Doctor Who season 18

Doctor Who (season 18)
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Starring	Tom Baker Lalla Ward John Leeson Matthew Waterhouse Sarah Sutton Janet Fielding
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of episodes	28 7 stories
Release
Original network	BBC One
Original release	30 August 1980 (1980-08-30) – 21 March 1981 (1981-03-21)

The eighteenth season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 30 August 1980 with the serial The Leisure Hive, and ended with Tom Baker's last story Logopolis.

Casting

See also: List of Doctor Who cast members

Main cast

• Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor
• Lalla Ward as Romana
• John Leeson as Voice of K-9 Mk. II
• Matthew Waterhouse as Adric
• Sarah Sutton as Nyssa
• Janet Fielding as Tegan Jovanka

Season 18 sees the swan song of Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor, ending his time after seven years on the program. New companions Adric (Matthew Waterhouse), Nyssa (Sarah Sutton), and Tegan Jovanka (Janet Fielding) make their introductions in Full Circle, The Keeper of Traken, and Logopolis, respectively. Romana, played by Lalla Ward, departs from the series in Warriors' Gate, along with John Leeson who returns to voice the robot K9. With the arrival of Adric, this season marks the first time since 1967 that the show has given the Doctor a party of three travelling companions.

Guest stars

The Master returns to the show, this time played by Geoffrey Beevers, in The Keeper of Traken. After the events of Traken the Master is played by Anthony Ainley, who would continue to play the Master for the rest of the classic series run.

Jacqueline Hill, who plays the First Doctor's companion Barbara Wright, returns in Meglos, although this time playing the one-off character Lexa.

Serials

For Season 18 John Nathan-Turner replaces Graham Williams as producer. Barry Letts returns as executive producer, for just this season. Christopher H. Bidmead also replaces Douglas Adams as script editor. In a return to the format of early seasons, virtually all serials from Seasons 18 through 20 are linked together, often running directly into each other. Three serials – Full Circle, State of Decay, and Warriors' Gate – are part of a trilogy within the season. These three serials include the arrival of Adric and the departure of Romana and K9.

Over the period of Christmas 1980, the season took a two-week transmission break between the broadcasts of State of Decay and Warriors' Gate.

Story	Serial	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Prod. code	UK viewers (millions)	AI
109	1	The Leisure Hive	Lovett Bickford	David Fisher	30 August 1980 6 September 1980 13 September 1980 20 September 1980	5N	5.9 5.0 5.0 4.5	— — — 65
Finding out-of-season Brighton beach somewhat lacking, the Doctor and Romana travel to the leisure planet Argolis - but there strange experiments are taking place. NOTE: The Randomiser is removed in this episode, which ends the Doctor's running from the Black Guardian.
110	2	Meglos	Terence Dudley	John Flanagan & Andrew McCulloch	27 September 1980 4 October 1980 11 October 1980 18 October 1980	5Q	5.0 4.2 4.7 4.7	61 64 — 63
On Tigella, two opposing factions are irrevocably divided over one fundamental issue: the Dodecahedron, a mysterious object which provides the entire planet's energy. Note: Gallifrey sends a summons to recall Romana at the end of the episode.
111	3	Full Circle	Peter Grimwade	Andrew Smith	25 October 1980 1 November 1980 8 November 1980 15 November 1980	5R	5.9 3.7 5.9 5.4	— — — 65
En route to Gallifrey to return Romana to the High Council of Time Lords, the TARDIS passes through a strange phenomenon (a CVE or Charged Vacuum Emboîtement) and ends up in an alternative universe called E-Space.
112	4	State of Decay	Peter Moffatt	Terrance Dicks	22 November 1980 29 November 1980 6 December 1980 13 December 1980	5P	5.8 5.3 4.4 5.4	— — — 69
After the events of Full Circle, the Doctor's adventures in E-Space continue with his arrival on a medieval planet. Villagers live under the thrall of three lords who dwell in a shadowy Tower.
113	5	Warriors' Gate	Paul Joyce & Graeme Harper	Stephen Gallagher	3 January 1981 10 January 1981 17 January 1981 24 January 1981	5S	7.1 6.7 8.3 7.8	59 — — 59
Time Winds strike the TARDIS, damaging it and K-9. Strangest of all, it allows Biroc, to enter, phased in time, sending the TARDIS into a milk-white void.
114	6	The Keeper of Traken	John Black	Johnny Byrne	31 January 1981 7 February 1981 14 February 1981 21 February 1981	5T	7.6 6.1 5.2 6.1	— — — 63
The Doctor and Adric arrive back in N-Space in an empire of peace and harmony. They are surprised when the elderly Keeper of Traken appears in the TARDIS to ask for their help in rescuing the Union from a secret evil growing in its midst.
115	7	Logopolis	Peter Grimwade	Christopher H. Bidmead	28 February 1981 7 March 1981 14 March 1981 21 March 1981	5V	7.7 7.7 5.8 6.1	— 61 — 65
The Doctor goes to Earth to take fresh measurements of a police box to repair the TARDIS. A figure in white observes. All the while, the Master lurks in the shadows, but what could he be planning?

Broadcast

The entire season was broadcast from 30 August 1980 to 21 March 1981.

DVD Release

All serials of season 18 were released individually in between 2004 and 2011.

Serial name	Number and duration of episodes	R2 release date	R4 release date	R1 release date
The Leisure Hive	4 × 25 min.	5 July 2004	7 October 2004	7 June 2005
Meglos	4 × 25 min.	10 January 2011	20 January 2011	11 January 2011
The E-Space Trilogy: Full Circle (4 episodes) State of Decay (4 episodes) Warriors' Gate (4 episodes)	12 × 25 min.	26 January 2009	5 March 2009	5 May 2009
The Keeper of Traken 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.	4 × 25 min.	29 January 2007	7 March 2007	5 June 2007
Logopolis 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.	4 × 25 min.	29 January 2007	7 March 2007	5 June 2007

In print

Main article: List of Doctor Who novelisations

Serial name	Novelisation title	Author	First published
The Leisure Hive	Doctor Who and the Leisure Hive	David Fisher	1982
Meglos	Meglos	Terrance Dicks	1983
Full Circle	Full Circle	Andrew Smith	1982
State of Decay	Doctor Who and the State of Decay	Terrance Dicks	1982
Warriors' Gate	Doctor Who and Warriors' Gate	John Lydecker	1982
The Keeper of Traken	Doctor Who and the Keeper of Traken	Terrance Dicks	1982
Logopolis	Logopolis	Christopher H. Bidmead	1982