Doctor Who season 24
| Doctor Who | |
|---|---|
| Season 24 | |
| File:Doctor Who Season 24 DVD.jpg Cover art of the Region 2 DVD release for first serial of the season | |
| Starring | |
| No. of stories | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 14 |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC1 |
| Original release | 7 September – 7 December 1987 |
| Season chronology | |
The twenty-fourth season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 7 September 1987 with Sylvester McCoy's first story Time and the Rani, and ended with Dragonfire.
Production
Colin Baker was originally due to reprise his role as the Sixth Doctor prior to his dismissal at the request of Michael Grade, who said that a 24th season would only happen if a new actor took the title role. Baker offered to do the entirety of the season and leave the show at its conclusion, but he was only allowed to film a single four-part story ending in his character's demise. He declined, as he did not want to miss out on other work in the meantime (a decision he would later regret). A new logo for the series was introduced with this season along with a new opening credits sequence that moved away from the "starfield" motif introduced in 1980. As with the opening sequence from the Sixth Doctor era, the Seventh Doctor's opening does not use a static image of the Doctor, but rather one with limited animation: the image of the Doctor starts as a scowl, then fades to a wink followed by a smile. McCoy wears makeup that gives his face and hair a silver/grey appearance. Episode four mistakenly uses an early version of this sequence, which gives the Doctor's face a shadowy look which producer John Nathan-Turner felt was not prominent enough.[1][2]
Music
Keff McCulloch arranged the new opening theme. It was used until the end of the regular run of the series. The new theme arrangement marked the first time since the First Doctor's era that the theme's "middle eight" section was regularly heard during the opening credits (the previous two arrangements used the middle eight during the closing credits only).
Casting
Main cast
- Sylvester McCoy as the Seventh Doctor
- Bonnie Langford as Mel Bush
- Sophie Aldred as Ace
New Companion
The departure of Bonnie Langford saw plans to introduce a new companion. However, owing to Langford being undecided as to when she would actually leave the show, producer John Nathan-Turner asked writers Malcolm Kohll and Ian Briggs to formulate characters that could be used as potential companions. Kohll designed a character in his script, titled The Flight of the Chimeron (eventually to take shape as Delta and the Bannermen), called Ray. Initially, it appeared that The Flight of the Chimeron would be the final serial of the season, which would see Ray leave with the Doctor. However, by the time it came to production and scheduling for the season, Kohll's serial had been swapped in the running order with Ian Briggs' (which became Dragonfire), and led to Briggs' creation, who eventually became Ace, taking Mel's place with the Doctor.[citation needed]
Recurring stars
Kate O'Mara makes her second appearance as the Rani in McCoy's first serial Time and the Rani.
Guest stars
Sophie Aldred guest stars as Ace in Dragonfire; Ace would become the Doctor's companion in the next season.
Tony Selby, having recently appeared in The Trial of a Time Lord, also made a guest appearance as Sabalom Glitz in the same story and acts as an unofficial companion to the Seventh Doctor.
Serials
Andrew Cartmel takes over as script editor. This season is moved to a Monday schedule.
The previous season, while ostensibly a single 14-part serial, was divided into three stories of four episodes and one of two episodes. For this season, this was re-jigged into a new format that would be followed over the next three years, with a pair of four-parters and a pair of three-parters. Not including The Two Doctors, which had episodes of 45-minute duration, Delta and the Bannermen was the first standard format (25-minute) 3 part serial since Planet of Giants in Season 2.
| Story | Serial | Serial title | Episode titles | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code | UK viewers (millions) [3] | AI [3] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 144 | 1 | Time and the Rani | "Part One" | Andrew Morgan | Pip and Jane Baker | 7 September 1987 | 7D | 5.1 | 58 |
| "Part Two" | Pip and Jane Baker | 14 September 1987 | 4.2 | 63 | |||||
| "Part Three" | Pip and Jane Baker | 21 September 1987 | 4.3 | 57 | |||||
| "Part Four" | Pip and Jane Baker | 28 September 1987 | 4.9 | 59 | |||||
| 145 | 2 | Paradise Towers | "Part One" | Nicholas Mallett | Stephen Wyatt | 5 October 1987 | 7E | 4.5 | 61 |
| "Part Two" | Stephen Wyatt | 12 October 1987 | 5.2 | 58 | |||||
| "Part Three" | Stephen Wyatt | 19 October 1987 | 5.0 | 58 | |||||
| "Part Four" | Stephen Wyatt | 26 October 1987 | 5.0 | 57 | |||||
| 146 | 3 | Delta and the Bannermen | "Part One" | Chris Clough | Malcolm Kohll | 2 November 1987 | 7F | 5.3 | 63 |
| "Part Two" | Chris Clough | Malcolm Kohll | 9 November 1987 | 5.1 | 60 | ||||
| "Part Three" | Chris Clough | Malcolm Kohll | 16 November 1987 | 5.4 | 60 | ||||
| 147 | 4 | Dragonfire | "Part One" | Chris Clough | Ian Briggs | 23 November 1987 | 7G | 5.5 | 61 |
| "Part Two" | Ian Briggs | 30 November 1987 | 5.0 | 61 | |||||
| "Part Three" | Ian Briggs | 7 December 1987 | 4.7 | 64 | |||||
Broadcast
The entire season was broadcast from 7 September to 7 December 1987. Transmission for this season moved to Monday nights.
