Doctor Who season 16
| Doctor Who | |
|---|---|
| Season 16 | |
 Cover of the 2008 Region 2 DVD release | |
| Starring | |
| No. of stories | 6 |
| No. of episodes | 26 |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC1 |
| Original release | 2 September 1978 – 24 February 1979 |
| Season chronology | |
The sixteenth season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who, known collectively as The Key to Time, began on 2 September 1978 with The Ribos Operation, and ended with The Armageddon Factor. The arc was originally conceived by producer Graham Williams, who had proposed it as part of his application for the producer's job in 1976.[1] The name refers to the powerful artefact, the segments of which are what the Fourth Doctor and his companions, Romana and K9, search for during the season. Anthony Read was the script editor until the final story, when Douglas Adams became the new script editor.
Synopsis
A figure calling himself the White Guardian commissions the Doctor and K9, assisted by a new companion, the Time Lady Romana, to find the six segments of the Key to Time, a cosmic artefact resembling a perfect cube that maintains the equilibrium of the universe. Since it is too powerful for any single being to possess, it has been split into six different segments and scattered across space and time, disguised by the raw elemental power within them into any shape or size. However, since the forces balancing the universe are so upset, the White Guardian needs to recover the segments of the Key to stop the universe so that he can restore the balance. The White Guardian also warns the Doctor of the Black Guardian, who also wishes to obtain the Key to Time for his own purposes. In the final episode, the Black Guardian, disguised as the White Guardian, attempts to take the Key from the Doctor. However, the Doctor sees through the figure's charade and orders the segments of the Key to Time to once again become scattered across all of time and space, bar the sixth, which he reinstates as Princess Astra. Afterward, the Doctor decides to install a device called a randomiser into the TARDIS' navigation system for a period of time to make his following voyages unpredictable to evade the Black Guardian.
The six segments
- The first segment is disguised as a lump of Jethrik on the planet Ribos.
- The second is the planet Calufrax, shrunk to miniature size by the space-hopping pirate planet Zanak.
- The third is the Great Seal of Diplos, which has been stolen by a criminal of that planet.
- The fourth is part of a statue on the planet Tara.
- The fifth has been consumed by the squid Kroll, causing it to turn into a gigantic monster.
- The final segment is a female humanoid – Princess Astra.
Casting
Main cast
- Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor
- Mary Tamm as Romana
- John Leeson as Voice of K9
Guest Cast
- Valentine Dyall as the Black Guardian
Tom Baker continued his role as The Fourth Doctor, and saw the introduction of Romana played by Mary Tamm. This season was the only one to feature Tamm as the first incarnation of Romana, as Tamm left the programme after only one season because she felt that the character had reverted to the traditional assistant role and could not be developed further.[2] The second incarnation, played by Lalla Ward (who also appeared in this season as Princess Astra), began her run in the first serial of the next season (Destiny of the Daleks).
Serials
Douglas Adams took over as script editor from Anthony Read for The Armageddon Factor. Season 16 consists of one long story arc encompassing six separate, linked stories.
| No. story | No. in season | Serial title | Episode titles | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code | UK viewers (millions) [3] | AI [3] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 98 | 1 | The Ribos Operation | "Part One" | George Spenton-Foster | Robert Holmes | 2 September 1978 | 5A | 8.3 | 59 |
| "Part Two" | George Spenton-Foster | Robert Holmes | 9 September 1978 | 8.1 | — | ||||
| "Part Three" | George Spenton-Foster | Robert Holmes | 16 September 1978 | 7.9 | — | ||||
| "Part Four" | George Spenton-Foster | Robert Holmes | 23 September 1978 | 8.2 | 67 | ||||
| 99 | 2 | The Pirate Planet | "Part One" | Pennant Roberts | Douglas Adams | 30 September 1978 | 5B | 9.1 | 61 |
| "Part Two" | Pennant Roberts | Douglas Adams | 7 October 1978 | 7.4 | — | ||||
| "Part Three" | Pennant Roberts | Douglas Adams | 14 October 1978 | 8.2 | 64 | ||||
| "Part Four" | Pennant Roberts | Douglas Adams | 21 October 1978 | 8.4 | 64 | ||||
