Welcome back to the City of Death… Doctor Who Season 17 is coming to Blu-ray!
BBC Studios have officially announced the next entry in the popular Doctor Who: The Collection series of limited edition Blu-ray box sets. And it’s Season 17, the penultimate season for Tom Baker’s Fourth Doctor, and the sole season script edited by best selling science fiction author Douglas Adams, will be arriving on Blu-ray on the 13th of December.
In 1979, Tom Baker’s Doctor was in full flight. With Douglas Adams (The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy) as script editor, the series leaned into Baker’s penchant for humour, and paired his Doctor with a regenerated Romana (Lalla Ward) as his traveling companion. Together, they would form one of the most popular Doctor/companion duos of all time.
Although Season 17 was halted behind the scenes by strike action (resulting in the season finale being abandoned part-way through production), it remains a beloved slice of Doctor Who history, featuring the return of Davros and the Daleks, and one of the all-time classic stories, Douglas Adams’ own City Of Death.
You can find the trailer for the new box set below:
Doctor Who – The Collection: Season 17 includes all six stories originally planned for Season 17, including Shada. Originally abandoned midway through filming due to the industrial action, Shada was completed in recent years with the original cast and new animation. Previously available as a feature length adventure, The Collection presents it for the first time as a six parter as originally envisioned in 1979.
The full list of stories is:
Destiny of the Daleks
City of Death
The Creature from the Pit
The Horns of Nimon
Shada
With all episodes newly remastered from the best available sources, the seven-disc box set also includes hours of special features previously released on DVD. In addition there are hours of new extensive and exclusive Special Features including:
BRAND NEW DOCUMENTARIES
Including a Making-Of documentary for Destiny Of The Daleks, and new featurette for The Creature From The Pit.
TOM TALKS
A candid interview with Tom Baker as he gives us his unique take on life, the universe and everything.
DOUGLAS ADAMS TRIBUTE
Friends and colleagues remember the Doctor Who writer/script editor and creator of The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy.
IN CONVERSATION
Matthew Sweet chats to Bob Baker, writer of Nightmare Of Eden, co-creator of K9 and one of the creative forces behind Wallace & Gromit.
BEHIND THE SOFA
New episodes with actors Colin Baker, Katy Manning, Matthew Waterhouse, Nicola Bryant, June Hudson, Graeme Harper & Mat Irvine
LALLA WARD INTERVIEW
An extensive interview discussing her first year on the programme.
UPDATED SPECIAL EFFECTS
View Nightmare Of Eden with optional new effects
SHADA
An updated version of the ‘lost’ story, completed with enhanced animation and presented in six episodes for the very first time, alongside the original 1992 VHS and 2017 versions
EXCLUSIVE NEW AUDIO COMMENTARIES
With Tom Baker on episodes of Destiny Of The Daleks and City Of Death, and Lalla Ward & Catherine Schell on City Of Death
EXTENDED EPISODE
An early cut of The Creature From The Pit Part Three
BLU-RAY TRAILER
A familiar face returns in a brand new mini-episode of classic Doctor Who
IMMERSIVE 5.1 SURROUND SOUND
On Destiny Of The Daleks and Shada
RARE GEMS FROM THE ARCHIVES
BBC archive material covering the promotion of this season
CONVENTION FOOTAGE
A triumphant 1997 appearance from Tom Baker
HD PHOTO GALLERIES
Including many previously unseen images
PRODUCTION SUBTITLES
Behind-the-scenes information and trivia on every episode
SCRIPTS, COSTUME DESIGNS, RARE BBC PRODUCTION FILES AND OTHER RARITIES FROM OUR PDF ARCHIVE
AND LOTS MORE!
