Doctor Who Season 12 is one of the most popular seasons ever produced, and the first to be released as part of the Collection on Blu-ray. But why is this classic series so beloved among fans?
Doctor Who Season 12 was the beginning of a whole new era. Jon Pertwee had left the year before, and handed the TARDIS keys to his successor Tom Baker – an experienced actor who won the role whilst working on a building site.
Changes were happening behind the scenes, too. Producer Barry Letts was also moving onto other things, but stayed behind to oversee the production of Doctor Who Season 12 in order to ease the new showrunner Philip Hinchcliffe into the role.
Therefore, as this was something of a transitional season, Hinchcliffe discovered that many of the creative decisions pertaining to Doctor Who Season 12 had already been made, such as which stories were going to be told and who was going to write them. The return of the Daleks and the Cybermen, for example, had been set in stone long before Hinchcliffe took his place in the producer’s chair, and Tom Baker had been cast by Barry Letts.
Moreover, the fact that Doctor Who Season 12 was going to have a new Doctor had affected the shape of the main cast. Initially, the producers were anticipating that a much older actor would be taking the role, and therefore installed Ian Marter as Harry Sullivan – a young UNIT doctor who, it was hoped, could do his fair share of the physical work. After all, this idea had worked well during the William Hartnell era with the much younger William Russell as the companion.
But, as it turned out, Tom Baker was in his early 40s and this made Harry Sullivan surplus to requirements – at least, in terms of the physical action. At the same time, anyone who has ever seen Doctor Who Season 12 will know what a joy it is to see the interplay between Harry and the Doctor, and indeed between Harry and Sarah Jane. Their banter is one of the highlights of the season.
And speaking of highlights, we can’t mention Doctor Who Season 12 without discussing ‘Genesis of the Daleks‘ – arguably the most popular story of the series, and indeed one of the most highly-regarded of all time. There is much to say about ‘Genesis,’ and too much to list here, but suffice it to say it features some truly iconic moments, as well as the introduction of the Daleks’ demented creator Davros, so expertly played by the actor Michael Wisher.
In ‘Genesis of the Daleks,’ the Doctor is sent back in time to the planet Skaro on a secret mission from the Time Lords. His job is simple: he is to avert the creation of the metal mutants or, at least, find a way to make them less evil. This task culminates in one of the most famous and dramatic scenes of Doctor Who Season 12 in which the Doctor, clutching two pieces of wire, questions whether he has the right to destroy the Daleks completely. All he has to do is the touch the two ends together, and the Daleks will never have existed.
It’s a very atypical Doctor Who story, and certainly very gritty. Moreover, ‘Genesis of the Daleks’ stands out for the fact that it doesn’t even feature the TARDIS – a true rarity in the history of the show.
That being said, Doctor Who Season 12 is quite atypical in itself. The majority of the season is basically one giant story arc which begins with the second adventure ‘The Ark in Space’ and ends with ‘Revenge of the Cybermen.’ Each story flows seamlessly into the next, and the Doctor and his companions are not travelling by TARDIS, but trans-mat (and time ring.) It’s quite a novel and innovative idea, and a first for Doctor Who.
Part of the reason for this structure was budgetary. The production team realised that they could save money by re-using the set for ‘The Ark in Space’ in ‘Revenge of the Cybermen.’ Thus, the travellers return to the Ark in ‘Revenge’ only to discover they’ve accidentally gone back in time, so there’s no TARDIS waiting for them when they get there. But the Cybermen are.
And whilst ‘Revenge of the Cybermen’ might not be regarded as the highlight of Doctor Who Season 12, it was significant in that it finally saw the return of the Cybermen after a seven year absence, and indeed the metal giants didn’t appear at all during the Jon Pertwee era, save for a brief cameo in ‘Carnival of Monsters.’ Moreover, the adventure featured some stunning location work in the Wookey Hole caves, and great performances from the supporting cast.
And for those people who felt that ‘Revenge’ was a somewhat lacklustre finale, it’s interesting to note that it wasn’t originally intended to round-off Doctor Who Season 12. The initial plan was to close on the four part adventure ‘Terror of the Zygons,’ but this was pushed back (and shortened) to allow the next season to begin transmitting the following September.
That is not to say that Doctor Who Season 12 suffered from its absence. Far from it. The season proved to be immensely popular with viewers, peaking at 13.6 million viewers for part two of ‘The Ark in Space.’ The Tom Baker era was off to a great start, and the new Time Lord’s popularity would only grow as the actor became more comfortable in the role. In fact, it would be some seven years before the next regeneration.
But over to you, reader. What do you love most about Doctor Who Season 12? Which is your favourite story? And did the Doctor have the right?! Let us know in the comments below.
I love Season 12 for a different reason, although the stories are all memorable. My wife and I married in 1979 and one Saturday morning, one of our 7 available TV channels, a local independent station, was showing a different TV show other than wrestling highlights, and that show happened to be one I hadn’t heard of before, Season 12 of Dr. Who. You never forget your first Dr! I’m currently binge watching Classic Dr. Who online, and am up to Season 8, Episode 2, Terror of the Autons with Jon Pertwee, so Tom Baker is only a few days away!
Season 12 was great and Genesis was superb. Eradicate the Daleks from history? That would be crazy.