Doctor Who season 21

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Doctor Who
Season 21
Cover art of the Region 2 DVD release for first serial of the season
Starring
No. of episodes24
Release
Original networkBBC1
Original release5 January (1984-01-05) –
30 March 1984 (1984-03-30)
Season chronology
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Season 20
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Season 22
List of episodes

The twenty-first season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 5 January 1984 with the Fifth Doctor (Peter Davison) serial Warriors of the Deep, and ended with Colin Baker's first serial The Twin Dilemma. For the third time (the first being during Season 4 and second being Season 18), the entire TARDIS crew changed over the course of a single season. John Nathan-Turner produced the series, with Eric Saward script editing.

Casting[edit]

See also: List of Doctor Who cast members

Main cast[edit]

The Doctor[edit]

Peter Davison makes his final regular appearance as the Doctor in The Caves of Androzani. Colin Baker makes his first full appearance as the Doctor in the final serial The Twin Dilemma.

Companions[edit]

Janet Fielding (Tegan Jovanka) and Mark Strickson (Vislor Turlough) continue their roles as the Fifth Doctor's companions for their final season, Janet Fielding leaves in Resurrection of the Daleks and Mark Strickson departs in Planet of Fire. New companion Peri Brown played by Nicola Bryant makes her first appearance in Planet of Fire.

The shape-shifting Android Companion Kamelion, played by Gerald Flood, makes his second and final appearance in Planet of Fire, though the character itself – along with other Fifth Doctor companions who left by this story (Tegan, Nyssa, Adric, and Turlough) – all make illusionary cameos as the Doctor regenerates at the climax of The Caves of Androzani.

Recurring actors[edit]

Anthony Ainley returns in Planet of Fire as the Master, which was intended to be his final appearance. Ainley, like other departed fifth Doctor companions make illusionary cameos as the Doctor regenerates.

Guest stars[edit]

Davros makes his first appearance since Destiny of the Daleks (1979) this time played by Terry Molloy.

Serials[edit]

See also: List of Doctor Who episodes (1963–1989)

Episodes were broadcast twice weekly on Thursday and Friday evenings, with Resurrection of the Daleks broadcast on two consecutive Wednesday nights.

Resurrection of the Daleks was planned as a standard four-parter.[1] However, the BBC's coverage of the 1984 Winter Olympics meant that Doctor Who's normal timeslot was unavailable. Rather than delay broadcasting the story, the decision was taken to produce it as a pair of double length episodes and broadcast it in the unfamiliar Wednesday timeslot.

The Caves of Androzani was the first time since Season 4's The Tenth Planet that the introduction of a new Doctor had taken place before the final serial of the season.

