Doctor Who in the 1980's: Season 24

As part of the celebrations on Who Time (& Space) of Doctor Who in the 1980's, I will be taking a look back at two classic seasons from across the decade. Our second and final season, from 1987, is Season 24...

The Seventh Doctor, as painted by Jeremy Enecio.

By 1987, Doctor Who was in danger of cancellation. After an 18 month hiatus, the show was brought back, but was very much on trial for its life, something that was reflected in "The Trial of a Time Lord" arc that ran throughout Season 23. After a production blighted by problems behind the scenes, the season premiered to hugely disappointing ratings, and Colin Baker was eventually dismissed from the part by BBC management. The show had already been recommissioned for Season 24, but the show was now fighting for its life. In the middle of this, the show got a new Doctor (in the form of Sylvester McCoy) and a new script editor (in the form of Andrew Cartmel), and both set about making their mark on the show. Unlike past series, Season 24 wasn't too reliant on past Doctor Who continuity, instead forging ahead with new ideas and new adversaries. Season 24 is often considered by many to be the weakest season in the history of the show, as it is often labelled as silly or camp, and people believe that, had it not been for the sharp turn-around in Seasons 25 and 26, the show wouldn't have been revived in 2005. In this post, I'm going to be taking a look back at Season 24, looking at its production, and looking back at the stories in question and how they fair today.

The cover artwork for the 2010 DVD release of
"Time and the Rani", designed by Clayton Hickman.

Story 1: Time and the Rani - Written by Pip & Jane Baker and Directed by Andrew Morgan.

"Time and the Rani" was a late commission, and came at a time when the show was in turmoil. Originally, producer John Nathan-Turner had hoped that, after Season 23, he would be moved onto other projects. However, BBC management decided to keep JNT on the programme, meaning he had to quickly find scripts, a new lead actor and a new script editor. He immediately contacted Pip and Jane Baker, writers of "The Mark of the Rani" and "The Trial of a Time Lord", who were notorious for delivering good scripts quickly, and were good friends with Nathan-Turner. They planned to bring back the Rani, who had featured in 1985's "The Mark of the Rani": Kate O'Mara was eager to return to the part, despite having a high-profile role in the big-budget American soap opera Dynasty. The original plan was for this story to culminate with the regeneration of the Sixth Doctor: he would have remained behind in the Rani's base to ensure the bombs detonated. Colin Baker, however, was worried that, if he only remained with the series for the first story of the season, he would lose out on work while he waited for the series to air (as he would still be the face of the programme until his regeneration), and so asked to remain until the end of the season. The BBC refused this request, and so Colin turned down the chance to return. As such, the planned pre-titles sequence was dropped (which would have seen the Rani kidnapping Albert Einstein), and replaced with the Doctor's regeneration. A sequence involving a giant spider was also deleted: the Bakers had included this, due to Colin Baker being arachnophobic. The Bakers were forced to write the vast majority of this story before the new Doctor had even been cast: as such, they had little to base the new Doctor's personality off. In addition to that, there was no script editor to guide the writing process, or help shape the Doctor's character. In late 1986, however, JNT was put in touch with a young writer called Andrew Cartmel who quickly impressed him with his ideas and sample scripts he provided to the Doctor Who production office. It is also reported that it was during these early discussions that Cartmel said he wanted to use Doctor Who to overthrow the government, though this may be apocryphal. Casting the Seventh Doctor was much harder: while Nathan-Turner decided early on that he wanted Sylvester McCoy to play the part, he met with resistance from BBC management, who were unconvinced that he would have the suitable gravitas the part required. After holding screen tests with other actors who were considered unsuitable by JNT, he finally convinced the powers-that-be, and McCoy was offered the part. During this period, however, Andrew Cartmel and the Bakers were not getting along well: Cartmel believed that the script was outdated and didn't really say anything, while they were unconvinced he had the experience and presence his new role required. The director of "Time and the Rani" was new to Doctor Who: Andrew Morgan, and he felt slightly overwhelmed by the effects side of the production, leading to him being forced to accept things he wasn't sure about by the effects department. A lot of elements of McCoy's character came from drawing contrasts with Colin Baker's Doctor: namely the mangling of proverbs and his more subdued clothing. The spoons were suggested by crewmember Geoff Powell, due to McCoy giving an entertaining performance one night during location filming. This was conducted in quarries, despite the Bakers having written Lakertya as a forest world. Sylvester McCoy played the Sixth Doctor in the regeneration scene, donning a curly wig, while his face was distorted by camera trickery showing the regeneration effect: Morgan originally planned to use clips of Colin Baker, but this was vetoed by JNT. This was the first Doctor Who story that saw the use of Computer Generated Imagery (CGI): this also extended to the title sequence, which was the first totally CG title sequence in the history of television. This was designed by Oliver Elms, and was accompanied by a new arrangement of the Doctor Who theme tune, composed by Keff McCulloch.

