Doctor Who (season 14)

This article is about the 1976–77 season. For the 2024 series, see Doctor Who (series 14).

Season of television series

Doctor Who

Season 14

Cover art of the Blu-ray release for the complete season

Starring|

* Tom Baker
* Elisabeth Sladen
* Louise Jameson

Country of origin| United Kingdom
No. of stories| 6
No. of episodes| 26
Release
Original network| BBC1
Original release| 4 September 1976 (1976-09-04) –
2 April 1977 (1977-04-02)
Season chronology

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Season 13

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Season 15

List of episodes

The fourteenth season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 4 September 1976 with The Masque of Mandragora, and ended with The Talons of Weng-Chiang. The third Fourth Doctor series, it was the final series of Philip Hinchcliffe's production, whilst Robert Holmes stayed till The Sun Makers in the next series.

## Casting[edit]

See also: List of Doctor Who cast members

### Main cast[edit]

* Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor
* Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith
* Louise Jameson as Leela

Tom Baker continues his role as the Fourth Doctor. Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen) departs in The Hand of Fear, before the Doctor is joined by Leela (Louise Jameson) in The Face of Evil. Uniquely in the 'classic' era of Doctor Who, no companion appears in The Deadly Assassin.

### Guest stars[edit]

The Master reappears in The Deadly Assassin as the main antagonist, his first appearance since Frontier in Space (1973), this time played by Peter Pratt. The character would not make a further appearance until five years later in 1981.

## Serials[edit]

See also: List of Doctor Who episodes (1963–1989)

The Masque of Mandragora saw the debut of the new wood-panelled "Secondary Console Room" set, which was to be used as the main TARDIS console room throughout the season. The season took a five-week transmission break between the broadcasts of The Deadly Assassin and The Face of Evil in order to extend the season further into 1977, allowing Robert Holmes time to work on the final serial The Talons of Weng-Chiang.

No.
story| No. in
season| Serial title| Episode titles| Directed by| Written by| Original air date| Prod.
code| UK viewers
(millions) [1]| AI [1]

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

86| 1| The Masque of Mandragora| "Part One"| Rodney Bennett| Louis Marks| 4 September 1976 (1976-09-04)| 4M| 8.3| 58
"Part Two"| 11 September 1976 (1976-09-11)| 9.8| 56
"Part Three"| 18 September 1976 (1976-09-18)| 9.2| —
"Part Four"| 25 September 1976 (1976-09-25)| 10.6| 56
An encounter with the living energy structure known as the Mandragora Helix leads the TARDIS to 15th century Italy.
87| 2| The Hand of Fear| "Part One"| Lennie Mayne| Bob Baker and Dave Martin| 2 October 1976 (1976-10-02)| 4N| 10.5| —
"Part Two"| 9 October 1976 (1976-10-09)| 10.2| —
"Part Three"| 16 October 1976 (1976-10-16)| 11.1| 62
"Part Four"| 23 October 1976 (1976-10-23)| 12.0| —
The Fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane are caught in a mining explosion. Sarah Jane is found clutching what appears to be a fossilised hand, buried in a 150-million-year-old stratum.
88| 3| The Deadly Assassin| "Part One"| David Maloney| Robert Holmes| 30 October 1976 (1976-10-30)| 4P| 11.8| —
"Part Two"| 6 November 1976 (1976-11-06)| 12.1| 59
"Part Three"| 13 November 1976 (1976-11-13)| 13.0| —
"Part Four"| 20 November 1976 (1976-11-20)| 11.8| 61
The Doctor returns to his homeworld, Gallifrey. When the President of the High Council is assassinated, however, he becomes the prime suspect.
89| 4| The Face of Evil| "Part One"| Pennant Roberts| Chris Boucher| 1 January 1977 (1977-01-01)| 4Q| 10.7| 61
"Part Two"| 8 January 1977 (1977-01-08)| 11.1| —
"Part Three"| 15 January 1977 (1977-01-15)| 11.3| 59
"Part Four"| 22 January 1977 (1977-01-22)| 11.7| 60
The Doctor arrives on a planet where two tribes are at war and discovers that their god of evil is him.
90| 5| The Robots of Death| "Part One"| Michael E. Briant| Chris Boucher| 29 January 1977 (1977-01-29)| 4R| 12.8| 62
"Part Two"| 5 February 1977 (1977-02-05)| 12.4| —
"Part Three"| 12 February 1977 (1977-02-12)| 13.1| —
"Part Four"| 19 February 1977 (1977-02-19)| 12.6| 57
A vessel is commanded by a crew of indolent or avaricious human staff. It is a happy partnership until the human crew start being murdered one by one.
91| 6| The Talons of Weng-Chiang| "Part One"| David Maloney| Robert Holmes| 26 February 1977 (1977-02-26)| 4S| 11.3| —
"Part Two"| 5 March 1977 (1977-03-05)| 9.8| —
"Part Three"| 12 March 1977 (1977-03-12)| 10.2| —
"Part Four"| 19 March 1977 (1977-03-19)| 11.4| 60
"Part Five"| 26 March 1977 (1977-03-26)| 10.1| —
"Part Six"| 2 April 1977 (1977-04-02)| 9.3| 58
The Doctor and Leela travel to Victorian London where they encounter a sinister Chinese stage magician and his master, a fugitive from the 51st century.

