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Season 2
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General Information

Season Start:31 October 1964
Season End:24 July 1965
Season Length:39 Weeks
Writers:Bill Strutton, David Whitaker, Dennis Spooner, Glyn Jones, Louis Marks and Terry Nation
Directors:Christopher Barry, Douglas Camfield, Mervyn Pinfield and Richard Martin
Producer:Verity Lambert
Associate Producer:Mervyn Pinfield
Story Editors:David Whitaker, Dennis Spooner and Donald Tosh
Title Sequence:Bernard Lodge
Title Music:Ron Grainer and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Arranged by Delia Derbyshire
Incarnation of the Doctor: The First Doctor
Number of Companions: 5
The Companions: Susan (Departs), Barbara Wright (Departs), Ian Chesterton (Departs), Vicki (Joins) and Steven Taylor (Joins)
Number of Stories: 9
Number of Incomplete/Missing Stories: 1
Number of Episodes: 39
Number of Incomplete/Missing Episodes: 2
Percentages:
 Full Stories Held  89%
 Episodes Held  95%


Television Stories

No. Title Number of Episodes Production Code Status
9 Planet of Giants3JAll Held
10 The Dalek Invasion of Earth6KAll Held
11 The Rescue2LAll Held
12 The Romans4MAll Held
13 The Web Planet6NAll Held
14 The Crusade4PIncomplete
15 The Space Museum4QAll Held
16 The Chase6RAll Held
17 The Time Meddler4SAll Held


Audience Appreciation

Average Viewers (Millions) 10.5
The Best StoryThe Web Planet (12.5), The Rescue (12.5)
The Worst Story The Time Meddler (8.4)
Planet of Giants (8.6)The Dalek Invasion of Earth (11.9)The Rescue (12.5)The Romans (11.6)The Web Planet (12.5)The Crusade (9.4)The Space Museum (9.2)The Chase (9.4)The Time Meddler (8.4)
Doctor Who Magazine Poll (1998)
Season: 61.85%  (Position = 26 out of 27)
Best Story: The Dalek Invasion of Earth (75.03%)
Worst Story: The Space Museum (52.63%)
Doctor Who Magazine Poll (2009)
Season: 64.70% Higher (Position = 23 out of 31)
Best Story: The Dalek Invasion of Earth (79.21%)
Worst Story: The Space Museum (50.42%)
Doctor Who Magazine Poll (2014)
Season: 65.65% Higher (Position = 31 out of 36)
Best Story: The Dalek Invasion of Earth (80.22%)
Worst Story: The Space Museum (53.78%)


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The Villains

Daleks The Dalek Invasion of Earth and The Chase
Others Bennett (Koquillion) (The Rescue), El Akir (The Crusade), Forester (Planet of Giants), Lobos (The Space Museum), Mechanoids (The Chase), Nero (The Romans), The Animus (The Web Planet), The Meddling Monk (The Time Meddler), The Moroks (The Space Museum) and The Zarbi (The Web Planet)


Quote of the Season


 'One day, I shall Come back. Yes. I shall come back. Until then, there must be no regrets, no tears, no anxieties. Just go forward in all your beliefs, and prove to me that I am not mistaken in mine. Goodbye, my dear. Goodbye. Susan.'

The Doctor
(The Dalek Invasion of Earth)


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A Seasonal Summary


The Doctor Plays the Lyre
The Doctor Plays the Lyre
By the end of the second season, Doctor Who had again proved itself a big success and was fast becoming the UK's most popular series. This was due in no small part again to the phenomenal impact made by the Daleks who appeared in another two excellent stories.

This season consolidated and built upon the success of Season One with all the lead actors settling into their characters. There was much more variety in the content of the stories. Despite using well trusted formulae in some of the stories others stretched the boundaries into previously unexplored territory. The most obvious of these was "The Romans" with its overt humour and the pseudo-historical "The Time Meddler". However the weirdest story of all was the ambitious "The Web Planet" which contains, apart from The Doctor and his companions, only non-humanoid life forms of the insect kind.

However, despite the popularity of the four lead actors, by the end of this season only William Hartnell remained. And in the production office only Verity Lambert survived from the team responsible for launching the series.

With a gap of only seven weeks Season Three was not that far away and there would be more changes to come on both sides of the camera and even more ground breaking stories.



