- You may be looking for season 2 of the original series.
Series 2 of Doctor Who, also known as Season 28 to differentiate it from Season 2, ran between April 2006 and July 2006 and starred David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor and Billie Piper as Rose Tyler. The 2005 Christmas special, The Christmas Invasion, and the 2005 Children in Need Special were filmed as part of the Series 2 block and featured on the Series 2 DVD. Despite this, The Christmas Invasion is listed as a special episode and therefore not considered to be a part of Series 2 by the Episode Guide on the official website. The 2006 Christmas special, The Runaway Bride is sometimes listed as being part of Series 2; however it carries a Series 3 production code and is treated as a Series 3 episode by the BBC in its promotion and merchandising.
Overview
The main story arc for the season was the Torchwood Institute, referenced only twice previously, which served to lead up to the final episodes as well as the Torchwood spinoff series. A secondary arc dealt with the development of the love story between Rose and the Doctor. Series 2 saw the return of the Cybermen to television, and the return of companions Sarah Jane Smith and K9. Both were last seen (notwithstanding independent, fan-made productions) in 1983; their successful return sparked the commissioning of a second spin-off series, The Sarah Jane Adventures, for CBBC. The Series 2 finale saw the introduction of Donna Noble.
This was the first series to feature a "Doctor-lite" episode. These were episodes in which the Doctor (and, usually, his companion) only appears in one or two scenes, with the story carried by new, supporting characters. This allowed David Tennant to film two episodes at the same time. Love & Monsters was the first episode to use this innovation, though it did not receive the same level of acclaim later Doctor-lite episodes such as Blink and Turn Left.
Each episode (not counting the specials) was accompanied by a short teaser "Tardisode" which was only viewable on the Internet; this experiment was not repeated for succeeding seasons, though several online prequels would once again be produced for Series 6; the Tardisodes were the first BBC-filmed Doctor Who productions since TV: Mission to the Unknown in which neither the Doctor nor a companion appeared (with the exception of the Tardisode for TV: School Reunion which featured Mickey Smith).
Television stories
Mini-episode
| # | Title | Writer | Notes |
| N/A | Children in Need Special | Russell T Davies | Follows on from The Parting of the Ways |
Christmas special
| # | Title | Writer | Notes |
| N/A | The Christmas Invasion | Russell T Davies | Introduction of the Sycorax and reappearance of Harriet Jones. |
Regular season
| # | Title | Writer | Notes |
| 1 | New Earth | Russell T Davies | Final appearance of Cassandra and reappearance of the Face of Boe. |
| 2 | Tooth and Claw | Russell T Davies | Founding of Torchwood. |
| 3 | School Reunion | Toby Whithouse | Reintroduction of Sarah Jane Smith. Final appearance of K9 Mark III and first appearance of Mark IV. Mickey Smith joins the TARDIS crew. |
| 4 | The Girl in the Fireplace | Steven Moffat | |
| 5 | Pt. 1: Rise of the Cybermen Pt. 2: The Age of Steel |
Tom MacRae | Reintroduction of the Cybermen (albeit a parallel version). Reappearance of Pete Tyler. Final regular appearance of Mickey Smith. |
| 6 | The Idiot's Lantern | Mark Gatiss | |
| 7 | Pt. 1: The Impossible Planet Pt. 2: The Satan Pit |
Matt Jones | First appearance of the Ood. |
| 8 | Love & Monsters | Russell T Davies | First Doctor-lite episode. |
| 9 | Fear Her | Matthew Graham | |
| 10 | Pt. 1: Army of Ghosts Pt. 2: Doomsday |
Russell T Davies | Reappearance of Mickey Smith and Pete Tyler. Reappearance of Cybermen and Daleks. Final regular appearances of Rose Tyler and Jackie Tyler. Formal introduction of Torchwood. First appearance of Donna Noble. |
Cast
Primary cast
Secondary cast
- Mickey Smith - Noel Clarke
- Jackie Tyler - Camille Coduri
- Pete Tyler - Shaun Dingwall
- Jake Simmonds - Andrew Hayden-Smith
Guest cast
- Harriet Jones - Penelope Wilton
- Sycorax leader - Sean Gilder
- Lady Cassandra - Zoë Wanamaker
- Face of Boe - Struan Rodger (Voice)
- Queen Victoria - Pauline Collins
- Mr Finch - Anthony Head
- Sarah Jane Smith - Elisabeth Sladen
- K9 (Mark III & Mark IV) - John Leeson (Voice)
- Reinette, Madame de Pompadour - Sophia Myles
- John Lumic - Roger Lloyd-Pack
- The Wire - Maureen Lipman
- Eddie Connolly - Jamie Foreman
- Tommy Connolly - Rory Jennings
- John Jefferson - Danny Webb
- Ida Scott - Claire Rushbrook
- Tobias Zed - Will Thorp
- Zachary Cross Flane - Shaun Parkes
- Elton Pope - Marc Warren
- Victor Kennedy - Peter Kay
- Chloe Webber - Abisola Agbaje
- Yvonne Hartman - Tracy Ann Oberman
- Rajesh Singh - Raji James
- Donna Noble (The Bride) - Catherine Tate
Adaptations and merchandising
Home media
DVD
All episodes of Series 2 were released in 2006.
| Episode name | Number and duration of episodes |
R2 release date | R4 release date | R1 release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doctor Who: Series 2, Volume 1 The Christmas Invasion New Earth |
1 x 60 min. 1 × 45 min. |
1 May 2006 | 20 July 2006 | |
| Doctor Who: Series 2, Volume 2 Tooth and Claw School Reunion The Girl in the Fireplace |
3 × 45 min. | 5 June 2006 | 17 August 2006 | |
| Doctor Who: Series 2, Volume 3 Rise of the Cybermen / The Age of Steel The Idiot's Lantern |
3 × 45 min. | 10 July 2006 | 7 September 2006 | |
| Doctor Who: Series 2, Volume 4 The Impossible Planet / The Satan Pit Love & Monsters |
3 × 45 min. | 7 August 2006 | 5 October 2006 | |
| Doctor Who: Series 2, Volume 5 Fear Her Army of Ghosts / Doomsday |
3 × 45 min. | 25 September 2006 | 2 November 2006 | |
| Doctor Who: The Complete Second Series | 1 x 60 min. 13 × 45 min. |
20 November 2006 | 6 December 2006 | 16 January 2007 (US) 6 February 2007 (Canada) |
Novels
Promotional trailer
- A trailer using specially shot footage of the Doctor was created to promote the new season.