Doctor Who (season 17)


The seventeenth season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 1 September 1979 with the story Destiny of the Daleks, and ended with The Horns of Nimon.

Casting

Main cast

Tom Baker continued as the Fourth Doctor. Lalla Ward, who played Princess Astra in the season 16 finale The Armageddon Factor, returned to the series as the newly regenerated Romana, replacing Mary Tamm in the role. After John Leeson declined to return as K9, David Brierley replaced him in the part for the season's final four serials, including Shada.

Guest stars

returns in Destiny of the Daleks, this time played by David Gooderson.

Serials

Season 17 was intended to follow the same format as had every season since Season 13, with five 4-part serials and a 6-parter closing the season out. However, the planned final serial of the season, Shada, was affected by an industrial dispute involving the BBC's technicians; while the location filming and the first studio recording session were completed, strike action by staff meant that the planned second studio session had to be cancelled. Although the dispute was resolved and plans were put in place to continue work on the story, it was eventually shelved, as the BBC was concerned that its Christmas productions might be affected. A BBC historian has suggested that by cancelling completely instead of finishing what little was required the management could demonstrate that the strikes had consequences

Broadcast

Part 4 of The Horns of Nimon saw the last appearance of the diamond-shaped logo that had been used since The Time Warrior in 1973.
The entire season was broadcast from 1 September 1979 to 12 January 1980.

Home media

VHS releases

DVD and Blu-ray releases

In print

Serial nameNovelisation titleAuthorFirst published
Destiny of the DaleksDoctor Who and the Destiny of the DaleksTerrance Dicks20 November 1979
City of DeathCity of DeathJames Goss21 May 2015
The Creature from the PitDoctor Who and the Creature from the PitDavid Fisher15 January 1981
Nightmare of EdenDoctor Who and the Nightmare of EdenTerrance Dicks21 August 1980
The Horns of NimonDoctor Who and the Horns of NimonTerrance Dicks16 October 1980
ShadaShadaGareth Roberts15 March 2012