Season 2 of Doctor Who ran between 31 October 1964 and 24 July 1965. It starred William Hartnell as the First Doctor, Carole Ann Ford as Susan Foreman, William Russell as Ian Chesterton, Jacqueline Hill as Barbara Wright, Maureen O'Brien as Vicki Pallister and Peter Purves as Steven Taylor. The season opened with Planet of Giants and concluded with The Time Meddler.
- You may wish to consult
Series 2for other, similarly-named pages.
Overview
It consisted of nine serials and thirty-nine episodes. Milestones this season included not one but two encore appearances by the Daleks; the departure of the original three companions, Susan Foreman, Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton; and the first appearance of someone else from the Doctor and Susan's home planet, and the first Time Lord enemy to appear.
Amongst the black and white seasons, season 2 has the most extant telerecordings; only the two missing episodes of The Crusade haven't been recovered as of 2019.
Television stories
| # | Title | Writer | Episodes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Planet of Giants | Louis Marks | 3 | First story other than the initial episode to be set on present day Earth. First story to be written by Louis Marks and the first to have an episode directed by Douglas Camfield. |
| 2 | The Dalek Invasion of Earth | Terry Nation | 6 | Final regular appearance of Susan Foreman and first encore appearance of an enemy. |
| 3 | The Rescue | David Whitaker | 2 | First appearance of Vicki. |
| 4 | The Romans | Dennis Spooner | 4 | First story to feature the talents of a major actor, Derek Francis. |
| 5 | The Web Planet | Bill Strutton | 6 | First appearance of a Great Old One. |
| 6 | The Crusade | David Whitaker | 4 | First story with a true multi-ethnic cast. First story to be fully directed by Douglas Camfield. |
| 7 | The Space Museum | Glyn Jones | 4 | First story to depict the dimensions of time and space; contains a cliffhanger that precludes the return of the Daleks. |
| 8 | The Chase | Terry Nation | 6 | First appearance of Steven Taylor and final appearances of Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright. First and only televised appearance of the Mechonoids. First time the Doctor meets a duplicate of himself. |
| 9 | The Time Meddler | Dennis Spooner | 4 | First appearance of another member of the Doctor and Susan's race, though not yet identified as Time Lords. |
Notes
- Each story consisted of between two and six episodes, with each chapter having a different episode title. Unlike season 1, however, the overall titles given to season 2 stories are generally widely accepted.
Cast
- Dr. Who - William Hartnell
- Ian Chesterton - William Russell
- Barbara Wright - Jacqueline Hill
- Vicki - Maureen O'Brien
Recurring
- Susan Foreman - Carole Ann Ford
- Steven Taylor - Peter Purves
- The Monk - Peter Butterworth
- Dalek Voices - Peter Hawkins, David Graham
Guest
- Forester - Alan Tilvern
- Smithers - Reginald Barratt
- Arnold Farrow - Frank Crawshaw
- Carl Tyler - Bernard Kay
- David Campbell - Peter Fraser
- Dortmun - Alan Judd
- Jenny - Ann Davies
- Larry Madison - Graham Rigby
- Wells - Nicholas Smith
- The Slyther - Nicholas Evans
- Bennett - Ray Barrett
- Sevcheria - Derek Sydney
- Maximus Pettulian - Bart Allison
- Ascaris - Barry Jackson
- Delos - Peter Diamond
- Tavius - Michael Peake
- Nero - Derek Francis
- Tigilinus - Brian Proudfoot
- Poppaea - Kay Patrick
- Hrostar - Arne Gordon
- Vrestin - Roslyn De Winter
- Prapillus - Jolyon Booth
- Hlynia - Jocelyn Birdsall
- Hilio - Martin Jarvis
- Voice of the Animus - Catherine Fleming
- Richard the Lionheart - Julian Glover
- William des Preaux - John Flint
- El Akir - Walter Randall
- Saladin - Bernard Kay
- Joanna - Jean Marsh
- Haroun ed-Din - George Little
- Ibrahim - Tutte Lemkow
- Lobos - Richard Shaw
- Morok commander - Ivor Salter
- Morok Guard - Peter Diamond
- Tor - Jeremy Bulloch
- Sita - Peter Sanders
- Dako - Peter Craze
- Abraham Lincoln - Robert Marsden
- Francis Bacon - Roger Hammond
- Queen Elizabeth I - Vivienne Bennett
- William Shakespeare - Hugh Walters
- Mire Beast - Jack Pitt
- Morton Dill - Peter Purves
- Benjamin Briggs - David Blake Kelly
- Albert C. Richardson - Dennis Chinnery
- Frankenstein - John Maxim
- Count Dracula - Malcolm Rogers
- Robot Dr Who - Edmund Warwick
- Edith - Alethea Charlton
- Wulnoth - Michael Miller
- Eldred - Peter Russell
- Ulf - Norman Hartley
- Sven - David Anderson
Stories set during this season
- The Time Travellers is set between Planet of Giants and The Dalek Invasion of Earth.
