Adventures across time and space with the time travelling alien and companions.
The season introduces William Hartnell as the First Doctor, an alien who travels through time and space in his TARDIS, which appears to be a British police box on the outside. Carole Ann Ford is also introduced as the Doctor's granddaughter Susan Foreman, who acts as his companion alongside her schoolteachers Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright, portrayed by William Russell and Jacqueline Hill, respectively. Throughout the season, the Doctor and his companions travel throughout history and into the future. Historical stories were intended to educate viewers about significant events in history, such as the Aztec civilisation and the French Revolution; futuristic episodes took a more subtle approach to educating viewers, such as the theme of pacifism with the Daleks.
Season One of Doctor Who premiered on November 23rd, 1963. This season contains Fourty-Two episodes.
Milestones this season included not one but two encore appearances by the Daleks; the departure of the original three companions, Susan Foreman, Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton; and the first appearance of someone else from the Doctor and Susan's home planet, and the first Time Lord enemy to appear.
Season Two of Doctor Who premiered on October 30th, 1964. This season contains Thirty-Nine episodes.
At twelve episodes, The Daleks' Master Plan was the longest story in the show's history until superseded by the fourteen-episode The Trial of a Time Lord in 1986. The season also had the greatest number of different companions (seven) and producers (three). This was the longest season in the history of the franchise to date, at 45 episodes. It also featured the first appearance of actor Nicholas Courtney, although not in his most famous role as the Brigadier. The Daleks' Master Plan also saw the return of Peter Butterworth as the Monk, who became the second Doctor Who enemy to make a return (after the Daleks themselves) to the show. This was also the season of The War Machines, to date the only televised story in which the taboo of never referring to the Doctor directly by the name "Doctor Who" is broken, with the exception of Missy's teasing in World Enough and Time.
Season Three of Doctor Who premiered on September 11th, 1965. This season contains Fourty-Five episodes.
This season was a season of major changes for Doctor Who, including some that have influenced the series and franchise ever since. Most notably, season 4 saw William Hartnell's First Doctor hand off the baton to Patrick Troughton's Second Doctor in the very first regeneration. When Hartnell announced his plans to leave the series, the show's writers came up with the idea of having the Doctor change his appearance and personality. In 1966, while it was not uncommon for actors to change in ongoing TV and film roles, this was possibly the first time a change in appearance was written into the very nature of the character.
Season Four of Doctor Who premiered on September 10th, 1966. This season contains Fourty-Three episodes.
No complete stories from the season were known to have survived until the early-1990s when archivists recovered a complete version of The Tomb of the Cybermen. A second complete story, The Enemy of the World was recovered in 2013, along with a nearly complete recovery of the story that followed it, The Web of Fear. The season is also notable for having Patrick Troughton play a double-role as both the Doctor and Salamander in The Enemy of the World.
Season Five of Doctor Who premiered on September 2nd, 1967. This season contains Fourty episodes.
This season featured the first ever UNIT story, The Invasion, which showcased the return of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. It also featured the first official appearance of Time Lords and the as yet unnamed Doctor's home planet (another member of Susan and the Doctor's race, the Monk, had appeared previously, but without much elaboration and without using the term "Time Lord"). It also marked the tenure of Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor. It consisted of seven serials and forty-four episodes, including two epic-length storylines: the eight episodes of The Invasion and the ten-episode The War Games.
Season Six of Doctor Who premiered on August 10th, 1968. This season contains Fourty-Four episodes.
It was the first series produced and broadcast in colour and the first set entirely in one time period and almost entirely on Earth (the latter of these factors would later be repeated for Season 26 and Series 1, although in those two cases there was no attempt at an in-universe explanation for confining the Doctor to the planet). Although the series did not have an overall story arc, it did feature a recurring subplot of the Doctor trying to adjust to life as an exile while trying to circumvent the restrictions placed upon him by the Time Lords, and began the process where the Doctor would try to gain more control over his TARDIS. Beginning with this series and continuing for the next few years, most storylines involve the Doctor working with UNIT.
Season Seven of Doctor Who premiered on January 3rd, 1970. This season contains Twenty-Five episodes.
As of 2017, season 8 remains notable for being the season with the most number of regular characters. Not only did it see a new companion in the form of Jo Grant, but it featured a regular enemy — The Master — who was the first regular Time Lord enemy of the Doctor to appear more than twice, and an expanded regular UNIT cast that now included Sergeant Benton and Mike Yates in most episodes. Adding in returning regulars Jon Pertwee and Nicholas Courtney, the regular cast swelled to six.
Season Eight of Doctor Who premiered on January 2nd, 1971. This season contains Twenty-Five episodes.