The Doctor and Mel must foil the evil Rani's
scheme! But just what is she planning?...

"Time and the Rani" is a story that, let's be honest, isn't well loved by the fanbase. For many years, it has wound up near the bottom of lists of fans' favourite Doctor Who stories, and even those involved in its production have had less than kind things to say about it. About ten years ago, when I saw this story for the first time on DVD I declared that it was one of the worst Doctor Who stories I ever watched. But time and age has been kind to this story, and my opinion of it has somewhat mellowed. Sure, its still the worst McCoy story (though considering the quality of the others, that's less of an insult than you might think) of the series, and there are a number of glaring and obvious issues that make you wonder how anyone decided to stay with the show after this. However, despite all these issues, the story itself is not as bad as it is made out to be, and actually has a lot of potential, despite all the elements stacked up against it. Sure, it is incredibly over the top, at times detrimentally so. And, in terms of launching a new era of Doctor Who and giving you a reason to invest in, and fundamentally, like the new Doctor, this is an abject failure. But, in spite of all that, "Time and the Rani" is fun, even if its in a 'so bad its good' way. The plot is nonsensical, the characterisation is laughable and the acting is hammy beyond belief. However, it is still enjoyable for all those flaws, as "Time and the Rani" feels like a misconstrued send-up of all of classic Doctor Who up to this point. All the tropes are there: an alien world that is underdeveloped and under-threat from an alien force that look like something that we see in the everyday world. A companion who's only trait is 'feisty', who allies herself with a rebel, while the Doctor finds himself facing the villain. The villain happens to be a Time Lord who the Doctor went to school with, and has a ludicrously overcomplicated plan to take over the universe. This is exactly the kind of story that Russell T Davies meant when he was talking about sci-fi that was unrelatable for the audience at home. Sure, we Doctor Who fans think its camp and silly nonsense that we love, no matter what. But I do understand why viewers at home may have struggled with this, and why a lot of people were turned off McCoy's Doctor from the beginning. As I mentioned earlier, this is a poor introduction for the Seventh Doctor, although at least it isn't "The Twin Dilemma". Sure, at least they don't make the Doctor outright unlikable, but they do make him look like an idiot for not spotting the Rani's obvious scheme. She's not much of a Mel you know, and I get that the Doctor is suffering from post-regeneration amnesia, but not to the point where he's utterly clueless about something so obvious, surely? At least the early parts of the story give a strong role to Mel, who never really got many moments to shine in the previous season, and Pip and Jane Baker give the character some agency in the story, and allow Bonnie Langford to show that, yes, she can act when given material worthy of her (although the amount of times she screams in this story is outrageous). Kate O Mara is wonderful, and the Tetraps are an interesting monster with a cool design. Ultimately, "Time and the Rani" is a bit of a mess, but it isn't completely unsalvageable. There are a handful of good moments, and some genuine attempts to tell something, if not fresh, then exciting. However, the obvious rush to get this one made did this no favours, and it needed a lot more work and imagination before it was ready.

The cover artwork for the 2011 DVD release of
"Paradise Towers", designed by Lee Binding.

Story 2: Paradise Towers - Written by Stephen Wyatt and Directed by Nicholas Mallet.