Things to Watch Out For


Susan and Ian confront a giant ant
Susan and Ian confront a giant ant
The Doctor and his three travelling companions find themselves trapped in what appears to be a jungle with monstrous creatures pursuing them in a world that at first seems so strange only because of the size of the things around them. When they first emerge they find that the two giant rock formations on either side of the TARDIS do not look natural. It is not long before Barbara Wright notices what appears to be a giant snake hanging down from the rock face above them. The Doctor is quite sure that it's dead but Barbara is more concerned by its fantastic size. Susan and Ian discover what looks like an egg, but it is far too large even for an ostrich egg. Ian Chesterton is quick to wonder what kind of a world they have wound up in. All is revealed when they discover that the TARDIS has materialised between the crazy-paving stones in a garden very near a small house where some very sinister things are going on. However, The Doctor and his companions discover that being only about an inch tall is dangerous enough especially they are forced to seek refuge inside the nearby building to escape being attacked by a rather large cat ("Planet of Giants").

Realising that he is holding Susan back and that she is quickly growing up and no longer wishing to be treated as a child The Doctor is forced to take drastic action. He locks her out of the TARDIS when he realises that she would be better off starting a new life on Earth with a resistance fighter who she had fallen in love with. Realising that The Doctor has forced her to face facts she is left to watch the TARDIS dematerialises without her. As she turns away to start her new life she lets the TARDIS key drop to the ground. ("The Dalek Invasion of Earth").

When Ian and Barbara finally manage to return to 20th-century London, by using a time machine abandoned by the Daleks, they are naturally delighted to be back home. After a trip on a bus, so as to soak in all the sites and sounds that they have missed during their time with The Doctor, they quickly realise that they have in fact arrived in 1965, two years later than when they left, leaving the viewer to wonder how they are going to explain their long absence! ("The Chase").



High and Low Points


The Daleks in London
The Daleks in London
The highest point of the season is during "The Dalek Invasion of Earth". After the success of the Daleks in their first story "The Daleks" it was inevitable that they would make a quick reappearance. This time though they can be seen in more familiar surroundings - the City of London. To see the Daleks rampaging through the streets and famous sites of London is more shocking then when they were within their own futuristic city making it even more important for The Doctor to defeat them.

The lowest point has to be the last three episodes of the very first story. After such a terrific start and introduction to the main characters and the main theme in the first episode the first trip in the TARDIS takes the viewer in the world of the prehistoric cave man with not even a dinosaur in sight. With only the animal grunts and instincts of the tribe and the time spent trying to escape from their incarceration in a dreary cave it seemed that the show had lost its way before it had even started. Thankfully the very next story changed all that.


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First and Last

The Firsts:

 The first Doctor Who story to be directed by Douglas Camfield. (Planet of Giants)

 The first Doctor Who story not to be recorded at Lime Grove. (Planet of Giants)

 The first Dalek story set on Earth. (The Dalek Invasion of Earth)

 The first departure of an original cast member. Carole Ann Ford who played The Doctor's 'granddaughter', Susan. (The Dalek Invasion of Earth)

 The introduction of new companion Vicki played by Maureen O'Brien. (The Rescue)

 Dennis Spooner's first involvement in the show as Story Editor. (The Rescue)

 The first Doctor Who story to be watched by more than 12 million viewers. (The Rescue)

 The first Doctor Who story to have an individual episode watched by more than 13 million viewers. This being the first episode. (The Web Planet)

 The first involment in the show for Jean Marsh. She would return as the short-lived companion Sara Kingdom in "The Daleks' Master Plan". (The Crusade)

 The introduction of new companion Steven Taylor played by Peter Purves. (The Chase)

 The first appearance of the Mechonoids. (The Chase)

 The first appearance in the show of another member of The Doctor's own race. (The Time Meddler)

 The first appearance in the show of The Meddling Monk played by Peter Butterworth. (The Time Meddler)

 Donald Tosh's first involvement in the show as Story Editor. (The Time Meddler)


The Lasts (Subject to Future Stories):

 Carole Ann Ford's last story as regular companion Susan. (The Dalek Invasion of Earth)

 David Whitaker's last involvement in the show as Story Editor. (The Dalek Invasion of Earth)

 Jacqueline Hill's last story as companion Barbara Wright. (The Chase)

 William Russell's last regular story as companion Ian Chesterton. (The Chase)