- Venusian Lullaby is set between The Dalek Invasion of Earth and The Rescue.
- The Book of Shadows is set directly after Venusian Lullaby.
- The Revenants is set between The Dalek Invasion of Earth and The Rescue.
- Romans Cutaway and Byzantium! are set between the cliffhanger that ends The Rescue and the main action of The Romans.
- Starborn is set directly after The Romans.
- The Rocket Men is set between The Web Planet and The Crusade.
- Unnatural Selection is set between The Web Planet and The Crusade.
- The Sleeping City is set between The Space Museum and The Chase.
- The Doctor's Tale is set between The Space Museum and The Chase.
- Daybreak is set between The Space Museum and The Chase.
- The Plotters is set between The Space Museum and The Chase.
- The Eleventh Tiger is set after The Plotters and before The Chase.
Ratings
- Average: 10.5 million
- Highest: 13.5 million (The Web Planet episode 1 - "The Web Planet")
- Lowest: 7.7 million (The Time Meddler episode 3 - "A Battle of Wits")
Adaptations and merchandising
Home media
VHS
- Planet of Giants (2002)
- The Dalek Invasion of Earth (1990) (in 2 parts)
- The Rescue/The Romans (1994)
- The Web Planet (1990)
- The Crusade and The Space Museum (1999) (Contains episodes 1 and 3 of The Crusade with narration of missing episodes)
- The Chase (1993)
- The Time Meddler (2002)
- The Hartnell Years (1991) (The Crusade Episode 3)
Loose Cannon VHS release
- The Crusade (2000) (episodes 2 and 4 only, with narration of existing episodes)
DVD & Blu-ray releases
| Serial name | Number and duration of episodes |
R2 release date | R4 release date | R1 release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Planet of Giants | 3 × 25 min | 20 August 2012 | 5 September 2012 | 11 September 2012 |
| The Dalek Invasion of Earth | 6 × 25 min. | 9 June 2003 | 13 August 2003 | 7 October 2003 |
| The Rescue/The Romans: The Rescue (2 episodes) The Romans (4 episodes) |
6 × 25 min. | 23 February 2009 | 2 April 2009 | 7 July 2009 |
| The Web Planet | 6 × 25 min. | 3 October 2005 | 3 November 2005 | 5 September 2006 |
| The Space Museum/The Chase: The Space Museum (4 episodes) The Chase (6 episodes) |
10 × 25 min. | 1 March 2010 | 6 May 2010 | 6 July 2010 |
| The Time Meddler | 4 × 25 min. | 4 February 2008 | 2 April 2008 | 5 August 2008 |
| Lost in Time: William Hartnell'The Crusade (episodes 1 & 3 of 4; soundtracks of 2 & 4) | 2 × 25 min. + 2 × 25 min. audio |
1 November 2004 | 2 December 2004 (Original release) 1 July 2010 (Re-release) |
2 November 2004 |
Download/streaming availability
| Serial name | Amazon Video | BritBox (US) | BritBox (Canada) | iTunes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Planet of Giants (3 episodes) |
✓ | ✓ | ||
| The Dalek Invasion of Earth (6 episodes) |
UK | ✓ | ✓ | |
| The Rescue (2 episodes) |
✓ | ✓ | ||
| The Romans (4 episodes) |
✓ | ✓ | ||
| The Web Planet (6 episodes) |
✓ | ✓ | ||
| The Crusade | ||||
| The Space Museum (4 episodes) |
✓ | ✓ | ||
| The Chase (6 episodes) |
✓ | ✓ | ||
| The Time Meddler (4 episodes) |
✓ | ✓ |
BritBox is available only in the US and Canada. iTunes stores carry Doctor Who serials in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the UK and US.
Novels
- Doctor Who – Planet of Giants
- Doctor Who and the Dalek Invasion of Earth
- Doctor Who – The Rescue
- Doctor Who − The Romans
- Doctor Who and the Zarbi
- Doctor Who and the Crusaders
- Doctor Who – The Space Museum
- Doctor Who – The Chase
- Doctor Who – The Time Meddler
Audiobooks
- The Crusade
Theatrical film
- Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. - based upon the second serial, The Dalek Invasion of Earth