This Week In Doctor Who - July 10, 2002
(posted 10th Jul 2002, 12:01pm - TWIDW post #0106)

THIS WEEK IN DOCTOR WHO - July 10, 2002
by Benjamin F. Elliott
Vol 5, No 28
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thisweekindoctorwho
http://www.topica.com/lists/twidwtalk
thisweekindoctorwho-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
twidwtalk-subscribe@...

Welcome to the weekly guide to Doctor Who on Television. This Week In Doctor Who is turning 4 years old in the next few days. The original edition went out on July 13, 1998, posted only to the rec.arts.drwho newsgroup (but don't hold that against it). Amazing how time passes. Don't know if I'll do anything unusual with the column next week to celebrate the anniversary - it would have to be new and interesting.

Last week, I got e-mails questioning why I did not report a story regarding the possibility of a new Doctor Who series in 2003 starring Anthony Stewart Head (Taster's Choice commercials, Giles on Buffy The Vampire Slayer, well-liked singer). The reason - the story was bogus. Someone took reports that David Fury (who works on Buffy and Angel) had been asked by the BBC to look into how Doctor Who could be revived, borrowed some quotes from the press releases when Anthony Stewart Head guest starred in Death Comes To Time and some Big Finish audios, and created a rumor. For anyone who still believes that Anthony Stewart Head has been hired to be the Doctor, go to http://www.gallifreyone.com/, click on the News Page, scroll down to the June 29th news to read the real report (the BBC chatted with David Fury at one point), then scroll back up to the July 2nd explanation debunking the Anthony Stewart Head rumor.

This Week In Doctor Who handles reports of possible new series and negotiations on a case by case basis. In my view, unless we clearly are getting a new series (or a new rerun package), and the deal has been signed, it is probably counterproductive to wade into the matter. Frankly, if serious negotiations were underway, the type of people who would be involved would probably keep it secret until deals were signed. Anyone who would be aware of such negotiations would be held to strict secrecy, and could not report on their information. I don't know if Doctor Who will ever have a new series or a big syndication deal again, but if it does it will come as a burglar in the night, when we least expect it, with all the contracts already signed and notarized.

USA - Texas Doctor Who fans might feel rather confused by KERA 13 http://www.kera.org/ by now. In the past week, they moved their repeater in Wichita Falls, TX from 24 to 44 and changed its call letters from K24AD to K44FI. Also, KERA's website indicates that they are now running Red Dwarf in place of Doctor Who on their Friday night lineup. Since I sincerely doubt that Red Dwarf episodes run 2 hours, 20 minutes or 1 hour, 35 minutes long, and Zap2it.com still has the Doctor Who stories indicated, I am assuming that this is an error on the web page which will be fixed.

USA - Iowa Public TV fans in the Quad Cities area (Davenport, IA; Burlington, IA; Rock Island, IL; Moline, IL) will soon be able to see Doctor Who either clearer or for the first time. KQCT 36, currently a rather low power Davenport, IA repeater of KQPT 24 (Quad Cities Public TV), has a construction permit to go to full power, and approval from the FCC to be transferred to the Iowa Public Broadcasting Board. When it is full power, it will be an IPTV station, and the second IPTV signal on channel 36. If you have a digital TV in the Quad Cities, then should they keep up with FCC regulations KQCT-DT will be on channel 34 by May 2003 when noncommercial stations are *supposed* to have digital signals on the air. There is no mention of any of this on IPTV's http://www.iptv.org or KQPT's http://www.kqpt.org websites, nor any clue when KQCT will join IPTV (and probably change its call letters). Info gleaned from the resources at http://www.100000watts.com/ and http://www.radio-info.com/ , both worth visiting.

USA - WCET 48 http://www.wcet.org/ Cincinnati, OH has been at lower power lately while they put up their digital antenna. Maryland Public TV http://www.mpt.org/ has also been telling viewers of WMPT 22 and WMPB 67 to expect periods of lower power while their digital antennas go up. As a general rule, setting up the digital transmitters has usually required the analog channels to either operate at reduced power or go off the air for periods of time. Cable/satellite viewers frequently don't notice this, but those watching over the air do. Don't be surprised when/if your Doctor Who station becomes hard to see for a while.