It was noted for being the beginning of the end of the Doctor's exile on Earth, with the Doctor's TARDIS still under the control of the Time Lords (The Mutants) and restricted freedom (The Curse of Peladon and The Time Monster), as well as UNIT and the Master appearing less frequently in compared to the previous two series. As well as the return of the Daleks and the Ice Warriors, this series also introduced Alpha Centauri, Aggedor and the Silurians' aquatic cousins the Sea Devils.
Season Nine of Doctor Who premiered on January 1st, 1972. This season contains Twenty-Six episodes.
William Hartnell returned in a cameo as the First Doctor and Patrick Troughton in a more substantial role as the Second Doctor in The Three Doctors. This story marked the end of the Doctor's exile on Earth, opening up the series to more off-world adventures and beginning a gradual reduction of UNIT-related stories.
Season Ten of Doctor Who premiered on December 30th, 1972. This season contains Twenty-Six episodes.
It was Jon Pertwee's final season as the Doctor and included, very briefly, the first appearance of Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor. The Time Warrior, the season opener, introduced Sarah Jane Smith, who was a frequently featured character in the Doctor Who universe decades after her departure in Season 14. The same story also, for the first time, named the Doctor's homeworld as Gallifrey. UNIT also began to be phased out of the series during this season.
Season Eleven of Doctor Who premiered on December 15th, 1973. This season contains Twenty-Six episodes.
S11E1 - The Woman Who Fell to Earth
2018-10-07
In a South Yorkshire city, Ryan Sinclair, Yasmin Khan, and Graham O'Brien are about to have their lives changed forever, as a mysterious woman, unable to remember her own name, falls from the night sky. Can they believe a word she says? Ryan stumbles across a mysterious pod that appears in the forest. Soon a series of strange occurrences happen in Sheffield, and the mysterious woman sets out to solve them.
S11E2 - The Ghost Monument
2018-10-14
The Doctor and her new friends are rescued by two separate spaceships on a mysterious quest, and at the end of the quest lies... the Ghost Monument.
S11E3 - Rosa
2018-10-21
The Doctor and her friends find themselves in the Deep South of America when they arrive in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955. As they encounter a seamstress named Rosa Parks, they begin to wonder if someone is attempting to change history. They discover that a criminal from the future is trying to alter time and make sure that Rosa is never forced to stand on the bus.
S11E4 - Arachnids in the UK
2018-10-28
The Doctor and her companions return to Earth and find a homegrown menace in the apartment complex where Yasmin's family live... and at the hotel where her mother Najia works.
S11E5 - The Tsuranga Conundrum
2018-11-04
After a sonic mine detonates, injuring them, the TARDIS crew wake up on a medical ship. They soon discover that they're trapped with an omnivore that threatens the ship's integrity... and the authorities will blow up the ship rather than let the creature endanger thousands of patients.
S11E6 - Demons of the Punjab
2018-11-11
Yasmin asks the Doctor to travel back to 1947 India to find out the secret of her grandmother's watch, and discovers more than she wanted to know.
S11E7 - Kerblam!
2018-11-18
After receiving an anonymous request for help, the Doctor and her companions travel to a moon of Kandoka to investigate the universe's large retailer: Kerblam.
S11E8 - The Witchfinders
2018-11-25
The Doctor and her companions materialize in 17th century England and soon find themselves embroiled in local witchcraft... which is the prelude to an alien invasion.
S11E9 - It Takes You Away
2018-12-02
The TARDIS group materialize in Norway in 2018, and soon find themselves involved with a blind girl and her missing father.
S11E10 - The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos
2018-12-09
The Doctor and her companions respond to nine separate distress signals all originating from the same planet: Ranskoor Av Kolos. There they discover a stranded ship, an amnesiac pilot... and an old foe.
All the stories in this season were interconnected, several forming a loose story arc relating to Space Station Nerva. The Cybermen returned to the series for the first time since The Invasion. Genesis of the Daleks, a story which introduced Davros and showed the creation of the Daleks, is one of the most famous of all Doctor Who serials.
Season Twelve of Doctor Who premiered on December 28th, 1974. This season contains Twenty episodes.
S12E1 - Spyfall, Part 1
2020-01-01
Intelligence agents around the world are under attack from alien forces, so MI6 turns to the only people who can help - The Doctor and friends. As the team travels the globe looking for answers, attacks come from all sides. Earth's security rests on the their shoulders - but where will this planet-threatening conspiracy lead them?
S12E2 - Spyfall, Part 2
2020-01-05
A terrifying plan to destroy humanity is about to reach fruition. Can the Doctor and her companions escape multiple traps and defeat a deadly alliance?