## Broadcast[edit]

The entire season was broadcast from 4 September 1976 to 2 April 1977.

## Home media[edit]

See also: List of Doctor Who home video releases and List of other Doctor Who home video releases

### VHS releases[edit]

Season  | Story no.  | Serial name  | Number and duration
of episodes  | UK release date  | Australia release date  | USA/Canada release date

|
|
|
|
|
|

14  | 86  | The Masque of Mandragora | 4 x 25 min.  | August 1991  | October 1992  | February 1994
87  | The Hand of Fear | 4 x 25 min.  | February 1996  | May 1997  | February 1997
88  | The Deadly Assassin | 4 25 min  | October 1991  | March 1992  | March 1989 (edited)
89  | The Face of Evil | 4 x 25 min  | May 1999  | June 1999  | March 2000
90  | The Robots of Death | 1 x 100 min
4 x 25 min | February 1988 (edited)
February 1995 (unedited) | March 1988 (edited) | July 1987 (edited)
91  | The Talons of Weng-Chiang | 1 x 150 min. (edited) | November 1988  | April 1987  | February 1988

### Betamax releases[edit]

Season  | Story no.  | Serial name  | Number and duration
of episodes  | UK release date  | Australia release date  | USA/Canada release date

|
|
|
|
|
|

14  | 90  | The Robots of Death | 1 x 100 min
| April 1986 (edited) | —  | —

### DVD and Blu-ray releases[edit]

All releases are for DVD unless otherwise indicated:

* (B) indicates a Blu-ray release

Season  | Story no.  | Serial name  | Number and duration
of episodes  | R2 release date  | R4 release date  | R1 release date

|
|
|
|
|
|

14  | 86  | The Masque of Mandragora | 4 × 25 min.  | 8 February 2010[2] | 5 May 2010[3] | 4 May 2010[4]
87  | The Hand of Fear | 4 × 25 min.  | 24 July 2006[5] | 7 September 2006[6] | 7 November 2006[7]
88  | The Deadly Assassin | 4 × 25 min.  | 11 May 2009[8] | 2 July 2009[9] | 1 September 2009[10]
89  | The Face of Evil | 4 × 25 min.  | 5 March 2012[11] | 5 April 2012[12] | 13 March 2012[13]
90  | The Robots of Death | 4 × 25 min.  | 13 November 2000[14] | 2 July 2001[15] | 6 September 2001[16]
The Robots of Death (Special Edition)[a] | 4 × 25 min.  | 13 February 2012[17] [18][19] | 1 March 2012[20][21] | 13 March 2012[22]
91  | The Talons of Weng-Chiang | 6 × 25 min.  | 28 April 2003[23] | 30 June 2003[24] | 7 October 2003[25]
The Talons of Weng-Chiang (Special Edition)[b] | 6 × 25 min.  | 4 October 2010[26] | 2 December 2010[27] | 11 October 2011[28]
86–91  | Complete Season 14[c] | 26 × 25 min.  | 4 May 2020 (B) [29] | 15 July 2020 (B) [30] | 4 August 2020 (B) [31]

1. ^ Only available as part of the Revisitations 3 box set in Regions 2 and 4. Only available individually in Region 1.
2. ^ Only available as part of the Revisitations 1 box set in Regions 2 and 4. Only available individually in Region 1.
3. ^ Released as Doctor Who: The Collection – Season 14 in Region B. Released as Doctor Who – Tom Baker: Complete Season Three in Region A.

