Dr. Who, Gen/Movie Info. The following bulletin comes off of BROWNBULL, BBS in Madison. Wisconsin. Sysop is Mike Brown. (608-274-9275). I place it in our Forum as unverified information. Replies to this bulletin should be to Joe Seigler through BROWNBULL. Comments, to me can be entered in the message area, as always. Chris Roth (73510,211) ################################################################## Doctor Who News March 1989 by Joe Siegler SEASON 25 FINALLY ON UNITED STATES PBS STATIONS The Silver Anniversary Season of Doctor Who has finally hit the PBS Airwaves in the United States. After finishing up in England on the first Wednesday of 1989, Sylvester McCoy's second season as the venerable Time-Lord premiered in St. Louis (as far as I can tell) on the second week of February. Amidst much speculation as to which station would be getting the world premiere of it, Channel 9 in Saint Louis seems to have gotten the nod from Lionheart.** NJN & WHYY in Philadelphia soon followed with "Remembrance of the Daleks" on the weekend of March 4th. I have also heard that some other stations are following suit by summertime. This season would have been over here sooner, but the Summer Olympics of last year forced Doctor Who to start 4 weeks later than it was supposed to. **(CR-ED-Portland, OR. began SEASON 25 on Feb. 12, 1989) REACTION TO CURRENT SEASON Reaction to the current season of Doctor Who seems to be very favorable. "Remembrance of the Daleks" is being called "the best story in a LONG LONG time", "...The best thing since Castrovalva..." "..This is the way Doctor Who is supposed to be!" "Finally! A story like the old times". Frankly that view kind of scares me, because Doctor Who should move forward, not try to recapture the glories of days gone by. It was always an inventive, new and fresh show. To try and just redo old shows (not the shows themselves, just to be like them) is not a good idea. Although "Remembrance" was a lot like "old" Doctor Who, it still felt like modern Doctor Who. If the show can retain this quality, I see the show returning to it's former popularity. Not to say that it isn't popular now, it's just that the "fun" of watching Doctor Who seems to be lost (to me anyway). However, with attempts at change, the possibility of failure exists, too. Season 25 is probably one of the most successful seasons in awhile, however "The Happiness Patrol" is one of those stories you either love or hate. Although I like it, I can see why many people would not like it. Overall, the show is getting better (despite what Ian Levine and Jeremy Bentham think) and I hope that the show goes well into the 1990's and the 21st century. SEASON 26 PLANS UNDERWAY However, before we get to season 37, we have to get through season 26, which is in the preproduction stages. From the latest sources, this is what I know... Story 1-The Wolves of Fenrick (Serial 7M) 4 episodes written by Ian Briggs, directed by Nicholas Mallett Story 2-Storm over Avalon (or Avallion depending on who you talk to) (Serial 7N-4 episodes) by Ben Aaronovitch, directed by Michael Kerrigan This story is most definitely starring Nicholas Courtney as Lethbridge-Stewart. This comes from the mouth of Nick Courtney himself. He has forsaken some stage work to take this role in season 26. However, I still keep hearing that the character is going to be killed. I heard that some time ago for the first time, and then I heard not when there was that plane that had a bomb in it explode in England (as the Brig was supposed to die in a plane crash). The story has an Arthurian theme. Story 3- Cat-Flap (Serial 7P) 3 episodes. written by Rona Munro. Director unknown at this time. This is the modern-day Gothic horror story. It is supposed to be much like "Black Orchid", except for the time-frame. Story 4- From what I've heard, either this is going to happen, or nothing is going to happen like this at all. Story 4 is supposed to be called "Deliverance", by Marc Platt, a 3 parter about Gallifrey. It is supposed to tie in some stuff left open (!) by Silver Nemesis. I also am hearing from some reliable sources that Anthony Ainley and Michael Jayston are going to be in this story as well. But according to the APC NET, they say no. However, the APC NET also denied Avalon and the Brig, and Ian Briggs, and all this stuff IS HAPPENING, so I tend to think that someone somewhere got their feet stepped on in regards to getting information fast. This is my news file for the current status of Doctor Who. There are other things happening, like the release of "The Nightmare Fair" (the sequel story to Celestial Toymaker), the Doctor Who stage play starring Jon Pertwee as the Doctor, and other things. Oh yeah, on a side note, I also heard that the role of the Doctor was offered to Colin Baker in this story, but he turned it down. Hmmm...someone will have to confirm that. Signing off for this month's file... ---Joe Siegler Doctor Who is (c)1963,1989 BBC and no copyright infringement is intended by this file. (Why would I do something like bring the BBC down on me? I can't afford it!) P.S. One final thing.. I picked up this message off of a BBS about a possible plot for the Doctor Who movie.... Date: 02-26-89 (17:54) Number: 972 To: ALL Refer#: NONE From: MARC AVELAR Read: (N/A) Subj: OUT OF HOLLYWOOD Status: PUBLIC MESSAGE While I admit that this is probably only a rumor, it is the only latest info that I have heard from Coast-to-Coast concerning "Doctor Who, The Movie", and this has to do with only some of the plot: The plot for the movie is going to begin on Gallifrey with the Doctor approaching his first regeneration (the older doctor being played by Peter Cushing). The Doctor regenerates into our yet-to-be-named Doctor, and undergoes many other changes in attitudes as a Time Lord, especially in the non-interference practice of his people. The Doctor then enlists the aid of Cora to obtain a T.A.R.D.I.S. in order to prove to his people that the powers of the Time Lords can be used constructively and under control. If anyone can help me verify this, please let us know. Marc This is the first rumor or ANYTHING regarding