Doctor Who season 2
| Doctor Who | |
|---|---|
| Season 2 | |
| File:Doctor Who Season 2 DVD.jpg Cover art of the Region 2 DVD release for first serial of the season | |
| Starring | |
| No. of stories | 9 |
| No. of episodes | 39 (2 missing) |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC1 |
| Original release | 31 October 1964 – 24 July 1965 |
| Season chronology | |
The second season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 31 October 1964 with the story Planet of Giants and ended on 24 July 1965 with The Time Meddler. 37 of 39 episodes exist in the BBC archives; 2 episodes remain missing. As a result, only 1 serial is incomplete.
Casting
Main cast
- William Hartnell as the First Doctor
- Carole Ann Ford as Susan Foreman
- Jacqueline Hill as Barbara Wright
- William Russell as Ian Chesterton
- Maureen O'Brien as Vicki
- Peter Purves as Steven Taylor
William Hartnell continued his role as the First Doctor accompanied by his original companions: his granddaughter Susan Foreman (Carole Ann Ford), and schoolteachers Ian Chesterton (William Russell) and Barbara Wright (Jacqueline Hill).
Susan departed at the end of the second story The Dalek Invasion of Earth, and was soon replaced by Vicki (Maureen O'Brien) in The Rescue.
The penultimate story The Chase saw the departure of Ian and Barbara, and the arrival of Steven (Peter Purves) as a regular member of the TARDIS crew. At the end of the season, aside from the Doctor, the main cast had changed and would do so the following season when it finished.
Guest stars
Peter Butterworth makes his first of two appearances as the Meddling Monk in the serial The Time Meddler.
Serials
Dennis Spooner replaced David Whitaker as script editor after The Dalek Invasion of Earth, and edited the remainder of the season apart from The Time Meddler, which was edited by Donald Tosh. Verity Lambert continued in her role as producer for the entire season while Mervyn Pinfield served as associate producer until the end of The Romans.[1] This season was originally intended to have 40 episodes with Planet of Giants originally shot and edited as 4 x 25 minute episodes. After viewing the episodes, Head of series and serials Donald Wilson found them to be lacking in action and ordered that the final two episodes be edited into 1 episode. The episode left over was later used to produce the single-episode teaser "Mission to the Unknown" in Season 3.
The Time Meddler is the first example in the series of what became known as "pseudo-historical" stories – these are serials that are set in the past, but have a story that involves significant science-fiction elements (beyond the presence of the TARDIS and its crew).[2]
Season 2 is the most complete season of Doctor Who during its black-and-white era, as only two episodes, both from The Crusade, are missing from the BBC archive.
| Story | Serial | Serial title | Episode titles | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code | UK viewers (millions) [3] | AI [3] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 1 | Planet of Giants | "Planet of Giants" | Mervyn Pinfield | Louis Marks | 31 October 1964 | J | 8.4 | 57 |
| "Dangerous Journey" | Mervyn Pinfield | Louis Marks | 7 November 1964 | 8.4 | 58 | ||||
| "Crisis" | Douglas Camfield | Louis Marks | 14 November 1964 | 8.9 | 59 | ||||
| 10 | 2 | The Dalek Invasion of Earth | "World's End" | Richard Martin | Terry Nation | 21 November 1964 | K | 11.4 | 63 |
| "The Daleks" | Richard Martin | Terry Nation | 28 November 1964 | 12.4 | 59 | ||||
| "Day of Reckoning" | Richard Martin | Terry Nation | 5 December 1964 | 11.9 | 59 | ||||
| "The End of Tomorrow" | Richard Martin | Terry Nation | 12 December 1964 | 11.9 | 59 | ||||
| "The Waking Ally" | Richard Martin | Terry Nation | 19 December 1964 | 11.4 | 58 | ||||
| "Flashpoint" | Richard Martin | Terry Nation | 26 December 1964 | 12.4 | 63 | ||||
| 11 | 3 | The Rescue | "The Powerful Enemy" | Christopher Barry | David Whitaker | 2 January 1965 | L | 12.0 | 57 |
| "Desperate Measures" | Christopher Barry | David Whitaker | 9 January 1965 | 13.0 | 59 | ||||
| 12 | 4 | The Romans | "The Slave Traders" | Christopher Barry | Dennis Spooner | 16 January 1965 | M | 13.0 | 53 |
