Doctor Who (season 19)

The nineteenth season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 4 January 1982 with Castrovalva, and ended with Time-Flight. John Nathan-Turner produced the series, with three script editors: Christopher H. Bidmead for the first story, Anthony Root for the next three and Eric Saward for the last three.

Doctor Who
Season 19
Cover art of the Blu-ray release for the complete season
Starring
Country of originUnited Kingdom
No. of stories7
No. of episodes26
Release
Original networkBBC1
Original release4 January (1982-01-04) 
30 March 1982 (1982-03-30)
Season chronology

Casting

Main cast

Season 19 saw the introduction of Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor. Tegan Jovanka (Janet Fielding), Nyssa (Sarah Sutton) and Adric (Matthew Waterhouse) were his companions. Adric is killed off in the climax of Earthshock; a rare instance in the series of a companion dying.

Recurring stars

Anthony Ainley returns in Castrovalva and Time-Flight as the Master.

Guest stars

David Banks makes the first of four appearances in the show as a Cyber-leader beginning in Earthshock.

Serials

Antony Root took over from Bidmead as script editor for Four to Doomsday and The Visitation, after which he was replaced by Eric Saward. The show moved from its traditional once-weekly Saturday broadcast to twice-weekly, primarily on Monday and Tuesday,[1] although there were regional variations to the schedule.

Black Orchid was the first purely historical story, with no science-fiction elements save for the TARDIS and its crew, since The Highlanders from Season 4; it was also the first two-part serial since The Sontaran Experiment in Season 12, and the first of a regular run of a two-parter every season until the change of format to 45 minute episodes in Season 22.

No.
story
No. in
season
Serial titleEpisode titlesDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateProd.
code
UK viewers
(millions)[2]
AI[2]
1161Castrovalva"Part One"Fiona CummingChristopher H. Bidmead4 January 1982 (1982-01-04)5Z9.1
"Part Two"5 January 1982 (1982-01-05)8.6
"Part Three"11 January 1982 (1982-01-11)10.2
"Part Four"12 January 1982 (1982-01-12)10.4
While the Doctor retreats to the TARDIS Zero Room to recover from his regeneration, the Master kidnaps Adric and sends the TARDIS hurtling back in time to the Big Bang, where it will be torn apart. Tegan and Nyssa manage to save the time machine, and soon find themselves arriving in the town of Castrovalva, a place legendary for its serene atmosphere. There they hope that the Doctor will be able to recuperate from his recent trauma. But the Master is lurking in Castrovalva, and it soon becomes clear that he has drawn the time travellers into a trap from which there may be no escape.
1172Four to Doomsday"Part One"John BlackTerence Dudley18 January 1982 (1982-01-18)5W8.4
"Part Two"19 January 1982 (1982-01-19)8.8
"Part Three"25 January 1982 (1982-01-25)8.9
"Part Four"26 January 1982 (1982-01-26)9.4
Trying to get Tegan home, the Doctor instead lands the TARDIS on a spaceship heading towards Earth. Its owner, the frog-like Monarch, has visited Earth four times in the past, kidnapping specimens of human culture on each occasion. His true goal, however, is to find a way to travel faster than light, thereby going back to the beginning of time where he hopes to meet God, whom he believes is actually himself. In pursuit of this aim, he has exhausted the resources of his home planet, Urbanka. Now he intends to transplant the Urbankans to Earth – and eradicate humanity to make room for his people.
1183Kinda"Part One"Peter GrimwadeChristopher Bailey1 February 1982 (1982-02-01)5Y8.4
"Part Two"2 February 1982 (1982-02-02)9.4
"Part Three"8 February 1982 (1982-02-08)8.5
"Part Four"9 February 1982 (1982-02-09)8.9
The TARDIS brings the Doctor, Adric, Nyssa and Tegan to the idyllic jungle world of Deva Loka, which is being surveyed for possible Earth colonisation. Deva Loka is already home to a race of apparent savages, however: a mysterious people with strange powers which have mentally unbalanced the members of the expedition. To make matters worse, an ancient enemy of the natives – a serpentine being called the Mara – still lurks on Deva Loka. The Mara is intent upon revenge, and latches onto Tegan's mind as its bridgehead to victory.
1194The Visitation"Part One"Peter MoffattEric Saward15 February 1982 (1982-02-15)5X9.1
"Part Two"16 February 1982 (1982-02-16)9.3
"Part Three"22 February 1982 (1982-02-22)9.9
"Part Four"23 February 1982 (1982-02-23)10.1
In the 17th century, the Great Plague is rampant throughout England. The Doctor, Adric, Nyssa and Tegan discover that aliens – the Terileptils – are operating in a small village. They have taken control of much of the local population and are driving away the rest using an android disguised as the Grim Reaper. With the help of unemployed thespian Richard Mace, the Doctor learns that the Terileptils intend to rid the Earth of humanity, and have amassed an army of plague-carrying rats to help them finish the deed.
1205Black Orchid"Part One"Ron JonesTerence Dudley1 March 1982 (1982-03-01)6A9.9
"Part Two"2 March 1982 (1982-03-02)10.1
The Doctor, Adric, Nyssa and Tegan find themselves in 1925 England, where through a case of mistaken identity they become involved in a charity cricket match at Cranleigh Halt. There, Nyssa discovers that Charles Cranleigh's fiancee, Ann Talbot, is her exact double. The Cranleighs harbour a dark family secret, however: a hideous monster hidden in a secret wing of their house. Fixated on Ann, it breaks out during a costume ball and attempts to kidnap her... but takes Nyssa by mistake.
1216Earthshock"Part One"Peter GrimwadeEric Saward8 March 1982 (1982-03-08)6B9.1
"Part Two"9 March 1982 (1982-03-09)8.8
"Part Three"15 March 1982 (1982-03-15)9.8
"Part Four"16 March 1982 (1982-03-16)9.6
In the 26th century, the Doctor, Adric, Nyssa and Tegan come to the aid of a platoon of soldiers investigating the murder of a scientific team in a cave complex on Earth. The Doctor discovers that the killers are actually androids serving the Cybermen, and are guarding a bomb intended to destroy the planet. The Doctor disarms the explosive but by tracing the detonation signal, he learns that the greatest danger is yet to come. The Cybermen have secreted themselves on board a freighter heading for Earth, which will unknowingly serve as the bridgehead for a massive invasion.
1227Time-Flight"Part One"Ron JonesPeter Grimwade22 March 1982 (1982-03-22)6C10.0
"Part Two"23 March 1982 (1982-03-23)8.5
"Part Three"29 March 1982 (1982-03-29)8.9
"Part Four"30 March 1982 (1982-03-30)8.1
When a Concorde disappears, the Doctor discovers that it has been hijacked back through time to the Pleistocene Era. Arriving there, he, Nyssa and Tegan find that the Concorde's crew and passengers have been enslaved by the sinister Kalid, who is forcing them to excavate a sanctum within a mysterious citadel. Entombed within is the consciousness of a gestalt race called the Xeraphin, who possess devastating mental powers. The Doctor learns that Kalid is really the Master, who plans to harness the evil side of the Xeraphin in order to wreak havoc throughout the cosmos.

