The seventeenth season of British

science fiction television Science fiction first appeared in television programming in the late 1930s, during what is called the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary ...

series '' Doctor Who'' began on 1 September 1979 with the story ''

Destiny of the Daleks ''Destiny of the Daleks'' is the first serial of the 17th season of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 1 September to 22 September 1979. The story introduces ...

'', and ended with '' The Horns of Nimon''. This was Graham Williams' final series producing Doctor Who. The script editor was

Douglas Adams Douglas Noel Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English author and screenwriter, best known for ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''. Originally a 1978 BBC radio comedy, ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' developed into a " ...

Casting

Main cast

Tom Baker Thomas Stewart Baker (born 20 January 1934) is an English actor and writer. He is well known for his portrayal of the fourth incarnation of the Doctor in the science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'' from 1974 to 1981.Scott, Danny. ( ...

as the

Fourth Doctor The Fourth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Tom Baker. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time Lord from the ...

Lalla Ward Sarah Jill "Lalla" Ward (born 28 June 1951) is an English actress, voice artist and author. She is best known for playing the role of Romana II in the BBC television series '' Doctor Who'' from 1979 to 1981. Career Early career Ward's stage n ...

as Romana *

David Brierly David Brierly (January 1935 – 10 June 2008), also known as David Brierley, was an English actor. Born in Yorkshire, he appeared in various television programmes but is most notable for being the voice of the robot dog K-9 during the 1979� ...

as Voice of K9

continued as the

, who played Princess Astra in the season 16 finale '' The Armageddon Factor'', returned to the series as the newly regenerated Romana, replacing

Mary Tamm Mary Tamm (22 March 1950 – 26 July 2012) was a British actress, who appeared in many British TV drama series and serials, and is best known for her role as Romana I in the BBC's science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', starring ...

in the role. After

John Leeson John Francis Christopher Ducker (born 16 March 1943), known professionally as John Leeson, is an English actor, voice artist and freelance wine educator. He is known for portraying Bungle in ''Rainbow'' and voicing K9 in '' Doctor Who'' and ...

declined to return as K9,

replaced him in the part for the season's final four serials, including ''Shada''.

Guest stars

Davros Davros () is a character from the long-running British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who''. He was created by screenwriter Terry Nation, originally for the 1975 serial '' Genesis of the Daleks''. Davros is a major enemy of the s ...

returns in ''

'', this time played by

David Gooderson David Gooderson (born 24 February 1941) is an English actor who has appeared in several television roles. Career As well as portraying Davros, creator of the Daleks in the '' Doctor Who'' serial ''Destiny of the Daleks'', he appeared in ep ...

Serials

Season 17 was intended to follow the same format as had every season since Season 13, with five 4-part serials and a 6-parter closing the season out. However, the planned final serial of the season, '' Shada'', was affected by an industrial dispute involving the BBC's technicians; while the location filming and the first studio recording session were completed,

strike action Strike action, also called labor strike, labour strike, or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to Labor (economics), work. A strike usually takes place in response to grievance (labour), employee grievance ...

by staff meant that the planned second studio session had to be cancelled. Although the dispute was resolved and plans were put in place to continue work on the story, it was eventually shelved, as the BBC was concerned that its Christmas productions might be affected. A BBC historian has suggested that by cancelling completely instead of finishing what little was required, the management could demonstrate that the strikes had consequences. Ironically, the viewer ratings of Season 17 were also affected by a strike, with the BBC's main rival, ITV, off air due to a dispute.

Broadcast

Part 4 of ''The Horns of Nimon'' saw the last appearance of the diamond-shaped logo that had been used since ''The Time Warrior'' in 1973. The entire season was broadcast from 1 September 1979 to 12 January 1980.

Home media

VHS releases

DVD and Blu-ray releases

In print

Notes

References

{{Doctor Who episodes, C17 1979 British television seasons 1980 British television seasons Season 17 Season 17 17