Doctor Who (season 8)

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Doctor Who (season 8)
250px
Starring
Country of origin United Kingdom
No. of episodes 25
5 stories
Release
Original network BBC One
Original release 2 January 1971 (1971-01-02) – 19 June 1971 (1971-06-19)
Season chronology
← Previous
Season 7
Next →
Season 9
List of Doctor Who serials

The eighth season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 2 January 1971 with Terror of the Autons and ended with The Dæmons featuring Jon Pertwee as the Third Doctor.

Casting

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Main cast

Jon Pertwee continues his role as the Third Doctor. Katy Manning makes her first appearance as companion Jo Grant in Terror of the Autons.

Recurring cast

Nicholas Courtney and John Levene continue their roles of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and Sergeant Benton, while Richard Franklin makes his first appearance as Captain Mike Yates.

Roger Delgado makes his first appearance as The Master in Terror of the Autons and continues to make appearances in each of the five serials.

Guest stars

Fernanda Marlowe makes appearances in The Mind of Evil and The Claws of Axos as Corporal Bell.

Serials

The season marks the first appearance of the Master who goes on to make further appearances through the season in every serial as the main antagonist who is finally captured at the end of the season. Colony in Space was the first serial set away from Earth since The War Games at the end of Season 6, and came about as a result of producer Barry Letts' feeling that the Earthbound stories of the Doctor's exile were too limiting in terms of potential plotting.

Story Serial Title Directed by Written by Original air date Prod.
code
UK viewers
(millions) [1]
AI [1]
55 1 Terror of the Autons Barry Letts Robert Holmes 2 January 1971
9 January 1971
16 January 1971
23 January 1971
EEE 7.3
8.0
8.1
8.4
The Master arrives on Earth and makes an alliance with the Autons to conquer the planet.
56 2 The Mind of Evil Timothy Combe Don Houghton 30 January 1971
6 February 1971
13 February 1971
20 February 1971
27 February 1971
6 March 1971
FFF 6.1
8.8
7.5
7.4
7.6
7.3
The Master creates the Keller Machine, a device that appears to rehabilitate prisoners, but instead kills them.
57 3 The Claws of Axos Michael Ferguson Bob Baker and Dave Martin 13 March 1971
20 March 1971
27 March 1971
3 April 1971
GGG 7.3
8.0
6.4
7.8
The Axons land on Earth supposedly peacefully, even offering a new energy source. However, that is not their real purpose.
58 4 Colony in Space Michael E. Briant Malcolm Hulke 10 April 1971
17 April 1971
24 April 1971
1 May 1971
8 May 1971
15 May 1971
HHH 7.6
8.5
9.5
8.1
8.8
8.7
On his first trip to another planet since his regeneration, the Doctor and Jo travel to Uxaerius, where they find that its colonists are struggling to survive.
59 5 The Dæmons Christopher Barry Guy Leopold (Robert Sloman and Barry Letts) 22 May 1971
29 May 1971
5 June 1971
12 June 1971
19 June 1971
JJJ 9.2
8.0
8.1
8.1
8.3
The Master summons Azal to assist him in an incident that happened at an archaeological dig at Devil's End.

Broadcast

The entire season was broadcast from 2 January to 19 June 1971.

DVD releases

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Serial name Number and duration
of episodes
R2 release date R4 release date R1 release date
Terror of the Autons
Only available as part of the Mannequin Mania box set in Regions 2 and 4.
Only available individually in Region 1.
4 × 25 min. 9 May 2011 2 June 2011 10 May 2011
Terror of the Autons - Doctor Who DVD Files Issue 101 4 × 25 min. 14 November 2012 14 November 2012 N/A
The Mind of Evil 6 × 25 min. 3 June 2013 5 June 2013 11 June 2013
The Claws of Axos 4 × 25 min. 25 April 2005 2 June 2005 8 November 2005
The Claws of Axos - Special Edition 4 x 25 min. 22 October 2012 7 November 2012 13 November 2012
The Claws of Axos - Doctor Who DVD Files Issue 97 4 × 25 min. 19 September 2012 19 September 2012 N/A
Colony in Space 6 × 25 min. 3 October 2011 1 December 2011 8 November 2011
The Dæmons 5 × 25 min. 19 March 2012[2][3] 19 April 2012[4] 10 April 2012[5]

In print

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Serial name Novelisation title Author First published
Terror of the Autons Doctor Who and the Terror of the Autons Terrance Dicks 1975
The Mind of Evil The Mind of Evil Terrance Dicks 1985
The Claws of Axos Doctor Who and the Claws of Axos Terrance Dicks 1977
Colony in Space Doctor Who and the Doomsday Weapon Malcolm Hulke 1974
The Dæmons Doctor Who and the Dæmons Barry Letts 1974

References

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  5. Doctor Who DVD news: Extras for Story #059: The Daemons AND Story #066: Carnival Of Monsters: Special Edition | TVShowsOnDVD.com