Changes: Season 12

Revision as of 05:19, 28 January 2020

Season 12 — 1974-75

Doctor:

Fourth Doctor

Companions:

Sarah, Harry

Key crew

Producer(s):

Philip Hinchcliffe
Barry Letts

Script editors:

Robert Holmes

Series details

Start date:

28 December 1974

End date:

10 May 1975

Premiere network:

BBC1

Typical episode length:

25'

More info

Main DWM coverage in issues:

526

Main DWMSE coverage in issues:

8, 15

Key reference books about the season:

The Discontinuity Guide, The Fourth Doctor Handbook, The Seventies, About Time 4, The Complete History 22, TCH 23

Key documentaries about the season:

Behind the Sofa: Robert Holmes and Doctor Who

Relevant Myth Makers interviews:

Ian Marter, Tom Baker, Barry Letts and Terrance Dicks (part 2), Elisabeth Sladen

Memorable moment

Another memorable moment

One more memorable moment

← Previous	Next →
11	13

You may wish to consult Series 12 for other, similarly-named pages.

Season 12 of Doctor Who ran between 28 December 1974 and 10 May 1975. It starred Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor, Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah-Jane Smith and Ian Marter as Harry Sullivan. The season opened with Robot and concluded with Revenge of the Cybermen.

Overview

It consisted of five serials and twenty episodes and was the shortest season to date. The season was shortened by a decision by the BBC to move Terror of the Zygons, originally intended as the finale, to the start of Season 13. This was intended to allow the next season to begin earlier and let Doctor Who better compete against the soon-to-debut Space: 1999.

All the stories in this season were interconnected, several forming a loose story arc relating to Space Station Nerva. The Cybermen returned to the series for the first time since The Invasion. Genesis of the Daleks, a story which introduced Davros and showed the creation of the Daleks, is one of the most famous of all Doctor Who serials.

It was also the last Doctor Who season to have a December/January start until the Peter Davison era.

Television stories

#	Title	Writer	Episodes	Notes
1	Robot	Terrance Dicks	4	First appearance of Harry Sullivan; final regular appearance of Bessie. First story to feature videotaped exteriors.
2	The Ark in Space	Robert Holmes	4	First appearance of Nerva Beacon.
3	The Sontaran Experiment	Bob Baker Dave Martin	2	Shortest 1970s story; first two-part story since The Rescue in 1965.
4	Genesis of the Daleks	Terry Nation	6	First appearance of Davros.
5	Revenge of the Cybermen	Gerry Davis	4	First full appearance of the Cybermen since 1968. Final appearance of the Nerva Beacon.

Cast

Recurring

Guest

Hilda Winters - Patricia Maynard
K1 Robot - Michael Kilgarriff
Professor Kettlewell - Edward Burnham
Jellicoe - Alec Linstead
Vira - Wendy Williams
Noah - Kenton Moore
Rogin - Richardson Morgan
Wirrn Operators - Stuart Fell, Nick Hobbs
Vural - Donald Douglas
Krans - Glyn Jones
Erak - Peter Walshe
Styre and The Marshal - Kevin Lindsay
Davros – Michael Wisher
Nyder – Peter Miles
Gharman – Dennis Chinnery
Sevrin - Stephen Yardley
Ronson - James Garbutt
Kavell - Tom Georgeson
Dalek Voices - Roy Skelton
Stevenson - Ronald Leigh-Hunt
Lester - William Marlowe
Kellman - Jeremy Wilkin
Vorus - David Collings
Tyrum - Kevin Stoney
Cyberleader - Christopher Robbie

Stories set during this season

PROSE: A Device of Death (immediately after Genesis of the Daleks)

Adaptations and merchandising

Home media

VHS releases

Robot (1992)
The Ark in Space (1989) (edited movie format)
The Ark in Space (1994)
The Sontaran Experiment/Genesis of the Daleks (1991)
Genesis of the Daleks (2001)
Revenge of the Cybermen (1983/1984) (edited movie format)
Revenge of the Cybermen (1999)
The Tom Baker Years (1992) (extracts from each of the stories)

DVD & Blu-ray releases

All serials of season 12 were released individually on DVD between 2002 and 2013. The complete season was upscaled in 1080i50 high definition and released on Blu-ray as Doctor Who: The Collection - Season 12 in the UK on 2 July 2018. Due to authoring issues, replacement discs for two of the serials were issued by BBC Video later that year.

