This Week in USA
The Ambassadors of Death: Movie Version
Last updated 02 January 2017
12:15am-2:55am EDT (04:15 GMT) < > « »
MPT Maryland
Featuring: Jon Pertwee, Nicholas Courtney, Caroline John, Ronald Allen
Contact has been lost with Mars Probe 7. When contact is also lost with the recovery ship, UNIT is called in and the Doctor learns that someone is sending messages to the vessel.
Synopsis Source: Doctor Who Guide
Broadcast Source: TWIDW
Reports from the This Week in Doctor Who Archive:
Friday 19th October 2001:
MPT Maryland 22,28,31,36,62,67 http://www.mpt.org/
Late Sat 12:15AM EDT The Ambassadors of Death movie
Black & White version. The 2 episodes existing in color (1 and 5) are not offered to US stations in that format. Set VCR to record till 3AM or later, to be safe. Months after being considered lost, a Space Module sent to Mars finally returns. The secrets of the Space Module will lead to many deaths, and a moody, racing story that feels much shorter than the 2 hours, 40 plus minutes it runs in movie format. Seargeant Benton (previously seen in the partially lost Troughton story Invasion) joins the regular cast part-way through this story.
ยป it was reported the following week that the end of the story was cut off owing to tape confusion.
MPT Maryland 22,28,31,36,62,67 http://www.mpt.org/
Late Sat 12:15AM EDT The Ambassadors of Death movie
Black & White version. The 2 episodes existing in color (1 and 5) are not offered to US stations in that format. Set VCR to record till 3AM or later, to be safe. Months after being considered lost, a Space Module sent to Mars finally returns. The secrets of the Space Module will lead to many deaths, and a moody, racing story that feels much shorter than the 2 hours, 40 plus minutes it runs in movie format. Seargeant Benton (previously seen in the partially lost Troughton story Invasion) joins the regular cast part-way through this story.
ยป it was reported the following week that the end of the story was cut off owing to tape confusion.
Friday 26th October 2001:
USA - MPT Maryland did an oops when they aired The Ambassadors of Death last weekend. The Doctor, friends, and the astronauts are trying to get into the Space Centre to stop the broadcast that can start an interplanetary war - and MPT went to the next program, not airing the ending of the Doctor Who story. As MPT puts it:
"The show is recorded on two tapes. Normally this isn't a problem but the Master Control Director working Saturday night was unfamiliar with the process and didn't realize the second tape needed to be cued 3 minutes in to cover an overlap between the two tapes. Because of this the conclusion was cut. There is no immediate plan to rebroadcast the show. ... Our Operations department will now indicate on Master Logs that there is an overlap on Dr. Who tapes. This action should eliminate the problem from happening in the future."
MPT airs Doctor Who movies late Saturday nights at 12:15AM (sometimes 12AM), so it is not terribly surprising that mistakes would happen (on their previous run through the series, they chopped off the beginnings of Arc of Infinity and Battlefield).
USA - MPT Maryland did an oops when they aired The Ambassadors of Death last weekend. The Doctor, friends, and the astronauts are trying to get into the Space Centre to stop the broadcast that can start an interplanetary war - and MPT went to the next program, not airing the ending of the Doctor Who story. As MPT puts it:
"The show is recorded on two tapes. Normally this isn't a problem but the Master Control Director working Saturday night was unfamiliar with the process and didn't realize the second tape needed to be cued 3 minutes in to cover an overlap between the two tapes. Because of this the conclusion was cut. There is no immediate plan to rebroadcast the show. ... Our Operations department will now indicate on Master Logs that there is an overlap on Dr. Who tapes. This action should eliminate the problem from happening in the future."
MPT airs Doctor Who movies late Saturday nights at 12:15AM (sometimes 12AM), so it is not terribly surprising that mistakes would happen (on their previous run through the series, they chopped off the beginnings of Arc of Infinity and Battlefield).