K.O Round 1.5

 

The latest instalment of our knockout competition sees Season 12 versus Season 20.

A very difficult one this, as Season 12 is Tom Baker's first as the Fourth Doctor, accompanied by Sarah and Harry, in stories involving Daleks, Cybermen and Sontarans.

Season 20, on the other hand, is an anniversary one - the last time the classic era of Doctor Who could be called truly popular. Stories involve elements from the past in each, including Omega, the Mara and the Black Guardian.

Season 12 comprises Robot, The Ark in Space, The Sontaran Experiment, Genesis of the Daleks and Revenge of the Cybermen. It was originally intended that the season would end with Terror of the Zygons, but this was held back so that Season 13 could be launched earlier than planned. This is why Harry remains as a regular companion over the break, only to leave at the conclusion of the first story of the next season. The season is unusual in having two producers across its run. King Kong inspired Robot was the last story to be produced by Barry Letts, and was made as part of the Season 11 recording block. It's a UNIT story and very much a hangover from the Pertwee era. The Hinchcliffe-Holmes era really starts with The Ark in Space, which is where we get our first proper look at Tom's Doctor. This was the first story where Robert Holmes, as script editor, had to step in and write a story himself almost from scratch, after the original plan fell through. The Sontaran Experiment is a rare two part story, by Bob Baker & Dave Martin. It was decided to reduce the number of six parters, and so one of these was split in two - the two part Sontaran story, which would use the external filming allocation, and the four part Wirrn story, that would take the studio allocation. As it was, the Sontaran story, featuring Kevin Lindsay once again as the alien, used Outside Broadcast video cameras instead of the usual 16mm film cameras. Genesis of the Daleks, like the rest of this season, was commissioned by Letts and Terrance Dicks. Terry Nation had attempted to sell them the usual Dalek run-around, but Letts suggested an origins story for a change. This story introduces Davros, who'll dominate the Dalek stories for the rest of the classic era, and is the most explicit in showing the Nazi inspiration for the Daleks. Revenge of the Cybermen was the first Cyberman story in colour - the first since 1968. They hadn't been used at all during Pertwee's tenure, apart from a near miss on Frontier in Space and a cameo in Carnival of Monsters. This was written by Gerry Davis, their creator, but heavily reworked by Holmes. Three of this season's stories were the work of writers from the 1960's - as an early version of The Ark in Space was originally a submission by John Lucarotti.

It's therefore a backwards looking season - or a nostalgic one if you prefer. We wouldn't see an alien line-up like this again until Colin Baker's first season, when he would also meet Cybermen, Sontarans and Daleks in the same year. Hinchcliffe and Holmes preferred to create new villains, and favoured a strong single representative of the species for the Doctor to interact with, rather than massed ranks of them.

Backward looking is something that could also be said of Season 20, but this was a big anniversary year. It was never intended that each story would feature an element from the series' past. This just happened by accident, and was noticed by fan adviser Ian Levine. Once he'd pointed it out to the producer, it was added to the publicity and made to look planned from the outset.

The season opens with Arc of Infinity, then we have Snakedance, Mawdryn Undead, Terminus, Enlightenment, and The King's Demons. Like Season 12, the intended series finale - a Dalek story - was pushed back, in this case due to industrial action. As it was the 20th Anniversary story, and likely to be included in the Season 20 Blu-ray box-set when it arrives, we will include The Five Doctors in this season.

Arc of Infinity should have been a classic - the return of Omega, Gallifrey and location filming in Amsterdam. It's not a classic, however - quite the opposite. A shopping-list story that doesn't work. Snakedance is a sequel to Kinda and a lot of people prefer it as it is more straightforward. The next three stories for a trilogy, as all feature the Black Guardian and introduce Turlough as a duplicitous new companion, who is trying to kill the Doctor. How you regard the season overall depends on how you feel about this trilogy. Mawdryn Undead and Enlightenment are good, but Terminus, in the middle, is rather poor. It was never intended to end the season but, thanks to industrial action, The King's Demons is what we got, and it's not very good. The Doctor sort of criticises the story within the dialogue.

Luckily we have included The Five Doctors here. It is a fun run-around, with as many Doctors, companions and monsters as would fit into 90 minutes. It does what it was supposed to do, but the nature of the beast means that a lot of elements are seriously underused.

Who wins? Well, Season 20 might have been an anniversary season, culminating in The Five Doctors, but overall it doesn't stand up to the five stories which make up Season 12. The latter has two excellent stories, with three good ones. Season 20 has some good stories, but none I'd class as excellent. It also has a couple of poor ones. The Ark in Space and genesis of the Daleks re enough on their own to have Season 12 declared the winner.

Next time: adjacent Tom Baker / Graham Williams seasons 16 and 17 compete.