 Dennis Spooner's last involvement in the show as Story Editor. (The Chase)



In Print

Doctor Who CMS Magazine (An Adventure in Space and Time)Season 2 Special Release
Doctor Who Magazine - ArticleIssue 116 - (Released: September 1986)
Doctor Who Magazine - Episode GuideIssue 139 - (Released: August 1988)
Doctor Who Magazine - Countdown to 50Issue 431 - (Released: March 2011)


Additional Stories

TitleRelease Date (UK)FormatSourceCompanions
Daleks - Invasion Earth 2150 AD1966Film (Based on the TV story "The Dalek Invasion of Earth")Aaru Production The Doctor (Peter Cushing), Susan (Roberta Tovay), Louise (Jill Curzon) and Tom Campbell (Bernard Cribbins)
The Book of ShadowsMarch 1994Short StoryDecalog Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton
Venusian LullabyOctober 1994NovelThe Missing Adventures Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton
The Nine-Day-QueenJuly 1995Short StoryDecalog 2: Lost Properties Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton
The Time TravellersNovember 1995NovelThe Past Doctors Stories Susan, Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton
The Empire of GlassNovember 1995NovelThe Missing Adventures Vicki and Steven Taylor
The PlottersNovember 1996NovelThe Missing Adventures Barbara Wright, Ian Chesterton and Vicki
Romans CutawayMarch 1999Short StoryMore Short Trips Barbara Wright, Ian Chesterton and Vicki
Byzantium!July 2001NovelThe Past Doctors Stories Barbara Wright, Ian Chesterton and Vicki
Aries: The True and Indisputable Facts in the Case of the Ram’s SkullDecember 2002Short StoryThe Big Finish Short Trips 1: Zodiac Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton
A Long NightMarch 2003Short StoryThe Big Finish Short Trips 2: Companions Barbara Wright
Corridors of PowerDecember 2003Short StoryThe Big Finish Short Trips 5: Steel Skies Vicki and Steven Taylor
The Eleventh TigerMay 2004NovelThe Past Doctors Stories Barbara Wright, Ian Chesterton and Vicki
The Schoolboy's StoryJune 2004Short StoryThe Big Finish Short Trips 8: Repercussions Vicki and Steven Taylor
Every DayDecember 2004Short StoryThe Big Finish Short Trips 11: A Christmas Treasury Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton
Set in StoneDecember 2005Short StoryThe Big Finish Short Trips 15: The History of Christmas Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton
FrostfireFebruary 2007AudioThe Big Finish Audio Stories (Companion Chronicles) Vicki
The SufferingFebruary 2010AudioThe Big Finish Audio Stories (Companion Chronicles) Vicki and Steven Taylor
The Rocket MenAugust 2010AudioThe Big Finish Audio Stories (Companion Chronicles) Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton
The WandererApril 2012AudioThe Big Finish Audio Stories (Companion Chronicles) Susan, Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton
UpstairsSeptember 2013AudioThe Big Finish Audio Stories (Companion Chronicles) Vicki and Steven Taylor
The Dark PlanetSeptember 2013AudioThe Big Finish Audio Stories (The Lost Stories) Ian Chesterton and Vicki
StarbornMarch 2014AudioThe Big Finish Audio Stories (Companion Chronicles) Vicki

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Photo Gallery


The Doctor and Companions

 
William Hartnell
The First Doctor

   
Carole Ann Ford
Susan
Jacqueline Hill
Barbara Wright
William Russell
Ian Chesterton
   
Maureen O'Brien
Vicki
Peter Purves
Steven Taylor




On Release

 
The Collection Season 2 Limited Edition Blu-Ray Cover
The Collection Season 2 Limited Edition Blu-Ray Cover

BBC
VIDEO
 
   


Magazines

Doctor Who CMS Magazine (An Adventure in Space and Time): Season 2 Special Release
Doctor Who CMS Magazine (An Adventure in Space and Time): Season 2 Special Release

CMS
Doctor Who Magazine - Article: Issue 116
Doctor Who Magazine - Article: Issue 116

Marvel Comics
Doctor Who Magazine - Episode Guide: Issue 139
Doctor Who Magazine - Episode Guide: Issue 139

Marvel Comics
Doctor Who Magazine - Countdown to 50: Issue 431
Doctor Who Magazine - Countdown to 50: Issue 431

Marvel Comics
   



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