Doctor Who season 18
| Doctor Who | |
|---|---|
| Season 18 | |
| File:Doctor Who Season 18 DVD.jpg Cover art of the Region 2 DVD release for first serial of the season | |
| Starring | |
| No. of stories | 7 |
| No. of episodes | 28 |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC One |
| Original release | 30 August 1980 – 21 March 1981 |
| Season chronology | |
The eighteenth season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 30 August 1980 with the serial The Leisure Hive, and ended with Tom Baker's last story Logopolis.
Casting
Main cast
- Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor
- Lalla Ward as Romana
- John Leeson as Voice of K9[note 1]
- Matthew Waterhouse as Adric
- Sarah Sutton as Nyssa
- Janet Fielding as Tegan Jovanka
Season 18 sees the swan song of Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor, ending his time after seven years on the program. New companions Adric (Matthew Waterhouse), Nyssa (Sarah Sutton), and Tegan Jovanka (Janet Fielding) make their introductions in Full Circle, The Keeper of Traken, and Logopolis, respectively. Romana, played by Lalla Ward, departs from the series in Warriors' Gate, along with John Leeson who returns to voice the robot K9. With the arrival of Adric, this season marks the first time since 1967 that the show has given the Doctor a party of three travelling companions.
Guest stars
The Master returns to the show, 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 Barbara Wright, returns in Meglos, although this time playing the one-off character Lexa.
Serials
For Season 18 John Nathan-Turner replaces Graham Williams as producer. Barry Letts returns as executive producer, for just this season. Christopher H. Bidmead also replaces 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. Three serials – Full Circle, State of Decay, and Warriors' Gate – are part of a trilogy within the season. These three serials include the arrival of Adric and the departure of Romana and K9.
Over the period of Christmas 1980, the season took a two-week transmission break between the broadcasts of State of Decay and Warriors' Gate.
| Story | Serial | Serial title | Episode titles | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code | UK viewers (millions) [1] | AI [1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 109 | 1 | The Leisure Hive | "Part One" | Lovett Bickford | David Fisher | 30 August 1980 | 5N | 5.9 | — |
| "Part Two" | 6 September 1980 | 5.0 | — | ||||||
| "Part Three" | 13 September 1980 | 5.0 | — | ||||||
| "Part Four" | 20 September 1980 | 4.5 | 65 | ||||||
| 110 | 2 | Meglos | "Part One" | Terence Dudley | John Flanagan & Andrew McCulloch | 27 September 1980 | 5Q | 5.0 | 61 |
| "Part Two" | 4 October 1980 | 4.2 | 64 | ||||||
| "Part Three" | 11 October 1980 | 4.7 | — | ||||||
| "Part Four" | 18 October 1980 | 4.7 | 63 | ||||||
| 111 | 3 | Full Circle | "Part One" | Peter Grimwade | Andrew Smith | 25 October 1980 | 5R | 5.9 | — |
| "Part Two" | 1 November 1980 | 3.7 | — | ||||||
| "Part Three" | 8 November 1980 | 5.9 | — | ||||||
| "Part Four" | 15 November 1980 | 5.4 | 65 | ||||||
| 112 | 4 | State of Decay | "Part One" | Peter Moffatt | Terrance Dicks | 22 November 1980 | 5P | 5.8 | — |
| "Part Two" | 29 November 1980 | 5.3 | — | ||||||
| "Part Three" | 6 December 1980 | 4.4 | — | ||||||
| "Part Four" | 13 December 1980 | 5.4 | 69 | ||||||
| 113 | 5 | Warriors' Gate | "Part One" | Paul Joyce & Graeme Harper (uncredited) | Stephen Gallagher | 3 January 1981 | 5S | 7.1 | 59 |
| "Part Two" | 10 January 1981 | 6.7 | — | ||||||
| "Part Three" | 17 January 1981 | 8.3 | — | ||||||
| "Part Four" | 24 January 1981 | 7.8 | 59 | ||||||
| 114 | 6 | The Keeper of Traken | "Part One" | John Black | Johnny Byrne | 31 January 1981 | 5T | 7.6 | — |
| "Part Two" | 7 February 1981 | 6.1 | — | ||||||
| "Part Three" | 14 February 1981 | 5.2 | — | ||||||
| "Part Four" | 21 February 1981 | 6.1 | 63 | ||||||
| 115 | 7 | Logopolis | "Part One" | Peter Grimwade | Christopher H. Bidmead | 28 February 1981 | 5V | 7.7 | — |
| "Part Two" | 7 March 1981 | 7.7 | 61 | ||||||
| "Part Three" | 14 March 1981 | 5.8 | — | ||||||
| "Part Four" | 21 March 1981 | 6.1 | 65 | ||||||
Broadcast
The entire season was broadcast from 30 August 1980 to 21 March 1981.
Home media releases
All serials of season 18 were released individually in between 2004 and 2011, and the complete season will be released as a Blu-ray boxset in 2019.
| Serial name | Number and duration of episodes |
R2 release date | R4 release date | R1 release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Leisure Hive | 4 × 25 min. | 5 July 2004 | 7 October 2004 | 7 June 2005 |
| Meglos | 4 × 25 min. | 10 January 2011 | 20 January 2011 | 11 January 2011 |
| The E-Space Trilogy: Full Circle (4 episodes) State of Decay (4 episodes) Warriors' Gate (4 episodes) |
12 × 25 min. | 26 January 2009 | 5 March 2009 | 5 May 2009 |
| The Keeper of Traken Only available as part of the New Beginnings box set in Regions 2 and 4. Available individually or in the box set in Region 1. |
4 × 25 min. | 29 January 2007 | 7 March 2007 | 5 June 2007 |
| Logopolis Only available as part of the New Beginnings box set in Regions 2 and 4. Available individually or in the box set in Region 1. |
4 × 25 min. | 29 January 2007 | 7 March 2007 | 5 June 2007 |
| Complete Season Released as Doctor Who: The Collection – Season 18 in Region B. Released as Doctor Who – Tom Baker: Complete Season Seven in Region A. |
28 × 25 min. | 18 March 2019(B)[2] | TBA | 19 March 2019(B)[3] |
In print
| Serial name | Novelisation title | Author | First published |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Leisure Hive | Doctor Who and the Leisure Hive | David Fisher | 22 July 1982 |
| Meglos | Meglos | Terrance Dicks | 5 May 1983 |
| Full Circle | Full Circle | Andrew Smith | 16 September 1982 |
| State of Decay | Doctor Who and the State of Decay | Terrance Dicks | 17 September 1981 |
| Warriors' Gate | Doctor Who and Warriors' Gate | John Lydecker | 15 April 1982 |
| The Keeper of Traken | Doctor Who and the Keeper of Traken | Terrance Dicks | 20 May 1982 |
| Logopolis | Logopolis | Christopher H. Bidmead | 21 October 1982 |
Notes
- ^ Spelt "K.9" in the credits of Meglos and Full Circle
References
- ^ a b "Ratings Guide". Doctor Who News. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
- ^ "Doctor Who - The Collection - Season 18 - Limited Edition Packaging [Blu-ray] [2019]". Retrieved 27 November 2018 – via Amazon.
- ^ "Doctor Who - Tom Baker: Complete Season Seven [Blu-ray] [2019]". Retrieved 7 December 2018 – via Amazon.