Home media
VHS releases
DVD and Blu-ray releases
All releases are for DVD unless otherwise indicated:
- (B) indicates a Blu-ray release
| Season | Story no. | Serial name | Number and duration of episodes |
R2 release date | R4 release date | R1 release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | 144 | Time and the Rani[a] | 4 × 25 min. | 13 September 2010[4] | 4 November 2010[5] | 14 June 2011[6] |
| 145 | Paradise Towers | 4 × 25 min. | 18 July 2011[7] | 7 September 2011[8] | 9 August 2011[9] | |
| 146 | Delta and the Bannermen | 3 × 25 min. | 22 June 2009[10] | 6 August 2009[11] | 1 September 2009[12] | |
| 147 | Dragonfire[b] | 3 × 25 min. | 7 May 2012[13] | 7 June 2012[14] | 8 May 2012[15] | |
| 144–147 | Complete Season 24[c] | 14 × 25 min. 14 × 30 min. |
21 June 2021 (B) [16] | 25 August 2021 (B) [17] | 21 September 2021 (B) [18] |
- ^ Available individually or in the Regeneration box set in Region 2. Only available individually in Regions 1 & 4.
- ^ Only available as part of the Ace Adventures box set in Regions 2 and 4. Only available individually in Region 1.
- ^ Released as Doctor Who: The Collection – Season 24 in Region B. Released as Doctor Who – Sylvester McCoy: Complete Season One in Region A.
In print
| Serial name | Novelisation title | Author | First published |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time and the Rani | Time and the Rani | Pip and Jane Baker | 17 December 1987 |
| Paradise Towers | Paradise Towers | Stephen Wyatt | 1 December 1988 |
| Delta and the Bannermen | Delta and the Bannermen | Malcolm Kohll | 19 January 1989 |
| Dragonfire | Dragonfire | Ian Briggs | 16 March 1989 |
References
- ^ Howe, David J.; Walker, Stephen James (1998). Doctor Who The Handbook – The Seventh Doctor. London: Doctor Who Books. p. 40. ISBN 0-426-20527-8.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - ^ Howe, David J.; Walker, Stephen James (1998). "Time and the Rani". Doctor Who: The Television Companion. London: BBC Worldwide. p. 502. ISBN 0-563-40588-0.
{{cite book}}: External link in|chapterurl=|ref=harv(help); Unknown parameter|chapterurl=ignored (|chapter-url=suggested) (help) - ^ a b "Ratings Guide". Doctor Who News. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
- ^ Smith 2014, Time and the Rani.
- ^ "Doctor Who Time and the Rani by Roadshow Entertainment - Shop Online for Movies, DVDs in Australia". Fishpond. Archived from the original on 23 October 2017. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
- ^ "Doctor Who: Time and the Rani". 14 June 2011. Archived from the original on 8 November 2021. Retrieved 24 July 2017 – via Amazon.
- ^ Smith 2014, Paradise Towers.
- ^ "Doctor Who Paradise Towers by Roadshow Entertainment - Shop Online for Movies, DVDs in Australia". Fishpond. Archived from the original on 23 October 2017. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
- ^ "Doctor Who: Paradise Towers". 9 August 2011. Retrieved 24 July 2017 – via Amazon.
- ^ Smith 2014, Delta and the Bannermen.
- ^ "Doctor Who Delta and the Bannermen by Roadshow Entertainment - Shop Online for Movies, DVDs in Australia". Fishpond. Archived from the original on 23 October 2017. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
- ^ "Doctor Who: Delta and the Bannermen". 1 September 2009. Archived from the original on 8 May 2021. Retrieved 24 July 2017 – via Amazon.
- ^ Smith 2014, Dragonfire.
- ^ "Doctor Who Ace Adventures by Roadshow Entertainment - Shop Online for Movies, DVDs in Australia". Fishpond. Archived from the original on 23 October 2017. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
- ^ "Doctor Who: Dragonfire". 8 May 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2017 – via Amazon.
- ^ "Doctor Who: The Collection - Season 24 Blu-ray". Archived from the original on 21 May 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
- ^ "Doctor Who: The Collection - Season 24". Archived from the original on 21 May 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
- ^ "Doctor Who: Sylvester McCoy: Complete Season One Blu-ray". Archived from the original on 13 October 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2021.