Doctor Who (season 25)

The twenty-fifth season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 5 October 1988. It comprised four separate serials, beginning with Remembrance of the Daleks and ending with The Greatest Show in the Galaxy. To mark the 25th anniversary season, producer John Nathan-Turner brought back the Daleks and the Cybermen. The American New Jersey Network also made a special behind-the-scenes documentary called The Making of Doctor Who, which followed the production of the 25th anniversary story Silver Nemesis.

Doctor Who
Season 25
Cover art of the Region 2 DVD release for first serial of the season
Starring	Sylvester McCoy Sophie Aldred
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of stories	4
No. of episodes	14
Release
Original network	BBC1
Original release	5 October 1988 – 4 January 1989
Season chronology

Background

Season 25 saw script editor Andrew Cartmel, who had joined for the previous season, exert a greater influence on the style of the series. He had watched serials from the Philip Hinchcliffe and Robert Holmes era such as The Seeds of Doom and The Talons of Weng-Chiang in preparation for it and concluded that the series should return to a more serious and dramatic approach.[1] The season also saw the start of a move to explore the Doctor's past; Cartmel had felt that as more of the character's own history, together with the history of the Time Lords, had been revealed, some of the mystery about the Doctor had been lost. As a consequence, together with new writers Ben Aaronovitch and Marc Platt, he began developing the seeds of a new backstory, which would be hinted at throughout the season, that suggested the Doctor to be more powerful than most people were aware of.[2] This concept eventually came to be known as the "Cartmel Masterplan".

Casting

Main cast

• Sylvester McCoy as the Seventh Doctor
• Sophie Aldred as Ace

Recurring stars

• Terry Molloy as Davros

Terry Molloy makes his final appearance as Davros, the Dalek creator (now acting as the Dalek Emperor) in Remembrance of the Daleks.

Guest Stars

John Leeson who previously regularly voiced the robot companion K9 from 1977–1978 and 1980–1981, appears as one of the Dalek voices in Remembrance of the Daleks.

David Banks makes his final of four appearances in the series in Silver Nemesis as a Cyber-leader.

Serials

This season was broadcast on Wednesdays.

Story	Serial	Serial title	Episode titles	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Prod. code	UK viewers (millions) [3]	AI [3]
148	1	Remembrance of the Daleks	"Part One"	Andrew Morgan	Ben Aaronovitch	5 October 1988	7H	5.5	68
			"Part Two"	Andrew Morgan	Ben Aaronovitch	12 October 1988	7H	5.8	69
			"Part Three"	Andrew Morgan	Ben Aaronovitch	19 October 1988	7H	5.1	70
			"Part Four"	Andrew Morgan	Ben Aaronovitch	26 October 1988	7H	5.0	72
Two factions of Daleks arrive on 1963 Earth via a time corridor. They are in search of the Hand of Omega, a powerful and ancient Gallifreyan stellar manipulator hidden by the Doctor prior to his first inadvertent trip with Ian and Barbara. The Doctor and Ace are assisted by the British army to defeat both of the warring Dalek factions, even as the Daleks' human allies infiltrate their party.
149	2	The Happiness Patrol	"Part One"	Chris Clough	Graeme Curry	2 November 1988	7L	5.3	67
			"Part Two"	Chris Clough	Graeme Curry	9 November 1988	7L	4.6	65
			"Part Three"	Chris Clough	Graeme Curry	16 November 1988	7L	5.3	65
Terra Alpha is under the steel fist of Helen A and her executioner, a sadistic robot made out of sweets called the Kandy Man. Joy is perpetual on Terra Alpha, because to be unhappy invites the wrath of Helen A's crack police force, the Happiness Patrol. Allying themselves with Terra Alpha's oppressed natives, the Pipe People, a former Happiness Patrolwoman named Susan Q and blues player Earl Sigma, the Doctor and Ace must end Helen A's reign of terror.
150	3	Silver Nemesis	"Part One"	Chris Clough	Kevin Clarke	23 November 1988	7K	6.1	71
			"Part Two"	Chris Clough	Kevin Clarke	30 November 1988[lower-alpha 1]	7K	5.2	70
			"Part Three"	Chris Clough	Kevin Clarke	7 December 1988[lower-alpha 1]	7K	5.2	70
In the year 1638, the Doctor sends into orbit around Earth a statue called Nemesis. It is made of the deadly living validium, which served Gallifrey as its last line of defence. In 1988, the Nemesis statue's orbit decays, it returns to Earth, and is pursued on Earth by three factions: the Cybermen, a Neo-Nazi named De Flores, and the mad, time-travelling Lady Peinforte, The latter faction nearly gained possession of the statue in 1638 and knows the darkest secrets of the Doctor's past.
151	4	The Greatest Show in the Galaxy	"Part One"	Alan Wareing	Stephen Wyatt	14 December 1988	7J	5.0	68
			"Part Two"	Alan Wareing	Stephen Wyatt	21 December 1988	7J	5.3	66
			"Part Three"	Alan Wareing	Stephen Wyatt	28 December 1988	7J	4.8	69
			"Part Four"	Alan Wareing	Stephen Wyatt	4 January 1989	7J	6.6	64
Despite Ace's protestations that she hates clowns, the Doctor takes the TARDIS to Segonax to see the famed Psychic Circus. But there they discover that the self-styled Greatest Show In The Galaxy has become something sinister: its founder, Kingpin, has disappeared; the callous Chief Clown deals violently with anyone who tries to flee; and prospective Circus stars must entertain an enigmatic family – or die. The time travellers learn that the Psychic Circus has fallen under the influence of the evil Gods of Ragnarok, and the Doctor's next performance may be his last.

