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Doctor Who season 6

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This article is about the 1968–69 season. For the 2011 series, see Doctor Who series 6.

The sixth season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 10 August 1968 with the first story of season 6 The Dominators and ended Patrick Troughton's reign as the Doctor with its final story The War Games. Only 37 out of 44 episodes are held in the BBC archives; 7 remain missing. As a result, 2 serials are incomplete: only episode 2 of the 6-part story The Space Pirates still exists, while The Invasion has had its two missing episodes (episodes 1 and 4) reconstructed using animation.

Doctor Who
Season 6
Cover art of the Region 2 DVD release for first serial of the season
Starring
No. of stories7
No. of episodes44 (7 missing)
Release
Original networkBBC1
Original release10 August 1968 (1968-08-10) –
21 June 1969 (1969-06-21)
Season chronology
← Previous
Season 5
Next →
Season 7
List of episodes

Casting

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See also: List of Doctor Who cast members

Main cast

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Patrick Troughton, Frazer Hines and Wendy Padbury make their final regular appearances as the Second Doctor, Jamie McCrimmon and Zoe Heriot respectively. Troughton and his fellow actors collectively decided that the workload of Doctor Who was exhausting them, and that they would soon depart from the show. From Season 7 onwards the show would never have such a high number of episodes again. The three actors remained with the show until the conclusion of the final season six serial The War Games.

Troughton reprised his role in three subsequent special stories, one of which also featured Hines.

Guest stars

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Nicholas Courtney reappears as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart in The Invasion, last seen (as a Colonel) in The Web of Fear. He would soon make regular appearances in the program beginning with season 7's Spearhead from Space.

John Levene makes his first appearance as Corporal Benton in The Invasion. He would continue to make regular appearances, with the character promoted to sergeant, from season 7 until season 13.

Alan Bennion makes his first of three appearances in the series playing an Ice Warrior. In this, his first appearance, he portrays Lord Slaar in The Seeds of Death.

Kevin Stoney makes his second appearance as a villain in The Invasion as Tobias Vaughn. Louise Pajo and Ronald Leigh-Hunt guest star in The Seeds of Death.

Serials

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See also: List of Doctor Who episodes (1963–1989)

Terrance Dicks took over from Derrick Sherwin as script editor from The Invasion, with Sherwin resuming the role for The Space Pirates. Derrick Sherwin took over as producer from Peter Bryant for The War Games.

Season 6 is the most complete of all the Second Doctor's seasons, with only seven episodes missing (compared with thirty-three from Season 4 and eighteen from Season 5), none of the season's stories missing in their entirety and only two stories (The Invasion and The Space Pirates) incomplete. This compares to the first two seasons of the Second Doctor from which only two complete serials (The Tomb of the Cybermen and The Enemy of the World) survive. The missing two episodes of The Invasion have since been reconstructed using animation and released on DVD.

The War Games, which was the final serial of the season, and the last of Patrick Troughton's tenure as the Doctor, was also the second longest serial up to that point, spanning 10 episodes – only the 12-part serial The Daleks' Master Plan from Season 3 was longer. Both of these would be beaten in 1986 by the 14-part season-spanning story The Trial of a Time Lord

The Dominators and The Mind Robber were both produced at the end of the fifth recording block and held over to Season 6.[citation needed]

