Bill Albert, founder and Fearless Leader of UNIT, issues a statement each month describing his feelings on the state of Doctor Who fandom in Iowa. He calls these messages his "Ramblings".

Here is his message for January 2000

Good morning everyone!

Y2K BUGS?
Well, so far it looks like we made it.  It's 3:19 a.m. CST on 1/1/2000 and
the computer, internet, and cable TV are still working.  No big disasters
reported yet so it looks like the whole Y2K thing is going to be the
biggest non-event of the year.  I heard that there were security people at
the Unidome in Waterloo to take care of people who would be rendered
homeless in the chaos following the change over.  I know that where I work
there were people going in tonight to be on hand if something went wrong.
It is pretty doubtful if something will happen as most of the machines
predate the computers that now monitor them.  I did see one Y2K bug that,
unfortunately, isn't going to get stopped.  That's right!   Jack Horkheimer
will still be on IPTV.

SPEAKING OF IPTV...
The Red Dwarf episode that is on Saturday night after Red Green show is
"Quarantine."  I hope you saw the note earlier from IPTV that made sure we
knew it will not be repeated as part of the usual SFFN run.  So tonight is
your only chance to catch it!

Also of importance is that next Friday, 1/7/00, Who goes back an hour to
midnight and we will, for the time being, get three episodes a week instead
of two.  The good news is we will get through the stories sooner and be in
to teeth and curls in February.  The bad news is we'll be back to the
change over from one story to another in mid broadcast.  I don't know how
long this will last but, if you remember, that was the case with Blakes 7
when it was first introduced.

SPEAKING OF DOCTOR WHO...
I'm of the opinion that ANY mention of the series in main stream
entertainment is a good one.  It's never bad to get the show mention in ANY
forum where a great range of people are listening.  I say this because of
remark by a comedian during one of the "Best of" segments of the "Bob and
Tom" show this week.  It was just a few small remarks but is the #1
syndicated morning radio talk show in the US.  Not to shabby!  My only
regret is that I didn't catch the guys name.  Did anybody else hear it?

MORE OF WHO IN 2000...
I seriously think this year is going to be a very big and exciting one for
Doctor Who.  Certainly the biggest since 1996 and maybe one of the most
important since the series ended in 1989.

Now that 1/1/00 is here Fox loses all it's claims on the Doctor Who TVM.
The rights for any video release, and any further productions, are now in
the hands of Universal Studios.  They also are free to market the movie to
any outlet they choose so USA, Sci-fi channel, or any other network will
have an option.  It seems very odd that, after all the $$$ Universal put
into it, that they would leave it on the shelf for any great length of
time.  Any kind of change or advancement in Who is a good one.  Even a
strong showing in the sales of a video release can get the right attention.

WHO 2000 IN IOWA...
We've started our Iowa Time Team.  Mike, Jeff, and myself get together
once a week and have started watching the series in order.  Last week we
watched UnEarthly Child and epsiodes 1-4 of The Daleks.  This upcoming week
we will view episodes 5-7 of the Daleks, the Edge of Destruction, and 3
episodes of either the recons or audios of Marco Polo.  We've been making
notes on our discussions as the stories progress and will post them to the
UNIT page for discussion.  Any comments, agreements, or disagreements will
be welcome.  

Of particular interest from our first viewing session was the scene from
episode 3 of UnEarthly Child.  For a long time there has been a debate
whether the Doctor was picking up the rock to smack Za and kill him or not.
IMHO, he wasn't, and if anyone wants to debate it feel free to reply.

"Exiled In Iowa 2: Electric Boogaloo" is scheduled for Des Moines in
February and looks like it's going to be a good one.  We also are well
under way in planned episode 3 back in Cedar Rapids.  We are taking a much
more light hearted approach to the #3 with a lot of fun surprises.  

In addition to that there is Festival at IPTV in March to look forward to
as well as other opportunities for us to get together in along the way.
Those of us in the C.R. area will have a get together at Barnes and Noble
in Cedar Rapids the second Saturday of every month to get caught up on new
releases, gossip, and general chats.  Anyone who wants to can joing us
between 6:30 and 7:00 in the cafe there this upcoming Saturday, Jan 8.  I
heartily encourage anyone to attend and everyone to start the same type of
gathering in thier area.   

Well, that's about it for the start of 2000.  I certainly hope that,
bother personally and as a group, we all have a happy and prosperous year.

Take care.
Brigade Leader Bill