Broadcast

The entire season was broadcast from 5 October 1988 to 4 January 1989. Transmission moved to Wednesday nights. Season twenty-five was originally to have been broadcast in production order, with The Greatest Show in the Galaxy second. However, the expected start of the season on 7 September was postponed to 5 October as a result of BBC coverage of the Seoul Summer Olympics. Nathan-Turner still wanted to lead off the year with Remembrance of the Daleks and have episode one of the twenty-fifth anniversary story, Silver Nemesis, broadcast on 23 November – the actual date of Doctor Who's 25th anniversary. This left only three weeks in between the two serials. Consequently, the original season finale, The Happiness Patrol, was exchanged with The Greatest Show in the Galaxy.

Home media

VHS releases

Season	Story no.	Serial name	Number and duration of episodes	R2 release date	R4 release date	R1 release date
25	148	Remembrance of the Daleks	4 x 25 mins	September 1993	September 1993	October 1993
	149	The Happiness Patrol	3 x 25 mins	August 1997	May 1998	March 1998
	150	Silver Nemesis - Extended Edition	3 x 25 mins	April 1993	June 1993	August 1994
	151	The Greatest Show in the Galaxy	4 x 25 mins	January 2000	September 1999	November 1999

DVD and Blu-ray releases

Season	Story no.	Serial name	Number and duration of episodes	R2 release date	R4 release date	R1 release date
25	148	Remembrance of the Daleks	4 × 25 min.	26 February 2001[5]	8 May 2002[6]	2 April 2002[7]
		Remembrance of the Daleks (Special Edition)[lower-alpha 2]	4 × 25 min.	26 November 2007[8] 20 July 2009[9][lower-alpha 3]	2 June 2008[10] 1 October 2009[11][lower-alpha 4]	2 March 2010[12]
	149	The Happiness Patrol[lower-alpha 5]	3 × 25 min.	7 May 2012[13]	7 June 2012[14]	8 May 2012[15]
	150	Silver Nemesis[lower-alpha 6]	3 × 25 min.	9 August 2010[16]	7 October 2010[17]	2 November 2010[18]
	151	The Greatest Show in the Galaxy	4 × 25 min.	30 July 2012[19]	16 August 2012[20]	14 August 2012[21]

1. Parts Two and Three of Silver Nemesis were first broadcast in New Zealand on 25 November 1988 as part of a compilation broadcast before their UK transmission.[4]
2. Available individually or in The Complete Davros Collection box set in Regions 2 and 4. Only available individually in Region 1.
3. The Regions 2 and 4 releases of the Special Edition of Remembrance of the Daleks was originally only available as part of The Complete Davros Collection box set, but was later re-released on its own.
4. The Regions 2 and 4 releases of the Special Edition of Remembrance of the Daleks was originally only available as part of The Complete Davros Collection box set, but was later re-released on its own.
5. Only available as part of the Ace Adventures box set in Regions 2 and 4. Only available individually in Region 1.
6. Only available as part of the Cybermen box set in Regions 2 and 4. Only available individually in Region 1.