No.
story		No. in
season		Serial titleEpisode titlesDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateProd.
code		UK viewers
(millions) [2]		AI [2]
1301Warriors of the Deep"Part One"Pennant RobertsJohnny Byrne5 January 1984 (1984-01-05)6L7.665
"Part Two"6 January 1984 (1984-01-06)7.564
"Part Three"12 January 1984 (1984-01-12)7.362
"Part Four"13 January 1984 (1984-01-13)6.665
The TARDIS materialises in a seabase in the year 2084. Earth in the late 21st century is divided between two power blocs waging a bitter cold war, forever threatening to escalate into violent conflict. Mysterious accidents have been occurring on the seabase, including the deaths of key personnel. Investigating, the Doctor, Tegan and Turlough discover that not only have double agents infiltrated the seabase, but the Doctor's old foes, the Silurians and Sea Devils, are plotting to use the seabase to set off a war which will decimate humanity.
1312The Awakening"Part One"Michael Owen MorrisEric Pringle19 January 1984 (1984-01-19)6M7.965
"Part Two"20 January 1984 (1984-01-20)6.663
The Doctor takes Tegan to the village of Little Hodcombe to visit her grandfather. The villagers, led by Sir George Hutchinson, are reenacting events from the English Civil War, including skirmishes which took place near the town. But the recreations have revived the Malus, an alien entity buried beneath a ruined church which feeds on the passions inflamed by war and death. Time is becoming distorted while Hutchinson – who has fallen under the Malus' influence – works to set the creature free, putting Tegan's life at risk in the process.
1323Frontios"Part One"Ron JonesChristopher H. Bidmead26 January 1984 (1984-01-26)6N8.066
"Part Two"27 January 1984 (1984-01-27)5.869
"Part Three"2 February 1984 (1984-02-02)7.865
"Part Four"3 February 1984 (1984-02-03)5.665
The TARDIS arrives on the planet Frontios in the far future, where the last vestiges of humanity crashlanded years earlier. The struggling colony is beset by disasters, including deadly meteorite showers and the disappearance of several prominent colonists who have been sucked down beneath the ground. The Doctor, Tegan and Turlough discover that the culprits are the Gravis and his Tractators, giant insects with incredible powers over gravity. The Gravis intends to transform Frontios into an enormous spaceship, and spread the terror of the Tractators across the galaxy.
1334Resurrection of the Daleks"Part One"Matthew RobinsonEric Saward8 February 1984 (1984-02-08)6P7.369
"Part Two"15 February 1984 (1984-02-15)8.065
The Doctor, Tegan and Turlough are nearly torn apart in a Dalek time corridor which connects a warehouse on modern-day Earth with a spacecraft in the future. The Daleks have lost the war with the Movellans due to a virus which affects only their kind. Now, with the help of the mercenary Lytton, they intend to free the imprisoned Davros and force him to create an antidote. Once successful, the Daleks will at last be in a position to destroy the Movellans and rampage across the cosmos.
1345Planet of Fire"Part One"Fiona CummingPeter Grimwade23 February 1984 (1984-02-23)6Q7.4—
"Part Two"24 February 1984 (1984-02-24)6.1—
"Part Three"1 March 1984 (1984-03-01)7.4—
"Part Four"2 March 1984 (1984-03-02)7.0—
Turlough rescues a drowning botany student named Peri Brown and brings her to the TARDIS to recuperate. Before Peri can bid her farewells, Kamelion – once again under the Master's control – takes the TARDIS to the planet Sarn. There his mission is to find the Master, who has been diminished to just inches in height following a mishap with his tissue compression eliminator, and restore him using the healing properties of Sarn's miraculous numismaton flames. But Sarn hides a mysterious connection to Turlough's past – a connection which may prove to be the catalyst in the Master's scheme.
1356The Caves of Androzani"Part One"Graeme HarperRobert Holmes8 March 1984 (1984-03-08)6R6.965
"Part Two"9 March 1984 (1984-03-09)6.6—
"Part Three"15 March 1984 (1984-03-15)7.865
"Part Four"16 March 1984 (1984-03-16)7.868
After landing on the planet Androzani Minor, the Doctor and Peri develop lethal spectrox toxaemia poisoning. As the two search for a cure before it is too late, they become enmeshed in a decades-old feud between the disfigured roboticist Sharaz Jek and businessman Morgus. Jek falls in love with Peri, but the situation only degenerates when the girl rebuffs his affections. Between threats from Magma beasts and gun runners, it quickly becomes apparent that the Doctor will never find a cure in time to save both himself and his companion.
1367The Twin Dilemma"Part One"Peter MoffattAnthony Steven22 March 1984 (1984-03-22)6S7.661
"Part Two"23 March 1984 (1984-03-23)7.466
"Part Three"29 March 1984 (1984-03-29)7.059
"Part Four"30 March 1984 (1984-03-30)6.367
The Doctor experiences serious regenerative instability, causing him to attack Peri and then decide to live as a hermit on the barren asteroid Titan 3. There he stumbles upon a plot by his old friend, the Time Lord Azmael, who has kidnapped twin mathematical geniuses named Romulus and Remus. Azmael's adopted planet, Jaconda, has been taken over by the sluglike Mestor and his Gastropods, forcing the Time Lord to do Mestor's bidding. But even Azmael is unaware of Mestor's true plan – to destroy Jaconda's sun, and thereby scatter Gastropod eggs throughout the universe.

Production[edit]

Title card as used in the season finale The Twin Dilemma.

During this season, the title card was slightly modified for the final serial The Twin Dilemma, and continued during Colin Baker's reign as the Sixth Doctor until the end of the season 23 14 episode epic The Trial of a Time Lord.[3]

Broadcast[edit]

The entire season was broadcast from 5 January to 30 March 1984. Transmission moved to Thursdays and Fridays, except for Resurrection of the Daleks which was aired in two double-length episodes on Wednesdays.