South America - Still need help from someone who has Uniseries http://www.uniseries.com.ar down there. What Doctor Who episodes are they airing?

USA - A couple of weeks ago, Dish Network began giving some of its receivers the ability to display local TV channels on their local channel numbers. Most Dish Network subscribers are still getting their local channels in the 8000 block. We are listing both channel numbers now, like we do for DirecTV.

AUSTRALIA - Jason Fraser, administrator of the Varos Doctor Who website in Australia, has redesigned it a bit. The new website is at http://www.varos.net/drwho . His site now has a complete history of UKTV's Doctor Who broadcasts from 1996 to the present. Coming soon is a complete broadcast history of Doctor Who on Australian Television from the 1960s on. There is still a mirror of my column on the site.

Additions and corrections are welcome at thisweekindoctorwho-owner@yahoogroups.com , bfelliott@... , bfelliott3 on AOL IM, or thebfe on Yahoo Messenger. And now, the listings:

---

RADIO/INTERNET:

---

BBCi "Doctor Who Censor Clips"
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/doctorwho/news/02061701.shtml
Requires RealPlayer
Recently recovered clips from The Web of Fear episodes 2,4,+5 and The Wheel In Space episode 5. The clips were cut from the original New Zealand broadcasts of these stories in 1970/1971, and right now the clips survive, while the episodes are still missing.

Fri 7PM EDT (6PM CDT) Interstellar Transmissions
http://www.interstellartransmissions.com
WWNN AM1470 Pompano Beach/Boca Raton, FL (Miami/West Palm Beach, FL)
http://www.wnnhealthtalkradio.com
WBYU AM1450 New Orleans, LA http://www.bayou1450.com
Joey Reynolds' weekly radio show for sci-fi news and interviews, broadcast live over the internet on all 3 websites listed above. This week - another edition of the show.

---

TV:

---

UK:

UK Gold http://www.onthebox.com/partner/otb
http://www.telewest.co.uk/flextech/ukgold.htm
Sat 7:05-9AM BST The Sun Makers movie
A classic story which you can also get in episodic format from BBC Video (no way they've deleted it yet, surely.) The 4th Doctor and Leela take on big corporations and the evils of high taxes in a bi-partisan satire particularly appropriate with the lunatic taxes of today and the corruption of companies coming out daily. Don't laugh cause it's just US firms. Clinton style integrity went worldwide. I can think of at least one British company which has clearly been cooking the books, has been firing all the employees they can find, and is probably run by the Collector himself. Is The Sun Makers actually a prediction of our near future? I hope not - their dress sense is terrible.
Sun 7:20-9AM BST Underworld movie
The Time Lords helped out a race many years ago. The folks they helped betrayed them, stole technology, and mostly destroyed themselves. The Time Lords ought to feel annoyed - instead they feel guilty. And the survivors of the evil race are now about to pull a guilt trip on the Doctor to help them out of a jam.

Homechoice http://www.homechoice.co.uk
Video On Demand. Now playing:
Robot all 4 pts
The Ark In Space all 4 pts
The Sontaran Experiment both pts

EUROPE/AFRICA/ASIA:

BBC Prime http://www.bbcprime.com
Wed Noon CET, Late Fri 12:30AM, Sat 4PM CET Battlefield pt 3 of 4
Thu Noon CET, Sat 4:25PM, Late Sun 12:30AM CET Battlefield pt 4 of 4
The 7th Doctor and Ace discover the secrets of King Arthur, and Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart faces the greatest danger of his life in the final U*N*I*T story of the series.
Wed Noon CET Ghost Light pt 1 of 4
The last story produced, but not the last aired. The 7th Doctor and Ace arrive in the 19th Century at a spooky house that Ace finds alarmingly familiar. Has the Doctor betrayed her confidence in the worst way possible? Again?

TELE 5 Poland http://www.tele5.pl
Sat-Sun 9:30AM CET Planet of Evil pts 1 - 2 of 4
Airing in Polish, and in production order.