In print

Serial title	Novelisation title	Author	Date	ISBN
Remembrance of the Daleks	Remembrance of the Daleks	Ben Aaronovitch	21 June 1990	ISBN 0426203372
The Happiness Patrol	The Happiness Patrol	Graeme Curry	15 February 1990	ISBN 0426203399
Silver Nemesis	Silver Nemesis	Kevin Clarke	16 November 1989	ISBN 0426203402
The Greatest Show in the Galaxy	The Greatest Show in the Galaxy	Stephen Wyatt	21 December 1989	ISBN 0426203410

Notes

References

1. David J. Howe; Mark Stammers; Stephen James Walker (1997). Doctor Who: The Eighties. Virgin Publishing. p. 113. ISBN 978-0753501283.
2. Cartmel, Andrew (2005). Script Doctor: The Inside Story of Doctor Who 1986–89. London: Reynolds & Hearn. pp. 134–135. ISBN 1-903111-89-7.
3. "Ratings Guide". Doctor Who News. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
4. Howe, David J; Walker, Stephen James (1998). "Part Two – Fiction: The Stories". Doctor Who – The Handbook: The Seventh Doctor. London: Doctor Who Books. p. 69. ISBN 0-426-20527-8.
5. "Doctor Who - Remembrance Of The Daleks". 26 February 2001. Retrieved 24 July 2017 – via Amazon.
6. "Doctor Who Remembrance of the Daleks by Roadshow Entertainment - Shop Online for Movies, DVDs in Australia". Fishpond. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
7. "Doctor Who: Remembrance of the Daleks". 2 April 2002. Retrieved 24 July 2017 – via Amazon.
8. "Doctor Who : The Davros Collection". 26 November 2007. Retrieved 24 July 2017 – via Amazon.
9. "Doctor Who - Remembrance Of The Daleks - Special Edition". 20 July 2009. Retrieved 24 July 2017 – via Amazon.
10. "Doctor Who The Complete Davros Boxset by Roadshow Entertainment - Shop Online for Movies, DVDs in Australia". Fishpond. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
11. "Doctor Who by Roadshow Entertainment - Shop Online for Movies, DVDs in Australia". Fishpond. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
12. "Doctor Who: Remembrance of the Daleks (Story 152) - Special Edition". 2 March 2010. Retrieved 24 July 2017 – via Amazon.
13. "Doctor Who: Ace Adventures - Dragonfire / The Happiness Patrol". 7 May 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2017 – via Amazon.
14. "Doctor Who Ace Adventures by Roadshow Entertainment - Shop Online for Movies, DVDs in Australia". Fishpond. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
15. "Doctor Who: The Happiness Patrol". 8 May 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2017 – via Amazon.
16. "Doctor Who: Revenge of the Cybermen / Silver Nemesis". 9 August 2010. Retrieved 24 July 2017 – via Amazon.
17. "Doctor Who Cybermen Boxset by Roadshow Entertainment - Shop Online for Movies, DVDs in Australia". Fishpond. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
18. "Doctor Who: Silver Nemesis". 2 November 2010. Retrieved 24 July 2017 – via Amazon.
19. "Doctor Who - The Greatest Show in the Galaxy". 30 July 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2017 – via Amazon.
20. "Doctor Who - The Greatest Show in the Galaxy - Shop Online for Movies, DVDs in Australia". Fishpond. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
21. "Doctor Who: The Greatest Show in the Galaxy". 14 August 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2017 – via Amazon.