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The fifteenth season of Doctor Who ran between 3 September 1977 and 11 March 1978. This season introduced K9 to the series and saw the departure of Leela. It consisted of six serials and twenty-six episodes. It was originally intended to include Terrance Dicks' story The Vampire Mutations but, due to a major BBC production of Dracula, it was postponed. It later became Season 18's State of Decay. To replace it, Dicks quickly scripted the season opener, Horror of Fang Rock.
Television stories
| # | Title | Writer | Episodes | Notes |
| 1 | Horror of Fang Rock | Terrance Dicks | 4 | First appearance of the Rutans; Due to Louise Jameson's complaints about wearing uncomfortable contact lenses, Leela's eye colour gets changed from brown to blue so Jameson no longer needs the lenses. A US rebroadcast on 22 November 1987 was infamously interrupted in an event later dubbed the Max Headroom broadcast signal intrusion incident. |
| 2 | The Invisible Enemy | Bob Baker Dave Martin |
4 | First appearance of K9 Mark I. The main TARDIS control room returns to use after being remodelled between seasons. |
| 3 | Image of the Fendahl | Chris Boucher | 4 | Debut of Leela's second outfit; K9's role is minimal in this serial because writers did not know if he would become a regular character as of yet. |
| 4 | The Sun Makers | Robert Holmes | 4 | Much of the story is influenced by Robert Holmes's dislike of Inland Revenue taxation and his inspiration from Adrian Berry's novel, The Iron Sun: Crossing The Universe Through Black Holes. |
| 5 | Underworld | Bob Baker Dave Martin |
4 | Contains the most copious use of colour separation overlay of any classic serial to compensate for a lack of budget to build physical sets. |
| 6 | The Invasion of Time | David Agnew, aka Anthony Read Graham Williams |
6 | Final appearance of Leela and K9 Mark I; introduction of K9 Mark II. Reappearance of the Sontarans. |
Cast
Recurring
Guest
- Vince - John Abbott
- Reuben - Colin Douglas
- Lord Palmerdale - Sean Caffrey
- Skinsale - Alan Rowe
- Adelaide - Annette Woollett
- Lowe - Michael Sheard
- Safran - Brian Grellis
- Professor Marius - Frederick Jaeger
- Nucleus Voice - John Leeson
- Nucleus - John Scott Martin
- Thea Ransome - Wanda Ventham
- Dr. Fendelman - Denis Lill
- Maximillian Stael - Scott Fredericks
- Adam Colby - Edward Arthur
- Martha Tyler - Daphne Heard
- Jack Tyler - Geoffrey Hinsliff
- Cordo - Roy Macready
- Hade - Richard Leech
- Marn - Jonina Scott
- Mandrel - William Simons
- Goudry - Michael Keating
- Veet - Adrienne Burgess
- Bisham - David Rowlands
- Collector - Henry Woolf
- Jackson - James Maxwell
- Herrick - Alan Lake
- Orfe - Jonathan Newth
- Tala - Imogen Bickford-Smith
- Idas - Norman Tipton
- Voice of the Oricle - Christine Pollon
- Andred - Christopher Tranchell
- Kelner - Milton Johns
- Borusa - John Arnatt
- Rodan - Hilary Ryan
- Nesbin - Max Faulkner
- Presta - Gai Smith
- Vardans - Stan McGowan, Tom Kelly
- Stor - Derek Deadman
- Sontaran - Stuart Fell
Adaptations and merchandising
Home media
VHS
- Horror of Fang Rock (1998)
- The Invisible Enemy (2002)
- Image of the Fendahl (1993)
- The Sun Makers (2001)
- Underworld (2002)
- The Invasion of Time (2000)
- The Tom Baker Years (excerpts of all the stories) (1991)
DVD
All serials of season 15 were released individually in between 2005 and 2011.
| Serial name | Number and duration of episodes |
R2 release date | R4 release date | R1 release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Horror of Fang Rock | 4 × 25 min. | 17 January 2005 | 7 April 2005 | 6 September 2005 |
| The Invisible Enemy Only available as part of the K9 Tales box set with the Doctor Who spin-off K9 and Company in all regions. |
4 × 25 min. | 16 June 2008 | 4 September 2008 | 2 September 2008 |
| Image of the Fendahl | 4 × 25 min. | 20 April 2009 | 4 June 2009 | 1 September 2009 |
| The Sun Makers | 4 × 25 min. | 1 August 2011 | 1 September 2011 | 9 August 2011 |
| Underworld Only available as part of the Myths and Legends box set in Regions 2 and 4. Only available individually in Region 1. |
4 × 25 min. | 29 March 2010 | 3 June 2010 | 6 July 2010 |
| The Invasion of Time Available individually or in the Bred for War box set in Regions 2 and 4. Only available individually in Region 1. |
6 × 25 min. | 5 May 2008 | 3 July 2008 | 2 September 2008 |
Download/streaming availability
| Serial name | Amazon Video | BBC Store | iTunes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Horror of Fang Rock (4 episodes) | ✓ | ||
| The Invisible Enemy (4 episodes) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Image of the Fendahl (4 episodes) | ✓ | ||
| The Sun Makers (4 episodes) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Underworld (4 episodes) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| The Invasion of Time (6 episodes) | ✓ |