The seventh 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'' began on 3 January 1970 with Jon Pertwee's first story ''

Spearhead from Space ''Spearhead from Space'' is the first serial of the seventh season in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 3 to 24 January 1970. It was the first ''Doctor Who'' ...

'' and ended with ''

Inferno Inferno may refer to: * Hell, an afterlife place of suffering * Conflagration, a large uncontrolled fire Film * ''L'Inferno'', a 1911 Italian film * Inferno (1953 film), ''Inferno'' (1953 film), a film noir by Roy Ward Baker * Inferno (1973 fi ...

''. The first season to be made in colour, it marked the beginning of

Barry Letts Barry Leopold Letts (26 March 1925 – 9 October 2009) was an English actor, television director, writer and producer, best known for being the producer of ''Doctor Who'' from 1969 to 1974. Born in Leicester, he worked as an actor in theatre, ...

's five seasons as series producer, but it has been described as "essentially devised" by his predecessor,

Derrick Sherwin Derrick George Sherwin (16 April 1936 – 17 October 2018) was an English television producer, writer, story editor and actor. After beginning his career in the theatre, Sherwin became an actor in television before moving into writing. He becam ...

, who produced the opening story. The season sees the beginning of the Doctor's exile to

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

by the

Time Lord The Time Lords are a fictional ancient race of extraterrestrial people in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', of which the series' main protagonist, the Doctor, is a member. Time Lords are so named for their command ...

s and his attachment to

UNIT Unit may refer to: Arts and entertainment * UNIT, a fictional military organization in the science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' * Unit of action, a discrete piece of action (or beat) in a theatrical presentation Music * ''Unit'' (a ...

as its scientific advisor.

Casting

Main cast

* Jon Pertwee as the

Third Doctor The Third Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He was portrayed by actor Jon Pertwee. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time Lord fr ...

Caroline John Caroline Frances John (19 September 1940 – 5 June 2012) was an English actress. She played classical roles on the stage and also portrayed Elizabeth "Liz" Shaw in the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', as well as several ...

Liz Shaw Elizabeth "Liz" Shaw is a fictional character played by Caroline John in the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and its spin-offs. A civilian member of UNIT, an international organisation that defends Earth fr ...

Jon Pertwee makes his first appearance as the

, replacing

Patrick Troughton Patrick George Troughton (; 25 March 1920 – 28 March 1987) was an English actor who was classically trained for the stage but became known for his roles in television and film. His work included appearances in several fantasy, science fiction ...

in the role.

makes her first appearance as companion and assistant

in ''

'' and last in ''

''.

Recurring cast

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''. Ea ...

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 ...

John Levene John Levene (born John Anthony Woods; 24 December 1941) is an English actor, producer, entertainer and singer. Although he has appeared in a large number of films and television series, Levene's best-known role is that of Sergeant Benton, of UNI ...

as Sergeant Benton

returns as

and he would continue to make regular appearances in ''Doctor Who'' until season 13.

also makes his first appearance as Sergeant Benton since '' The Invasion'' in ''

The Ambassadors of Death ''The Ambassadors of Death'' is the third serial of the seventh season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in seven weekly parts on BBC1 from 21 March to 2 May 1970. Written by Trevor Ray, Te ...

'' and would continue to make regular appearances until season 13.

Serials

From this season onwards the programme was produced in colour.

also took over as producer, beginning with the second serial, '' Doctor Who and the Silurians'', when

left to co-produce another BBC series, '' Paul Temple''. The number of episodes in a season was cut to accommodate the new production methods: season 6 has 44 episodes; season 7 has 25 episodes. The seasons would continue to have between 20 and 26 episodes until season 22. Following the opening four parter, the remaining episodes were divided into three serials each of seven episodes. Setting the entire season on Earth had been the choice of Sherwin, who had introduced the military organisation

in his earlier serial '' The Invasion'' (1968), which he had written and

Peter Bryant Peter Bryant (27 October 1923 – 19 May 2006) was an English television producer, script editor and former actor. He acted in ''The Grove Family'' as a regular cast member and later became the producer of '' Doctor Who'' from 1967 to 196 ...

had produced. Sherwin had also produced the final black-and-white serial, ''

The War Games ''The War Games'' is the seventh and final serial of the sixth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which originally aired in ten weekly parts from 19 April to 21 June 1969. In the serial, an unnamed alien r ...

'' (1969), in which the

Second Doctor The Second Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He was portrayed by actor Patrick Troughton. While the Troughton era of ''Doctor Who'' is well-remembered by fans an ...

had been put on trial by the

s and exiled to Earth in the 20th century. In ''Spearhead from Space'' the Doctor becomes, despite his initial reluctance, UNIT's scientific advisor on a regular basis, which would continue into

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. (1 ...

's first two seasons 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 ...

. According to Sherwin on his DVD commentary for ''Spearhead from Space'', the BBC had considered replacing ''Doctor Who'' with a new '' Quatermass'' serial, but this fell through because

Nigel Kneale Thomas Nigel Kneale (28 April 1922 – 29 October 2006) was a Manx screenwriter who wrote professionally for more than 50 years, was a winner of the Somerset Maugham Award, and was twice nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best British S ...

was not interested in that, nor writing for ''Doctor Who'' when Sherwin had approached him about it. The plan did, however, have an effect on the Earth-based style of the programme, with ''Quatermass'' cited as an influence on season 7. ''Spearhead from Space'' was intended to be produced identically to previous serials and others in the season, with a mixture of location material shot on 16mm film and studio material on videotape. Owing to industrial action by studio technicians at the BBC, the planned studio recording sessions were cancelled, with instead all four episodes being shot on location on 16mm film.

Home media

VHS releases

DVD and Blu-ray releases

In print

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Doctor Who (season 07) 1970 British television seasons Season 07 Season 07 7