"Paradise Towers" was commissioned from new writer Stephen Wyatt by producer John Nathan-Turner, before new script editor Andrew Cartmel had even been brought on board. JNT was deliberately seeking new writers for the programme: a lot of writers who had worked on the show before had connections with Eric Saward, the previous script editor who he had a publicised falling out with, and JNT disliked working with writers who had preceded him on the show. As such, new to TV writer Wyatt was perfect, and when Cartmel joined the show, he and Wyatt developed a story inspired heavily by JG Ballard's 1975 novel High Rise. This was in keeping with Cartmel's desire to bring a new aesthetic into the programme, embracing the spirit of off-the-wall American comic books like Watchmen and V for Vendetta. The script was commissioned before McCoy was cast as the Doctor, although Wyatt worked quickly and shared the vision of the team that the Seventh Doctor should echo Patrick Troughton's Second Doctor. By the time Wyatt was finishing his script, however, McCoy was cast, and Wyatt was able to write for him more personally. The role of the cleaning robots was expanded to give the story a traditional Doctor Who monster, while the pool robot was introduced when JNT became concerned about the cost of creating a mutated creature (as it was in Wyatt's original version). Also proving troublesome was the casting of Pex: originally conceived by Wyatt as a send-up of the stereotypical muscle-bound oaf in American action films, few actors of the right build were willing to engage in the level of self-parody the part required, and, in the end, director Nicholas Mallet ended up having to go against type, casting Howard Cooke in the role. Other cast members included Julie Brennon, Turlough actor Mark Strickson's wife, Clive Merrison, who had appeared in "The Tomb of the Cybermen", and Richard Briers, best known for appearing in the lead role in the BBC sitcom The Good Life. There were concerns that Briers sent up his performance too much, and it was felt he ignored direction to tone it down. Bonnie Langford ended up having an unpleasant experience recording the material in the swimming pool, as the water was freezing cold. Originally, freelance composer David Snell was to compose the music for this story, however JNT was unhappy with his work, and Keff McCulloch was forced to step in and redo the whole score at short notice. Originally, Wyatt hoped to write a sequel to this story, about the Kangs, but he instead ended up developing "The Greatest Show in the Galaxy" for Season 25.

Look out Doctor! There's a killer robot behind you!

Honestly, I would say that "Paradise Towers" is one of the most underrated Doctor Who stories ever. I know a lot of people see a camp, over-the-top pantomime (which are words that could describe every Season 24 story, to be honest), but I see a story bursting with fervent ideas, creative imagination and a new, fresh style that the show hadn't experimented with before. The series needed a creative shot in the arm, and "Paradise Towers" brings that in spades. The script is warm and witty: no longer bogged down with continuity, or with a TARDIS team that are acting antagonistically towards each other, this gets on with the business of telling an exciting, pacey Doctor Who story, and it somehow feels fresh because of it. Wyatt never takes the action too seriously: there's more jokes in this script than in a lot of the Colin Baker era, and the larger-than-life characters are great fun to watch, especially the rule-obsessed Caretakers. In many ways, this holds some similarities with "The Face of Evil", but this goes much further than that story ever did with regards to its regressed civilisation. The people in the Towers have their own language, and it shows real thought regarding how this world works. You could spend six, or even eight, episodes here, as the landscape is so vivid and well-realised. While you could argue that the robots don't really make an intimidating menace, the core idea of the technology designed to protect the Towers turning against its occupants is actually pretty frightening, and there are some layers of subtext at work here in an attempt to bring this idea to life. I think a modern-day version of this story would play more on that angle, but, for what this story is trying to do, I think its perfectly acceptable. Of course, it isn't perfect, and does suffer from a couple of issues: namely the acting of Richard Briers as the Kroagnon possessed Chief Caretaker, and utterly dreary set design and lighting. I think Briers is fine as the Chief Caretaker (sure, its a little broad, but, when you've sat through both Graham Crowden and Alan Cumming hamming it up, its not quite that bad); its just when he becomes Kroagnon in the final episode does it become a problem. Its completely impossible to take him seriously as he growls his way through the final episode, and it actually makes it hard to watch as a result. And the set design and lighting are exactly as you'd expect from an 80's Doctor Who story, and make the whole thing look dated and cheap as a result. Some of this is down to budget, of course, but other parts could have been improved just by being willing to make some more radical decisions. Had this come slightly later in the Seventh Doctor's run, even just towards the end of this season, I think it would have been even stronger, and people would have been more willing to push the boundaries of what was expected of the show at the time. That being said, however, I still think "Paradise Towers" might almost be an underrated classic, as its creative script outshines any problems with the acting or the production. Clearly this was a victim of the manic circumstances that define Season 24, but I think that the seeds of something utterly brilliant are clearly visible, and a lot of people are trying to make something very exciting and dramatic. If someone was to ask me which single classic series story I would pick to be remade today, my first answer would be "Paradise Towers", as I think its script is fantastic enough. This is where the McCoy era really gets going, and the seeds of the last two seasons are sowed here, without any doubt.

