14 thoughts on “Season 15 of ‘Doctor Who’ with Tom Baker on Blu-ray #1”

1. Wolfie January 27, 2025 at 8:56 am

   Season 15 sits in a fairly awkward space for the programme. At the time of production, there were rampant blackouts, industrial strikes and a mandate from the BBC to “tone down” the violence seen in previous seasons of Doctor Who.

   Graham Williams was sitting in the shadow of Philip Hinchcliffe’s time as producer in more ways than one. They went into the season with little money, an increasingly erratic lead actor, and on the coattails of Star Wars.

   Things are so bad that one serial has to steal cameras from next door to get the shots they want (Horror of Fang Rock). While another doesn’t have physical sets for the production team to use (Underworld).

   That is a uniquely awful set of circumstances.

   It’s miracle that Season 15 was made at all. Moreover, it’s a miracle that it’s so cohesive. Graham Williams wanted to remove the ambiguity of the Doctor’s morally-grey anarchistic behaviour. He wanted a programme more good vs. evil.

   As a side-effect of that inclination, we end up with a rather interesting theme throughout Season 15.

   Mythology.

   To wit, the following:

   The Horror of Fang Rock is drawn from the haunting imagery of “Flannan’s Isle”.

   The Fendahl is a creature who the Doctor describes as a “mythological horror” from his childhood that actually frightens him.

   The Minyans have mythologised the Time Lords as their wicked, almost Hellenic “Gods” who “use them for sport” (a hardly inaccurate view, either).

   The Time Lords themselves have their own mythology in the Outsiders and their abandonment of the Capitol; and,

   The series even disassembles Leela’s godlike reverence of the Doctor and reveals — through the Nucleus of the Swarm — he’s as vulnerable as anyone else.

   We can talk about production values, we can talk about weaknesses in set design and budgets, etc. But what’s really interesting is how Graham Williams tries — and broadly succeeds — to redefine the Doctor as a character.

   The harmless trickster that the Fourth Doctor is often depicted as in popular culture… The image used for those who haven’t seen the series… That is from Williams’ era. Not Hinchcliffe’s (or, later, JNT’s).

   Season 15 is a shedding of the anti-hero anarchist we’ve become familiar with. His characterisation will boil over here. He’ll be aggressive, bullying, smug, and all the flaws that the Fourth Doctor exemplifies over his era.

   Except, here… Season 15 will bring it to a head and turn him into a villain himself. The Invasion of Time will swing around and put the dangerous, unsettling Fourth Doctor into the role of the main antagonist. And it will feel, oddly enough, quite natural. Indeed, as disturbing as it is… It feels inevitable.

   (Something that Terrance Dicks would have revisited in The Five Doctors had Tom Baker returned: He felt only the Fourth Doctor, of all the Doctors, could plausibly have gone bad.)

   But…

   In doing The Invasion of Time, the series will also exorcise that anti-hero anarchist from itself. Replacing that Fourth Doctor, instead, with the Williams era’s strange trickster, now known in popular culture. A lighter, less volatile, more self-depreciating iteration of the character.

   So, the journey there is quite interesting.

   LikeLiked by 2 people

   Reply ↓
   1. Tim Bradley Post authorJanuary 27, 2025 at 8:25 pm

      Hi Wolfie,

      Thanks for sharing your thoughts on Season 15 of ‘Doctor Who’.

      Interesting insight you’ve shared on how the season tackles the theme of mythology in various forms throughout the six stories it has. Also fascinating how you’ve addressed the approach that producer Graham Williams used to redefine the Fourth Doctor’s character in terms of his morals during his adventures in space and time. It’s something that would be addressed more profoundly in ‘The Key to Time’ season where the Doctor is assigned a mission to bring balance between the forces of good and evil, which I enjoyed and found consistent in the Graham Williams era of the classic TV series. Also interesting how you shared what would have happened had the Fourth Doctor appeared in ‘The Five Doctors’ and taken the villain role compared to what happened in the actual TV story.

      I’m looking forward to sharing the rest of my updated reviews on the stories in Season 15 this week. I’m about to make a start on updating my reviews on Season 20 with ‘Arc of Infinity’. I look forward to when I get to updating my review on ‘The Five Doctors’ as well as the day when it’s announced that Season 16 (‘The Key to Time’ season) will be released on Blu-ray, as that’s my favourite Tom Baker/Fourth Doctor era season and favourite Graham Williams era season.