No.
story		No. in
season		Serial titleEpisode titlesDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateProd.
code		UK viewers
(millions) [1]		AI [1]
441The Dominators"Episode 1"Morris Barry"Norman Ashby"
(Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln)		10 August 1968 (1968-08-10)TT6.152
"Episode 2"17 August 1968 (1968-08-17)5.955
[Episode 3][note 1]24 August 1968 (1968-08-24)5.455
"Episode 4"31 August 1968 (1968-08-31)7.551
"Episode 5"7 September 1968 (1968-09-07)5.953
Arriving on an irradiated island, The Doctor, Jamie and new companion Zoe Heriot find an alien craft bearing the imperious and ruthless Dominators.
452The Mind Robber"Episode 1"David MaloneyDerrick Sherwin (uncredited)14 September 1968 (1968-09-14)UU6.651
"Episode 2"Peter Ling21 September 1968 (1968-09-21)6.549
"Episode 3"Peter Ling28 September 1968 (1968-09-28)7.253
"Episode 4"Peter Ling5 October 1968 (1968-10-05)7.356
"Episode 5"Peter Ling12 October 1968 (1968-10-12)6.749
By blowing a fluid link, the Doctor is forced to use the emergency unit to take the TARDIS away from danger and indeed out of reality itself: to the Land of Fiction. Here, he meets fictional characters, such as Rapunzel, Lemuel Gulliver and Medusa.
463The Invasion"Episode One"†Douglas CamfieldDerrick Sherwin and Kit Pedler (story)2 November 1968 (1968-11-02)VV7.355
"Episode Two"9 November 1968 (1968-11-09)7.153
"Episode Three"16 November 1968 (1968-11-16)7.154
"Episode Four"†23 November 1968 (1968-11-23)6.451
"Episode Five"30 November 1968 (1968-11-30)6.752
"Episode Six"7 December 1968 (1968-12-07)6.556
"Episode Seven"14 December 1968 (1968-12-14)7.255
"Episode Eight"21 December 1968 (1968-12-21)7.053
After becoming invisible, the TARDIS arrives in England. While looking for a missing scientist at an electronics company, the TARDIS crew find out that the Cybermen are hidden within London's sewers and are planning an invasion.
474The Krotons"Episode One"David MaloneyRobert Holmes28 December 1968 (1968-12-28)WW9.059
"Episode Two"4 January 1969 (1969-01-04)8.457
"Episode Three"11 January 1969 (1969-01-11)7.556
"Episode Four"18 January 1969 (1969-01-18)7.155
On an unnamed planet, a race called the Gonds are subject to the mysterious Krotons, unseen beings to whom they provide their brightest members as "companions".
485The Seeds of Death"Episode One"Michael FergusonBrian Hayles25 January 1969 (1969-01-25)XX6.657
"Episode Two"Brian Hayles1 February 1969 (1969-02-01)6.859
"Episode Three"Brian Hayles and Terrance Dicks (uncredited)8 February 1969 (1969-02-08)7.555
"Episode Four"Brian Hayles and Terrance Dicks (uncredited)15 February 1969 (1969-02-15)7.155
"Episode Five"Brian Hayles and Terrance Dicks (uncredited)22 February 1969 (1969-02-22)7.657
"Episode Six"Brian Hayles and Terrance Dicks (uncredited)1 March 1969 (1969-03-01)7.759
The Ice Warriors plan to destroy every living thing on Earth by making Earth more habitable for them.
496The Space Pirates"Episode One"†Michael HartRobert Holmes8 March 1969 (1969-03-08)YY5.857
"Episode Two"15 March 1969 (1969-03-15)6.852
"Episode Three"†22 March 1969 (1969-03-22)6.455
"Episode Four"†29 March 1969 (1969-03-29)5.853
"Episode Five"†5 April 1969 (1969-04-05)5.556
"Episode Six"†12 April 1969 (1969-04-12)5.352
Space beacons on the space lanes are being blown up and plundered for precious argonite by a gang of space pirates led by Caven and his associate Dervish.
507The War Games"Episode One"David MaloneyTerrance Dicks and Malcolm Hulke19 April 1969 (1969-04-19)ZZ5.555
"Episode Two"26 April 1969 (1969-04-26)6.354
"Episode Three"3 May 1969 (1969-05-03)5.153
"Episode Four"10 May 1969 (1969-05-10)5.750
"Episode Five"17 May 1969 (1969-05-17)5.153
"Episode Six"24 May 1969 (1969-05-24)4.253
"Episode Seven"31 May 1969 (1969-05-31)4.953
"Episode Eight"7 June 1969 (1969-06-07)3.553
"Episode Nine"14 June 1969 (1969-06-14)4.157
"Episode Ten"21 June 1969 (1969-06-21)5.058
On an alien planet, the Doctor uncovers a plot to conquer the Galaxy with brainwashed Earth soldiers, forced to fight in simulated "war games", reflecting the periods in history whence they were taken, with the aliens being aided by a renegade Time Lord called the War Chief. Joining forces with rebel soldiers, who have broken their conditioning, the Doctor and his companions foil the plot and end the fighting. The War Chief is killed when the aliens' leader, the War Lord, realises he has been plotting against him. The Doctor needs the help of the Time Lords to put things right, but risks capture for his interference across space-time and the theft of his TARDIS. The Time Lords return the soldiers to Earth, dematerialise the War Lord, erase Zoe and Jamie's memories from the points in time when they first entered the TARDIS and then return them there. They then place the Doctor on trial; who cites his many battles against the evils of the universe. Accepting this defence, the Time Lords exile him to Earth, and tell him he will change his appearance. He cries out indignantly as a forced regeneration is triggered.

