Season 11 of Doctor Who ran between 15 December 1973 and 8 June 1974. It starred Jon Pertwee as the Third Doctor.
Overview
It consisted of five serials and 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 would become arguably the most popular of all the Doctor's companions and a frequently featured character in the Doctor Who universe. The same story also, for the first time, named the Doctor's homeworld as Gallifrey. UNIT had also entirely been phased out of the series by this time. Roger Delgado, the first actor who had played the Master, had died, and so the production team did not give the character the dramatic send-off that they had planned in the season finale. 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 latest 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.
Television stories
| # | Title | Writer | Episodes | Notes |
| 1 | The Time Warrior | Robert Holmes | 4 | First appearance of Sarah Jane Smith and the Sontarans; first use of the name Gallifrey |
| 2 | Invasion of the Dinosaurs | Malcolm Hulke | 6 | First episode titled Invasion |
| 3 | Death to the Daleks | Terry Nation | 4 | |
| 4 | The Monster of Peladon | Brian Hayles | 6 | Sequel to The Curse of Peladon |
| 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. |
Main cast
Regular
- The Third Doctor - Jon Pertwee (departed Planet of the Spiders)
- Sarah Jane Smith - Elisabeth Sladen (introduced The Time Warrior)
Recurring
- Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart - Nicholas Courtney (The Time Warrior, Invasion of the Dinosaurs, Planet of the Spiders)
- Sergeant Benton - John Levene (Invasion of the Dinosaurs, Planet of the Spiders)
- Mike Yates - Richard Franklin (Invasion of the Dinosaurs, Planet of the Spiders)
Introducing
- The Fourth Doctor - Tom Baker (introduced Planet of the Spiders)
Stories set during this season
- BBCR: The Paradise of Death (between The Time Warrior and Invasion of the Dinosaurs)
- MA: The Ghosts of N-Space / BBCR: The Ghosts of N-Space (between Death to the Daleks and The Monster of Peladon)
- PDA: Island of Death (after The Ghosts of N-Space)
- PDA: Amorality Tale (between The Monster of Peladon and Planet of the Spiders)
Adaptations and merchandising
Home media
VHS
- The Time Warrior (1989) (Edited Movie Format)
- Invasion of the Dinosaurs (2003) (Episode 1 is in B+W)
- Death to the Daleks (1987/1995)
- The Monster of Peladon (1995)
- Planet of the Spiders (1991)
DVDs
- The Time Warrior (2007)
- The Monster of Peladon (2010)
- Planet of the Spiders (2011)
- Invasion of the Dinosaurs (2012)
Unannounced DVDs
- Death to the Daleks