doctor and Adric are on a Mission: Impossible. On a world of peace, they must locate the source of an evil that threatens to tear the world apart. Their mission will forever alter the destinies of Tremas (a respected leader), Kassia (his wife), and Nyssa (his daughter).
Sat 11PM MDT Logopolis eps 1+2 of 4
With a sense of impending doom, the 4th Doctor decides to measure the TARDIS. A mysterious figure lurks nearby with portents of death. So does a man in white. And an air stewardess mistakes the TARDIS for a real Police Box.

PPTV North Dakota 2,3,4,6,9,13,19 http://www.pptv.org/
Fri 10:30PM CDT (9:30PM MDT) City of Death ep 3 of 4
Count Scarlioni is plotting to steal the Mona Lisa. Ironically, he may be the only person on Earth who doesn't need to steal the Mona Lisa. Written by Douglas Adams under a fake name.

KERA 13 Dallas, TX http://www.kera.org/
Late Fri Mid CDT The Ambassadors of Death eps 4+5 of 7
Black & White. Episode 5 is available in various countries recolored from a 1970's US broadcast, but that version has, ironically, not been made available in the US. The Doctor believes that the government minister did not reveal the whole truth about the alien astronauts, and proposes heading up into space himself to make contact with the spaceship, before people begin to die. Meanwhile, Liz is kidnaped by the forces who have the "ambassadors".

IPTV Iowa 11,12,21,24,27,32,32,36 http://www.sffn.com/ http://www.iptv.org/
Fri 11:05PM CDT Kinda eps 1+2 of 4
On a forest world where the women rule and the men are mute, Tegan's mind is invaded. The 5thDoctor and Adric have to deal with a human scientific outpost which is degenerating into lunacy. And remember - you can't mend people.

TPT St. Paul, MN http://www.tpt.org/
analog KTCA 2, digital KTCI-DT 16.5 (2.5)
Sat 11:30PM, Sun 5:30M CDT The Power of Kroll ep 3 of 4
Kroll's awake, and he wants to kill everybody. Needless to say, the Swampies and the humans don't care and are busy trying to kill each other off anyway.

WILL 12 Urbana, IL http://www.will.uiuc.edu/
Sat 11:35PM CDT The Android Invasion ep 4 of 4
The Doctor and Sarah decide to go to Earth in one of the spaceships the Kralls are using for their invasion, to try to warn UNIT of the impending danger. Final appearance by Benton and Harry Sullivan in the series.

WYIN 56 Gary, IN (Chicago, IL) http://www.wyin.org/
Sat 10PM CDT The Horns of Nimon eps 1+2 of 4
A black hole in space drags the TARDIS crew (literally) into a tale of human sacrifice, decaying empires, and the sweet lure of a dangerous monster. Graham Crowden guest stars as Soldeed.

WCET 48 Cincinnati, OH http://www.wcet.org/
Sat 11PM EDT The Androids of Tara ep 4 of 4
A swordfight between the 4th Doctor and Count Grendel is one of the highlights of this episode, where the fate of the government of Tara is decided. Mary Tamm guest stars as Princess Strella, while still appearing as Romana.
Sat 11:25PM EDT The Power of Kroll ep 1 of 4
Delta Magma's third moon is a swampy planet (so no K9). But John Leeson (K9's voice) still gets into the story - he plays Dugeen, one of the humans working at the refinery.

NHPTV New Hampshire 11,49,52 http://www.nhptv.org/
Late Sat Mid EDT City of Death eps 1+2 of 4
Late Thu Mid EDT City of Death eps 3+4 of 4
See PPTV North Dakota for description.

WQED/WQEX 13,16 Pittsburgh, PA http://www.wqed.org/
Sat 11:30PM EDT The Leisure Hive eps 1+2 of 4
Romana suggests that the 4th Doctor take the TARDIS to Argolis for a vacation. Seems the Argolins developed a new kind of science after a devastating war that left them impotent. The war lasted 20 minutes. I'd guess that the first 19 minutes were pretty bland compared to the 20th.