^† : Episode is missing

Missing episodes

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See also: Doctor Who missing episodes
  • The Invasion – Episodes 1 & 4 (of 8 total) (Animated recreations exist)
  • The Space Pirates – Episodes 1, 3 – 6 (of 6 total)

Home media

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See also: List of Doctor Who home video releases and List of other Doctor Who home video releases

VHS releases

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Season Story no. Serial name Number and duration
of episodes 		UK release date Australia release date USA/Canada release date
6 44 The Dominators 5 × 25 min. September 1990[3][4] February 1991[4] August 1994[4]
45 The Mind Robber 5 × 25 min. May 1990[5][6] September 1990[6] February 1994[6]
46 The Invasion 6 × 25 min. June 1993[7][8]
(2 x VHS) 		October 1993[8] June 1995[8]
47 The Krotons 4 × 25 min. February 1991[9][10] July 1991[10] August 1994[10]
48 The Seeds of Death 1 × 150 min. July 1985[11][12] December 1987[12] March 1990[12]
50 The War Games 10 × 25 min. February 1990[13][14] June 1990[14] January 1992[14]

Betamax releases

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Season Story no. Serial name Number and duration
of episodes 		UK release date Australia release date USA/Canada release date
6 48 The Seeds of Death 1 × 150 min. July 1985 (edited)[12] — —

DVD and Blu-ray releases

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All releases are for DVD

Season Story no. Serial name Number and duration
of episodes 		R2 release date R4 release date R1 release date
6 44 The Dominators 5 × 25 min. 12 July 2010[15][16][17] 2 September 2010[18] 11 January 2011[19]
45 The Mind Robber 5 × 20 min. 7 March 2005[20][21] 5 May 2005[22] 6 September 2005[23]
46 The Invasion[a] 8 × 25 min. 6 November 2006[24][25][26] 3 January 2007[27] 6 March 2007[28]
47 The Krotons 4 × 25 min. 2 July 2012[29][30][31] 2 August 2012[32] 10 July 2012[33]
48 The Seeds of Death 6 × 25 min. 17 February 2003[34] 5 May 2003[35] 2 March 2004[36]
The Seeds of Death (Special Edition)[b] 6 × 25 min. 28 March 2011[37][38][39] 5 May 2011[40] 12 June 2012[41]
49 Lost in Time, Volume 2
The Space Pirates[c] 		1 × 25 min. 1 November 2004[42][d][44] 2 December 2004[43][e] 2 November 2004[43]
50 The War Games[f] 10 × 25 min. 6 July 2009[45][46][47] 3 September 2009[48] 3 November 2009[49]
  1. ^ Episodes 2–3 and 5–8 of 8, animation of 1 and 4
  2. ^ Only available as part of the Revisitations 2 box set in Regions 2 and 4. Only available individually in Region 1.
  3. ^ Episode 2 of 6
  4. ^ Re-released in slimmer packaging in late 2016[43]
  5. ^ Re-released in slimmer packaging in July 2010[43]
  6. ^ Available individually or in the Regeneration box set in Region 2.
    Only available individually in Regions 1 and 4.

In print

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See also: List of Doctor Who novelisations
Season Story no. Library no.[a] Novelisation title Author Hardcover
release date[b] 		Paperback
release date[c] 		Audiobook
release date[d]
6 044 86 The Dominators Ian Marter 19 April 1984[50] 19 July 1984[50] 6 September 2018[50]
045 115 The Mind Robber Peter Ling 20 November 1986[51] 16 April 1987[51] 6 August 2009[51]
046 98 The Invasion Ian Marter 16 May 1985[52] 10 October 1985[52] 7 April 2016[52]
047 99 The Krotons Terrance Dicks 13 June 1985[53] 14 November 1985[53] 2 April 2020[53]
048 112 The Seeds of Death 17 July 1986[54] 4 December 1986[54] 2 February 2023[55]
049 147 The Space Pirates — 15 March 1990[56] 1 December 2016[56]
050 70 Doctor Who and the War Games Malcolm Hulke 25 October 1979[57] 25 September 1979[57] 1 February 2011[57]
  1. ^ Number in Target's Doctor Who Library, if applicable
  2. ^ Published by Target's parent companies (Allen Wingate, W. H. Allen, BBC Books) unless otherwise indicated
  3. ^ Published by Target Books (or by BBC Books under the Target Collection umbrella) unless otherwise indicated
  4. ^ Unabridged from BBC Audio/AudioGo unless otherwise indicated

