| Doctor Who season 18 | |||
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Title card as used in this season |
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| Country of origin | United Kingdom | ||
| No. of episodes | 28 | ||
| Broadcast | |||
| Original channel | BBC One | ||
| Original run | 30 August 1980 – 21 March 1981 | ||
| Home video release | |||
| DVD release | |||
| Region 1 | 7 June 2005 - 11 January 2011 [1] |
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| Region 2 | 5 July 2004 - 10 January 2011 |
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| Region 4 | 7 October 2004 - 20 January 2011 |
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| Series chronology | |||
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| List of Doctor Who serials | |||
The 18th season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 30 March 1980 with the serial The Leisure Hive, and ended with Tom Baker's swan song Logopolis.
Contents |
Season 18 saw the swan song of Tom Baker as The Fourth Doctor, ending his time after seven years on the program. New companions Janet Fielding (Tegan Jovanka), Nyssa (Sarah Sutton) and Adric (Matthew Waterhouse) made their introduction in Logopolis, The Keeper of Traken and Full Circle, respectively. Romana played by Lalla Ward departs from the series in Warriors' Gate.
The Master returns this time played by Geoffrey Beevers in The Keeper of Traken. After the events of Traken the Master is played by Anthony Ainley who would continue to play the Master for the rest of the classic series run.
Jacqueline Hill who plays the First Doctor's companion returns in Meglos, although this time playing Lexa. She is the only companion to return to play a different role.
John Nathan-Turner replaced Graham Williams as producer. Barry Letts returned, as executive producer, for just this season. Christopher H. Bidmead replaced Douglas Adams as script editor. In a return to the format of early seasons, virtually all serials from Seasons 18 through 20 are linked together, often running directly into each other.
| Story No. | Serial | Title | Directed by | Written by | UK viewers (million) |
Original air date | Production code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 109 | 1 | "The Leisure Hive" | Lovett Bickford | David Fisher | 5.1[2] | 30 August - 20 September 1980 | 5N |
| Finding out-of-season Brighton beach somewhat lacking, the Doctor and Romana travel to the leisure planet Argolis - but there strange experiments are taking place. | |||||||
| 110 | 2 | "Meglos" | Terence Dudley | John Flanagan & Andrew McCulloch |
4.7[3] | 27 September - 18 October 1980 | 5Q |
| On Tigella, two opposing faction are irrevocably divided over one fundamental issue: the Dodecahedron, a mysterious object which provides the entire planet's energy. | |||||||
| 111 | 3 | "Full Circle" | Peter Grimwade | Andrew Smith | 5.2[4] | 25 October - 15 November 1980 | 5R |
| En route to Gallifrey to return Romana to the High Council of Time Lords, the TARDIS passes through a strange phenomenon and ends up in an alternative universe called E-Space. | |||||||
| 112 | 4 | "State of Decay" | Peter Moffatt | Terrance Dicks | 5.2[5] | 22 November - 13 December 1980 | 5P |
| After the events of Full Circle, the Doctor's adventures in E-Space arriving on a planet. The villagers live under the thrall of three lords who dwell in a shadowy Tower. | |||||||
| 113 | 5 | "Warriors' Gate" | Paul Joyce & Graeme Harper |
Stephen Gallagher | 7.5[6] | 3-24 January 1981 | 6S |
| Time Winds strike the TARDIS, damaging it and K-9. Strangest of all, it allows Biroc, to enter, phased in time, sending the TARDIS into a milk-white void. | |||||||
| 114 | 6 | "The Keeper of Traken" | John Black | Johnny Byrne | 6.25[7] | 31 January - 21 February 1981 | 6T |
| The Doctor and Adric arrive back in N-Space in an empire of peace and harmony. They are surprised to find a holographic image of the elderly Keeper of Traken appear in the TARDIS. | |||||||
| 135 | 7 | "Logopolis" | Peter Grimwade | Christopher H. Bidmead | 6.7[8] | 28 February - 21 March 1981. | 6V |
| The Doctor goes to Earth to take fresh measurements of a police box. A figure in white observes. | |||||||
All serials of season 18 were released individually in between 2004 and 2011.