Season 11 (Doctor Who 1963)
- You may wish to consult
Series 11for other, similarly-named pages.
Season 11 of Doctor Who ran between 15 December 1973 and 8 June 1974. It starred Jon Pertwee as the Third Doctor, Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith and Nicholas Courtney as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. The season opened with The Time Warrior and concluded with Planet of the Spiders.
Overview
It consisted of five serials comprised of twenty-six episodes. It was Jon Pertwee's final season as the Doctor and included, very briefly, the first appearance of Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor. The Time Warrior, the season opener, introduced Sarah Jane Smith, who was a frequently featured character in the Doctor Who universe decades after her departure in Season 14. The same story also, for the first time, named the Doctor's homeworld as Gallifrey. UNIT also began to be phased out of the series during this season.
Some of the production team's original intentions for the season - notably to conclude it with a final showdown between the Doctor and the Master - had to be dropped due to the tragic death of Roger Delgado in a car accident in Turkey. As a result of his death, Kismet Delgado was later cast in the final story of this season as a tribute to him.
The diamond shaped Doctor Who logo and tunnel effects with Jon Pertwee were introduced, paving the way for the Tom Baker era.
Season 11 was the last season to be subject to the BBC's then-current policy of junking old episodes. For reasons unknown, only the first episodes of Invasion of the Dinosaurs and Death to the Daleks were erased; copies of both episodes were later reacquired, albeit only in black-and-white in the former's case. It is believed by some that the first episode of Invasion of the Dinosaurs may have been accidentally wiped as a result of confusion between it and The Invasion (as the title card for the episode reads as simply Invasion).
This season also had an incredibly good write-up. The five writers for this season — Robert Holmes, Malcolm Hulke, Terry Nation, Brian Hayles and Robert Sloman — won an award from the Writer's Guild of Great Britain for Best Children's Drama Script.
This was the last season of Terrance Dicks' run as script editor, as well as the last season to feature more than one six-part story. This is also the first season since Season 7 to not feature the Master, who would not appear again until The Deadly Assassin in Season 14.
Television stories
| # | Title | Writer | Episodes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Time Warrior | Robert Holmes | 4 | First appearance of Sarah Jane Smith and the Sontarans. The Doctor's home planet is identified as Gallifrey for the first time. |
| 2 | Invasion of the Dinosaurs | Malcolm Hulke | 6 | Part 1 is titled Invasion. First appearance of the Whomobile. Last story to be written by Malcolm Hulke. |
| 3 | Death to the Daleks | Terry Nation | 4 | |
| 4 | The Monster of Peladon | Brian Hayles | 6 | Last story to be written by Brian Hayles. |
| 5 | Planet of the Spiders | Robert Sloman Barry Letts (uncredited) |
6 | Final regular appearance of the Third Doctor and Mike Yates. First appearance of the Fourth Doctor. Last story to be written by Robert Sloman. Final television appearance of the Whomobile. |
Cast
- Doctor Who - Jon Pertwee
- Sarah Jane Smith - Elisabeth Sladen
- Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart - Nicholas Courtney
Recurring
- Sergeant Benton - John Levene
- Mike Yates - Richard Franklin
- Alpha Centauri - Stuart Fell as body and Ysanne Churchman as voice
- Aggedor - Nick Hobbs
- Dalek Voices - Michael Wisher
Guest
- Linx - Kevin Lindsay
- Professor Rubeish - Donald Pelmear
- Irongron - David Daker
- Bloodaxe - John J. Carney
- Eleanor - June Brown
- Edward of Wessex - Alan Rowe
- Hal - Jeremy Bulloch
- General Finch - John Bennet
- Charles Grover M.P. - Noel Johnson
- Professor Whitaker - Peter Miles
- Butler - Martin Jarvis
- Ruth - Carmen Silvera
- Adam - Brian Badcoe
- Dan Galloway - Duncan Lamont
- Peter Hamilton - Julian Fox
- Jill Tarrant - Joy Harrison
- Bellal - Arnold Yarrow
- Richard Railton - John Abineri
- Eckersley - Donald Gee
- Thalira - Nina Thomas
- Ortron - Frank Gatliff
- Gebek - Rex Robinson
- Ettis - Ralph Watson
- Azaxyr - Alan Bennion
- Sskel - Sonny Caldinez
- Lupton - John Dearth
- Barnes - Christopher Burgess
- Moss - Terence Lodge
- Cho-Je - Kevin Lindsay
- Tommy - John Kane
- Spider Voices - Ysanne Churchman, Kismet Delgado, Maureen Morris
- Arak - Gareth Hunt
- Sabor - Geoffrey Morris
- K'anpo - George Cormack
Notes
- The role of Sarah Jane Smith was originally contracted to April Walker, who had been cast by Barry Letts. However, Jon Pertwee (who had not been privy to the casting discussions) did not agree with the casting when he found out. As a result, the part was recast, although April was still paid for the role in full.
Stories set before this season
The following stories are the known ones to be set between the Season 10 finale The Green Death and the Season 11 opener The Time Warrior:
to be completed
Stories set during this season
Audio
BBC Audio
Big Finish
- The Devil's Hoofprints
- Kaleidoscope
- The House That Hoxx Built
- The Children of the Future
- Revolution in Space
Short stories
Novels
to be completed
Adaptations and merchandising
Home media
VHS releases
- The Time Warrior (1989) (edited movie format)
- Invasion of the Dinosaurs (2003) (Invasion part 1 in B/W)
- Death to the Daleks (1987/1995)
- The Monster of Peladon (1995)
- Planet of the Spiders (1991)
DVD & Blu-ray releases
All serials of season 11 were released on DVD between 2007 and 2012.
| Serial name | Number and duration of episodes |
R2 release date | R4 release date | R1 release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Time Warrior Available individually or in the Bred for War box set in Regions 2 and 4. Only available individually in Region 1. |
4 × 25 min. | 3 September 2007 | 3 October 2007 | 1 April 2008 |
| Invasion of the Dinosaurs Only available as part of the U.N.I.T Files box set in Regions 2 and 4. Only available individually in Region 1. |
6 × 25 min. | 9 January 2012 | 5 January 2012 | 10 January 2012 |
| Death to the Daleks | 4 × 25 min. | 18 June 2012 | 5 July 2012 | 10 July 2012 |
| The Monster of Peladon Only available as part of the Peladon Tales box set in Regions 2 and 4. Only available individually in Region 1. |
6 × 25 min. | 18 January 2010 | 4 March 2010 | 4 May 2010 |
| Planet of the Spiders | 6 × 25 min. | 18 April 2011 | 2 June 2011 | 10 May 2011 |
Download/streaming availability
| Serial name | Amazon Video | BritBox | iTunes |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Time Warrior (4 episodes) |
UK | ✓ | ✓ |
| Invasion of the Dinosaurs (6 episodes) |
✓ | ||
| Death to the Daleks (4 episodes) |
✓ | ||
| The Monster of Peladon (6 episodes) |
✓ | ||
| Planet of the Spiders (6 episodes) |
UK | ✓ | ✓ |
BritBox is available only in the US and Canada. iTunes stores carry Doctor Who serials in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the UK and US, unless stated otherwise.
Novels
- Doctor Who and the Time Warrior
- Doctor Who and the Dinosaur Invasion
- Death to the Daleks
- Doctor Who and the Monster of Peladon
- Doctor Who and the Planet of the Spiders
External links
BBC website guide to Season 11
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