Doctor Who | |
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Season 6 | |
![]() Cover art of the Region 2 DVD release for first serial of the season | |
Starring | |
No. of stories | 7 |
No. of episodes | 44 (7 missing) |
Release | |
Original network | BBC1 |
Original release | 10 August 1968 – 21 June 1969 |
Season chronology | |
The sixth season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 10 August 1968 with the first story of season 6 The Dominators and ended Patrick Troughton's reign as the Doctor with its final story The War Games . Only 37 out of 44 episodes are held in the BBC archives; 7 remain missing. As a result, 2 serials are incomplete: only episode 2 of the 6-part story The Space Pirates still exists, while The Invasion has had its two missing episodes (episodes 1 and 4) reconstructed using animation.
Patrick Troughton, Frazer Hines and Wendy Padbury make their final regular appearances as the Second Doctor, Jamie McCrimmon and Zoe Heriot respectively. Troughton and his fellow actors collectively decided that the workload of Doctor Who was exhausting them, and that they would soon depart from the show. From Season 7 onwards the show would never have such a high number of episodes again. The three actors remained with the show until the conclusion of the final season six serial The War Games .
Troughton reprised his role in three subsequent special stories, one of which also featured Hines.
Nicholas Courtney reappears as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart in The Invasion , last seen (as a Colonel) in The Web of Fear . He would soon make regular appearances in the program beginning with season 7's Spearhead from Space .
John Levene makes his first appearance as Corporal Benton in The Invasion . He would continue to make regular appearances, with the character promoted to sergeant, from season 7 until season 13.
Alan Bennion makes his first of three appearances in the series playing an Ice Warrior. In this, his first appearance, he portrays Lord Slaar in The Seeds of Death .
Kevin Stoney makes his second appearance as a villain in The Invasion as Tobias Vaughn. Louise Pajo and Ronald Leigh-Hunt guest star in The Seeds of Death .
Terrance Dicks took over from Derrick Sherwin as script editor from The Invasion, with Sherwin resuming the role for The Space Pirates. Derrick Sherwin took over as producer from Peter Bryant for The War Games.
Season 6 is the most complete of all the Second Doctor's seasons, with only seven episodes missing (compared with thirty-three from Season 4 and eighteen from Season 5), none of the season's stories missing in their entirety and only two stories (The Invasion and The Space Pirates) incomplete. This compares to the first two seasons of the Second Doctor from which only two complete serials ( The Tomb of the Cybermen and The Enemy of the World ) survive. The missing two episodes of The Invasion have since been reconstructed using animation and released on DVD.
The War Games, which was the final serial of the season, and the last of Patrick Troughton's tenure as the Doctor, was also the second longest serial up to that point, spanning 10 episodes – only the 12-part serial The Daleks' Master Plan from Season 3 was longer. Both of these would be beaten in 1986 by the 14-part season-spanning story The Trial of a Time Lord
The Dominators and The Mind Robber were both produced at the end of the fifth recording block and held over to Season 6.[ citation needed ]
No. story | No. in season | Serial title | Episode titles | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code | UK viewers (millions) [1] | AI [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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44 | 1 | The Dominators | "Episode 1" | Morris Barry | "Norman Ashby" (Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln) | 10 August 1968 | TT | 6.1 | 52 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"Episode 2" | 17 August 1968 | 5.9 | 55 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[Episode 3] [note 1] | 24 August 1968 | 5.4 | 55 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"Episode 4" | 31 August 1968 | 7.5 | 51 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"Episode 5" | 7 September 1968 | 5.9 | 53 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Arriving on an irradiated island, The Doctor, Jamie and new companion Zoe Heriot find an alien craft bearing the imperious and ruthless Dominators. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
45 | 2 | The Mind Robber | "Episode 1" | David Maloney | Derrick Sherwin (uncredited) | 14 September 1968 | UU | 6.6 | 51 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"Episode 2" | Peter Ling | 21 September 1968 | 6.5 | 49 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"Episode 3" | Peter Ling | 28 September 1968 | 7.2 | 53 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"Episode 4" | Peter Ling | 5 October 1968 | 7.3 | 56 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"Episode 5" | Peter Ling | 12 October 1968 | 6.7 | 49 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
