The twenty-sixth season of
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
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
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
'' began on 9 September 1989 with the serial ''
Battlefield
A battlefield, battleground, or field of battle is the location of a present or historic battle involving ground warfare. It is commonly understood to be limited to the point of contact between opposing forces, though battles may involve troops ...
'', after a regular series of four serials was broadcast finishing with ''
Survival
Survival, or the act of surviving, is the propensity of something to continue existing, particularly when this is done despite conditions that might kill or destroy it. The concept can be applied to humans and other living things (or, hypotheti ...
'' which was the final episode of ''Doctor Who'' to air before a 16-year absence from episodic television following its cancellation.
John Nathan-Turner
John Nathan-Turner (''né'' Turner; 12 August 1947 – 1 May 2002) was an English television producer. He was the ninth producer of the long-running BBC science fiction series ''Doctor Who''. He was also the final producer of the series' first ...
produced the series, with
Andrew Cartmel
Andrew J. Cartmel (born 6 April 1958) is a British author and journalist. He was the script editor of '' Doctor Who'' during the Sylvester McCoy era of the show between 1987 and 1989. He has also worked as a script editor on other television ser ...
script editing.
Casting
Main cast
*
Sylvester McCoy
Percy James Patrick Kent-Smith (born 20 August 1943), known professionally as Sylvester McCoy, is a Scottish actor. Gaining prominence as a physical comedian, he became best known for playing the seventh incarnation of the Doctor in the lon ...
as the
Seventh Doctor
The Seventh Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', and the final incarnation of the original Doctor Who series. He is portrayed by Scottish actor Sylvester McCoy.
W ...
*
Sophie Aldred
Sophie Aldred (born 20 August 1962) is an English actress and television presenter. She has worked extensively in children's television as a presenter and voice artist. She played the Seventh Doctor's companion, Ace, in the television series ''Do ...
as
Ace
An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...
Sylvester McCoy
Percy James Patrick Kent-Smith (born 20 August 1943), known professionally as Sylvester McCoy, is a Scottish actor. Gaining prominence as a physical comedian, he became best known for playing the seventh incarnation of the Doctor in the lon ...
and
Sophie Aldred
Sophie Aldred (born 20 August 1962) is an English actress and television presenter. She has worked extensively in children's television as a presenter and voice artist. She played the Seventh Doctor's companion, Ace, in the television series ''Do ...
both continue their roles as the Seventh Doctor and Ace for their final season.
Recurring stars
*
Nicholas Courtney
William Nicholas Stone Courtney (16 December 1929 – 22 February 2011) was an Egyptian-born British actor. He was known for his long-running role as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart in the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''.
Ear ...
as
Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart
Brigadier Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, generally referred to simply as the Brigadier, is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', created by writers Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln and p ...
*
Anthony Ainley
Anthony Ainley (20 August 1932 – 3 May 2004) was an English actor. He was the fourth actor to portray The Master (Doctor Who), the Master in ''Doctor Who''.
Early life
Ainley was born in Stanmore, Middlesex, the son of the actor Henry Ainle ...
as
the Master
Nicholas Courtney
William Nicholas Stone Courtney (16 December 1929 – 22 February 2011) was an Egyptian-born British actor. He was known for his long-running role as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart in the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''.
Ear ...
returned to play
Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart
Brigadier Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, generally referred to simply as the Brigadier, is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', created by writers Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln and p ...
in ''Battlefield''. He first appeared with the Second Doctor in 1968 in ''
The Web of Fear
''The Web of Fear'' is the Doctor Who missing episodes, partly missing fifth serial of the Doctor Who (season 5), fifth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 3 Fe ...
'' before becoming a recurring character throughout the Second Doctor to the Fifth Doctor and last appearing in ''
The Five Doctors
''The Five Doctors'' is a special feature-length episode of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', produced in celebration of the programme's 20th anniversary. It had its world premiere in the United States, on the Chicago ...
'' (1983).
Anthony Ainley
Anthony Ainley (20 August 1932 – 3 May 2004) was an English actor. He was the fourth actor to portray The Master (Doctor Who), the Master in ''Doctor Who''.
Early life
Ainley was born in Stanmore, Middlesex, the son of the actor Henry Ainle ...
returned to play The Master in ''Survival'', having last appeared in ''
The Trial of a Time Lord
The twenty-third season of British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', known collectively as ''The Trial of a Time Lord'', aired in weekly episodes from 6 September to 6 December 1986. It contained four adventures: ''The Mysterious ...
'' (1986). This was Ainley's final television appearance in the role, though he portrayed the Master one last time in the 1997 computer game ''
Destiny of the Doctors
''Doctor Who: Destiny of the Doctors'' is an action video game based on the BBC British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who''. It was released on 5 December 1997 by BBC Multimedia.
Overview
A collaboration between BBC Multimedia ...
''.
Guest stars
Jean Marsh
Jean may refer to:
People
* Jean (female given name)
* Jean (male given name)
* Jean (surname)
Fictional characters
* Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character
* Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations
* Jea ...
