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Season 13 of Doctor Who ran between 30 August 1975 and 6 March 1976. It starred Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor and Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah-Jane Smith. The season opened with Terror of the Zygons and concluded with The Seeds of Doom.
- You may wish to consult
Series 13for other, similarly-named pages.
Overview
It consisted of six serials composed of twenty-six episodes, a trend which would continue until Season 17. It was during this season that the Doctor cut ties to UNIT (after Terror of the Zygons, the Brigadier would not appear again until Mawdryn Undead in 1983, and The Seeds of Doom marked the last occasion to date that the Doctor was explicitly said to be working for UNIT – as opposed to working with them as occasions warranted). Several of the serials in this season, particularly Pyramids of Mars and The Brain of Morbius, are among the best-known of the 1970s-era storylines. Though it was aired as a part of Season 13, Terror of the Zygons was actually filmed as part of the previous season; this holdover allowed the series to switch back to an autumn season start.
This season would also feature the last appearance of the original TARDIS prop, designed by Peter Brachacki, as it was becoming too decayed and unstable to continue using.
With this season, Doctor Who returned to launching new seasons in the autumn, something that had not been done since Season 6.
This season also featured a significant gap between stories over the Christmas period (in this instance, between The Android Invasion and The Brain of Morbius). This became the standard for almost the remainder of the Tom Baker era, barring Seasons 16 and 17. Series 6 and 7 of the modern era of the show followed a similar format.
Television stories
| # | Title | Writer | Episodes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Terror of the Zygons | Robert Banks Stewart | 4 | Final appearance of Harry Sullivan as a companion and final regular appearance of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. First appearance of the Zygons. |
| 2 | Planet of Evil | Louis Marks | 4 | Debut of another TARDIS console room design. |
| 3 | Pyramids of Mars | Stephen Harris, aka Robert Holmes Story by Lewis Greifer |
4 | First appearance of Sutekh. |
| 4 | The Android Invasion | Terry Nation | 4 | Final television appearances by Harry Sullivan and John Benton. Final regular UNIT-based story. |
| 5 | The Brain of Morbius | Robin Bland, aka Terrance Dicks Robert Holmes |
4 | First appearance of the Time Lord Morbius and the Sisterhood of Karn. |
| 6 | The Seeds of Doom | Robert Banks Stewart | 6 |
Cast
Recurring
- Harry Sullivan - Ian Marter
- Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart - Nicholas Courtney
- Warrant Officer Benton - John Levene
Guest
- Duke of Forgill/ Broton - John Woodnutt
- Sister Lamont - Lillias Walker
- The Caber - Robert Russell
- Angus MacRanald - Angus Lennie
- Zygons - Keith Ashley, Ronald Gough
- Sorenson - Frederick Jaeger
- Vishinsky - Ewen Solon
- Salamar - Prentis Hancock
- De Haan - Graham Weston
- Morelli - Michael Wisher
- Marcus Scarman - Bernard Archard
- Lawrence Stevenson - Michael Sheard
- Dr. Warlock - Peter Copley
- Namin - Peter Mayock
- Sutekh - Gabriel Woolf
- Guy Crayford - Milton Johns
- Morgan - Peter Welch
- Corporal Adams - Max Faulkner
- Styggron - Martin Friend
- Chedaki - Roy Skelton
- Col. Faraday - Patrick Newell
- Solon - Philip Madoc
- Condo - Colin Fay
- Maren - Cynthia Grenville
- Ohica - Gilly Brown
- Voice of Morbius - Michael Spice
- Monster - Stuart Fell
- Kriz - John Scott Martin
- Harrison Chase - Tony Beckley
- Scorby - John Challis
- Arnold Keeler - Mark Jones
- Richard Dunbar - Kenneth Gilbert
- Charles Winlett - John Gleeson
- John Stevenson - Hubert Rees
- Derek Moberley - Michael McStay
- Sir Colin Thackeray - Michael Barrington
- Amelia Ducat - Sylvia Coleridge
- Hargreaves - Seymour Green
- Sergeant Henderson - Ray Barron
Notes
- Harry Sullivan left as a companion in Terror of the Zygons, and later returned in The Android Invasion.
- Three stories featured UNIT: Terror of the Zygons, The Android Invasion and The Seeds of Doom. None of the regular UNIT characters appeared in the latter, which marked the final notable appearance of or reference to UNIT until Time-Flight.
- This series has been voted the Best All-Round Series in DWM 413's Mighty 200 Poll.
- For the first time since Season 7, this season features no returning antagonists that had made a prior appearance.
Stories set before this season
The following stories are the known ones to be set during the chronological gap between Season 12 finale Revenge of the Cybermen and Season 13 opener Terror of the Zygons:
Novels
Audio
Stories set during this season
- PROSE: Managra (between Planet of Evil and Pyramids of Mars)
- PROSE: Evolution (between The Brain of Morbius and The Seeds of Doom)
Adaptations and merchandising
Home media
VHS releases
- Terror of the Zygons (1988/1999)
- Planet of Evil (1993)
- Pyramids of Mars (1985) (edited movie format)
- Pyramids of Mars (1994)
- The Android Invasion (1995)
- The Brain of Morbius (1984) (edited movie format)
- The Brain of Morbius (1990)
- The Seeds of Doom (1994)
- The Tom Baker Years (extracts from each of the stories) (1991)
DVD & Blu-ray releases
All serials of season 13 were released individually on DVD between 2004 and 2013. Terror of the Zygons was originally released on DVD, minus special features, as part of The Fourth Doctor Time Capsule box set on 29 July 2013. It was finally released individually, complete with special features, on 30 September 2013.
| Serial name | Number and duration of episodes |
R2 release date | R4 release date | R1 release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terror of the Zygons
Available individually or in The Fourth Doctor Time Capsule box set in Region 2. |
4 × 25 min. | 29 July 2013 (The Fourth Doctor Time Capsule release) 1 September 2013 (Individual release) |
2 October 2013 | 8 October 2013 |
| Planet of Evil | 4 × 25 min. | 15 October 2007 | 5 December 2007 | 4 March 2008 |
| Pyramids of Mars | 4 × 25 min. | 1 March 2004 | 10 June 2004 | 7 September 2004 |
| The Android Invasion Only available as part of the U.N.I.T Files box set in Regions 2 and 4. Only available individually in Region 1. |
4 × 25 min. | 9 January 2012 | 5 January 2012 | 10 January 2012 |
| The Brain of Morbius | 4 × 25 min. | 21 July 2008 | 2 October 2008 | 7 October 2008 |
| The Seeds of Doom | 6 × 25 min. | 25 October 2010 | 2 December 2010 | 8 March 2011 |
Download/streaming availability
| Serial name | Amazon Video | iTunes |
|---|---|---|
| Terror of the Zygons (4 episodes) | ||
| Planet of Evil (4 episodes) | ||
| Pyramids of Mars (4 episodes) | ✓ | ✓ |
| The Android Invasion (4 episodes) | ||
| The Brain of Morbius (4 episodes) | ||
| The Seeds of Doom (6 episodes) |