      Best wishes,

      Tim 🙂

      LikeLiked by 1 person

      Reply ↓
      1. scifimike70 January 27, 2025 at 9:12 pm

         I was very fond of The Key To Time when I first saw it. Queen Xanxia and Vivian Fay were two of the best villainesses in the classic series.

         LikeLiked by 2 people
      2. Wolfie January 28, 2025 at 2:15 am

         The Key to Time is kind of amazing, if we think about it in today’s terms.

         There’s a lot of contradictory “common wisdom” over storytelling in the age of streaming. On the one hand, people are accused of having no attention span. On the other, series are binge-watched from beginning to end in a single sitting (which can span hours of uninterrupted viewing).

         The Key to Time came at a point in the series where Doctor Who was ubiquitous. It was a household name, a familiar property both at home and in the Commonwealth countries, and it was likely that you’d have caught at least something of the programme in your growing up. Even if it was only an episode or two.

         It’s an extremely bold idea. A loose story arc integrated through 23 episodes. A full season. Not just one serial, like The Keys of Marinus, but the entire production block. Each story is invaluable. Each must be distinct from one another. Each must also contribute to the quest. The opening serial must establish the premise and the closing serial must resolve it.

         Season 16 is testament to how much of a mainstay Doctor Who was at the time. Even the “everything old is new again” approach of John Nathan-Turner — and the ’80s, in general — wouldn’t revisit this concept outside of two trilogies (the E-Space exploration and the Black Guardian’s vengeance, respectively).

         It couldn’t have been done with the Fifth Doctor. The Sixth Doctor didn’t survive that era’s attempt. The Seventh Doctor would never have stood a chance.

         Indeed, there’s probably a version of history out there where Doctor Who was put on hiatus in 1977-78. And, given how important Fang Rock was to establishing Tom Baker and Louise Jameson’s rapport, I don’t think we would’ve necessarily had the same leading actors when it came back…

         The programme got very lucky.

         Season 16’s Key to Time is a rapid return to form and Season 17 — while far too goofy in tone for a lot of its subject matter (drug smuggling, human trafficking, etc.) — still had some strong production values.

         Season 15 might be one of the most visibly transitional seasons in Doctor Who‘s original 26-season run. Not too quick to abandon its predecessor’s strengths, but forging its own, as well, through frankly unreasonable production circumstances.

         You could say, Season 15 is our teething season for the Williams era.

         LikeLiked by 2 people
      3. Tim Bradley Post authorJanuary 28, 2025 at 10:41 am

         Hi scifimike, Hi Wolfie,

         Thanks for sharing your latest thoughts.

         Season 15 is certainly a settling-in season for Graham Williams as the producer as well as for the audience members from 1977 to 1978. It’s a season that contains hits and misses in terms of approach in each story, but it’s entertaining enough to get an idea of what’s going on with the new era under Graham Williams’ tenure.

         Season 16 (‘The Key to Time’ season) is definitely a season that showcases the best of Graham Williams’ efforts as a producer and whilst Season 17 has its flaws, you can tell the consistent approach it was going for under Douglas Adams’ time as the script editor.

         Season 15 is the weakest season for me out of Graham Williams’ tenure as producer, but I greatly appreciate the different styles of storytelling in each story of the season.

         Many thanks,

         Tim 🙂

         LikeLiked by 1 person
      4. scifimike70 January 28, 2025 at 2:34 pm

         Season 15 would certainly be a challenged season during the wake of all that Star Wars was changing for sci-fi. For those who argue that Doctor Who, a show that was fuelled by the special effect of great acting, story material and specific dramas, never needed to compete with the bigger was better notion in that regard, they were indeed right. I always found classic Doctor Who to be consequently quite refreshing. So my special memories of the Graham Williams era are nurtured by all that made me one of the most loyal Whovians to begin with.