Home media[edit]

See also: List of Doctor Who home video releases and List of other Doctor Who home video releases

VHS releases[edit]

Season Story no. Serial name Number and duration
of episodes 		UK release date Australia release date USA/Canada release date
21 130 Warriors of the Deep 4 x 25 mins September 1995 July 1996 May 1997
131
132 		The Awakening
Frontios 		6 x 25 mins September 1997
2 x VHS 		March 1998 March 1998
2 x VHS
133 Resurrection of the Daleks 4 x 25 mins November 1993 February 1994 May 1994
134 Planet of Fire 4 x 25 mins September 1998 January 1999 November 1998
135 The Caves of Androzani 4 x 25 mins February 1992 May 1992 October 1992
136 The Twin Dilemma 4 x 25 min. May 1992 May 1993 October 1993

DVD and Blu-ray releases[edit]

All releases are for DVD

Season Story no. Serial name Number and duration
of episodes 		R2 release date R4 release date R1 release date
21 130 Warriors of the Deep[a] 4 × 25 min. 14 January 2008[4] 5 March 2008[5] 3 June 2008[6]
131 The Awakening[b] 2 × 25 min. 20 June 2011[7] 4 August 2011[8] 12 July 2011[9]
132 Frontios 4 × 25 min. 30 May 2011[10] 7 July 2011[11] 14 June 2011[12]
133 Resurrection of the Daleks[c] 4 × 25 min.[d] 18 November 2002[13] 30 January 2003[14] 1 July 2003[15]
Resurrection of the Daleks (Special Edition)[e] 4 × 25 min.[f]
2 × 46 min.[g] 		28 March 2011[16] 5 May 2011[17] 12 June 2012[18]
134 Planet of Fire[h] 4 × 25 min.[i]
1 × 66 min.[j] 		14 June 2010[19] 5 August 2010[20] 7 September 2010[21]
135 The Caves of Androzani[k] 4 × 25 min. 18 June 2001[22] 7 January 2002[23] 2 April 2002[24]
The Caves of Androzani (Special Edition)[l] 4 × 25 min. 4 October 2010[25] 2 December 2010[26] 14 February 2012[27]
136 The Twin Dilemma 4 × 25 min. 7 September 2009[28] 3 December 2009[29] 5 January 2010[30]
  1. ^ Only available as part of the Beneath the Surface box set in Regions 2 and 4. Available individually or in the box set in Region 1.
  2. ^ Only available as part of the Earthstory box set in Regions 2 and 4. Only available individually in Region 1.
  3. ^ Available individually or in The Complete Davros Collection box set in Regions 2 and 4. Only available individually in Region 1.
  4. ^ Resurrection of the Daleks was originally intended to comprise four 25-minute episodes, but was broadcast as two 46-minute episodes due to the BBC's coverage of the 1984 Winter Olympics. The DVD contains the story in a four-part format.
  5. ^ Only available as part of the Revisitations 2 box set in Regions 2 and 4. Only available individually in Region 1.
  6. ^ Four-episode version
  7. ^ Broadcast version
  8. ^ Only available as part of the Kamelion Tales box set in Regions 2 and 4. Only available individually in Region 1.
  9. ^ Broadcast version
  10. ^ Special edition
  11. ^ Available individually or in the Regeneration box set in Region 2. Only available individually in Regions 1 and 4.
  12. ^ Only available as part of the Revisitations 1 box set in Regions 2 and 4. Only available individually in Region 1.

In print[edit]

See also: List of Doctor Who novelisations
Season Story no. Library no.[a] Novelisation title Author Hardcover
release date[b] 		Paperback
release date[c] 		Audiobook
release date[d]
21 130 87 Warriors of the Deep Terrance Dicks 24 May 1984 16 August 1984 5 June 1995 (abridged)
4 May 2023[31] (unabridged)
131 95 The Awakening Eric Pringle 14 February 1985 13 June 1985 8 July 2010
132 91 Frontios Christopher H. Bidmead 20 September 1984 10 December 1984 2 March 2010[e]
16 April 2015
133 — Resurrection of the Daleks Eric Saward 18 July 2019 11 March 2021 1 August 2019
134 93 Planet of Fire Peter Grimwade 18 October 1984 17 January 1985 —
135 92 The Caves of Androzani Terrance Dicks 15 November 1984 14 February 1985 1 November 2018
136 103 The Twin Dilemma Eric Saward 10 October 1985 13 March 1986 5 January 2012
  1. ^ Number in Target's Doctor Who Library, if applicable
  2. ^ Published by Target's parent companies (Allen Wingate, W. H. Allen, BBC Books) unless otherwise indicated
  3. ^ Published by Target Books (or by BBC Books under the Target Collection umbrella) unless otherwise indicated
  4. ^ Unabridged from BBC Audio/AudioGo unless otherwise indicated
  5. ^ Published by the Royal National Institute of the Blind

