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Friday 4th January 2002



This Week In Doctor Who - January 4, 2002
(posted 4th Jan 2002, 12:30pm - TWIDW post #0064)
THIS WEEK IN DOCTOR WHO - January 4, 2002
by Benjamin F. Elliott
Vol 5, No 1
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thisweekindoctorwho/
Happy New Year. This is the weekly guide to Doctor Who broadcasts around the world. It's a new year, and let's jump into things.
AUSTRALIA - I received a forwarded e-mail from Marie Kritikos, a Viewer Liaison Officer at UKTV, indicating that the weekday airings of Doctor Who will resume in March 2002, still at 11:30PM. Hopefully this is correct - time will tell. The weekday episodes were interrupted in mid-December because the weekday episodes had gotten most of the way through the Colin Baker stories, while the weekend stories were still Peter Davison installments. The weekend installments have continued.
NEW ZEALAND - If you're waiting for Prime TV to resume airing Doctor Who, expect to wait a little longer. Doctor Who was expected to return to the air in early 2002 in the 6PM hour. Beginning 7 January, the 6PM hour will consist of Stingray and Joe 90 episodes. Guess we have to hope Doctor Who comes on after those shows finish.
USA - A new year brings a new wrinkle for US television watching. The Satellite Must Carry rules are officially in effect as of January 1. If a satellite provider offers one or more local TV channels to a community, they must provide all of the full power local channels that ask to be carried during the proper asking period, provide a decent signal to broadcast, aren't repeaters of other local channels or national networks, and don't demand compensation for being carried. DirecTV offers "local" service in 41 US TV market areas, and Dish Network offers "local" service in 36 US TV market areas. 12 of the 14 US broadcasters airing Doctor Who are eligible to be carried on satellite, as they broadcast in markets where local service is offered. Local channels are only being offered to subscribers deemed to be in the market area of those channels, so Doctor Who fans who are satellite subscribers will only get the chance to see the Doctor on their satellite dishes if they live in an area where the show was airing anyway. Still, for some people, it could make seeing the series easier. Check in the USA section to see if your station is being carried on one or both of the satellites, and on which channel number(s).

I have only heard sketchy information on how the satellite companies have done adding eligible Doctor Who stations.

For DirecTV, I have heard:
KTEH San Jose, CA - on the air on schedule
KERA Dallas, TX - on the air on schedule
MPT Maryland - on the air on schedule for DC and Baltimore locals, then taken back off the air, then put back on - currently still on but DirecTV believes that it isn't actually a local channel, so it could get pulled off the air again at some point.
WYIN Gary, IN (Chicago, IL) and New Hampshire Public TV (Boston, MA market) are not on their list of channels being carried, with no explanation as to why. Hopefully just a temporary issue.
The other 7 stations - no news at all.

For Dish Network, I have no confirmation on anyone actually seeing a Doctor Who affiliate. Dish Network's setup is more complex, as a satellite they planned to use for local service was delayed in launching. Many of the new channels require an additional satellite dish to pull in. If we believe the http://echostar.swiki.net/52 database, Dish Network has activated all the eligible Doctor Who affiliates except:
WYIN Gary, IN (Chicago, IL) - coming soon
WENH Durham, NH (New Hampshire Public TV - serving Boston) - appears in hidden online guide but not on air yet
MPT Maryland - appears in hidden online guide but not on air yet for both DC and Pittsburgh Locals. DirecTV has not offered MPT to Pittsburgh to date.
Also, the Baltimore locals, not currently offered by Dish Network at all, appear in the hidden online guide, and yes that includes MPT.

If anyone has any experience with any other odd happenings (good or bad) involving the satellite offered locals, please let me know. Also, at this time I only know of DirecTV and Dish Network offering locals to subscribers. If any other satellite companies are out there doing this, I'd be happy to include them in the TWIDW listings as well.
Additions and corrections are welcome at bfelliott@... , bfelliott3 on AOL IM , or thebfe on Yahoo! Messenger. And now, the listings:


UK:
UK Gold http://www.sceneone.co.uk/s1/tv/listings
Sat 9:40-11AM GMT Delta and the Bannermen movie
'So, 7th Doctor. You and Mel are the 10,000,000th customers to use our toll-booth. What are you going to do next?' 'We're going to Disneyworld!'
Sun 9:40-11AM GMT Dragonfire movie
On the planet Iceworld, Sabalom Glitz hunts for the Dragonfire, a mythical treasure that will get him out of debt and restore his fortune. To find it, he'll need help. Alas, all he has is the 7th Doctor.
EUROPE/AFRICA/ASIA:
BBC Prime http://www.bbcprime.com/
Late Fri 12:30AM, Sat 4PM CET The Two Doctors 6 pt version, ep 5
Sat 4:25PM, Late Sun 12:30AM CET The Two Doctors 6 pt version, ep 6
The 2nd Doctor is turned into an Androgum, making him a danger to himself and others, and threatening the existence of the 6th Doctor. Meanwhile, the Sontarans continue their plans to take control of a time machine.
Wed Noon CET Timelash 4 pt version, ep 1
Thu Noon CET Timelash 4 pt version, ep 2
On the planet Karfel, the evil Borad abuses his citizens, and appears on the verge of starting an interplanetary war that Karfel will surely lose. But an unexpected robbery occurs, and the only one who can help him is the 6th Doctor. How do you convince the Doctor to give you the power to destroy your world? That is the question.
AUSTRALIA:
UKTV http://www.varos.com/drwho/uktv/
Sun 7AM, Late Sun 1AM AEDT The Kings' Demons both eps
Hailed as Demons, the 5th Doctor, Tegan, and Turlough bring divisiveness and fear to the nobility in 1215 England. Can anyone help King John see sense, get rid of these demons, and sign the Magna Carta?
Sun 8AM, Late Sun 2AM AEDT The Five Doctors 4 pt version, all 4 eps
The first 4 Doctors are ripped out of time, destabilizing the 5th Doctor and starting off a wild race through the Death Zone on Gallifrey. The prize - immortality. The cost - astronomical. With guest appearances from a Dalek, two Cybermen armies, a Yeti, the Master, and others. In theory, UKTV could air the original 90 minute version of this story instead, but as of press time the 4 pt version was on the schedule.
CANADA:
BBC Kids http://www.bbckids.ca/
Weekdays 7:30PM, 10:30PM, 2AM, 4AM EST (4:30PM, 7:30PM, 11PM, 1AM PST)
Fri The Seeds of Doom ep 1 of 6
Mon-Fri The Seeds of Doom eps 2 - 6 of 6