         LikeLiked by 2 people
      5. Tim Bradley Post authorJanuary 28, 2025 at 6:33 pm

         Thanks scifimike,

         There’s something rather charming about how the classic ‘Doctor Who’ TV series did things with storytelling, characters and special effects compared to how big budget movies and American sci-fi shows handled those aspects at the time. Yes, we can point out the flaws in the stories as we watch them, but they’re certainly more enjoyable than some of the bloated and bombastic TV shows and movies we get today, and I find it fascinating how classic ‘Doctor Who’ tackled around the limitations they had to put up with, especially in terms of budget to get the stories executed on screen in a reasonable manner. This clearly evident in the stories featured in Season 15, particularly by the time we get to ‘Underworld’ and ‘The Invasion of Time’ with the hurdles the production team faced regarding budget towards the end of the season.

         Best wishes,

         Tim 🙂

         LikeLiked by 1 person
      6. scifimike70 January 28, 2025 at 7:28 pm

         Charming is accurate.

         LikeLiked by 2 people
      7. scifimike70 January 28, 2025 at 8:16 pm

         Whatever classic Doctor Who lacked in visual effects, it surely made up for in sound effects which (alongside classic Star Trek sound effects) I found quite uniquely enjoyable. Especially thanks to a Doctor Who Sound Effects album I had as a kid. I thankfully found it again on iTunes though strangely in the audiobooks section. The sound effects for being inside the Doctor’s mind in The Invisible Enemy are among my favourites.

         LikeLiked by 2 people
      8. Tim Bradley Post authorJanuary 29, 2025 at 6:28 am

         Hi scifimike,

         I think the sound effects and music featured in the classic ‘Doctor Who’ TV series are very enjoyable. I have a ‘Doctor Who’ audio CD containing sounds and music from 1970 to 1980 which have been fascinating to check out, containing music from ‘The Sea Devils’ as well as sound effects and music from stories like ‘The Mind of Evil’ and ‘The Claws of Axos’. It was also fascinating to check out the alternative Delaware theme music for ‘Carnival of Monsters’. I also enjoyed Peter Howell’s music demos for ‘The Horns of Nimon’ and the 1980 theme music arranged by Peter Howell. I also enjoy the CGI effects option versions for certain classic ‘Doctor Who’ stories on DVD and Blu-ray, including ‘Horror of Fang Rock’, ‘The Invisible Enemy’, ‘The Invasion of Time’ and recently ‘Arc of Infinity’, which I’m currently updating my review on.

         Best wishes,

         Tim 🙂

         LikeLiked by 1 person
      9. scifimike70 January 29, 2025 at 2:31 pm

         The CGI upgrades for the Rutan and the Vardans are certainly quite timely.

         LikeLiked by 2 people
      10. Tim Bradley Post authorJanuary 30, 2025 at 7:24 pm

          Hi scifimike,

          Yeah, I can’t deny the CGI versions of the Rutan in ‘Horror of Fang Rock’ and the Vardans in ‘The Invasion of Time’ help to improve the stories in their presentation. I’m currently enjoying Season 20 of the classic ‘Doctor Who’ series with their CGI upgrades, including ‘Arc of Infinity’.

          Best wishes,

          Tim 🙂

          LikeLiked by 1 person
      11. Wolfie January 31, 2025 at 12:51 pm

          I’ll say. The Special Edition of The Happiness Patrol might be the definitive version of that story. It’s an incredible overhaul that seems to pay homage to where Doctor Who would end up in the ’90s, to boot. Very neo-noir.

          It’s not spectacle for spectacle’s sake, but actually serves the narrative. That’s something I rather loved about The Horror of Fang Rock‘s approach. There’s a very particular change with the Rutan that isn’t so clear in the original.

          In the newer version, it actually foreshadows a trick used against Leela later in the story. We see the Rutan “practising” a movement that will actually put her on the back foot. It’s very clever work.

          LikeLiked by 2 people
      12. Tim Bradley Post authorJanuary 31, 2025 at 6:30 pm

          Hi Wolfie,

          Thanks for letting us know about the Special Edition version of ‘The Happiness Patrol’. I’ve not seen it yet and I’m looking forward to checking it out when I get to the Season 25 Blu-ray box set later in the year. Also interesting insight on how you find the CGI effects version of the Rutan works better compared to the original, especially concerning Leela when she confronts it in the story.

          Best wishes,

          Tim 🙂

          LikeLiked by 1 person

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.