Broadcast

The entire season was broadcast from 4 January to 30 March 1982. For the first time in the series' history, episodes were not broadcast on Saturdays, but in a twice weekly format on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Home media

VHS releases

Season Story no. Serial name Number and duration
of episodes
UK release date Australia release date USA/Canada release date
19 116 Castrovalva 4 x 25 mins March 1992 September 1992 October 1993
117 Four to Doomsday 4 x 25 mins September 2001 November 2001 June 2002
118 Kinda 4 x 24 mins October 1994 February 1995 June 1996
119
120
The Visitation
Black Orchid
6 x 25 mins July 1994
2 x VHS
August 1994 June 1996
2 x VHS
121 Earthshock 4 x 25 mins September 1992 March 1993 March 1993
122 Time-Flight 4 x 25 mins July 2000 July 2000 March 2001

DVD and Blu-ray releases

All releases are for DVD unless otherwise indicated:

Season Story no. Serial name Number and duration
of episodes
R2 release date R4 release date R1 release date
19 116 Castrovalva[lower-alpha 1] 4 × 25 min. 29 January 2007[3] 7 March 2007[4] 5 June 2007[5]
117 Four to Doomsday 4 × 25 min. 15 September 2008[6] 4 December 2008[7] 6 January 2009[8]
118 Kinda[lower-alpha 2] 4 × 25 min. 7 March 2011[9] 7 April 2011[10] 12 April 2011[11]
119 The Visitation 4 × 25 min. 19 January 2004[12] 8 April 2004[13] 1 March 2005[14]
The Visitation (Special Edition) 4 × 25 min. 6 May 2013[15] 15 May 2013[16] 14 May 2013[17]
120 Black Orchid 2 × 25 min. 14 April 2008[18] 5 June 2008[19] 5 August 2008[20]
121 Earthshock 4 × 25 min. 18 August 2003[21] 1 October 2003[22] 7 September 2004[23]
122 Time-Flight[lower-alpha 3] 4 × 25 min. 6 August 2007[24] 5 September 2007[25] 6 November 2007[26]
116–122 Complete Season 19[lower-alpha 4] 26 × 25 min.
1 × 30 min.
1 × 8 min.
10 December 2018(B)[27] 23 January 2019(B)[28] 4 December 2018(B)[29]
  1. Only available as part of the New Beginnings box set in Regions 2 and 4. Available individually or in the box set in Region 1.
  2. Only available as part of the Mara Tales box set in Regions 2 and 4.
    Only available individually in Region 1.
  3. Only available as part of the Time-Flight/Arc of Infinity box set in Regions 2 and 4. Only available individually in Region 1.
  4. Released as Doctor Who: The Collection – Season 19 in Region B. Released as Doctor Who – Peter Davison: Complete Season One in Region A.

