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Season 20 of Doctor Who ran from 3 January 1983 to 16 March 1983. It starred Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor, Sarah Sutton as Nyssa, Janet Fielding as Tegan Jovanka and Mark Strickson as Turlough. The season opened with Arc of Infinity and concluded with The King's Demons.
Overview[[edit] | [edit source]]
It consisted of six serials comprised of twenty-two episodes. This was notable for the degree to which it varied from its original plans. It had been commissioned as a 28-part series, and the intent was that it would have actually been broadcast towards the end of 1982. Producer John Nathan-Turner had hoped to use season 20 as a way to reverse the January-March broadcast of season 19. Thus, he had initially obtained permission to record and broadcast season 20 in 1982, thus making season 21 broadcast over the milestone 23 November 1983. Had JN-T got his way, the twentieth anniversary special would have in fact been a part of the regular twenty-first season.
Although this idea was in fact greenlit, permission had to be rescinded when it was discovered that Davison's second job — the then-popular BBC One comedy, Sink or Swim — wouldn't allow for this more aggressive Doctor Who production schedule. BBC One controller, Alan Hart, had to personally step in to settle the dispute between the two production teams, and he "awarded" Davison to Sink or Swim. This meant that season 20 would, like its predecessor, be broadcast in the first quarter of 1983.
Hart, however, did want some sort of anniversary special in November, so he suggested that JN-T put the money for two of the 28 episodes aside to allow for the special. This, of course, meant that there would now be 26 episodes in season 20. In the end, however, the final four episodes — meant to go towards a Dalek adventure that eventually became season 21's Resurrection of the Daleks — were left on the table because of a union dispute. Thus, as transmitted, season 20 consisted of just 22 episodes.
Meanwhile, the anniversary special, which was originally envisaged as a part of season 21, was something quite separate from any season. Although it used a portion of the original money involved in the season 20 commission, it received a separate commission from Head of Series David Reid on 15 July 1982. Indeed, it only received this commission because JN-T had been able to secure co-production money from the main Australian network. Moreover, The Five Doctors, as the production was eventually called, didn't begin principal photography until early March 1983 — just when season 20 was wrapping transmission on television.[1]
The Five Doctors, though often said to be a part of season 20, was therefore not a part of season 20 in any production or broadcast sense. Indeed, it's doubtful that any contemporary viewer thought of it as a part of the season, since it came almost eight months after the closing scene of The King's Demons. Instead, it had much greater production and broadcast proximity to season 21, and is often considered a standalone special. The episode was also considerably longer than typical episodes of the time, and was introduced during the Children in Need telethon by the host, Terry Wogan.
Structurally, the season retread season 18's formula of including a trilogy of stories bound together by an overarching theme. In this instance, the tripartite tale involved Turlough's attempts to kill the Doctor at the behest of the Black Guardian.
Television stories[[edit] | [edit source]]
| # | Title | Writer | Episodes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arc of Infinity | Johnny Byrne | 4 | Final televised appearance of Omega. Return of Tegan Jovanka as a companion. |
| 2 | Snakedance | Christopher Bailey | 4 | Final televised appearance of the Mara. |
| 3 | Mawdryn Undead | Peter Grimwade | 4 | First story in the "Black Guardian Trilogy". First appearance of Vislor Turlough. First appearance of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart since 1975. |
| 4 | Terminus | Steve Gallagher | 4 | Second story in the "Black Guardian Trilogy". Departure of Nyssa from the TARDIS. |
| 5 | Enlightenment | Barbara Clegg | 4 | Third and final story in the "Black Guardian Trilogy". Final televised appearances of the Black Guardian and the White Guardian. |
| 6 | The King's Demons | Terence Dudley | 2 | First appearance of Kamelion. Final story to be written by Terence Dudley. |
Cast[[edit] | [edit source]]
- The Doctor - Peter Davison
- Nyssa - Sarah Sutton
- Tegan Jovanka - Janet Fielding
- Turlough - Mark Strickson
Recurring[[edit] | [edit source]]
- The Castellan — Paul Jerricho
