The eighteenth season of Doctor Who ran between 30 August 1980 and 21 March 1981. It was arguably most significant for being Tom Baker's final season. But it was also was notable for being the first season of John Nathan-Turner's producership. Many of the changes he brought in during this season would continue throughout the 1980s — some to the end of Doctor Who's original run. Amongst the more obvious changes during the season were: a new logo, a reworking of the theme tune, fully electronic incidental music, a raft of new writers and directors, and the introduction of the question mark motif on the Doctor's clothing. Finally, it was Barry Letts' swansong on the programme, having returned for this one year to executive produce.
Overview
Season 18 consisted of seven stories and twenty-eight episodes. It was the last season of the original series to have an autumn-to-spring broadcast schedule and the last to have an autumn start until Season 23. After this season, the number of episodes per season began to decline, after a relatively stable episode count for the whole of the 1970s.
From Full Circle onwards, the season featured a story arc involving E-Space and the return of the Master. The stories were darker and more adult in tone than those during the Graham Williams era. They also attempted to emphasise science, much to the satisfaction of both script editor Christopher H. Bidmead and executive producer Barry Letts. (REF: The Fourth Doctor Handbook)
From a ratings standpoint, it sits right at the very nadir of Doctor Who history. It is easily the worst-ranked season of Doctor Who, with 17 of its 28 episodes outside of the top 100 shows. Indeed, the 9 lowest-charting episodes in Doctor Who history come from this season. Full Circle's second episode remains the worst-charting episode of Doctor Who. Its paltry 3.70 million viewers were only good enough for what was, even by the season's low standard, an extremely anaemic 170th place during the week of 1 November 1980.[1] In terms of pure ratings, as opposed to ranking, it was not quite the worst of the lot. But it was easily the least-watched Tom Baker season, with an average of only 5.8 million Britons watching each episode. (REF: The Fourth Doctor Handbook) The decline in ratings has been attributed to direct competition from ITV. The first half of the season was up against Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, an American import with considerably better production values. (INFO: Full Circle)
Television stories
| # | Title | Writer | Episodes | Notes |
| 1 | The Leisure Hive | David Fisher | 4 | The Doctor's new outfit is introduced |
| 2 | Meglos | John Flanagan Andrew McCulloch |
4 | |
| 3 | Full Circle | Andrew Smith | 4 | First appearance of Adric |
| 4 | State of Decay | Terrance Dicks | 4 | |
| 5 | Warriors' Gate | Steve Gallagher | 4 | Final appearances of Romana and K9 Mark II |
| 6 | The Keeper of Traken | Johnny Byrne | 4 | First appearance of Nyssa; the Master reintroduced, gains a new body |
| 7 | Logopolis | Christopher H. Bidmead | 4 | Final appearance of the Fourth Doctor and introduction of the Fifth Doctor. First appearance of Tegan Jovanka |
Notes
- Season 18 stands as the only season in Doctor Who history in which all stories of the season have been the same number of episodes - 4 episodes each.
Cast
Regular cast
- The Fourth Doctor - Tom Baker (regenerates in Logopolis)
- Romana - Lalla Ward (leaves in Warriors' Gate)
- K9 (voice) - John Leeson (leaves in Warriors' Gate)
- Adric - Matthew Waterhouse (introduced in Full Circle)
- Nyssa - Sarah Sutton (introduced in The Keeper of Traken)
- Tegan Jovanka - Janet Fielding (introduced in Logopolis)
Recurring cast
Stories set during this season
- CC: The Invasion of E-Space (between State of Decay and Warriors' Gate)
- Involvement in EDA: The Eight Doctors (after State of Decay)
Adaptations and merchandising
Home media
VHS
- The Leisure Hive
- Meglos
- The E-Space Trilogy Box (contains Full Circle, State of Decay and Warriors' Gate)
- The Keeper of Traken
- Logopolis
- The Tom Baker Years (contains excerpts from all the stories)
DVDs
All serials of season 18 were released individually in between 2004 and 2011.
| 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 |
| 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 |