It was later released in Australia on 1 August 2018 and was released in the US under the title Doctor Who: Tom Baker - Complete Season One on 19 June 2018. This is, to date, the only classic Doctor Who complete season Blu-ray set released in the US before the UK. BBC Video also released replacement discs for this set.

Serial name	Number and duration of episodes	R2 release date	R4 release date	R1 release date
Robot	4 × 25 min.	4 June 2007	4 July 2007	14 August 2007
The Ark in Space	4 × 25 min.	8 April 2002	3 June 2002	6 August 2002
The Ark in Space - Special Edition	4 × 25 min.	18 February 2013	20 February 2013	12 March 2013
The Sontaran Experiment Available individually or in the Bred for War box set in Regions 2 and 4. Only available individually in Region 1.	2 × 25 min.	9 October 2006	7 December 2006	6 March 2007
Genesis of the Daleks Available individually or in The Complete Davros Collection box set in Regions 2 and 4. Only available individually in Region 1.	6 × 25 min.	10 April 2006	4 May 2006	6 June 2006
Revenge of the Cybermen Only available as part of the Cybermen box set in Regions 2 and 4. Only available individually in Region 1.	4 × 25 min.	9 August 2010	7 October 2010	2 November 2010
The Collection - Season 12	20 x 25 min.	2 July 2018	1 August 2018	19 June 2018

Download/streaming availability

Serial name	Amazon Video	BritBox	Google Play	iTunes
Robot (4 episodes)		✓	✓	Except UK
The Ark in Space (4 episodes)	UK	✓		Except France, Germany
The Sontaran Experiment (2 episodes)	UK	✓		✓
Genesis of the Daleks (6 episodes)	UK	✓		✓
Revenge of the Cybermen (4 episodes)		✓

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. Amazon Video in the US streams classical Doctor Who through BritBox channel.

Novels

Scriptbooks

In 2004, BBC Books published a hardcover, annotated collection of all the scripts from Season 12.