, who had portrayed
Sara Kingdom
Sara may refer to:
Arts, media and entertainment Film and television
* ''Sara'' (1992 film), 1992 Iranian film by Dariush Merhjui
* ''Sara'' (1997 film), 1997 Polish film starring Bogusław Linda
* ''Sara'' (2010 film), 2010 Sri Lankan Sinhal ...
in ''
The Daleks' Master Plan
''The Daleks' Master Plan'' is the Doctor Who missing episodes, mostly missing third serial of the Doctor Who (season 3), third season in the British Science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which orig ...
'' (1965–66), also appeared in ''Battlefield'' playing the part of the main antagonist.
Serials
Continuing on from
Season 25
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...
, Season 26 continued script editor
Andrew Cartmel
Andrew J. Cartmel (born 6 April 1958) is a British author and journalist. He was the script editor of '' Doctor Who'' during the Sylvester McCoy era of the show between 1987 and 1989. He has also worked as a script editor on other television ser ...
's move to push the series towards a darker approach, focusing this time more on Ace's personal life as well as The Doctor's past and manipulations. This season was broadcast on Wednesdays.
Broadcast
The entire season was broadcast from 6 September to 6 December 1989. ''The Curse of Fenric'' was originally intended to be aired before ''Ghost Light'', but was subsequently rescheduled.
Home media
VHS releases
DVD and Blu-ray releases
In print
Season 27
Initial planning work had begun on Season 27, intended for the end of 1990, in mid-1989 with
Andrew Cartmel
Andrew J. Cartmel (born 6 April 1958) is a British author and journalist. He was the script editor of '' Doctor Who'' during the Sylvester McCoy era of the show between 1987 and 1989. He has also worked as a script editor on other television ser ...
and a group of regular writers, including
Ben Aaronovitch
Ben Dylan Aaronovitch (born 22 February 1964) is an English author and screenwriter. He is the author of the ''Peter Grant (book series), Rivers of London'' series of novels. He also wrote two ''Doctor Who'' serials in the late 1980s and spin-of ...
,
Ian Briggs
Ian Briggs (born 31 October 1958) is a British television writer, author and manager, whose work includes scripts for the BBC drama series ''Doctor Who'' and '' Casualty''.
Writing
Briggs wrote two serials for ''Doctor Who'', '' Dragonfire'' and ...
and
Marc Platt, discussing potential story ideas. One of the major intentions was to have been the departure of
Ace
An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...
halfway through, which would have seen the character taken to Gallifrey to become a Time Lord. This would also have seen the subsequent introduction of a new companion, planned as an "aristocratic cat burglar". The cancellation of the series meant that no detailed work was undertaken beyond these initial ideas:
*''
Bad Destination'' by Ben Aaronovitch: Intended to feature a new monster called the "Metatraxi", a race of
samurai
were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...
-like insect warriors, this was planned as a story concerning the politics of
humanitarian aid
Humanitarian aid is material and logistic assistance to people who need help. It is usually short-term help until the long-term help by the government and other institutions replaces it. Among the people in need are the homeless, refugees, and ...
. The only significant detail was the idea of the opening, which would have featured Ace as the captain of a starship.
*''
Thin Ice'' by Marc Platt: Planned as the serial that would see the departure of Ace, this was to see the return of the
Ice Warrior
The Ice Warriors are a fictional extraterrestrial race of reptilian humanoids in the long-running British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who''. They were originally created by Brian Hayles, first appearing in the 1967 serial ''T ...
s and be set in London in 1968.
*''
Action At A Distance
In physics, action at a distance is the concept that an object can be affected without being physically touched (as in mechanical contact) by another object. That is, it is the non-local interaction of objects that are separated in space.
Non-c ...
'' by Andrew Cartmel: Planned as the introduction of the new companion, who would have come across the Doctor in the midst of robbing a country house.
*''Alixion'', by
Robin Mukherjee:
It would have featured the Doctor playing a series of deadly games on an asteroid, and would have likely led to the
Seventh Doctor
The Seventh Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', and the final incarnation of the original Doctor Who series. He is portrayed by Scottish actor Sylvester McCoy.
W ...
's regeneration and
Sylvester McCoy
Percy James Patrick Kent-Smith (born 20 August 1943), known professionally as Sylvester McCoy, is a Scottish actor. Gaining prominence as a physical comedian, he became best known for playing the seventh incarnation of the Doctor in the lon ...
's departure.
*''
Blood And Iron'', by Andrew Cartmel: was being considered for the final serial as well.
Four of the five proposed serials were subsequently adapted by the authors alongside
Big Finish Productions
Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays (released straight to compact disc and for download in MP3 and m4b format) based, primarily, on cult science fiction properties. These include ''Doctor Who'', the ...
into audio adventures that were released as part of their ''
Doctor Who: The Lost Stories'' range in 2011:
*''Bad Destination'' was released as ''Earth Aid''
*''Thin Ice'' was released under its own title
*''Action at a Distance'' became ''Crime of the Century''
*''Blood and Iron'' was released as ''Animal''
The only one of the proposed stories that did not receive a release from Big Finish was ''Alixion''.
Although the
first series of ''Doctor Who''s return in 2005 is the 27th full series of the show, the production team officially restarted the series numbering from scratch. This was mainly due to the 16-year gap between Season 26 and the new series (not counting the
1996 television movie).
References
Bibliography
*
{{Doctor Who episodes, C26
1989 British television seasons
Season 26
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...
Season 26
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...
26