Doctor Who (season 16)

The sixteenth season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who, known collectively as The Key to Time, began on 2 September 1978 with The Ribos Operation, and ended with The Armageddon Factor. The arc was originally conceived by producer Graham Williams, who had proposed it as part of his application for the producer's job in 1976.[1] The name refers to the powerful artefact, the segments of which are what the Fourth Doctor and his companions, Romana and K9, search for during the season.

Doctor Who
Season 16
Cover of the 2008 Region 2 DVD release
Starring
Country of originUnited Kingdom
No. of stories6
No. of episodes26
Release
Original networkBBC1
Original release2 September 1978 (1978-09-02) 
24 February 1979 (1979-02-24)
Season chronology

Synopsis

A figure calling himself the White Guardian commissions the Doctor and K9, assisted by a new companion, the Time Lady Romana, to find the six segments of the Key to Time, a cosmic artifact resembling a perfect cube that maintains the equilibrium of the universe. Since it is too powerful for any single being to possess, it has been split into six different segments and scattered across space and time, disguised by the raw elemental power within them into any shape or size. However, since the forces balancing the universe are so upset, the White Guardian needs to recover the segments of the Key to stop the universe so that he can restore the balance. The White Guardian also warns the Doctor of the Black Guardian, who also wishes to obtain the Key to Time for his own purposes. In the final episode, the Black Guardian, disguised as the White Guardian, attempts to take the Key from the Doctor. However, the Doctor sees through the figure's charade and orders the segments of the Key to Time to once again become scattered across all of time and space, bar the sixth, which he reinstates as Princess Astra. Afterward, the Doctor decides to install a device called a randomiser into the TARDIS' navigation system for a period of time to make his following voyages unpredictable to evade the Black Guardian.

The six segments

  1. The first segment is disguised as a lump of Jethrik on the planet Ribos.
  2. The second is the planet Calufrax, shrunk to miniature size by the space-hopping pirate planet Zanak.
  3. The third is the Great Seal of Diplos, which has been stolen by a criminal of that planet.
  4. The fourth is part of a statue on the planet Tara.
  5. The fifth has been consumed by the squid Kroll, causing it to turn into a gigantic monster.
  6. The final segment is a female humanoid – Princess Astra.

Casting

Main cast

Guest Cast

Tom Baker continued his role as The Fourth Doctor, and saw the introduction of Romana played by Mary Tamm. This season was the only one to feature Tamm as the first incarnation of Romana, as the second incarnation, played by Lalla Ward (who also appeared in this season as Princess Astra), began her run in the first serial of the next season (Destiny of the Daleks).

Serials

Douglas Adams took over as script editor from Anthony Read for The Armageddon Factor. Season 16 consists of one long story arc encompassing six separate, linked stories.

StorySerialSerial titleEpisode titlesDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateProd.
code
UK viewers
(millions)[2]
AI[2]
981The Ribos Operation"Part One"George Spenton-FosterRobert Holmes2 September 1978 (1978-09-02)5A8.359
"Part Two"George Spenton-FosterRobert Holmes9 September 1978 (1978-09-09)5A8.1
"Part Three"George Spenton-FosterRobert Holmes16 September 1978 (1978-09-16)5A7.9
"Part Four"George Spenton-FosterRobert Holmes23 September 1978 (1978-09-23)5A8.267
The Doctor is recruited by the White Guardian to seek the six segments of the Key to Time. The quest for the first segment takes them to Ribos, a medieval planet that galactic confidence trickster Garron is trying to sell to the Graff Vynda-K.
992The Pirate Planet"Part One"Pennant RobertsDouglas Adams30 September 1978 (1978-09-30)5B9.161
"Part Two"Pennant RobertsDouglas Adams7 October 1978 (1978-10-07)5B7.4
"Part Three"Pennant RobertsDouglas Adams14 October 1978 (1978-10-14)5B8.264
"Part Four"Pennant RobertsDouglas Adams21 October 1978 (1978-10-21)5B8.464
The quest for the second segment takes them to the planet Zanak, which has been hollowed out and fitted with hyperspace engines, allowing its insane half-robot Captain to materialise it around other smaller planets and plunder their resources.
1003The Stones of Blood"Part One"Darrol BlakeDavid Fisher28 October 1978 (1978-10-28)5C8.6
"Part Two"Darrol BlakeDavid Fisher4 November 1978 (1978-11-04)5C6.6
"Part Three"Darrol BlakeDavid Fisher11 November 1978 (1978-11-11)5C9.3
"Part Four"Darrol BlakeDavid Fisher18 November 1978 (1978-11-18)5C7.667
The quest for the third segment takes them to Earth, where an ancient criminal who stole the segment disguises herself as the Celtic goddess Cailleach.
1014The Androids of Tara"Part One"Michael HayesDavid Fisher25 November 1978 (1978-11-25)5D9.5
"Part Two"Michael HayesDavid Fisher2 December 1978 (1978-12-02)5D10.165
"Part Three"Michael HayesDavid Fisher9 December 1978 (1978-12-09)5D8.9
"Part Four"Michael HayesDavid Fisher16 December 1978 (1978-12-16)5D9.066
The quest for the fourth segment takes them to the planet Tara. The Fourth Doctor and Romana find themselves embroiled in the political games of the planet Tara, where doubles, android or otherwise, complicate the coronation of Prince Reynart.
1025The Power of Kroll"Part One"Norman StewartRobert Holmes23 December 1978 (1978-12-23)5E6.5
"Part Two"Norman StewartRobert Holmes30 December 1978 (1978-12-30)5E12.4
"Part Three"Norman StewartRobert Holmes6 January 1979 (1979-01-06)5E8.9
"Part Four"Norman StewartRobert Holmes13 January 1979 (1979-01-13)5E9.963
The quest for the fifth segment takes them to the third moon of Delta Magna, caught in the middle of a dispute between the crew of a methane refinery and the natives (known as 'Swampies').
1036The Armageddon Factor"Part One"Michael HayesBob Baker and Dave Martin20 January 1979 (1979-01-20)5F7.565
"Part Two"Michael HayesBob Baker and Dave Martin27 January 1979 (1979-01-27)5F8.8
"Part Three"Michael HayesBob Baker and Dave Martin3 February 1979 (1979-02-03)5F7.8
"Part Four"Michael HayesBob Baker and Dave Martin10 February 1979 (1979-02-10)5F8.6
"Part Five"Michael HayesBob Baker and Dave Martin17 February 1979 (1979-02-17)5F8.6
"Part Six"Michael HayesBob Baker and Dave Martin24 February 1979 (1979-02-24)5F9.666
The quest for the sixth and final segment takes them to Atrios, a world at war with its planetary neighbour Zeos. But the Black Guardian is closing in.