By blowing a fluid link, the Doctor is forced to use the emergency unit to take the TARDIS away from danger and indeed out of reality itself: to the Land of Fiction. Here, he meets fictional characters, such as Rapunzel, Lemuel Gulliver and Medusa. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
46 | 3 | The Invasion | "Episode One" † | Douglas Camfield | Derrick Sherwin and Kit Pedler (story) | 2 November 1968 | VV | 7.3 | 55 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"Episode Two" | 9 November 1968 | 7.1 | 53 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"Episode Three" | 16 November 1968 | 7.1 | 54 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"Episode Four" † | 23 November 1968 | 6.4 | 51 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"Episode Five" | 30 November 1968 | 6.7 | 52 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"Episode Six" | 7 December 1968 | 6.5 | 56 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"Episode Seven" | 14 December 1968 | 7.2 | 55 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"Episode Eight" | 21 December 1968 | 7.0 | 53 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
After becoming invisible, the TARDIS arrives in England. While looking for a missing scientist at an electronics company, the TARDIS crew find out that the Cybermen are hidden within London's sewers and are planning an invasion. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
47 | 4 | The Krotons | "Episode One" | David Maloney | Robert Holmes | 28 December 1968 | WW | 9.0 | 59 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"Episode Two" | 4 January 1969 | 8.4 | 57 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"Episode Three" | 11 January 1969 | 7.5 | 56 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"Episode Four" | 18 January 1969 | 7.1 | 55 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
48 | 5 | The Seeds of Death | "Episode One" | Michael Ferguson | Brian Hayles | 25 January 1969 | XX | 6.6 | 57 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"Episode Two" | Brian Hayles | 1 February 1969 | 6.8 | 59 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"Episode Three" | Brian Hayles and Terrance Dicks (uncredited) | 8 February 1969 | 7.5 | 55 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"Episode Four" | Brian Hayles and Terrance Dicks (uncredited) | 15 February 1969 | 7.1 | 55 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"Episode Five" | Brian Hayles and Terrance Dicks (uncredited) | 22 February 1969 | 7.6 | 57 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"Episode Six" | Brian Hayles and Terrance Dicks (uncredited) | 1 March 1969 | 7.7 | 59 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Ice Warriors plan to destroy every living thing on Earth by making Earth more habitable for them. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
49 | 6 | The Space Pirates | "Episode One" † | Michael Hart | Robert Holmes | 8 March 1969 | YY | 5.8 | 57 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"Episode Two" | 15 March 1969 | 6.8 | 52 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"Episode Three" † | 22 March 1969 | 6.4 | 55 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"Episode Four" † | 29 March 1969 | 5.8 | 53 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"Episode Five" † | 5 April 1969 | 5.5 | 56 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"Episode Six" † | 12 April 1969 | 5.3 | 52 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Space beacons on the space lanes are being blown up and plundered for precious argonite by a gang of space pirates led by Caven and his associate Dervish. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
50 | 7 | The War Games | "Episode One" | David Maloney | Terrance Dicks and Malcolm Hulke | 19 April 1969 | ZZ | 5.5 | 55 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"Episode Two" | 26 April 1969 | 6.3 | 54 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"Episode Three" | 3 May 1969 | 5.1 | 53 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"Episode Four" | 10 May 1969 | 5.7 | 50 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"Episode Five" | 17 May 1969 | 5.1 | 53 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"Episode Six" | 24 May 1969 | 4.2 | 53 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"Episode Seven" | 31 May 1969 | 4.9 | 53 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"Episode Eight" | 7 June 1969 | 3.5 | 53 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"Episode Nine" | 14 June 1969 | 4.1 | 57 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"Episode Ten" | 21 June 1969 | 5.0 | 58 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