- The Black Guardian - Valentine Dyall
- The White Guardian – Cyril Luckham
- Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart – Nicholas Courtney
- Kamelion - Gerald Flood
- The Master - Anthony Ainley
Guest[[edit] | [edit source]]
- Lord President Borusa — Leonard Sachs
- Councillor Hedin — Michael Gough
- Commander Maxil — Colin Baker
- Robin Stuart - Andrew Boxer
- Colin Frazer - Alastair Cumming
- Omega - Ian Collier
- Ambril - John Carson
- Lon - Martin Clunes
- Tanha - Colette O'Neil
- Chela - Johnathon Morris
- Dugdale - Brian Miller
- Dojjen - Preston Lockwood
- Mawdryn - David Collings
- Ibbotson - Stephen Garlick
- Kari - Liza Goddard
- Olvir - Dominic Guard
- Eirak - Martin Potter
- Valgard - Andrew Burt
- Bor - Peter Benson
- Sigurd - Tim Munro
- The Garm - R. J. Bell
- Striker – Keith Barron
- Marriner - Christopher Brown
- Jackson - Tony Caunter
- Wrack – Lynda Baron
- Mansell - Leee John
- Ranulf Fitzwilliam - Frank Windsor
- Isabella Fitzwilliam - Isla Blair
- King John - Gerald Flood
- Hugh - Christopher Villiers
Stories set before this season[[edit] | [edit source]]
The following stories are the known ones to be set between the Season 19 finale Time-Flight and Season 20 opener Arc of Infinity:
Audio[[edit] | [edit source]]
- The Land of the Dead
- Winter for the Adept
- Primeval
- The Game
- Renaissance of the Daleks
- Return to the Web Planet
- Brestwer's involvemenet in The Three Companions
- The Boy That Time Forgot
- Castle of Fear
- The Eternal Summer
- Plague of the Daleks
- The Demons of Red Lodge
- The Entropy Composition
- Doing Time
- Special Features
- 1001 Nights
- 1963: Fanfare for the Common Men
- The Fifth Doctor and Nyssa's involvement in The Light at the End
- Masquerade
- Tomb Ship
- Kamelion's involevement in Masterful
Novels[[edit] | [edit source]]
to be completed
Stories set during this season[[edit] | [edit source]]
Novels[[edit] | [edit source]]
Audio[[edit] | [edit source]]
- The Waters of Amsterdam
- Omega
- The Burning Prince
- The Elite
- Hexagora
- The Children of Seth
- Tartarus
- Warzone
- Conversion
- Thin Time
- Madquake
- Gardens of the Dead
- Freakshow
- Cobwebs
- The Whispering Forest
- The Cradle of the Snake
- Heroes of Sontar
- Kiss of Death
- Rat Trap
- The Emerald Tiger
- The Jupiter Conjunction
- The Butcher of Brisbane
- Eldrad Must Die!
- The Lady of Mercia
- Tegan and Turlough's involvement in The Light at the End
to be completed
Adaptations and merchandising[[edit] | [edit source]]
Home media[[edit] | [edit source]]
VHS releases[[edit] | [edit source]]
- Arc of Infinity (1994)
- Snakedance (1994)
- Mawdryn Undead (1992)
- Terminus (1993)
- Enlightenment (1993)
- The King's Demons/The Five Doctors (extended version) (1995)
- The Five Doctors (1985)
DVD & Blu-ray releases[[edit] | [edit source]]
All serials of season 20 were released individually on DVD between 1999 and 2011, with The Five Doctors being the first ever serial released on DVD.
| Serial name | Number and duration of episodes |
R2 release date | R4 release date | R1 release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arc of Infinity Only available as part of the Time-Flight/Arc of Infinity box set in Regions 2 and 4. Only available individually in Region 1. |
4 × 25 min. | 6 August 2007 | 5 September 2007 | 6 November 2007 |
| Snakedance Only available as part of the Mara Tales box set in Regions 2 and 4. Only available individually in Region 1. |
4 × 25 min. | 7 March 2011 | 7 April 2011 | 12 April 2011 |
| The Black Guardian Trilogy: Mawdryn Undead (4 episodes) Terminus (4 episodes) Enlightenment (4 episodes) |
12 × 25 min. 1 × 75 min. (Enlightenment Special Edition) |
10 August 2009 | 5 November 2009 | 3 November 2009 |
| The King's Demons Only available as part of the Kamelion Tales box set in Regions 2 and 4. Only available individually in Region 1. |
2 × 25 min. | 14 June 2010 | 5 August 2010 | 7 September 2010 |
| The Five Doctors – Special Edition | 1 × 100 min. (Special Edition) |
1 November 1999 | 9 October 2000 | 11 September 2001 |
| The Five Doctors – 25th Anniversary Edition | 1 × 90 min. (Broadcast Version) 1 × 100 min. (Special Edition) |
3 March 2008 | 8 May 2008 | 5 August 2008 |
Download/streaming availability[[edit] | [edit source]]
| Serial name | Amazon Video | iTunes |
|---|---|---|
| Arc of Infinity (4 episodes) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Snakedance (4 episodes) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mawdryn Undead (4 episodes) | ||
| Terminus (4 episodes) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Enlightenment (4 episodes) | ||
| The King's Demons (2 episodes | ||
| The Five Doctors |