External links

BBC website guide to Season 12

@@ Line 19: / Line 19: @@
 |network          = BBC1
 |runtime          = 25'
-|DWM              =
+|DWM              = DWM 526
-|DWM2             =
-|DWM3             =
-|DWM4             =
-|DWM5             =
-|DWM6             =
-|DWM7             =
-|DWM8             =
-|DWM9             =
-|DWM10            =
-|DWM11            =
-|DWM12            =
-|DWM13            =
-|DWM14            =
-|DWM15            =
-|DWM16            =
-|DWM17            =
-|DWM18            =
-|DWM19            =
-|DWM20            =
-|DWM21            =
-|DWM22            =
-|DWM23            =
-|DWM24            =
-|DWM25            =
 |DWMSE            = DWMSE 8
 |DWMSE2           = DWMSE 15
-|DWMSE3           =
-|DWMSE4           =
-|DWMSE5           =
 |ref book         = The Discontinuity Guide
 |ref book2        = The Fourth Doctor Handbook
@@ Line 56: / Line 29: @@
 |ref book6        = TCH 23
 |doc              = Behind the Sofa: Robert Holmes and Doctor Who
-|doc2             =
-|doc3             =
-|doc4             =
-|doc5             =
 |mythmakers       = MM VHS 12
 |mythmakers2      = MM VHS 17
 |mythmakers3      = MM VHS 29
 |mythmakers4      = MM VHS 50
-|mythmakers5      =
-|mythmakers6      =
-|mythmakers7      =
-|mythmakers8      =
-|mythmakers9      =
-|mythmakers10     =
 |prev             = season 11
 |next             = season 13
-|trailer          =
-|trailer2         =
 |clip             = No Doctor I'm the Doctor! - Doctor Who - Robot - BBC
 |clip2            = Bargaining with the wirrn - Doctor Who - BBC sci-fi
 |clip3            = Do I Have The Right? - Genesis of the Daleks - Doctor Who - BBC
-|bts              =
-|bts2             =
-|bts3             =
 }}{{dab page|Series 12}}
 '''Season 12''' of ''[[Doctor Who]]'' ran between [[28 December (releases)|28 December]] [[1974 (releases)|1974]] and [[10 May (releases)|10 May]] [[1975 (releases)|1975]]. It starred [[Tom Baker]] as the [[Fourth Doctor]], [[Elisabeth Sladen]] as [[Sarah-Jane Smith]] and [[Ian Marter]] as [[Harry Sullivan]]. The season opened with ''[[Robot (TV story)|Robot]]'' and concluded with ''[[Revenge of the Cybermen (TV story)|Revenge of the Cybermen]]''.
@@ Line 91: / Line 49: @@
 == Television stories ==
 {| {{prettytable}}
-|'''#''' || '''Title''' || '''Writer''' || '''Episodes''' || '''Notes'''
+! # || Title || Writer || Episodes || Notes
 |-
 |1 ||''[[Robot (TV story)|Robot]]''||[[Terrance Dicks]]||4||First appearance of Harry Sullivan; final regular appearance of Bessie. First story to feature videotaped exteriors.
@@ Line 99: / Line 56: @@
 |2 ||''[[The Ark in Space (TV story)|The Ark in Space]]''||[[Robert Holmes]]||4||First appearance of [[Nerva Beacon]].
 |-
-|3 ||''[[The Sontaran Experiment (TV story)|The Sontaran Experiment]]''||[[Bob Baker]]<br />[[Dave Martin]]||2|| Shortest [[1970s]] story; first two-part story since ''[[The Rescue]]'' in [[1965]].
+|3 ||''[[The Sontaran Experiment (TV story)|The Sontaran Experiment]]''||[[Bob Baker]]<br />[[Dave Martin]]||2|| Shortest 1970s story; first two-part story since ''[[The Rescue (TV story)|The Rescue]]'' in [[1965 (releases)|1965]].
 |-
 |4 ||''[[Genesis of the Daleks (TV story)|Genesis of the Daleks]]''||[[Terry Nation]]||6||First appearance of [[Davros]].
 |-
-|5 ||''[[Revenge of the Cybermen (TV story)|Revenge of the Cybermen]]''||[[Gerry Davis]]||4||First full appearance of the [[Cyberman (Mondas)|Cybermen]] since [[1968]]. Final appearance of the [[Nerva Beacon]].
+|5 ||''[[Revenge of the Cybermen (TV story)|Revenge of the Cybermen]]''||[[Gerry Davis]]||4||First full appearance of the [[Cyberman (Mondas)|Cybermen]] since [[1968 (releases)|1968]]. Final appearance of the [[Nerva Beacon]].
 |}
@@ Line 147: / Line 104: @@
 == Adaptations and merchandising ==