S12E3 - Orphan 55
2020-01-12
Having decided that everyone could do with a holiday, the Doctor takes Graham, Yasmin, Ryan to a luxury resort for a spot of rest and relaxation. However, they discover the place where they are having a break is hiding a number of deadly secrets. What are the ferocious monsters that are attacking Tranquillity Spa?
S12E4 - Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror
2020-01-19
It is 1903 and on the edge of Niagara Falls, something is wrong at Nikola Tesla's generator plant, where someone – or something – is sabotaging the maverick inventor's work. Has Tesla really received a message from Mars? And where does his great rival Thomas Edison fit into these events? The Doctor and her companions Yaz, Ryan and Graham must join forces with one of history's greatest minds to save both him and planet Earth.
S12E5 - Fugitive of the Judoon
2020-01-26
Stomping their way into present-day Gloucester, the Judoon are on the hunt for someone on the run. Who is this fugitive? And why are these alien mercenaries after them?
S12E6 - Praxeus
2020-02-02
What connects a missing astronaut, birds behaving strangely in Peru, and a US naval officer who washes up on a Madagascan beach? The Doctor, Yaz, Ryan and Graham split up to investigate mysterious events across 21st century planet Earth. As the mystery deepens, and lives are put at risk, the TARDIS team face a deadly race against time to save humanity.
S12E7 - Can You Hear Me?
2020-02-09
From ancient Syria to present day Sheffield, and out into the wilds of space, something is stalking the Doctor and her friends and infecting people's nightmares. As Graham, Yaz and Ryan return home to see friends and family, they find themselves haunted by very different experiences. Who is the figure calling from beyond the stars for help, and why? And what are the fearsome Chagaskas terrorising Aleppo in 1380? To find the answers, Team TARDIS embark on a mission that forces them to face their darkest fears.
S12E8 - The Haunting of Villa Diodati
2020-02-16
The Doctor and gang arrive at the Villa Diodati, Lake Geneva, in 1816 - on a night that inspired Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. The plan is to spend the evening soaking up the atmos in the presence of some literary greats - but the ghosts are all too real. And the Doctor is forced into a decision of earth-shattering proportions…
S12E9 - Ascension of the Cybermen
2020-02-23
The aftermath of the Great CyberWar. The Doctor arrives in the far future, intent on protecting the last of the human race from the deadly Cybermen. But in the face of such a relentless enemy, has she put her best friends at risk? What terrors lie hiding in the depths of space, and what is Ko Sharmus?
S12E10 - The Timeless Children
2020-03-01
The Cybermen attack, and for the Doctor nothing will ever be the same.
It was during this season that the Doctor cut ties to UNIT (after Terror of the Zygons, the Brigadier would not appear again until Mawdryn Undead in 1983, and The Seeds of Doom marked the last occasion to date that the Doctor was explicitly said to be working for UNIT - as opposed to working with them as occasions warranted). Several of the serials in this season, particularly Pyramids of Mars and The Brain of Morbius, are among the best-known of the 1970s-era storylines. Though it was aired as a part of Season 13, Terror of the Zygons was actually filmed as part of the previous season; this holdover allowed the series to switch back to an autumn season start.
Season Thirteen of Doctor Who premiered on August 30th, 1975. This season contains Twenty-Six episodes.
S13E1 - Chapter One: The Halloween Apocalypse
2021-10-31
On Halloween, all across the universe, terrifying forces are stirring. From the Arctic Circle to deep space, an ancient evil is breaking free. And in present-day Liverpool, the life of Dan Lewis is about to change forever. Why is the Doctor on the trail of the fearsome Karvanista? And what is the Flux?
S13E2 - Chapter Two: War of the Sontarans
2021-11-07
During the Crimean War, the Doctor discovers the British army fighting a brutal alien army of Sontarans, as Yaz and Dan are thrown deeper into a battle for survival. What is the Temple of Atropos? Who are the Mouri?
S13E3 - Chapter Three: Once, Upon Time
2021-11-14
On a planet that shouldn't exist, in the aftermath of apocalypse, the Doctor, Dan, Yaz and Vinder face a battle to survive.
S13E4 - Chapter Four: Village of the Angels
2021-11-21
Devon, November 1967. A little girl has gone missing, Professor Eustacius Jericho is conducting psychic experiments, and in the village graveyard, there is one gravestone too many. Why is Medderton known as the Cursed Village, and what do the Weeping Angels want?
S13E5 - Chapter Five: Survivors of the Flux
2021-11-28
As the forces of evil mass, the Doctor, Yaz and Dan face perilous journeys and seemingly insurmountable obstacles in their quest for survival.
S13E6 - Chapter Six: The Vanquishers
2021-12-05
In the final epic chapter in the story of the Flux, all hope is lost. The forces of darkness are in control. But when the monsters have won, who can you count upon to save the universe?
Sylvester McCoy
as The Doctor