Season 15 (Doctor Who 1963)
Season 15 of Doctor Who ran from 3 September 1977 to 11 March 1978. It starred Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor, Louise Jameson as Leela and John Leeson as K9 Mark I. The season opened with Horror of Fang Rock and concluded with The Invasion of Time.
Overview[[edit] | [edit source]]
It consisted of six serials comprised of twenty-six episodes. This season introduced K9 to the series and saw the departure of Leela. 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. The season took a two week transmission break over the 1977 Christmas period, between the broadcast of part four of The Sun Makers and part one of Underworld.
As of 2024, this is the earliest season where the entire featured regular cast are still alive.
Television stories[[edit] | [edit source]]
| # | Title | Writer | Episodes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Horror of Fang Rock | Terrance Dicks | 4 | First appearance of the Rutans. |
| 2 | The Invisible Enemy | Bob Baker Dave Martin |
4 | First appearance of K9. Return of the main TARDIS control room, and debut of the "grey design". |
| 3 | Image of the Fendahl | Chris Boucher | 4 | Final story to be written by Chris Boucher. |
| 4 | The Sun Makers | Robert Holmes | 4 | |
| 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 | First use of the Pseudonym of "David Agnew". Final appearance of Leela and K9 Mark I. |
Cast[[edit] | [edit source]]
Guest[[edit] | [edit source]]
- 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 Oracle - 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[[edit] | [edit source]]
Home media[[edit] | [edit source]]
VHS releases[[edit] | [edit source]]
- 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 & Blu-ray releases[[edit] | [edit source]]
All serials of season 15 were released individually 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[[edit] | [edit source]]
| Serial name | Amazon Video | 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) |
Novels[[edit] | [edit source]]
- Doctor Who and the Horror of Fang Rock
- Doctor Who and the Invisible Enemy
- Doctor Who and the Image of the Fendahl
- Doctor Who and the Sunmakers
- Doctor Who and the Underworld
- Doctor Who and the Invasion of Time
Stories set before this season[[edit] | [edit source]]
The following stories are the known adventures set between Season 14 finale The Talons of Weng-Chiang and Season 15 opener Horror of Fang Rock:
Novels[[edit] | [edit source]]
to be added
Short stories[[edit] | [edit source]]
to be added
Audio[[edit] | [edit source]]
- Destination: Nerva
- Energy of the Daleks
- The King of Sontar
- White Ghosts
- The Abandoned
- Destroy the Infinite
- Zygon Hunt
Comics[[edit] | [edit source]]
to be added
Stories set during this season[[edit] | [edit source]]
Novels[[edit] | [edit source]]
to be added
Short stories[[edit] | [edit source]]
to be added
Audio[[edit] | [edit source]]
Comics[[edit] | [edit source]]
to be added
External links[[edit] | [edit source]]
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