Doctor Who (season 17)

Doctor Who (season 17)
Starring
Country of origin United Kingdom
No. of stories 5 (+1 unaired)
No. of episodes 20 (+6 unaired)
Release
Original network BBC One
Original release 1 September 1979 (1979-09-01) – 12 January 1980 (1980-01-12)

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 cast

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, strike action by staff meant that the planned second studio session had to be cancelled. Although the dispute was resolved and plans were put in place to continue work on the story, it was eventually shelved, as the BBC was concerned that its Christmas productions might be affected. A BBC historian has suggested that by cancelling completely instead of finishing what little was required the management could demonstrate that the strikes had consequences[1]

StorySerialTitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateProd.
code		UK viewers
(millions) [2]		AI [2]
1041Destiny of the DaleksKen GrieveTerry Nation1 September 1979 (1979-09-01)
8 September 1979
15 September 1979
22 September 1979		5J13.0
12.7
13.8
14.4		67
—
63
64
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.
1052City of DeathMichael HayesDavid Agnew
(Douglas Adams, Graham Williams and David Fisher)		29 September 1979 (1979-09-29)
6 October 1979
13 October 1979
20 October 1979		5H12.4
14.1
15.4
16.1		—
64
—
64
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.
1063The Creature from the PitChristopher BarryDavid Fisher27 October 1979 (1979-10-27)
3 November 1979
10 November 1979
17 November 1979		5G9.3
10.8
10.2
9.6		—
67
—
—
On the planet Chloris, the Doctor and Romana 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 that she keeps in a Pit.
1074Nightmare of EdenAlan BromlyBob Baker24 November 1979 (1979-11-24)
1 December 1979
8 December 1979
15 December 1979		5K8.7
9.6
9.6
9.4		—
—
—
65
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.
1085The Horns of NimonKenny McBainAnthony Read22 December 1979 (1979-12-22)
29 December 1979
5 January 1980
12 January 1980		5L6.0
8.8
9.8
10.4		—
—
—
67
After colliding with a spaceship, The Doctor, Romana and K-9 learn that young natives from a peaceful planet called Aneth are being transported into a great labyrinth called "The Power Complex".
—6ShadaPennant RobertsDouglas AdamsUnaired[note 1] (Unaired[note 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 diamond-shaped logo that had been used since The Time Warrior in 1973.

The entire season 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

Notes

  1. 1 2 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.

References

  1. ↑ Ley, Shaun (12 December 2009). "Shelved". BBC Radio 4. BBC. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  2. 1 2 "Ratings Guide". Doctor Who News. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
  3. ↑ "The Doctor Who News Page: DVD Schedule Update". Doctorwhonews.net. 3 May 2011. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
  4. ↑ "Doctor Who: City of Death: Amazon.co.uk: Douglas Adams, James Goss: Books". Retrieved 2 November 2014.


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 12/4/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.