Season 8 (Doctor Who 1963)

The eighth season of Doctor Who ran between 2 January 1971 and 19 June 1971. It starred Jon Pertwee as the Third Doctor.

Overview

As of November 2012, season 8 remains notable for being the season with the most number of regular characters. Not only did it see a new companion in the form of Jo Grant, but it featured a regular enemy — the Master — and an expanded regular UNIT cast that now included Sergeant Benton and Mike Yates in most episodes. Adding in returning regulars Jon Pertwee and Nicholas Courtney, the regular cast swelled to six.

Television stories

#	Title	Writer	Episodes	Notes
1	Terror of the Autons	Robert Holmes	4	First appearances of Jo Grant, Mike Yates and the Master; beginning of the season-long Master arc
2	The Mind of Evil	Don Houghton	6
3	The Claws of Axos	Bob Baker Dave Martin	4
4	Colony in Space	Malcolm Hulke	6
5	The Dæmons	Guy Leopold, aka Robert Sloman Barry Letts	5	Conclusion of the Master arc

Main cast

The cast of Season 8.

Regular

• The Third Doctor - Jon Pertwee
• Jo Grant - Katy Manning
• Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart - Nicholas Courtney
• The Master - Roger Delgado

Semi-regular

• Sergeant Benton - John Levene
• Mike Yates - Richard Franklin
• Corporal Bell - Fernanda Marlowe

Stories set during this season

• Who Killed Kennedy (all serials of season 8)
• Deadly Reunion (between The Mind of Evil and The Claws of Axos)
• The Doll of Death (after The Claws of Axos)

Adaptations and merchandising

Home Media

VHS

• Terror of the Autons (1993) (colour restoration)
• The Mind of Evil (1998) (in B+W)
• The Claws of Axos (1992)
• Colony in Space (2001)
• The Dæmons (1993) (colour restoration)
• The Pertwee Years (1992) (The Dæmons 5 - in B+W)

DVD

Serial name	Number and duration of episodes	R2 release date	R4 release date	R1 release date
Terr of the Autons Only available as part of the Mannequin Mania box set in Regions 2 and 4. Only available individually in Region 1.	4 × 25 min.	9 May 2011	2 June 2011	10 May 2011
The Mind of Evil	6 × 25 min.	TBA	TBA	TBA
The Claws of Axos	4 × 25 min.	25 April 2005	2 June 2005	8 November 2005
Colony in Space	6 × 25 min.	3 October 2011	1 December 2011	8 November 2011
The Dæmons	5 × 25 min.	19 March 2012	19 April 2012	10 April 2012

Novels

• Doctor Who and the Terror of the Autons
• The Mind of Evil
• Doctor Who and the Claws of Axos
• Doctor Who and the Doomsday Weapon
• Doctor Who and the Dæmons

External links

BBC website guide to Season 8