| "All Roads Lead to Rome" | Dennis Spooner | 23 January 1965 | 11.5 | 51 | |||||
| "Conspiracy" | Dennis Spooner | 30 January 1965 | 10.0 | 50 | |||||
| "Inferno" | Dennis Spooner | 6 February 1965 | 12.0 | 50 | |||||
| 13 | 5 | The Web Planet | "The Web Planet" | Richard Martin | Bill Strutton | 13 February 1965 | N | 13.5 | 56 |
| "The Zarbi" | Bill Strutton | 20 February 1965 | 12.5 | 53 | |||||
| "Escape to Danger" | Bill Strutton | 27 February 1965 | 12.5 | 53 | |||||
| "Crater of Needles" | Bill Strutton | 6 March 1965 | 13.0 | 49 | |||||
| "Invasion" | Bill Strutton | 13 March 1965 | 12.0 | 48 | |||||
| "The Centre" | Bill Strutton | 20 March 1965 | 11.5 | 42 | |||||
| 14 | 6 | The Crusade | "The Lion" | Douglas Camfield | David Whitaker | 27 March 1965 | P | 10.5 | 51 |
| "The Knight of Jaffa"† | 3 April 1965 | 8.5 | 50 | ||||||
| "The Wheel of Fortune" | 10 April 1965 | 9.0 | 49 | ||||||
| "The Warlords"† | 17 April 1965 | 9.5 | 48 | ||||||
| 15 | 7 | The Space Museum | "The Space Museum" | Mervyn Pinfield | Glyn Jones | 24 April 1965 | Q | 10.5 | 61 |
| "The Dimensions of Time" | Glyn Jones | 1 May 1965 | 9.2 | 53 | |||||
| "The Search" | Glyn Jones | 8 May 1965 | 8.5 | 56 | |||||
| "The Final Phase" | Glyn Jones | 15 May 1965 | 8.5 | 49 | |||||
| 16 | 8 | The Chase | "The Executioners" | Richard Martin | Terry Nation | 22 May 1965 | R | 10.0 | 57 |
| "The Death of Time" | Richard Martin | 29 May 1965 | 9.5 | 56 | |||||
| "Flight Through Eternity" | Richard Martin | 5 June 1965 | 9.0 | 55 | |||||
| "Journey into Terror" | Richard Martin | 12 June 1965 | 9.5 | 54 | |||||
| "The Death of Doctor Who" | Richard Martin | 19 June 1965 | 9.0 | 56 | |||||
| "The Planet of Decision" | Richard Martin and Douglas Camfield (uncredited) | 26 June 1965 | 9.5 | 57 | |||||
| 17 | 9 | The Time Meddler | "The Watcher" | Douglas Camfield | Dennis Spooner | 3 July 1965 | S | 8.9 | 57 |
| "The Meddling Monk" | 10 July 1965 | 8.8 | 49 | ||||||
| "A Battle of Wits" | 17 July 1965 | 7.7 | 53 | ||||||
| "Checkmate" | 24 July 1965 | 8.3 | 54 | ||||||
Production
The first two serials were produced in the programme's first production block, but were held back until the beginning of the second season.[4] Verity Lambert began lobbying for a second season in August 1964, and was initially only guaranteed 13 episodes. Nine were already planned as Planet of Giants and The Dalek Invasion of Earth, and with only four episodes after that Lambert felt it was too short a time to retain the regular actors and it would be then pointless to write Susan out at the end of The Dalek Invasion of Earth. In best interest of the actors and their agents, a deal was struck of an additional 13 episodes, and the commitment of 26 episodes in the second production block was accepted the day The Dalek Invasion of Earth finished filming.[4]
Missing episodes
- The Crusade – Episodes 2 & 4 (of 4 total)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 9 | Planet of Giants | 3 × 25 min. | 20 August 2012[5] | 5 September 2012[6] | 11 September 2012[7] |
| 10 | The Dalek Invasion of Earth | 6 × 25 min. | 9 June 2003[8] | 13 August 2003[9] | 7 October 2003[10] | |
| 11–12 | The Rescue The Romans |
6 × 25 min. | 23 February 2009[11] | 2 April 2009[12] | 7 July 2009[13] | |
| 13 | The Web Planet | 6 × 25 min. | 3 October 2005[14] | 3 November 2005[15] | 5 September 2006[16] | |
| 14 | Lost in Time, Volume 1 The Crusade[a] |
2 × 25 min. | 1 November 2004[17][b] | 2 December 2004[18][c] | 2 November 2004[18] | |
| 15–16 | The Space Museum The Chase |
10 × 25 min. | 1 March 2010[19] | 6 May 2010[20] | 6 July 2010[21] | |
| 17 | The Time Meddler | 4 × 25 min. | 4 February 2008[22] | 2 April 2008[23] | 5 August 2008[24] | |
| 9–17 | Complete Season 2[d] | 39 × 25 min. | 5 December 2022 (B) [25] | 25 January 2023 (B) [25] | 28 March 2023 (B) [25] |
- ^ Episodes 1 and 3 of 4, with soundtracks of episodes 2 and 4
- ^ Re-released in slimmer packaging in late 2016[18]
- ^ Re-released in slimmer packaging in July 2010[18]
- ^ Released as Doctor Who: The Collection – Season 2 in Region B. Released as Doctor Who – William Hartnell: Complete Season Two in Region A.
