Season 8

Season 8 of Doctor Who ran between 2 January 1971 and 19 June 1971. It starred Jon Pertwee as the Third Doctor, Katy Manning as Jo Grant, Nicholas Courtney as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, Richard Franklin as Mike Yates, John Levene as John Benton and Roger Delgado as. The season opened with Terror of the Autons and concluded with The Dæmons.

Overview
It consisted of five stories and twenty-five episodes. , season 8 remains notable for being the season with the most number of regular characters. Not only did it see a new companion in the form of Jo Grant, but it featured a regular enemy —  — who was the first Time Lord enemy of the Doctor to appear more than twice, and an expanded regular UNIT cast that now included Sergeant Benton and Mike Yates in most episodes. Adding in returning regulars Jon Pertwee and Nicholas Courtney, the regular cast swelled to six.

Cast

 * Dr. Who - Jon Pertwee
 * Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart - Nicholas Courtney
 * Jo Grant - Katy Manning
 * Mike Yates - Richard Franklin
 * Sergeant Benton - John Levene
 * The Master - Roger Delgado

Recurring

 * Corporal Bell - Fernanda Marlowe

Guest

 * Auton Voice - Hayden Jones
 * Rossini - John Baskcomb
 * Rex Farrel - Michael Wisher
 * McDermott - Harry Towb
 * Farrel Senior - Stephen Jack
 * Mrs. Farrel - Barbara Leake
 * Captain Chin Lee - Pik-Sen Lim
 * Dr. Summers - Michael Sheard
 * Barnham - Neil McCarthy
 * Fu Peng - Kristopher Kum
 * Mailer - William Marlowe
 * Vosper - Hayden Jones
 * Major Cosworth - Patrick Godfrey
 * Chinn - Peter Bathurst
 * Filer - Paul Grist
 * Hardiman - Donald Hewlett
 * Winser - David Savile
 * Axon Man - Bernard Holley
 * Captain Harker - Tim Piggott-Smith
 * Ashe - John Ringham
 * Mary Ashe - Helen Worth
 * Winton - Nicholas Pennell
 * Norton - Roy Skelton
 * Dent - Morris Perry
 * Caldwell - Bernard Kay
 * Morgan - Tony Caunter
 * Primitive - Pat Gorman
 * Miss Hawthorne - Damaris Hayman
 * Bert the Landlord - Don McKillop
 * Winstanley - Rollo Gamble
 * Bok - Stanley Mason
 * Sgt. Osgood - Alec Linstead
 * Azal - Stephen Thorne

Stories set during this season

 * PROSE: Who Killed Kennedy (all serials of season 8)
 * AUDIO: The Sentinels of the New Dawn (between Terror of the Autons and The Mind of Evil)
 * PROSE: Deadly Reunion (between The Mind of Evil and The Claws of Axos)
 * AUDIO: The Doll of Death (between The Claws of Axos and Colony in Space)
 * AUDIO: The Mists of Time (between The Claws of Axos and Colony in Space)
 * COMIC: Change of Mind (between The Claws of Axos and Colony in Space)

VHS releases

 * Terror of the Autons (1993) (colour restoration)
 * The Mind of Evil (1998) (in B/W)
 * The Claws of Axos (1992)
 * Colony in Space (2001)
 * The Dæmons (1993) (colour restoration)
 * The Pertwee Years (1992) (The Dæmons episode 5 - in B/W)

DVD & Blu-ray releases
All serials of season 8 were released individually on DVD between 2005 and 2013. The complete season was upscaled in 1080i50 high definition and released on Blu-ray as Doctor Who: The Collection - Season 8 in the UK on 8 March 2021.

Picture restoration was undertaken by Peter Crocker, with sound restoration by Mark Ayres. Design and illustration was provided by Lee Binding. The Executive Producer was Russell Minton.

The Dæmons required significant additional colour restoration. This was undertaken by Gavin Rymill, Anthony Lamb and 'Dr Hue' colourisers Rich Tipple and Kieran Highman.

Download/streaming availability
BritBox is available only in the US. iTunes stores carry Doctor Who serials in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the UK and US, unless stated otherwise.

Novels

 * Doctor Who and the Terror of the Autons
 * The Mind of Evil
 * Doctor Who and the Claws of Axos
 * Doctor Who and the Doomsday Weapon
 * Doctor Who and the Dæmons