TMPLee.DODCSC@MIT-MULTICS@sri-unix.UUCP (08/26/83)
[I'm new to SFL; have been trying to catch up on the last couple of months issues through the gracious help of our honorable moderator. If this has been asked/answered before, please point me to it] I would be very interested to hear about any other parts of the country that are showing anything other than the Tom Baker episodes. (one or two people in recent issues have mentioned the Pertwee episodes as being in their areas.) I would like to know two things: 1) which other Dr.'s are being shown, and 2) more importantly, how did the viewers in your area go about convincing the station to show them? Here in Minneapolis/St. Paul we have just finished all the 19th season (Peter Davison) and are currently re-running (for the nth time) the Tom Baker episodes. A few weeks ago there was a moderate flack/excitement when TV Guide said a Pertwee episode was to be shown here; clearly it was a fault of someone at the TV Guide computer (which happens to be one built by the company I work for, but that's irrelevant) typing in the wrong Dalek episode -- it turned out to be a Baker Dalek rather than a Pertwee Dalek. Anyway, just to make sure I called the station to find out what was actually to be shown -- during the conversation I learned that their contract (with BBC I assume) was eight years long (from now), so presumably we will be seeing all the future episodes. The only annoyance was that previously they had been showing the series as half-hour episodes at 5:30 every week-day evening; they are now showing them as complete movies (4 or 6 episodes) at 10:30 Friday nights. That louses up Friday night carousing or whatever and certainly cuts out the very large audience of children. Ted Lee p.s. We like Davison -- at least 90% of the point of Dr. Who is the subtle British humor; he has it down quite well. We noticed particularly that Tom Baker seemed to have gotten surly in the last few stories, and were even worried that maybe he was ill. It is also clear that with each season BBC has a bigger budget for the show, which makes the scenery and special effects better.
rs55611@ihuxk.UUCP (08/30/83)
We've been watching Pertwee episodes for a while in the Chicago area (WTTW, PBS). They are being shown in sequence, with some episodes missing. So far, the Pertwee episodes shown are: Inferno Claws of Axos Colony in Space Day of the Daleks The Sea Devils The Mutants The Time Monster Many of these have featured the Master. Next Sunday (9/4) is the "Three Doctors" episode, in which William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton join Pertwee to fight a menace to Gallifrey (it was a tenth anniversary special). This shouldn't be missed, as it may be our only chance to see Doc 1 and 2 in action in this country, at least for a while! After the Pertwee shows finish in a few months, WTTW will show all 41 Baker episodes in sequence, and will then show the 21 Davisson shows they have, or will have by that time. I think the Davisson shows start sometime next summer (WTTW has already shown the first 7 Davisson shows). Bob Schleicher ihuxk!rs55611 Bell Labs, Naperville, Ill.
avsdT:deborah@avsdS.UUCP (09/01/83)
Ah, the question of Tom Baker versus Peter Davison. I live in Menlo Park, Cal. Dr. Who shows here in the Bay area on 2 stations at three times. KTEH (channel 54, San Jose ) shows full length movies at 11:15 Saturdays. They have shown three Davison episodes so far. 54 also shows 23 minute episodes 5 days a week at 6pm. They have just started the 'Key to Time' series, which is the third to last season with Tom Baker. According to my local tv guide, KQED (channel 9) shows Dr. Who at about 2:30 pm on Saturday afternoon. Since I'm rarely home then, I've never seen it on that station, and don't know where they are in the series. The mention of Tom Baker getting 'surly' in the later episodes is something I never noticed. However, KTEH recently showed an interview with Baker, taped in May when he was in Palo Alto for a Dr. Who convention. He sounds like a rather unhappy fellow on the whole. He liked working with the Dr. Who team, but wanted to move on to something else. Did you know Tom Baker was in a seminary for 6 years, and was discovered by Laurence Olivier? I believe KTEH's motivation for showing the Davison episodes was from viewer feedback. I made a point of calling up and joining the station particularly during Dr. Who, so as to vote with my money. -deborah gronke bennett fortune!dsd!atd!t:deborah
thomas@utah-gr.UUCP (Spencer W. Thomas) (09/02/83)
If you're outside Utah, you can hit DEL now. KUED here in SLC is finally showing Dr. Who. Looks like it's going to be all of them, they say they've got over 160 episodes. If you missed them during the fund drive, send some money, say it's for Dr. Who, maybe they'll keep it around. If you send 25 or 30 (I forget), you can get the program guide, which, at least for this month, has synopses of the episodes. Shows every weekday at 10:30, starting Sep 1. Will be preceded by Monty Python starting sometime in October. =Spencer