 === Home media ===
-==== VHS ====
+==== VHS releases ====
 * ''Robot'' (1992)
 * ''The Ark in Space'' (1989) (edited movie format)
@@ Line 155: / Line 112: @@
 * ''Revenge of the Cybermen'' (1983/1984) (edited movie format)
 * ''Revenge of the Cybermen'' (1999)
-* ''[[The Tom Baker Years]]'' (1992) (extracts from each of the stories)
+* ''[[The Tom Baker Years (VHS box set)|The Tom Baker Years]]'' (1992) (extracts from each of the stories)
-==== DVD ====
+==== DVD & Blu-ray releases ====
+All serials of season 12 were released individually on DVD between 2002 and 2013. The complete season was upscaled in 1080i50 high definition and released on [[Blu-ray]] as ''Doctor Who: The Collection - Season 12'' in the UK on [[2 July (releases)|2 July]] [[2018 (releases)|2018]]. Due to authoring issues, replacement discs for two of the serials were issued by BBC Video later that year.
-The stories were released on DVD individually in between 2002 and 2010.
+It was later released in Australia on [[1 August (releases)|1 August]] [[2018 (releases)|2018]] and was released in the US under the title ''Doctor Who: Tom Baker - Complete Season One'' on [[19 June (releases)|19 June]] [[2018 (releases)|2018]]. This is, to date, the only classic ''Doctor Who'' complete season Blu-ray set released in the US before the UK. BBC Video also released replacement discs for this set.
 {| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
@@ Line 180: / Line 139: @@
 |-
 | ''[[Revenge of the Cybermen (TV story)|Revenge of the Cybermen]]''<br /><small>Only available as part of the ''Cybermen'' box set in Regions 2 and 4. <br />Only available individually in Region 1.|| 4 × 25 min. || 9 August 2010 || 7 October 2010 || 2 November 2010
+|-
+|''[[The Collection]]'' - ''[[Season 12]]''
+|20 x 25 min.
+|2 July 2018
+|1 August 2018
+|19 June 2018
 |}
+====  ====
 ====  Download/streaming availability ====
 {| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
@@ Line 192: / Line 160: @@
 | ''[[Robot (TV story)|Robot]]''<br /><small>(4 episodes)</small>
 |
-|<span>✓</span>
+|✓
 |✓
 | Except UK
@@ Line 198: / Line 166: @@
 | ''[[The Ark in Space (TV story)|The Ark in Space]]''<br /><small>(4 episodes)</small>
 | UK
-|<span>✓</span>
+|✓
 |
 |Except France, Germany
@@ Line 204: / Line 172: @@
 | ''[[The Sontaran Experiment (TV story)|The Sontaran Experiment]]''<br /><small>(2 episodes)</small>
 | UK
-|<span>✓</span>
+|✓
 |
 |✓
@@ Line 210: / Line 178: @@
 | ''[[Genesis of the Daleks (TV story)|Genesis of the Daleks]]''<br /><small>(6 episodes)</small>
 | UK
-|<span>✓</span>
+|✓
 |
 |✓
@@ Line 216: / Line 184: @@
 | ''[[Revenge of the Cybermen (TV story)|Revenge of the Cybermen]]''<br /><small>(4 episodes)</small>
 |
-|<span>✓</span>
+|✓
 |
 |
@@ Line 223: / Line 191: @@
 === Novels ===
-* ''[[Doctor Who and the Giant Robot]]''
+* ''[[Doctor Who and the Giant Robot (novelisation)|Doctor Who and the Giant Robot]]''
-* ''[[Doctor Who and the Ark in Space]]''
+* ''[[Doctor Who and the Ark in Space (novelisation)|Doctor Who and the Ark in Space]]''
-* ''[[Doctor Who and the Sontaran Experiment]]''
+* ''[[Doctor Who and the Sontaran Experiment (novelisation)|Doctor Who and the Sontaran Experiment]]''
-* ''[[Doctor Who and the Genesis of the Daleks]]''
+* ''[[Doctor Who and the Genesis of the Daleks (novelisation)|Doctor Who and the Genesis of the Daleks]]''
-* ''[[Revenge of the Cybermen (novelisation)|Revenge of the Cybermen]]''
+* ''[[The Revenge of the Cybermen (novelisation)||The Revenge of the Cybermen]]''
 === Scriptbooks ===
@@ Line 237: / Line 205: @@
 {{season 12 aliens}}
 {{TitleSort}}
-[[it:Dodicesima Stagione]]
 [[de:Doctor Who Staffel 12]]
 [[es:Temporada 12 (DW-C)]]
+[[it:Dodicesima Stagione]]
 [[pt:12ª Temporada (SC)]]
 [[ru:12 сезон (классические серии)]]

Tardis