| 100 | 3 | The Stones of Blood | "Part One" | Darrol Blake | David Fisher | 28 October 1978 | 5C | 8.6 | — |
| "Part Two" | Darrol Blake | David Fisher | 4 November 1978 | 6.6 | — | ||||
| "Part Three" | Darrol Blake | David Fisher | 11 November 1978 | 9.3 | — | ||||
| "Part Four" | Darrol Blake | David Fisher | 18 November 1978 | 7.6 | 67 | ||||
| 101 | 4 | The Androids of Tara | "Part One" | Michael Hayes | David Fisher | 25 November 1978 | 5D | 9.5 | — |
| "Part Two" | Michael Hayes | 2 December 1978 | 10.1 | 65 | |||||
| "Part Three" | Michael Hayes | 9 December 1978 | 8.9 | — | |||||
| "Part Four" | Michael Hayes | 16 December 1978 | 9.0 | 66 | |||||
| 102 | 5 | The Power of Kroll | "Part One" | Norman Stewart | Robert Holmes | 23 December 1978 | 5E | 6.5 | — |
| "Part Two" | Norman Stewart | 30 December 1978 | 12.4 | — | |||||
| "Part Three" | Norman Stewart | 6 January 1979 | 8.9 | — | |||||
| "Part Four" | Norman Stewart | 13 January 1979 | 9.9 | 63 | |||||
| 103 | 6 | The Armageddon Factor | "Part One" | Michael Hayes | Bob Baker and Dave Martin | 20 January 1979 | 5F | 7.5 | 65 |
| "Part Two" | Bob Baker and Dave Martin | 27 January 1979 | 8.8 | — | |||||
| "Part Three" | Bob Baker and Dave Martin | 3 February 1979 | 7.8 | — | |||||
| "Part Four" | Bob Baker and Dave Martin | 10 February 1979 | 8.6 | — | |||||
| "Part Five" | Bob Baker and Dave Martin | 17 February 1979 | 8.6 | — | |||||
| "Part Six" | Bob Baker and Dave Martin | 24 February 1979 | 9.6 | 66 | |||||
Broadcast
The Key to Time was broadcast from 2 September 1978 to 24 February 1979.
Home media
VHS releases
DVD and Blu-ray releases
All releases are for DVD
| Season | Story no. | Serial name | Number and duration of episodes |
R2 release date | R4 release date | R1 release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | 98–103 | The Key to Time[a] | 26 × 25 min. | — | — | 1 October 2002[4] |
| The Key to Time:
The Ribos Operation |
26 × 25 min.[b] | 24 September 2007[c] 16 November 2009[d][5] |
7 November 2007[6] | 3 March 2009[7] |
- ^ Stories available in Region 1 only, with minimal restoration and extras (individually or as a box set)
- ^ Special edition. Known collectively as The Key to Time. Only available as a box set in Regions 2 and 4. Stories available individually or as a box set in Region 1. All serials contain four episodes each, apart from The Armageddon Factor, which has six episodes.
- ^ Limited release
- ^ Re-release
In print
| Season | Story no. | Library no.[a] | Novelisation title | Author | Hardcover release date[b] |
Paperback release date[c] |
Audiobook release date[d] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | 098 | 52 | Doctor Who and the Ribos Operation | Ian Marter | 13 December 1979 | 3 March 2011 | |
| 099 | — | The Pirate Planet (unabridged) | James Goss | 5 January 2017 | 1 February 2018 [e] | 5 January 2017 | |
| Doctor Who and the Pirate Planet (abridged) | — | 11 March 2021 | — | ||||
| 100 | 59 | Doctor Who and the Stones of Blood | Terrance Dicks | 20 March 1980 | |||
| — | The Stones of Blood | David Fisher | — | 14 July 2022[8] | 5 May 2011 | ||
| 101 | 3 | Doctor Who and the Androids of Tara | Terrance Dicks | 24 April 1980 | — | ||
| — | The Androids of Tara | David Fisher | — | 14 July 2022[9] | 5 July 2012 | ||
| 102 | 49 | Doctor Who and the Power of Kroll | Terrance Dicks | 29 May 1980 | 7 October 2021 | ||
| 103 | 5 | Doctor Who and the Armageddon Factor | 26 June 1980 | 6 June 2019 | |||
- ^ Number in Target's Doctor Who Library, if applicable
- ^ Published by Target's parent companies (Allen Wingate, W. H. Allen, BBC Books) unless otherwise indicated
- ^ Published by Target Books (or by BBC Books under the Target Collection umbrella) unless otherwise indicated
- ^ Unabridged from BBC Audio/AudioGo unless otherwise indicated
- ^ Published by BBC Books
References
- ^ "Season 16". Doctor Who Classic Episode Guide. BBC. Retrieved 10 August 2007.
- ^ "MaryTamm.com". Archived from the original on 25 July 2008.
- ^ a b "Ratings Guide". Doctor Who News. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
- ^ "Doctor Who - The Key to Time Collection". 1 October 2002. Retrieved 16 November 2017 – via Amazon.
- ^ Smith 2014, The Key to Time.
- ^ "Doctor Who The Key To Time Box Set by BBC - Shop Online for Movies, DVDs in Australia". Fishpond. Archived from the original on 17 November 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
- ^ "Doctor Who: The Key to Time". 3 March 2009. Retrieved 16 November 2017 – via Amazon.
- ^ Amazon.co.uk. ASIN 178594794X.
- ^ Amazon.co.uk. ASIN 1785947923.