On an alien planet, the Doctor uncovers a plot to conquer the Galaxy with brainwashed Earth soldiers, forced to fight in simulated "war games", reflecting the periods in history whence they were taken, with the aliens being aided by a renegade Time Lord called the War Chief. Joining forces with rebel soldiers, who have broken their conditioning, the Doctor and his companions foil the plot and end the fighting. The War Chief is killed when the aliens' leader, the War Lord, realises he has been plotting against him. The Doctor needs the help of the Time Lords to put things right, but risks capture for his interference across space-time and the theft of his TARDIS. The Time Lords return the soldiers to Earth, dematerialise the War Lord, erase Zoe and Jamie's memories from the points in time when they first entered the TARDIS and then return them there. They then place the Doctor on trial; who cites his many battles against the evils of the universe. Accepting this defence, the Time Lords exile him to Earth, and tell him he will change his appearance. He cries out indignantly as a forced regeneration is triggered. |
Season | Story no. | Serial name | Number and duration of episodes | UK release date | Australia release date | USA/Canada release date |
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6 | 44 | The Dominators | 5 × 25 min. | September 1990 [3] [4] | February 1991 [4] | August 1994 [4] |
45 | The Mind Robber | 5 × 25 min. | May 1990 [5] [6] | September 1990 [6] | February 1994 [6] | |
46 | The Invasion | 6 × 25 min. | June 1993 [7] [8] (2 x VHS) | October 1993 [8] | June 1995 [8] | |
47 | The Krotons | 4 × 25 min. | February 1991 [9] [10] | July 1991 [10] | August 1994 [10] | |
48 | The Seeds of Death | 1 × 150 min. | July 1985 [11] [12] | December 1987 [12] | March 1990 [12] | |
50 | The War Games | 10 × 25 min. | February 1990 [13] [14] | June 1990 [14] | January 1992 [14] |
Season | Story no. | Serial name | Number and duration of episodes | UK release date | Australia release date | USA/Canada release date |
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6 | 48 | The Seeds of Death | 1 × 150 min. | July 1985 (edited) [12] | — | — |
All releases are for DVD
Season | Story no. | Serial name | Number and duration of episodes | R2 release date | R4 release date | R1 release date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6 | 44 | The Dominators | 5 × 25 min. | 12 July 2010 [15] [16] [17] | 2 September 2010 [18] | 11 January 2011 [19] |
45 | The Mind Robber | 5 × 20 min. | 7 March 2005 [20] [21] | 5 May 2005 [22] | 6 September 2005 [23] | |
46 | The Invasion [lower-alpha 1] | 8 × 25 min. | 6 November 2006 [24] [25] [26] | 3 January 2007 [27] | 6 March 2007 [28] | |
47 | The Krotons | 4 × 25 min. | 2 July 2012 [29] [30] [31] | 2 August 2012 [32] | 10 July 2012 [33] | |
48 | The Seeds of Death | 6 × 25 min. | 17 February 2003 [34] | 5 May 2003 [35] | 2 March 2004 [36] | |
The Seeds of Death (Special Edition) [lower-alpha 2] | 6 × 25 min. | 28 March 2011 [37] [38] [39] | 5 May 2011 [40] | 12 June 2012 [41] | ||
49 | Lost in Time, Volume 2 The Space Pirates [lower-alpha 3] | 1 × 25 min. | 1 November 2004 [42] [lower-alpha 4] [44] | 2 December 2004 [43] [lower-alpha 5] | 2 November 2004 [43] | |
50 | The War Games [lower-alpha 6] | 10 × 25 min. | 6 July 2009 [45] [46] [47] | 3 September 2009 [48] | 3 November 2009 [49] |
Season | Story no. | Library no. [lower-alpha 1] | Novelisation title | Author | Hardcover release date [lower-alpha 2] | Paperback release date [lower-alpha 3] | Audiobook release date [lower-alpha 4] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6 | 044 | 86 | The Dominators | Ian Marter | 19 April 1984 [50] | 19 July 1984 [50] | 6 September 2018 [50] |
045 | 115 | The Mind Robber | Peter Ling | 20 November 1986 [51] | 16 April 1987 [51] | 6 August 2009 [51] | |
046 | 98 | The Invasion | Ian Marter | 16 May 1985 [52] | 10 October 1985 [52] | 7 April 2016 [52] | |
047 | 99 | The Krotons | Terrance Dicks | 13 June 1985 [53] | 14 November 1985 [53] | 2 April 2020 [53] | |
048 | 112 | The Seeds of Death | 17 July 1986 [54] | 4 December 1986 [54] | 2 February 2023 [55] | ||
049 | 147 | The Space Pirates | — | 15 March 1990 [56] | 1 December 2016 [56] | ||
050 | 70 | Doctor Who and the War Games | Malcolm Hulke | 25 October 1979 [57] | 25 September 1979 [57] | 1 February 2011 [57] |
The Seeds of Death is the fifth serial of the sixth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by Brian Hayles and an uncredited Terrance Dicks and directed by Michael Ferguson, it originally aired in six weekly parts on BBC1 from 25 January to 1 March 1969. It sees the return of the Ice Warriors, previously introduced by Hayles in the 1967 serial The Ice Warriors.
The War Games is the seventh and final serial of the sixth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in ten weekly parts from 19 April to 21 June 1969.
The Dominators is the first serial of the sixth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in five weekly parts from 10 August to 7 September 1968. The Second Doctor and his travelling companions Jamie McCrimmon and Zoe Heriot work with the Dulcians of the planet Dulkis to prevent the alien Dominators from blowing up Dulkis and using its irradiated remains as spaceship fuel.