In print

Season Story no. Library no.[lower-alpha 1] Novelisation title Author Hardcover
release date[lower-alpha 2]
Paperback
release date[lower-alpha 3]
Audiobook
release date[lower-alpha 4]
1911676CastrovalvaChristopher H. Bidmead17 March 198316 June 19834 March 2010
11777Four to DoomsdayTerrance Dicks14 April 198321 July 19832 March 2017
11884Kinda8 December 198315 March 19844 August 1997 (abridged)
11969Doctor Who and the VisitationEric Saward19 August 198219 August 19824 October 2012
120113Black OrchidTerence Dudley18 September 198619 February 198712 June 2008
12178EarthshockIan Marter19 May 198318 August 19832 February 2012
12274Time-FlightPeter Grimwade20 January 198314 April 19831 April 2021
  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

References

  1. "BBC - Archive - The Changing Face of Doctor Who - Audience Research Report on 'Doctor Who' for 1982". www.bbc.co.uk.
  2. "Ratings Guide". Doctor Who News. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
  3. Smith 2014, Castrovalva.
  4. "Doctor Who New Beginnings by Roadshow Entertainment - Shop Online for Movies, DVDs in Australia". Fishpond. Archived from the original on 4 September 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  5. "Doctor Who: Castrovalva". 5 June 2007. Archived from the original on 26 January 2021. Retrieved 4 September 2017 via Amazon.
  6. Smith 2014, Four to Doomsday.
  7. "Doctor Who Four to Doomsday by Roadshow Entertainment - Shop Online for Movies, DVDs in Australia". Fishpond. Archived from the original on 4 September 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  8. "Doctor Who: Four to Doomsday". 6 January 2009. Archived from the original on 8 November 2021. Retrieved 4 September 2017 via Amazon.
  9. Smith 2014, Kinda.
  10. "Doctor Who Mara Tales by Roadshow Entertainment - Shop Online for Movies, DVDs in Australia". Fishpond. Archived from the original on 4 September 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  11. "Doctor Who: Kinda". 12 April 2011. Archived from the original on 8 November 2021. Retrieved 4 September 2017 via Amazon.
  12. Smith 2014, The Visitation.
  13. "Doctor Who The Visitation by Roadshow Entertainment - Shop Online for Movies, DVDs in Australia". Fishpond. Archived from the original on 4 September 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  14. "Doctor Who: The Visitation". 1 March 2005. Archived from the original on 8 November 2021. Retrieved 4 September 2017 via Amazon.
  15. Smith 2014, The Visitation Special Edition.
  16. "Doctor Who Visitation [Region 4] [by Roadshow Entertainment - Shop Online for Movies, DVDs in Australia". Fishpond. Archived from the original on 4 September 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  17. "Doctor Who: The Visitation". 14 May 2013. Archived from the original on 8 November 2021. Retrieved 4 September 2017 via Amazon.
  18. Smith 2014, Black Orchid.
  19. "Doctor Who Black Orchid by Roadshow Entertainment - Shop Online for Movies, DVDs in Australia". Fishpond. Archived from the original on 4 September 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  20. "Doctor Who: Black Orchid". 5 August 2008. Archived from the original on 12 February 2021. Retrieved 4 September 2017 via Amazon.
  21. Smith 2014, Earthshock.
  22. "Doctor Who Earthshock by Roadshow Entertainment - Shop Online for Movies, DVDs in Australia". Fishpond. Archived from the original on 4 September 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  23. "Doctor Who: Earthshock". 7 September 2004. Retrieved 4 September 2017 via Amazon.
  24. Smith 2014, Time-Flight.
  25. "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.
  26. "Doctor Who: Time-Flight". 6 November 2007. Archived from the original on 13 November 2018. Retrieved 12 November 2018 via Blu-ray.com.
  27. "Doctor Who: The Collection – Season 19 Blu-ray boxset release date changed on Amazon". Retrieved 12 November 2018 via Amazon.
  28. "Doctor Who (1963): The Collection - Season 19". Archived from the original on 20 December 2018. Retrieved 28 November 2018 via EzyDVD.
  29. "Doctor Who: Peter Davison Complete First Season". Retrieved 22 August 2018 via Amazon.

Bibliography

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