Season 13 (Doctor Who 1963)

It consisted of six serials and 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.

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 appearances of Harry Sullivan and John Benton.
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	Final regular UNIT-based story.

Cast

Recurring

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, no returning antagonists appear.

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. Only available individually in Regions 1 and 4.	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)

Novels

References

External links

BBC website guide to Season 13

Overview