Several portions of the long-running British science-fiction television programme Doctor Who are no longer held by the BBC. Between 1967 and 1978, the BBC routinely deleted archive programmes for various practical reasons—lack of space, scarcity of materials, and a lack of rebroadcast rights. As a result, 97 of 253 episodes from the programme's first six years are currently missing, primarily from seasons 3, 4 and 5, leaving 26 serials incomplete. Many more were considered lost until recovered from various sources, mostly overseas broadcasters.
The Krotons is the fourth serial of the sixth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 28 December 1968 to 18 January 1969.
The Enemy of the World is the fourth serial of the fifth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in six weekly parts from 23 December 1967 to 27 January 1968.
The twenty-second season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 5 January 1985 and ended on 30 March 1985. It opened with the serial Attack of the Cybermen and ended with the serial Revelation of the Daleks. The season returned to the traditional Saturday transmission for the first time since Season 18, but for the first and only time in the series' first run it featured 45-minute episodes in its entirety. During transmission, BBC1 controller Michael Grade announced an 18-month hiatus for the series, partly citing the violence depicted in the stories of the season. John Nathan-Turner produced the series with Eric Saward as script editor.
The twentieth season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 3 January 1983 with the story Arc of Infinity, and ended 16 March 1983 with The King's Demons. A 20th Anniversary special, "The Five Doctors", followed in November 1983. John Nathan-Turner produced this series, with Eric Saward script editing.
The thirteenth season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 30 August 1975 with the story Terror of the Zygons, and ended with The Seeds of Doom. This is the second series to feature the Fourth Doctor, played by Tom Baker, with Philip Hinchcliffe producing and Robert Holmes script editing. In September 2009, it was ranked as readers' favourite season in Doctor Who Magazine issue 413.
The twelfth season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 28 December 1974 with Tom Baker's first serial Robot, and ended with Revenge of the Cybermen on 10 May 1975.
The eleventh season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 15 December 1973 with the serial The Time Warrior, and ended with Jon Pertwee's final serial Planet of the Spiders. The season's writing was recognized by the Writer's Guild of Great Britain for Best Children's Drama Script. This is the Third Doctor's fifth and final series, and also the last consecutively to be produced by Barry Letts and script edited by Terrance Dicks. Both Letts and Dicks would work for the programme again, however - Letts in Season 18 and Dicks on future stories, e.g. Horror of Fang Rock.
The tenth season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 30 December 1972 with the tenth anniversary special The Three Doctors, and ended with Katy Manning's final serial The Green Death. This is the Third Doctor's fourth series, as well as fourth for producer Barry Letts and script editor Terrance Dicks.
The ninth season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 1 January 1972 with Day of the Daleks, and ended with The Time Monster. This is the third series of the Third Doctor, played by Jon Pertwee, as well as the third to be produced by Barry Letts and script edited by Terrance Dicks.
The eighth season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 2 January 1971 with Terror of the Autons and ended with The Dæmons featuring Jon Pertwee as the Third Doctor. This is the second of five series which Barry Letts produced consecutively and Terrance Dicks was the script editor.
The seventh season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 3 January 1970 with Jon Pertwee's first story Spearhead from Space and ended with Inferno. The first season to be made in colour, it marked the beginning of Barry Letts's five seasons as series producer, but it has been described as "essentially devised" by his predecessor, Derrick Sherwin, who produced the opening story. The season sees the beginning of the Doctor's exile to Earth by the Time Lords and his attachment to UNIT as its scientific advisor.
The fifth season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 2 September 1967 with the first story of season 5 The Tomb of the Cybermen and ended on 1 June 1968 with The Wheel in Space. Only 22 out of 40 episodes are held in the BBC archives; 18 remain missing. As a result, only 2 serials exist entirely. However, The Abominable Snowmen, The Ice Warriors, The Web of Fear, and Fury from the Deep have had their missing episodes reconstructed using animation.
The fourth season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 10 September 1966 with the First Doctor story The Smugglers and, after a change of lead actor part-way through the series, ended on 1 July 1967 with The Evil of the Daleks. For the first time, the entire main cast changed over the course of a single season.
The third season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 11 September 1965 with the story Galaxy 4 and ended on 16 July 1966 with The War Machines. Only 17 out of 45 episodes survive in the BBC archives; 28 remain missing. As a result, only three serials are complete.