CANADA/USA:

BBC Kids http://www.bbckids.ca
Weeknights 7:30PM, 10:30PM, 2AM, 4AM EDT (4:30PM, 7:30PM, 11PM, 1AM PDT)
*Weeknight episodes are NEW to BBC Kids. Weekends are reruns.*
Saturdays 3:30PM, 10:30PM EDT (12:30PM, 7:30PM PDT) - complete stories
Sundays 3:30PM, 10:30PM EDT (12:30PM, 7:30PM PDT) - complete stories
Wed The Pirate Planet pt 4 of 4
Xanak prepares to crush another planet - Earth - within the next few hours. In reaction to news of this planetary peril, MCI Worldcom executives were seen to pop champagne corks in glee. They then promised to decide if the company will declare bankruptcy within the next 3 weeks, with a little smirk on their faces. Uh, guys, you do know that the Doctor is there and plans to prevent this catastrophe? What if the world lives, and you actually have to decide on what to do with the company?
Thu-Fri The Stones of Blood pts 1 - 2 of 4
The Black Guardian impersonates the Doctor, putting Romana in grave danger.
Sat The Invisible Enemy all 4 pts
An alien invades the Doctor's mind in a daring plan to conquer the universe, and give Leela screen time as the hero(ine). John Leeson makes his first audio appearance as K9.
Sun Image of the Fendahl all 4 pts
A time scanner, capable of destroying the Earth, leads the 4th Doctor and Leela to discover a terrifying secret from Gallifrey's past.
Mon-Tue The Stones of Blood pts 3 - 4 of 4
World's Wildest Police Videos - When Ancient Stones Attack! I wonder why that special was never made.

NHPTV New Hampshire 11,49,52 http://www.nhptv.org
Late Thu & Late Sat Mid EDT Frontios pts 3+4 of 4
The secret to defeating the Gravis lies with a race memory buried inside Turlough. We're doomed. And once again Worldcom execs were seen to cheer for some reason.

WCNY/W59AU 24,59 Syracuse/Utica, NY http://www.wcny.org
Sun 5:30PM EDT Genesis of the Daleks pt 2 of 6
Cassandra warns the Trojans not to accept that wretched horse, but no one listens. Now the 4th Doctor warns the Kaleds about the danger of the Daleks, with similar results. Watch Doctor Who - it helps you remember history.

WQED/WQEX 13,16 Pittsburgh, PA http://www.wqed.org
DirecTV 13,947 Dish 8136,13
Late Sat Mid EDT Time-Flight pt 3 of 4
Kalid's identity is revealed. Oh no - it can't be. Oh dear. It's the head of that British firm that's been firing everyone in sight. Either that or the Master.

WYBE 35 Philadelphia, PA http://www.wybe.org
DirecTV 35,909 Dish 8162,35
Sat 11PM EDT The Robots of Death pts 1+2 of 4
Murder, mayhem, and sparkling dialogue. When we hand control of our lives to robots, then treat them as dirt, what happens when the robots have enough? Chris Boucher will control the vertical. Chris Boucher will control the horizontal. Welcome to the Outer Limits of Doctor Who. You must watch.

MPT Maryland 22,28,31,36,62,67 http://www.mpt.org
DirecTV 22,980
Late Sat Mid EDT The Robots of Death movie
See {c{164=WYBE}} for details.

WCET 48 Cincinnati, OH http://www.wcet.org
DirecTV 48,909 Dish 8356,48
Sat 11PM EDT Time-Flight pts 1+2 of 4
The 5th Doctor, in shock over the events of Earthshock, helps Heathrow Airport search for a missing Concorde.

WYIN 56 Gary, IN (Chicago, IL) http://www.chicagowho.com http://www.wyin.tv
Sat 11PM CDT The King's Demons both pts
King John's one busy boy - not only is he signing the Magna Carta in London, he's also in rural England creating strife at a noble's house. How can he be in two places at once - King John wasn't a Time Lord? Was he?
» the episodes were also listed the following week, so seem likely to have pre-empted this week.