The cover artwork for the 2009 DVD release of
"Delta and the Bannermen", designed by Clayton
Hickman.

Story 3: Delta and the Bannermen - Written by Malcolm Kholl and Directed by Chris Clough.

"Delta and the Bannermen" was the first story that script editor Andrew Cartmel commissioned from beginning to end (it was producer John Nathan-Turner that initiated conversations with Stephen Wyatt), and was heavily influenced by his desire to embrace more complex ideas. Kholl had been a member of the same BBC script unit workshop as Cartmel, and he decided to contact some of the writers he had worked with there. It was JNT's idea to set the story in Wales: he wanted to move the show out of London and the Home Counties, and this was embraced by Kholl, who had experience holidaying in Barry Island. It was decided early on in production that this story would be the first three-parter since 1964's "Planet of Giants": due to the reduced episode count imposed with Season 23, the production team wouldn't be able to make 4 four-part stories, and JNT was not a fan of six-part stories (in fact, one of his first edicts upon taking over the programme in 1980 was to dispose of them), while the two-part stories attempted in recent years weren't viewed by the team as having been successful; it was subsequently decided that "Delta and the Bannermen" would be made completely on location, while the following story, "Dragonfire", would be entirely studiobound, in order to save on costs and logistical issues. Originally titled Flight of the Chimeron, it kept flip-flopping between that and "Delta and the Bannermen", until it was decided at the last minute to stick with the latter. One character who was of great interest to the production team was Ray: by now, it was known that Bonnie Langford would be leaving Doctor Who, and, as such, a new companion would be required. While Ian Briggs (writer of "Dragonfire") had created the character of Ace, Kholl came up with the character of Ray, who JNT and Andrew Cartmel both saw potential in. As such, it was unsure which story would be positioned as the season finale: in the end, both Cartmel and Nathan-Turner decided Ace would make for a better companion than Ray, and "Delta and the Bannermen" became the third story of the season. One of this episode's biggest guest stars was comedian Ken Dodd: he played the role of the Tollmaster in episode 1. Originally, Lynn Gardener was to have played the part of Ray: however, she injured herself practicing the scooter riding required for the part, and so second place Sara Griffiths was brought in (Gardener was paid in full, and given the role of the Iceworld Announcer in "Dragonfire" by way of compensation), while Delta actress Belinda Mayne was originally considered for the role of Romana in 1978. Most of the story was filmed in Wales: eighteen years later, the show would make the principality its filming home.

"You've won! You've won the grand prize!"