## In print[edit]

See also: List of Doctor Who novelisations

Season  | Story no.  | Library no.[a] | Novelisation title  | Author  | Hardcover
release date[b] | Paperback
release date[c] | Audiobook
release date[d]

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

14 | 086 | 42 | Doctor Who and the Masque of Mandragora | Philip Hinchcliffe | 19 January 1978 | 8 December 1977 | 9 April 2009
087 | 30 | Doctor Who and the Hand of Fear | Terrance Dicks | 18 January 1979 | 7 January 2021
088 | 19 | Doctor Who and the Deadly Assassin | 20 October 1977 | 19 March 2015
089 | 25 | Doctor Who and the Face of Evil | 19 January 1978 | 19 January 2011[e]
7 April 2022
090 | 53 | Doctor Who and the Robots of Death | 24 May 1979 | 1 February 2018
091 | 61 | Doctor Who and the Talons of Weng-Chiang | 17 November 1977 | 1 January 2013

1. ^ Number in Target's Doctor Who Library, if applicable
2. ^ Published by Target's parent companies (Allen Wingate, W. H. Allen, BBC Books) unless otherwise indicated
3. ^ Published by Target Books (or by BBC Books under the Target Collection umbrella) unless otherwise indicated
4. ^ Unabridged from BBC Audio/AudioGo unless otherwise indicated
5. ^ Published by the Royal National Institute of the Blind

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b "Ratings Guide". Doctor Who News. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
2. ^ Smith 2014, The Masque of Mandragora.
3. ^ "Doctor Who The Masque Of Mandragora by Roadshow Entertainment - Shop Online for Movies, DVDs in Australia". Fishpond. Archived from the original on 16 November 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
4. ^ "Doctor Who: The Masque of Mandragora". 4 May 2010. Retrieved 16 November 2017 - via Amazon.
5. ^ Smith 2014, The Hand of Fear.
6. ^ "Doctor Who Hand of Fear by Roadshow Entertainment - Shop Online for Movies, DVDs in Australia". Fishpond. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
7. ^ "Doctor Who: The Hand of Fear". 7 November 2006. Archived from the original on 11 February 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2017 - via Amazon.
8. ^ Smith 2014, The Deadly Assassin.
9. ^ "Doctor Who The Deadly Assassin by Roadshow Entertainment - Shop Online for Movies, DVDs in Australia". Fishpond. Archived from the original on 16 November 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
10. ^ "Doctor Who: The Deadly Assassin". 1 September 2009. Archived from the original on 8 May 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2017 - via Amazon.
11. ^ Smith 2014, The Face of Evil.
12. ^ "Doctor Who Face of Evil by Roadshow Entertainment - Shop Online for Movies, DVDs in Australia". Fishpond. Archived from the original on 16 November 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
13. ^ "Doctor Who: The Face of Evil". 13 March 2012. Retrieved 16 November 2017 - via Amazon.
14. ^ Smith 2014, The Robots of Death.
15. ^ "Doctor Who The Robots of Death by Roadshow Entertainment - Shop Online for Movies, DVDs in Australia". Fishpond. Archived from the original on 16 November 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
16. ^ "Doctor Who: The Robots of Death". 6 September 2005. Retrieved 16 November 2017 - via Amazon.
17. ^ Smith 2014, The Robots of Death Special Edition.
18. ^ "Doctor Who: Doctor Who: Revisitations 3 (DVD)". BBC. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
19. ^ "Doctor Who: Revisitations 3". British Video Association. Archived from the original on 8 November 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
20. ^ "Doctor Who Revisitations 5 DVD Set". BBC. Archived from the original on 15 May 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
21. ^ "Doctor Who - Revisitations 3 DVD". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
22. ^ "Doctor Who: The Robots of Death". 13 March 2012. Retrieved 16 November 2017 - via Amazon.
23. ^ Smith 2014, The Talons of Weng-Chiang.
24. ^ "Dr. Who - The Talons of Weng Chiang [2 Discs], BBC - Shop Online for Movies, DVDs in Australia". Fishpond. Archived from the original on 16 November 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
25. ^ "Doctor Who: The Talons of Weng-Chiang". 7 October 2003. Retrieved 16 November 2017 - via Amazon.
26. ^ Smith 2014, The Talons of Weng-Chiang Special Edition.
27. ^ "Doctor Who by Roadshow Entertainment - Shop Online for Movies, DVDs in Australia". Fishpond. Archived from the original on 16 November 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
28. ^ "Doctor Who: The Talons of Weng-Chiang". 11 October 2011. Archived from the original on 12 February 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2017 - via Amazon.
29. ^ "Doctor Who: The Collection - Season 14". Archived from the original on 14 January 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2020 - via Amazon.
30. ^ "Doctor Who: The Collection - Season 14 Blu-ray". Archived from the original on 21 May 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
31. ^ Doctor Who - Tom Baker: Complete Season Three [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray). ASIN B0851M8YT3.

### Bibliography[edit]

* Smith, Paul (2014). The Classic Doctor Who DVD Compendium. United Kingdom: Wonderful Books. ISBN 978-0-9576062-2-7.

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Doctor Who episodes

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Episodes
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Season 14|

* The Masque of Mandragora
* The Hand of Fear
* The Deadly Assassin
* The Face of Evil
* The Robots of Death
* The Talons of Weng-Chiang

*[No.]: Number
*[Prod.]: Production
*[AI]: Appreciation Index
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