WILL 12 Urbana, IL http://www.will.uiuc.edu
Sat 11:15PM CDT The Sun Makers pt 3 of 4
See UK Gold for details.

KAWE/KAWB 9,22 Bemidji/Brainerd, MN http://www.lakelandptv.org
Sat 8PM, Sun 11PM CDT Terror of the Zygons pt 4 of 4
The 4th Doctor gives the Brigadier a big bang. Scotland sends the English a special present - Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster. Could be worse, they could have sent Arthur Anderson to audit the financial records.

TPT 2 St. Paul, MN http://www.tpt.org
digital 16.5 (2.5) DirecTV 2,891 Dish 8576,2
Sat 11:30PM, Sun 5:30AM CDT Warriors' Gate pt 2 of 4
K9 is seriously injured, and the Doctor goes through the looking glass. Will he find Alice and the March Hare? Or just some very hairy creatures?

IPTV Iowa 11,12,21,24,27,32,32,36 http://www.sffn.com http://www.iptv.org
digital 50
Sat 11:35PM CDT The Trial Of A Time Lord pts 3+4 of 14 (The Mysterious Planet pts 3+4)
The Tribe of the Free decides to liberate the dwellers in the Caves from Drathro, the powerful robot - whether they like it or not. And the Time Lords want to blame the Doctor for this. Now really, people. Revolution is a fact of human life. Thomas Jefferson wrote that "A little Revolution now and then is a good thing". Then again - Time Lords don't seem interested in the opinions of Americans.

KERA/K44FI 13,44 Dallas/Wichita Falls, TX http://www.kera.org
digital 14.1 DirecTV 13,889 Dish 8406,13
Late Fri 12:15AM CDT The Seeds of Doom movie
John Steed and Emma Peel, looking suspiciously like the 4th Doctor and Sarah, turn the tables on a plot to use alien plants to create a worldwide vegetable paradise.

KBDI/K32EO 12,32 Denver/Colorado Springs, CO http://www.kbdi.org
DirecTV 12,910 Dish 8211,12
Pre-empted by pledges. Doctor Who returns July 20.

KUED/KUES 7,39 Salt Lake City/Richfield, UT http://www.kued.org
digital 42 DirecTV 7,982 Dish 8536,7
Sat 11PM, Late Sat 12:30AM MDT The Armageddon Factor pt 4 of 6
Atrios is caught in a Time Loop, but the 4th Doctor and Romana have to hurry, because the Time Loop is ... Atrios is caught in a Time Loop, but the 4th Doctor and Romana have to hurry, because the Time Loop is extending. As it gets ... Atrios is caught in a Time Loop, but the 4th Doctor and Romana have to hurry, because the Time Loop is extending. As it gets longer, the Marshall may have time to press the button, in which case everyone is d .... Atrios is caught in a Time Loop

KBTC/KCKA/K65BU 28,15,65 Tacoma/Centralia/Grays River, WA
http://www.kbtc.org
DirecTV 12,910 Dish 8620,28
Sat 7PM, Late Sat 12:30AM PDT The Five Doctors 4 pt version, pts 1+2
Taken out of time, multiple Doctors and companions work together to find out who brought them all to Gallifrey. KBTC area fans will feel a bit like the 4th Doctor - trapped in a loop of time. You saw this story just last month - multiple times. I guess you can invite a friend over, predict what will happen, and look like a genius.

KTEH/KCAH 54,25 San Jose/Watsonville, CA http://www.kteh.org
DirecTV 54,903 Dish 8234,54
Pre-empted by pledges. Doctor Who returns July 21.

CENTRAL & SOUTH AMERICA:

Uniseries http://www.uniseries.com.ar
Sun 9:30AM, 9:30PM, Mon 4:30AM "" 1 episode
As of this writing, I can not find any listings that will say which episodes are airing, or in what language. I'm serious, guys. We need to hear from people in Argentina or neighboring countries with this channel.

---

Thanks for reading. Until next week, take care.

Doctor Who is a BBC Trademark. Copyright 2002.