Broadcast

The Key to Time was broadcast from 2 September 1978 to 24 February 1979.

Home media

VHS releases

Season Story no. Serial name Number and duration
of episodes
R2 release date R4 release date R1 release date
16 098 The Ribos Operation 4 x 25 min April 1995 June 1995 September 1996
099 The Pirate Planet 4 x 25 min April 1995 June 1995 September 1996
100 The Stones of Blood 4 x 25 min May 1995 July 1995 March 1996
101 The Androids of Tara 4 x 25 min May 1995 July 1995 March 1996
102 The Power of Kroll 4 x 25 min June 1995 August 1995 September 1996
104 The Armageddon Factor 6 x 25 min June 1995 August 1995 September 1996

DVD and Blu-ray releases

Season Story no. Serial name Number and duration
of episodes
R2 release date R4 release date R1 release date
16 098–103 The Key to Time[lower-alpha 1] 26 × 25 min. N/A N/A 1 October 2002[3]
The Key to Time:

The Ribos Operation
The Pirate Planet
The Stones of Blood
The Androids of Tara
The Power of Kroll
The Armageddon Factor

26 × 25 min.[lower-alpha 2] 24 September 2007[lower-alpha 3][4]
16 November 2009[lower-alpha 4][5]
7 November 2007[6] 3 March 2009[7]
  1. Stories available in Region 1 only, with minimal restoration and extras (individually or as a box set).
  2. Special edition. Known collectively as The Key to Time. Only available as a box set in Regions 2 and 4. Stories available individually or as a box set in Region 1. All serials contain four episodes each, apart from The Armageddon Factor, which has six episodes.
  3. Limited release.
  4. Re-release.

In print

Serial name Novelisation title Author First published
The Ribos Operation Doctor Who and the Ribos Operation Ian Marter 11 December 1979
The Pirate Planet The Pirate Planet James Goss 5 January 2017[8][9][10]
The Stones of Blood Doctor Who and the Stones of Blood Terrance Dicks 20 March 1980
The Androids of Tara Doctor Who and the Androids of Tara Terrance Dicks 24 April 1980
The Power of Kroll Doctor Who and the Power of Kroll Terrance Dicks 26 May 1980
The Armageddon Factor Doctor Who and the Armageddon Factor Terrance Dicks 26 June 1980

References

  1. "Season 16". Doctor Who Classic Episode Guide. BBC. Retrieved 10 August 2007.
  2. "Ratings Guide". Doctor Who News. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
  3. "Doctor Who - The Key to Time Collection". 1 October 2002. Retrieved 16 November 2017 via Amazon.
  4. "Doctor Who: Key to Time". Retrieved 16 November 2017 via Amazon.
  5. "Doctor Who - The Key to Time Box Set". 16 November 2009. Retrieved 16 November 2017 via Amazon.
  6. "Doctor Who The Key To Time Box Set by BBC - Shop Online for Movies, DVDs in Australia". Fishpond. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  7. "Doctor Who: The Key to Time". 3 March 2009. Retrieved 16 November 2017 via Amazon.
  8. Adams, Douglas; Goss, James (5 January 2017). "Doctor Who: The Pirate Planet". BBC Digital. Retrieved 25 August 2016 via Amazon.
  9. "Gallifrey Guardian". Doctor Who Magazine. Tunbridge Wells: Panini UK Ltd (486): 7. April 2015.
  10. Dave Golder (30 April 2015). "Doctor Who Pirate Planet Novelisation Announced". GamesRadar+.


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