References[edit]

  1. ^ Braxton, Mark. "Resurrection of the Daleks ★★★". Radio Times. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Ratings Guide". Doctor Who News. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
  3. ^ "BBC - Doctor Who - the Logo Look".
  4. ^ Smith 2014, Warriors of the Deep.
  5. ^ "Doctor Who: Beneath the Surface - The Silurian Collection - Australia Buy Online. Buy Discount DVD Movies Online". gamehead.com.au. Archived from the original on 4 September 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  6. ^ "Doctor Who: Warriors of the Deep". 3 June 2008. Archived from the original on 26 January 2021. Retrieved 4 September 2017 – via Amazon.
  7. ^ Smith 2014, The Awakening.
  8. ^ "Doctor Who Earth Story by Roadshow Entertainment - Shop Online for Movies, DVDs in Australia". Fishpond. Archived from the original on 4 September 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  9. ^ "Doctor Who: The Awakening". 12 July 2011. Archived from the original on 8 November 2021. Retrieved 4 September 2017 – via Amazon.
  10. ^ Smith 2014, Frontios.
  11. ^ "Doctor Who Frontios by BBC - Shop Online for Movies, DVDs in Australia". Fishpond. Archived from the original on 4 September 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  12. ^ "Doctor Who: Frontios". 14 June 2011. Archived from the original on 8 November 2021. Retrieved 4 September 2017 – via Amazon.
  13. ^ Smith 2014, Resurrection of the Daleks.
  14. ^ "Doctor Who The Resurrection of the Daleks by Roadshow Entertainment - Shop Online for Movies, DVDs in Australia". Fishpond. Archived from the original on 4 September 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  15. ^ "Doctor Who: Resurrection of the Daleks". 1 July 2003. Archived from the original on 8 November 2021. Retrieved 4 September 2017 – via Amazon.
  16. ^ Smith 2014, Ressurrection of the Daleks Special Edition.
  17. ^ "Doctor Who Revisitations 2 (6 DVD Set)". BBC. Archived from the original on 12 May 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
  18. ^ "Doctor Who: Resurrection Of The Daleks". 12 June 2012. Archived from the original on 8 November 2021. Retrieved 4 September 2017 – via Amazon.
  19. ^ Smith 2014, Planet of Fire.
  20. ^ "Doctor Who Kamelion Tales (Box Set) by Roadshow Entertainment - Shop Online for Movies, DVDs in Australia". Fishpond. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  21. ^ "Doctor Who: Planet of Fire". 7 September 2010. Archived from the original on 8 November 2021. Retrieved 4 September 2017 – via Amazon.
  22. ^ Smith 2014, The Caves of Androzani.
  23. ^ "Doctor Who The Caves of Androzani by Roadshow Entertainment - Shop Online for Movies, DVDs in Australia". Fishpond. Archived from the original on 4 September 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  24. ^ "Doctor Who: The Caves of Androzani". 2 April 2002. Archived from the original on 8 November 2021. Retrieved 4 September 2017 – via Amazon.
  25. ^ Smith 2014, The Caves of Androzani Special Edition.
  26. ^ "Doctor Who by Roadshow Entertainment - Shop Online for Movies, DVDs in Australia". Fishpond. Archived from the original on 4 September 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  27. ^ "Doctor Who: The Caves of Androzani". 14 February 2012. Retrieved 4 September 2017 – via Amazon.
  28. ^ Smith 2014, The Twin Dilemma.
  29. ^ "Doctor Who Twin Dilemma by Roadshow Entertainment - Shop Online for Movies, DVDs in Australia". FishPond. Archived from the original on 23 October 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  30. ^ "Doctor Who: The Twin Dilemma". 5 January 2010. Archived from the original on 8 November 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2017 – via Amazon.
  31. ^ "Doctor Who: Warriors of the Deep: 5th Doctor Novelisation (Audio Download): Terrance Dicks, BBC Audio: Amazon.co.uk: Books". Amazon UK.

Bibliography[edit]

  • Smith, Paul (2014). The Classic Doctor Who DVD Compendium. United Kingdom: Wonderful Books. ISBN 978-0-9576062-2-7.
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