Season 23 (Doctor Who 1963)

Season 23 of Doctor Who ran between 6th September 1986 and 6th December 1986. Though produced as four separate serials from a practical standpoint, it aired as a single serial entitled The Trial of a Time Lord.

Overview

This season had a unique, never-repeated format. Doctor Who had returned to production after a near-cancellation and an 18 month-long production hiatus. For the first time, a season consisted of one single story, The Trial of a Time Lord, however this was broken down into four shorter serials with an overarching theme. The trial storyline itself acted as a framing device bracketing the story. In the last two episodes, commonly known as The Ultimate Foe, the trial took center stage. The experiment of 45-minute episodes having been deemed a failure, the BBC reverted the series back to 25-minute episodes, but kept the episode count at 14, effectively halving the number of episodes available for a season. The last episode, however, ran to 30 minutes.

This format remained for the remainder of the classic series. This was the final season to feature Colin Baker as the Sixth Doctor; following its conclusion, Baker was removed from the role and did not return to play the Doctor for the regeneration that led off the next season. It was the last season to use the "neon tubing" series logo introduced in 1980.

Main Cast

Regulars

• The Doctor - Colin Baker
• Peri Brown - Nicola Bryant (The Mysterious Planet and Mindwarp)
• Melanie Bush - Bonnie Langford (introduced Terror of the Vervoids; Terror of the Vervoids and The Ultimate Foe)
• The Valeyard - Michael Jayston
• The Inquisitor - Lynda Bellingham

Semi-regulars

• The Master - Anthony Ainley (The Ultimate Foe)
• Sabalom Glitz - Tony Selby (The Mysterious Planet and The Ultimate Foe)

Adaptations and merchandising

Video

VHS

• The Trial of a Time Lord

Packaged in a tin.

DVD

• The Trial of a Time Lord

This was released on DVD, Region 2 29th Septemeber 2008 and Region 1 7th October 2008.

Novelisations

• The Mysterious Planet
• Mindwarp
• Terror of the Vervoids
• The Ultimate Foe

Contemporaries

Other selected TV series launched during the 1986-87 season which included Season 23:

• Casualty
• The Oprah Winfrey Show
• Pee-Wee's Playhouse
• LA Law
• ALF
• Matlock
• The Singing Detective
• Inspector Morse
• Married...With Children
• The Tracey Ullman Show (featuring the Simpsons)
• Max Headroom (US series)

External Links

• BBC website guide to Season 23

Previous season: Season 22

Next season: Season 24