Honestly, "Delta and the Bannermen" is simultaneously the best and worst Doctor Who story of all time. It's utterly, utterly mad, and is only the sort of thing that this show could pull off. There's so much going on, so many different strands, characters and tones that you almost expect the whole thing to collapse at any moment. I'd be shocked if anyone took this seriously as legitimate drama, because it really isn't. But, for all that, this is somehow one of the most daring and risky stories the show has ever done because of it. There's more ideas here than some more highly-regarded stories have achieved, and I love the lightness of touch and pace in the script. This doesn't waste time with superfluous set pieces: as the show's first proper three-part story, this doesn't have the time to waste on things like that. Instead it runs at full pelt, which is probably the only way this story can hide the fact that it is an absolute mess. Yes, its very rambley and incoherent, and maybe it needed to be pruned back quite significantly. However, I think part of what makes this story so enjoyable is how messy it. It is all over the place: no other Doctor Who story takes so many dispirit elements, and attempts to weave them together into a story. That being said, in my opinion, "Delta and the Bannermen" is the classic series story that is most like something from the new series. Some might disagree, but this story features so many threads, weaved together with loads of pop culture references and a lot of comedy. It combines high sci-fi with history and high camp, all while balancing a light and dark tone. Sound familiar? I mean, some may find it too all over the place, too silly, but, honestly, I think it would really work today, and I can see a lot in Russell T Davies' and Steven Moffat's approach to the show here. Genocide and bee-keeping sitting together in the same episode: honestly, only Doctor Who can do that! It does make "Delta and the Bannermen" hard to legitimately critique, because everything seems to sort of fling off it, and nothing really sticks. You just have to take it as a bit of fun, with a dark and gnarly heart, because otherwise you'll never really get anything out of it. If I was to offer any genuine criticism, it would be that Mel isn't used quite as effectively as she could have been. While Ray is a great character (and I would love Big Finish to revisit her character at some point), everything this story does with her is to the detriment of Mel. It's clear by this point that the writers had no idea how to write Mel, and what to do with her character. It's a shame, because contrary to some contemporary reports, there was a lot of potential there to begin with; it was just never pushed to any great degree. Both "Time and the Rani" and "Paradise Towers" gave it a good go, but this story and "Dragonfire" do really underuse the character, and, as such, it feels like the team of the time had just given up on Mel. However, while it is a little bit of a failing on "Delta and the Bannermen"'s part, it doesn't stop it from being my favourite of the season. For the show to even attempt something like this at this point in the show's history is either foolish or genius, and I'm not sure I can tell which it is. And, honestly, that's how it should be.

The cover for the 2012 DVD release of
"Dragonfire", designed by Clayton Hickman.

Story 4: Dragonfire - Written by Ian Briggs and Directed by Chris Clough.

One of the first writers to be contacted by Andrew Cartmel when he became script editor was Ian Briggs, who he had met at the BBC Script Unit (when he also met Malcolm Kholl, writer of "Delta and the Bannermen"). Briggs's first idea was rejected, as it was seen to be too derivative, and lacking the originality Cartmel was looking for. He asked Briggs to submit another idea: this time, it was for the entirely studiobound finale. His original submission centred around a fourteen-year old financial genius and his sidekick seeking a living treasure in the depths of an ice planet. This then developed into the villainous Hess, when Cartmel asked Briggs to tone down the more comedic elements after "Delta and the Bannermen" was becoming incredibly comedic. During "Dragonfire"'s development, thoughts were turning to who could replace Bonnie Langford as Mel: producer John Nathan-Turner had hoped to convince Langford to stay until the second serial of Season 25, but she would only commit to the first story of the same season. Deciding he didn't want to open on a departure, JNT decided that Mel would be written out in the season finale; the same story would introduce the new companion. A potential new companion called Alf was created by Andrew Cartmel, and Ian Briggs adapted the concept to form the basis of the character of Ace. It was only when the script was commissioned from Briggs that it was decided to include the character of Sabalom Glitz, who had appeared throughout the previous season's "Trial of a Time Lord" storyline. Originally, this had been a new creation called Razorback, and it was only JNT's suggestion that resulted in the inclusion of the character. As plans for Bonnie Langford's departure were finalised, it was decided that Ace would make a better companion than "Delta and the Bannermen"'s Ray: as such, it became the season finale. The role of Ace was won by Sophie Aldred, for whom this would be her first job in television. She had also been in the running for the part of Ray, which ultimately went to Sara Griffiths. It was early into recording that it was officially confirmed that Aldred would be returning as Ace next year. Briggs had to rewrite the final scenes of the story as a result, to account for all the comings and goings. One part of this story ended up becoming infamous - for all the wrong reasons! The closing of episode 1 was originally meant to revolve around the first appearance of the eponymous Dragon, while the Doctor's peril was a sub-cliffhanger. Originally, the Doctor was meant to reach the end of a passage, and, attempting to make further progress, would attempt to scale an ice wall, only to find himself in trouble. However, a combination of obscure stage directions, ineffective camera angles and the pressure of the recording schedule meant the cliffhanger was overly-simplified, to the point where it looked like the Doctor decided to dangle himself over a cliff for no obvious reason. It has since ended up becoming the show's most literal cliffhanger! To JNT's relief, soon after recording on "Dragonfire" wrapped, the BBC confirmed the show would be returning for its twenty-fifth season, an accolade few TV programmes could attest to.