In print
| Serial name | Novelisation title | Author | First published |
|---|---|---|---|
| Planet of Giants | Planet of Giants | Terrance Dicks | 18 January 1990 |
| The Dalek Invasion of Earth | Doctor Who and the Dalek Invasion of Earth | Terrance Dicks | 24 March 1977 |
| The Rescue | The Rescue | Ian Marter | 20 August 1987 |
| The Romans | The Romans | Donald Cotton | 16 April 1987 |
| The Web Planet | Doctor Who and the Zarbi | Bill Strutton | 16 September 1965 |
| The Crusade | Doctor Who and the Crusaders | David Whitaker | 17 February 1966 |
| The Space Museum | The Space Museum | Glyn Jones | 15 January 1987 |
| The Chase | The Chase | John Peel | 20 July 1989 |
| The Time Meddler | The Time Meddler | Nigel Robinson | 15 October 1988 |
See also
References
- ^ "Doctor Who Classic Episode Guide – Season 2". BBC. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
- ^ "The Time Meddler". BBC. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
- ^ a b "Ratings Guide". Doctor Who News. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
- ^ a b Richard Molesworth (compiler) (23 February 2009). The Rescue with Information Text (DVD). The Rescue DVD: BBC Worldwide.
- ^ Wright 2016, p. 126.
- ^ "Doctor Who Planet of Giants". BBC. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
- ^ "Doctor Who: Planet of Giants". BBC. Archived from the original on 30 July 2013. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
- ^ Wright 2017, p. 46.
- ^ "Doctor Who: Dalek Invasion of Earth DVD". BBC. Archived from the original on 29 July 2013. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
- ^ "Doctor Who - Story #010: The Dalek Invasion of Earth". TVShowsOnDVD.com. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 2 August 2013. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
- ^ Wright 2017, p. 76.
- ^ "The Rescue & The Romans". The TARDIS Library. Archived from the original on 11 May 2021. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
- ^ Galbraith, Stuart (28 August 2009). "Doctor Who: The Rescue / The Romans". DVD Talk. Internet Brands. Archived from the original on 31 August 2009. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
- ^ Wright 2017, p. 144.
- ^ "Doctor Who - Web Planet". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 11 September 2013. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
- ^ "Doctor Who - Story #013: The Web Planet". TVShowsOnDVD.com. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 30 July 2013. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
- ^ Ainsworth 2019, p. 152.
- ^ a b c d "Lost in Time". The TARDIS Library. Archived from the original on 9 November 2021. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
- ^ Ainsworth 2016, p. 58.
- ^ "Doctor Who Space Museum/The Chase Box Set 3 DVD Set". BBC. Archived from the original on 29 July 2013. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
- ^ Sinnott, John (6 July 2010). "Doctor Who: The Space Museum/The Chase". DVD Talk. Internet Brands. Archived from the original on 23 August 2010. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
- ^ Ainsworth 2016, p. 144.
- ^ "Doctor Who - Time Meddler". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 12 September 2013. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
- ^ "Doctor Who - Story #017: The Time Meddler". TVShowsOnDVD.com. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 16 July 2013. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
- ^ a b c "The Collection: Season 2". The TARDIS Library. Archived from the original on 4 January 2023. Retrieved 4 January 2023.