Regarding CET removing Doctor Who, to quote a former Doctor Who script editor... Don't panic!

Doctor Who is being moved 1/29 for a rebroadcast of Being Red Green: The Steve Smith Story. It isn't on the first weekend of February as CET is doing pledge for Superbowl Weekend.

Doctor Who returns February 12 at 11pm with The Dæmons episode 1 & 2 and continues throughout February 26th with episode 5 of The Dæmons. After that, it is up in the air as the Program Director is still trying to get hold of her contact with the BBC.

Stay tuned... as they say.

Thanks for the note. Unfortunately, I can confirm that our final showing of Doctor Who for the foreseeable future will be Enlightenment episode four on February 26.

In our case, the reason is strictly budgetary. As you may know, we've faced some tough financial challenges this year, including decreases in State and University funding, and a 5% increase in PBS dues. While we've made other cuts throughout WILL that are largely invisible to viewers, we finally had to take a hard look at the program acquisition budget. (Besides Doctor Who, the other casualty was The Nightly Business Report, which left our air at the beginning of January.)

Our fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30, and when we raise funds, we do so for the next fiscal year. That means that in the short run, we simply don't have the money to extend the Doctor Who contract past February. (This last batch of Doctor Who episodes was purchased during the previous fiscal year.) Any change in our fortunes would not take effect until the new budget year. Your membership in the Friends of WILL is, of course, always appreciated and contributes to the overall health of our enterprise and the programs we can afford, but I don't want to offer any false hopes about Doctor Who.

It's entirely coincidental that it's occurring at the same time that the remaining public TV stations still running "Who" appear to be ending their own contracts; I don't have any information about that. And, of course, it's ironic that it will happen just before the British premiere of the new series. (We still don't know anything about when or how the show will be seen in America!)