mae@aplvax.UUCP (12/23/83)
net.news.group said that this group, net.tv.drwho, has been created so let's start some discussions! First, to answer Dave Lukes question from the U.K.: Who actually shows Dr. Who over there, and how far behind us is it?? . . . we'll continue in the news group when it's formed! Doctor Who is available in syndication here to whatever stations want to show it. Mostly PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) stations carry it, showing it without commercial interruptions. Here in the Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C. area, three stations have shown it at one time or another. The Maryland PBS stations are not interested, I've written them, but a Baltimore independent station showed it for a while. The major D.C. PBS station ran it once and now the very small Howard University station in D.C. (that I can only get on cable) is showing all the Tom Baker episodes. Independent stations put in commercials and have difficulty with the concept of a serial, WBFF usually got the parts in the right order but didn't pay any attention to the overall order of the stories. Most American markets have only seen "Robot" to "Logopolis", some only "Robot" to "Invasion of Time", but supposedly everything through the current BBC season is available. Some places got to see the 20th anniversary special the same night it was shown by the BBC. I still haven't seen it, however. Another place to see the Doctor is on science fiction convention video programs. That's where I've seen most of the Davison serials and several with Pertwee. I recently saw "An Unearthly Child" this way. There are also a number of U.S. fan clubs. OK, everyone who wanted this newsgroup: How accessible is the show in your area? How do you convince a station to carry it and keep it on at a reasonable time? At the last pledge week on the D.C. station that is showing it now, Doctor Who fans contributed one quarter of the total and the station responded by moving the show from 8:30pm to 11pm and not showing the special. Do any local bookstores in your area carry the novels or are they only found in sf specialty shops? Mary Anne Espenshade ...!seismo!umcp-cs!aplvax!mae
argo@hou2a.UUCP (W.GARRETT) (12/24/83)
Since we're talking about how available Dr.Who is in these areas, I will mention that those of us who live within range of Philadelphia's WHYY are lucky indeed. They have all the episodes from Pertwee to ... (they haven't gotten past Baker's first season yet). Further, they are likely to continue showing these for one good reason, money. Each year in their fund-raising they interrupt their show with a plea for money. Twice in a row they have gotten their biggest turnout ever over the doctor's show. They do a good job of keeping the episodes in order, but they have an annoying habit of skipping over whatever episodes they feel like. As to the books, I did not think they were carried around here. Then, last week I saw a few of these books at a Walden's nearby. Of course I grabbed them right off, and the next day the rest of them were gone also. I haven't seen any since. Keep Looking! Andrew Garrett
msc@qubix.UUCP (Mark Callow) (01/03/84)
Dr. Who is shown by the PBS station KTEH in San Jose, CA every night at
7:30. It used to be on at 6:00 but enough people complained that it
was too early that KTEH moved it. They showed the 20th anniversary
special the week after it was shown in England because that was the
first night of a pledge period. They had their most successful pledge
night ever.
They also show a complete story every Saturday night at 11:15. They
first showed all the Davison episodes that way but those are now on the
regular weeknight schedule. They are repeating the Baker episodes
on the Saturday night shows.
They have shown all of the Davison episodes up to the end of last season.
I don't know when they plan to start showing the current season.
The San Francisco PBS station KQED also shows Dr. Who once a week.
I think they're running some Baker epsisodes. I don't pay much attention
because KTEH does so well for us.
There is also a bookstore here (Books Inc.) that has a large collection
of Dr. Who material. I think the manager of this store (in Town and Country
Village, San Jose, for any locals reading) must be a fan because the other
stores in the chain do not sell the material.
Seeing all the episodes so close together is certainly different from
waiting a whole week to find out what happens as I used to have to do
in England. Of course the drawback is that the series is over much
faster.
Now here's a trivia question. At the end of it's first season on the
BBC Dr. Who was replaced for the Summer by a another SF series which
became rather famous. What was it? (It never measured up to Dr. Who.)
--
From the Tardis of Mark Callow
msc@qubix.UUCP, decwrl!qubix!msc@Berkeley.ARPA
...{decvax,ucbvax,ihnp4}!decwrl!qubix!msc, ...{ittvax,amd70}!qubix!msc