Doctor Who (season 17)
| Doctor Who season 17 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of episodes |
20, 5 serials (aired) 6, 1 serial (unaried) |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | BBC One |
| Original run | 1 September 1979 – 12 January 1980 |
| Home video release | |
|
DVD release | |
| Region 1 |
8 November 2005 - 8 January 2013 |
| Region 2 |
7 November 2005 - 7 January 2013 |
| Region 4 |
1 December 2005 - 9 January 2013 |
The seventeenth season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 1 September 1979 with the story Destiny of the Daleks, and ended with The Horns of Nimon.
Casting
Main Characters
Tom Baker continued as the Fourth Doctor. Lalla Ward, who played Princess Astra in the season 16 finale The Armageddon Factor, returned to the series as the newly regenerated Romana, replacing Mary Tamm in the role. After John Leeson declined to voice K-9 in this season, David Brierley replaced him in the final three serials (and Shada).
Guest stars
Davros returns in Destiny of the Daleks this time played by David Gooderson.
Serials
Season 17 was intended to follow the same format as had every season since Season 13, with five 4-part serials and a 6-parter closing the season out. However, the planned final serial of the season, Shada, was affected by an industrial dispute involving the BBC's technicians; while the location filming and the first studio recording session were completed, the strike meant that the planned second studio session had to be cancelled. Although the dispute was resolved and plans put in place to continue work on the story, it was eventually shelved, as the BBC was concerned its Christmas productions might be affected.[1]
| Story | Serial | Title | Directed by | Written by | UK viewers (million)[2] |
AI[2] | Original air date | Production code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 104 | 1 | Destiny of the Daleks | Ken Grieve | Terry Nation | 13.0 12.7 13.8 14.4 | 67 — 63 64 | 1 September 1979 8 September 1979 15 September 1979 22 September 1979 | 5J |
| The TARDIS lands the Fourth Doctor and Romana on a strangely familiar planet. There, they meet the android Movellans, who are locked in a war with the Daleks. The planet is Skaro, and in a bunker sits an enemy long thought dead — Davros, creator of the Daleks. | ||||||||
| 105 | 2 | City of Death | Michael Hayes | David Agnew (Douglas Adams, Graham Williams and David Fisher) | 12.4 14.1 15.4 16.1 | — 64 — 64 | 29 September 1979 6 October 1979 13 October 1979 20 October 1979 | 5H |
| The Doctor is enjoying a holiday in Paris with Romana when, armed with several Mona Lisas, he uncovers an alien conspiracy that could result in the loss of all life on earth. | ||||||||
| 106 | 3 | The Creature from the Pit | Christopher Barry | David Fisher | 9.3 10.8 10.2 9.6 | — 67 — — | 27 October 1979 3 November 1979 10 November 1979 17 November 1979 | 5G |
| On the planet Chloris, the Doctor, soon find themselves caught up in a long and secret enmity between the Lady Adrasta, who rules the planet in fear, and the mysterious Creature she keeps in a Pit. | ||||||||
| 107 | 4 | Nightmare of Eden | Alan Bromly | Bob Baker | 8.7 9.6 9.6 9.4 | — — — 65 | 24 November 1979 1 December 1979 8 December 1979 15 December 1979 | 5K |
| The TARDIS lands at the site of a hyperspatial collision between two spacecraft - as a result of which, neither ship is dimensionally stable, risking the lives of all those aboard. | ||||||||
| 108 | 5 | The Horns of Nimon | Kenny McBain | Anthony Read | 6.0 8.8 9.8 10.4 | — — — 67 | 22 December 1979 29 December 1979 5 January 1980 12 January 1980 | 5L |
| After colliding with a spaceship, The Doctor, Romana and K-9 learn young natives from a peaceful planet called Aneth are being transported into a great labyrinth called "The Power Complex". | ||||||||
| — | 6 | Shada | Pennant Roberts | Douglas Adams | — | — | Unaired[lower-greek 1] | 5M |
| The story revolves around the lost planet Shada, on which the Time Lords built a prison for defeated would-be conquerors of the universe. Skagra, an up-and-coming would-be conqueror of the universe, needs the assistance of one of the prison's inmates, but finds that nobody knows where Shada is anymore except one aged Time Lord who has retired to Earth. | ||||||||
Broadcast
Part 4 of The Horns of Nimon saw the last appearance of the iconic diamond-shaped logo that had been used since The Time Warrior in 1973.
The entire season (excluding the unaired serial Shada) was broadcast from 1 September 1979 to 12 January 1980.
DVD Release
All serials of season 17 were released individually between 2005 and 2013.
| Serial name | Number and duration of episodes |
R2 release date | R4 release date | R1 release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Destiny of the Daleks Available individually or in The Complete Davros Collection box set in Regions 2 and 4. Only available individually in Region 1. | 4 × 25 min. | 26 November 2007 | 6 February 2008 | 4 March 2008 |
| City of Death | 4 × 25 min. | 7 November 2005 | 1 December 2005 | 8 November 2005 |
| The Creature from the Pit | 4 × 25 min. | 3 May 2010 | 1 July 2010 | 7 September 2010 |
| Nightmare of Eden | 4 × 25 min. | 2 April 2012[3] | 3 May 2012 | 8 May 2012 |
| The Horns of Nimon Only available as part of the Myths and Legends box set in Regions 2 and 4. Only available individually in Region 1. | 4 × 25 min. | 29 March 2010 | 3 June 2010 | 6 July 2010 |
| Shada Only available as part of The Legacy Box set | 1 × 25 min. 4 × 18 min. 1 × 14 min. | 7 January 2013 | 9 January 2013 | 8 January 2013 |
In print
| Serial name | Novelisation title | Author | First published |
|---|---|---|---|
| Destiny of the Daleks | Doctor Who and the Destiny of the Daleks | Terrance Dicks | 1979 |
| City of Death | City of Death | James Goss | 2015[4] |
| The Creature from the Pit | Doctor Who and the Creature from the Pit | David Fisher | 1981 |
| Nightmare of Eden | Doctor Who and the Nightmare of Eden | Terrance Dicks | 1980 |
| The Horns of Nimon | Doctor Who and the Horns of Nimon | Terrance Dicks | 1980 |
| Shada | Shada | Gareth Roberts | 2012 |
:^1 As of November 2013, City of Death is one of two serials by Douglas Adams never to have been novelised.
References
- ↑ Ley, Shaun (12 December 2009). "Shelved". BBC Radio 4. BBC. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Ratings Guide". Doctor Who News. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
- ↑ "The Doctor Who News Page: DVD Schedule Update". Doctorwhonews.net. 3 May 2011. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
- ↑ "Doctor Who: City of Death: Amazon.co.uk: Douglas Adams, James Goss: Books". Retrieved 2 November 2014.
- ↑ Shada was left unfinished due to a strike. Its recorded footage was later released on home video using linking narration by Tom Baker to complete the story. It is not included in the episode or story counts as it was not broadcast.