Notes

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  1. ^ This episode has no on-screen episode title[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Ratings Guide". Doctor Who News. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
  2. ^ "BBC – Doctor Who Classic Episode Guide – The Dominators – Details". bbc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 10 April 2019.
  3. ^ "DOCTOR WHO - THE DOMINATORS". bbfc.co.uk.
  4. ^ a b c "The Dominators (VHS)". timelash.com.
  5. ^ "DOCTOR WHO - THE MIND ROBBER". bbfc.co.uk.
  6. ^ a b c "The Mind Robber (VHS)". timelash.com.
  7. ^ "DOCTOR WHO - THE INVASION". bbfc.co.uk.
  8. ^ a b c "The Invasion (VHS)". timelash.com.
  9. ^ "DOCTOR WHO - THE KROTONS". bbfc.co.uk.
  10. ^ a b c "The Krotons (VHS)". timelash.com. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015.
  11. ^ "DOCTOR WHO - THE SEEDS OF DEATH". bbfc.co.uk.
  12. ^ a b c d "The Krotons (VHS)". timelash.com.
  13. ^ "DOCTOR WHO - THE WAR GAMES". bbfc.co.uk.
  14. ^ a b c "The War Games (VHS)". timelash.com.
  15. ^ "Doctor Who: The Dominators (DVD)". BBC. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
  16. ^ "Doctor Who: The Dominators". British Video Association. Archived from the original on 8 November 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
  17. ^ Smith 2014, The Dominators.
  18. ^ "Doctor Who: The Dominators 2 DVD Set". BBC. Archived from the original on 3 August 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
  19. ^ "Doctor Who - Story #044: The Dominators". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Archived from the original on 14 November 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
  20. ^ "Doctor Who: Mind Robber (DVD)". BBC. Archived from the original on 22 May 2013. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
  21. ^ Smith 2014, The Mind Robber.
  22. ^ "Doctor Who The Mind Robber". Roadshow Entertainment. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
  23. ^ "Doctor Who - Story #045: Mind Robber". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Archived from the original on 14 November 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
  24. ^ "Doctor Who: The Invasion (DVD)". BBC. Archived from the original on 16 July 2013. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
  25. ^ "Doctor Who: The Invasion". British Video Association. Archived from the original on 8 November 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
  26. ^ Smith 2014, The Invasion.
  27. ^ "Dr Who The Invasion". Roadshow Entertainment. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
  28. ^ "Doctor Who - Story #046: The Invasion". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Archived from the original on 14 November 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
  29. ^ "Doctor Who: The Krotons (DVD)". BBC. Archived from the original on 9 September 2013. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
  30. ^ "Doctor Who: The Krotons". British Video Association. Archived from the original on 8 November 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
  31. ^ Smith 2014, The Krotons.
  32. ^ "Doctor Who The Krotons DVD". BBC. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
  33. ^ "Doctor Who - Story #047: The Krotons". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Archived from the original on 14 November 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
  34. ^ Smith 2014, The Seeds of Death.
  35. ^ "Dr. Who - Seeds Of Death [2 Discs] by Roadshow Entertainment - Shop Online for Movies, DVDs in Australia". www.fishpond.com.au. Archived from the original on 23 October 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  36. ^ "Doctor Who - Story #048: Seeds Of Death". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Archived from the original on 14 November 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
  37. ^ "Doctor Who: Revisitation Boxset Volume 2 (DVD)". BBC. Archived from the original on 7 October 2013. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
  38. ^ "Doctor Who: Revisitations 2". British Video Association. Archived from the original on 8 November 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
  39. ^ Smith 2014, The Seeds of Death Special Edition.
  40. ^ "Doctor Who Revisitations 2 (6 DVD Set)". BBC. Archived from the original on 12 May 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
  41. ^ "Doctor Who - Story #048: Seeds Of Death: Special Edition". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Archived from the original on 14 November 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
  42. ^ Ainsworth 2019, p. 152.
  43. ^ a b c d "Lost in Time". The TARDIS Library. Archived from the original on 9 November 2021. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  44. ^ Smith 2014, Lost in Time.
  45. ^ "Doctor Who: War Games (DVD)". BBC. Archived from the original on 20 May 2013. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
  46. ^ "Doctor Who: War Games". British Video Association. Archived from the original on 8 November 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
  47. ^ Smith 2014, The War Games.
  48. ^ "Doctor Who The War Games". Roadshow Entertainment. Archived from the original on 6 May 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
  49. ^ "Doctor Who - Story #050: War Games". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Archived from the original on 14 November 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
  50. ^ a b c Smith 2021, p. 66.
  51. ^ a b c Smith 2021, p. 67.
  52. ^ a b c Smith 2021, p. 69.
  53. ^ a b c Smith 2021, p. 70.
  54. ^ a b Smith 2021, p. 71.
  55. ^ Doctor Who: The Seeds of Death. 2 February 2023.
  56. ^ a b Smith 2021, p. 72.
  57. ^ a b c Smith 2021, p. 73.

Bibliography

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  • Ainsworth, John, ed. (2019). "Shada, Dimensions in Time, The Curse of Fatal Death and Time Crash". Doctor Who: The Complete History. 90 (90). London: Panini Comics, Hachette Partworks. ISSN 2057-6048.
  • Smith, Paul (2014). The Classic Doctor Who DVD Compendium. United Kingdom: Wonderful Books. ISBN 978-0-9576062-2-7.
  • Smith, Paul MC (July 2021). Based on the Popular BBC Television Serial. Wonderful Books.
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