WYBE 35 Philadelphia, PA http://www.wybe.org/
Sat 4AM+5:30PM EDT The Twin Dilemma eps 3+4 of 4
Still shaky from his regeneration, the 6th Doctor guides the TARDIS to Joconda, a world that has been taken over by the giant Gastropods, led by Mestor. The Doctor might not have what it takes to win this one by himself.
Sat 11PM EDT Attack of the Cybermen 4 pt version, eps 1+2
Season 22 was filmed in 45 minute episodes. These episodes were cut in half for international syndication in the mid-80s to match the episodes from other seasons. While the full-length episodes are now offered outside of England, they have not yet become readily available in America. Commander Lytton, who led the human faction of the Dalek task force in Resurrection of the Daleks, sends out a distress call from Earth which the TARDIS intercepts. What is Lytton up to this time? And why is he seeking out the Cybermen? The Doctor finally repairs the Chameleon Circuit, allowing the TARDIS to conceal itself in any shape. The initial results are somewhat unimpressive.
» It transpired that the Colin Baker stories were skipped and Time and the Rani 1+2 were shown instead.

MPT Maryland 22,28,31,36,62,67 http://www.mpt.org/
Late Sat Mid EDT The Time Meddler movie (The Watcher, The Meddling Monk, A Battle Of Wits, Checkmate)
It's 11th Century England in the year 1066, King Harold is preparing to head for Hastings, and Vikings are on the move. On the surface, a classic historical story. But one of the Doctor's own people is manipulating events, and history may be forever altered. The first story to ever try to provide some hints as to the nature of the Doctor's people.

WUSF 16 Tampa, FL http://www.wusftv.usf.edu/
Sat 11:30PM EDT Survival all 3 eps
Final broadcast of Doctor Who on WUSF. In the last story of the original television series, Ace returns to Perivale, her home town, to check up on old friends. Those friends are disappearing. Something is ripping them away from Earth, into a realm of certain death. And a cat is always present when people disappear. While this was the final regular Doctor Who story, it was the beginning for the animatronic model that played the Kitling (aka the black cat). The model was sold to an American company, and made a name for itself as Salem on Sabrina, The Teenage Witch. Hopefully this broadcast will not be the final end of Doctor Who in Florida, but merely the prelude to a brief pause.

UK:

UK Gold http://www.sceneone.co.uk/s1/tv/listings
Sat 9:05-11AM BST The Androids of Tara movie
See WCET for description.
Sun 9:10-11AM BST The Power of Kroll movie
See WCET and TPT for descriptions.

EUROPE/AFRICA/ASIA:

BBC Prime http://www.bbcprime.com/
Late Fri 1AM*, Sat 3:30PM, Sun 11:30AM CET The King's Demons ep 2 of 2
*Not seen in all regions. The Doctor learns that King John is not really King John. For one thing, he's too nice. What evil force is responsible for an android impersonating a king? Like a crumbling computer, this android stutters at times.
Late Thu 12:30AM CET "?"
Episode 1 of a 4 part version of The Five Doctors would be the obvious installment to air here, but I don't think BBC Prime would break up that story. Check http://www.sceneone.co.uk/s1/tv/listings to find out what installment will actually air here.
» the following week reported this as Warriors of the Deep: Part One

AUSTRALIA:

UKTV Australia http://www.varos.com/drwho/uktv/ http://www.uktv.com.au/
Sun 7AM, Late Sun 1AM AEST The Armageddon Factor all 6 eps
A figure named Shadow uses the cover of an interplanetary war to obscure the secret behind the location of the final segment of the Key To Time. Is the secret worse than the war itself? Lalla Ward (later to play Romana II) guest-stars as Princess Astra.
Mon-Tue 11:30PM AEST Full Circle eps 3 - 4 of 4
The Marshmen invade the Starliner, threatening the people on board. Meanwhile, the Doctor makes a surprising discovery about the history of the Marshmen and the planet.
Wed-Fri 11:30PM AEST State of Decay eps 1 - 3 of 4
On a world ruled by vampires, the biggest danger is the vampire who sleeps oblivion. A vampire the Doctor and Romana are duty-bound to destroy.

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Thanks for reading. Until next week, take care.

Doctor Who is a BBC Trademark. Copyright 2001.