The Doctor, Mel, Glitz and Ace must work out
the secret of the Dragonfire, before the murderous
Kane finds it...

As a conclusion to one of the most crazy and outrageous seasons of Doctor Who, "Dragonfire" acts as a pretty strong summation of the whole thing. It's got a tone that veers from high comedy to dark threat and violence, sometimes even in the same scene, and features larger-than-life settings and characters. Unlike both "Paradise Towers" and "Delta and the Bannermen", it's not entirely successful, but I can admire what "Dragonfire" is going for, even if I don't think it quite makes it. What you can see in "Dragonfire" are the first hints of what the Sylvester McCoy era will become in Seasons 25 and 26: you can see the hints of the darker, more mysterious tone starting to emerge, and the faster-paced, character driven storytelling that Andrew Cartmel made his own are all starting to emerge. The Doctor goes to Iceworld with a plan - he's hoping to find the Dragon, while in the character of Ace, we have a driven companion who pushes the main story forwards, and is emotionally complex and complicated. This story draws a marked contrast between the characters of Mel and Ace: one is immediately more interesting to watch, and the script just knows it. As I mentioned when talking about "Delta and the Bannermen", it's a shame that Mel is so underuterlised at this point, as there was potential there, and, while it isn't quite as noticeable as in "Delta and the Bannermen", she is barely given anything to do. Ace, on the other hand, is superbly introduced. We get a sense of who she is straight away: her character, her flaws and her hopes are all superbly set out, and it sets the stage for two exciting seasons to come well. I love Kane too: he's an uncomplicated, straight-forward villain that, thanks to a very restrained, tight performance from Edward Peel, is really menacing and sinister. Sure, he's not the deepest villain in the show's history, but he makes up for that by being incredibly evil and even, in some small way, rather nuanced. While still bearing some of the hallmarks of the seasons that went before it, you can tell the show is moving in a different direction here, and these steps forward show that new blood is starting to move the show out of the format it had been stuck in for a number of years. There were many attempts in the 1980's to update the show, and not all of them were entirely successful, or pushed the show as far as it could. Here, however, there's real change going on, and, if the production team were allowed to complete their transition of the show, I think they would have created something incredibly special. As is, "Dragonfire"'s slightly confused tone prevents it from being as good as I think it has the potential to be, and means it does fall just a little flat. That's not to say there isn't some really good material there, and you can see so much potential from the set-up. It just doesn't quite make it, but it isn't for want of trying.

The Seventh Doctor - ready to take on the universe!

Overall, I honestly believe that Season 24 is incredibly underrated by the fanbase. There's some brilliant ideas, and some of the most fervently creative stories the show has ever produced. While having a rough start, the series quickly finds its feet, and I'm certainly hopeful this series will find a wider audience when it is released on Blu-Ray later this year. I actually love Season 24, despite, or even perhaps because of, its flaws, and its a season of the show that starts a brand new era of the programme with gusto and style. After the uncertainty of the previous few seasons, this is Doctor Who getting back on track and getting back to just telling great stories: what this series does best.

All pictures copyright to the BBC. Thank you very much for reading. You can subscribe by clicking the link at the top of the page to be notified of new content.

This blog offers thanks to Shannon Sullivan of the website A Brief History of Time (Travel) for his invaluable research.