Season 23



The twenty-third season of Doctor Who ran between 6th September 1986 and 6th December 1986, and saw the series return to production after a near-cancellation and 18-month production hiatus. For the first time, a season consisted of one single story, The Trial of a Time Lord, however this was broken down into four shorter serials with interrelated storylines (The most commonly used titles are given below). The experiment of 45-minute episodes having been deemed a failure, the BBC reverted the series back to 25-minute episodes, but kept the episode count at 14, effectively halving the number of episodes available for a season. This format remained for the remainder of the classic series. This was the final season to feature Colin Baker as the Doctor; following its conclusion, Baker was removed from the role and did not return to play the Doctor for the regeneration that led off the next season. It was the last season to use the "neon tubing" series logo introduced in 1980.

Stories

 * The Mysterious Planet (parts 1 to 4)
 * Mindwarp (parts 5 to 8)
 * Terror of the Vervoids (parts 9 to 12)
 * The Ultimate Foe (parts 13 and 14)

Main Cast

 * The Doctor - Colin Baker
 * Peri Brown - Nicola Bryant (till Mindwarp)
 * Mel - Bonnie Langford (from Terror of the Vervoids)
 * The Valeyard - Michael Jayston
 * The Inquisitor - Lynda Bellingham

VHS

 * Trial of a Time Lord tin

DVD

 * Released on DVD, Region 2 29th Septemeber 2008 and Region 1 7th October 2008

Novelisations

 * The Mysterious Planet
 * Mindwarp
 * Terror of the Vervoids
 * The Ultimate Foe

Contemporaries
Other selected TV series launched during the 1986-87 season which included Season 23:
 * Casualty
 * The Oprah Winfrey Show
 * Pee-Wee's Playhouse
 * LA Law
 * ALF
 * Matlock
 * The Singing Detective
 * Inspector Morse
 * Married...With Children
 * The Tracey Ullman Show (featuring The Simpsons)
 * Max Headroom (US series)