"Mrs. Smith - We're Needed!"
4th Doctor battles a killer plant.
Sarah gets a green thumb.
USA:
http://www.directv.com/ DirecTV subscribers - the first channel is for older receivers, the second channel is for newer receivers.
http://www.dishnetwork.com/ Dish Network subscribers - consult http://echostar.swiki.net/52 to see which transponder your channel is on or to check on the channel's status if it is not yet on the air.
NHPTV New Hampshire 11,49,52 http://www.nhptv.org/
Dish Network Local 8781 - not yet provided
No Saturday episodes due to sports event.
Late Thu Mid EST Four To Doomsday eps 3+4 of 4
Adric's working with the enemy, Tegan doesn't trust anybody, and Nyssa's life is in imminent peril. Very inconvenient for the 5th Doctor - he's trying to figure out what the Urbankans really propose to do when they reach Earth.
WQED/WQEX 13,16 Pittsburgh, PA http://www.wqed.org/
DirecTV Local 947/13
Dish Network Local 8136
Late Sat Mid EST Four To Doomsday ep 1 of 4
*New start time. Only one episode per week now. The TARDIS lands on a spaceship which is approaching Earth. A spaceship where the dominant life form appears to be human-sized frogs.
WYBE 35 Philadelphia, PA http://www.wybe.org/
DirecTV Local 909/35
Dish Network Local 8162
Sat 4AM+5:30PM EST The Ark In Space eps 1+2 of 4
Sat 11PM EST The Ark In Space eps 3+4 of 4
The Nerva story arc begins in the far future, where the survivors of humanity are endangered by the Wirrn, insect creatures who grow their larvae in cattle - or people. This story arc (Ark In Space, The Sontaran Experiment, Genesis of the Daleks, Revenge of the Cybermen) aired out of order on WYBE and several other new Doctor Who affiliates in 1999, as they were mistakenly airing episodes in production order. This time they appear to be getting it right.
MPT Maryland 22,28,31,36,62,67 http://www.mpt.org/
DirecTV DC & Balt. Locals 980/22
Dish Network Washington, DC-Hagerstown, MD Local 8083 - not yet provided
Dish Network Baltimore, MD Local 8736 - Baltimore Locals not up on satellite
yet - no launch date at this time
Dish Network Pittsburgh, PA Local 8141 - not yet provided
Late Sat 12:03AM EST The Time Monster movie
Visions of the Master lead the 3rd Doctor to Cambridge, where a mysterious mustache-wearing Professor has developed TOM-TIT, a device that can send objects through interstitial time. The reason for this invention rests 2500 years in the past, at the death of a civilization.
WCET 48 Cincinnati, OH http://www.wcet.org/
DirecTV Local 909/48
Dish Network Local 8356
Sat 11PM EST Full Circle eps 2+3 of 4
The 4th Doctor find treachery and death on the Starminer. Romana is attacked by infected spiders, leading to a marked change in her personality.
WYIN 56 Gary, IN (Chicago, IL) http://www.chicagowho.com/
http://www.wyin.tv/
Dish Network Local 8502 - listed as coming soon on the echostar.swiki.net
site, no info on Dish website
Sat 11PM CST Castrovalva eps 1+2 of 4
*New start time.*
The 5th Doctor's new body takes badly to him, endangering his life, and leaving Tegan, Nyssa, and Adric flying blind facing threats both police-based and Master initiated.
WILL 12 Urbana, IL http://www.will.uiuc.edu/
Sat 11:30PM CST The Face of Evil ep 2 of 4
Start time now vacillating a little week to week. The Sevateem decide to kill the 4th Doctor, believing him to be The Evil One. Little does he know - they're right.
TPT St. Paul, MN http://www.tpt.org/
analog KTCA 2, digital KTCI-DT 16.5 (2.5)
DirecTV Local 891/2
Dish Network Local 8576
Sat 11:30PM CST Nightmare of Eden ep 3 of 4 (actually ep 2)
Terror and death strikes the marooned ship. Suspicion begins to fall on the 4th Doctor.
IPTV Iowa http://www.sffn.com/ http://www.iptv.org/
analog 11,12,21,24,27,32,32,36 digital KDIN-DT 50
Sat 11:35PM CST Warriors of the Deep eps 1+2 of 4
As a cold war rages on board a military submarine base, detente between the Silurians and the Sea Devils leads to a new army to attack the base.
KERA/K24AD Dallas/Wichita Falls, TX http://www.kera.org/
analog 13,24 digital KERA-DT 14.1 Dallas, TX
DirecTV Local 889/13
Dish Network Local 8415 (could switch to 8406 if they realize this is the primary PBS channel)
Late Sat 12:15AM CST The Sea Devils all 6 eps
Episodes 1+2 also aired last week. New later start time. New airing format (complete stories instead of 2 episodes a week). It looks like KERA is airing episodes in production order instead of story order. The Curse of Peladon, which occurs before this story, is airing next week.
KBDI/K32EO 12,32 Denver/Colorado Springs, CO http://www.kbdi.org/
DirecTV Local 910/12
Dish Network Local 8211
Late Fri 12:30AM MST Arc of Infinity eps 3+4 of 4
With the 5th Doctor apparently dead, Nyssa leads an investigation into who was responsible for the anti-matter creature trying to bond with the Doctor in the first place. Tegan remains in peril on Earth.
KUED/KUES Salt Lake City/Richfield, UT http://www.kued.org/
analog 7,39 digital KUED-DT 42 Salt Lake City, UT
DirecTV Local 982/7
Dish Network Local 8536
Sat 11PM, Late Sat 12:30AM MST The Ribos Operation ep 1 of 4
The 4th Doctor is forced into accepting a dangerous quest - track down the
six segments of the Key To Time, in order to prevent chaos. To help him, the
Doctor has been given a Time Lady as a companion - Romana. Result - chaos.
KBTC/KCKA/K65BU 28,15,65 Tacoma/Centralia/Gray's River, WA
http://www.kbtc.org/
DirecTV Local 970/28
Dish Network Local 8620
Sat 7PM, Late Sat 12:30AM PST Castrovalva eps 1+2 of 4
See WYIN 56 Gary, IN (Chicago, IL) for details.
KTEH 54 San Jose, CA http://www.kteh.org/
DirecTV Local 903/54
Dish Network Local 8234
Sun 11PM PST The Curse of Peladon eps 1+2 of 4
The Time Lords manipulate the 3rd Doctor's TARDIS to send him to a conference on the planet Peladon, where a murder plot threatens galactic peace.


Thanks for reading. Until next week, take care.

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