Doctor Who (season 17)
| Doctor Who (season 17) | |
|---|---|
Cover art of the Region 2 DVD release for first serial of the season
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| Starring | |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of stories | 5 (+1 unaired) |
| No. of episodes | 20 (+6 unaired) |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC One |
| Original release | 1 September 1979 – 12 January 1980 |
| Season chronology | |
The seventeenth season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 1 September 1979 with the story Destiny of the Daleks, and ended with The Horns of Nimon.
Tom Baker continued as the Fourth Doctor. Lalla Ward, who played Princess Astra in the season 16 finale The Armageddon Factor, returned to the series as the newly regenerated Romana, replacing Mary Tamm in the role. After John Leeson declined to voice K-9 in this season, David Brierley replaced him in the final three serials (and Shada).
Davros returns in Destiny of the Daleks, this time played by David Gooderson.
Season 17 was intended to follow the same format as had every season since Season 13, with five 4-part serials and a 6-parter closing the season out. However, the planned final serial of the season, Shada, was affected by an industrial dispute involving the BBC's technicians; while the location filming and the first studio recording session were completed, strike action by staff meant that the planned second studio session had to be cancelled. Although the dispute was resolved and plans were put in place to continue work on the story, it was eventually shelved, as the BBC was concerned that its Christmas productions might be affected. A BBC historian has suggested that by cancelling completely instead of finishing what little was required the management could demonstrate that the strikes had consequences
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