Brief Summary
Season 12 of Doctor Who, running from December 1974 to May 1975, marks a pivotal era with the introduction of Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor and his iconic partnership with Sarah Jane Smith. Despite inconsistent story quality, the season is significant for its shift towards adult themes, iconic characters, and memorable narratives.
- Tom Baker's casting as the Fourth Doctor brought a unique and enduring presence to the role.
- The season features a mix of space-based and earth-based stories, with varying degrees of success.
- Key storylines include encounters with the Cybermen, Daleks, and Sontarans, each leaving a lasting impact on the Doctor Who universe.
Season 12 of Doctor Who, which aired from December 28, 1974, to May 10, 1975, is a significant year in the show's history. It introduced Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor, an iconic incarnation, and paired him with Sarah Jane Smith, a memorable companion. While the stories may not always be exceptional, this season holds a special place in the series.
Philip Hinchcliffe took over as producer with the second story, "The Ark in Space," but his influence became more pronounced later. Tom Baker's casting was notable as he was between acting jobs and working on a building site when selected. The BBC costume department had to find him a suit for the press conference. Previous Doctors had diverse backgrounds: Hartnell played tough characters, Pertwee was a comedian, and Davison was known for "All Creatures Great and Small." Colin Baker didn't audition, and Sylvester McCoy's role was his first serious acting job, following work as a bodyguard, stuntman, and entertainer.
Viola cast Tom Baker, marking the first time someone cast more than one Doctor. The initial plan was for the Fourth Doctor to resemble the First Doctor, considering older actors for the role. Tom Baker's look was inspired by a painting. The famously long scarf was made due to a wool surplus and lack of instructions, but it was kept because Tom Baker used it effectively. His look evolved over his seven seasons, similar to Pertwee's, but more significantly than Doctors 1, 2, 5, 6, and 7.
"Robot" is considered one of the worst Doctor debut stories, comparable to "The Twin Dilemma." The Doctor is in a post-regeneration state, exhibiting unusual behavior. The story features elements reminiscent of Jon Pertwee's era, such as UNIT and the Doctor driving Bessie. The plot is a King Kong riff, involving a giant robot that kidnaps Sarah Jane. This story marks the beginning of brazenly borrowing from existing stories. Harry Sullivan, initially intended to create a dynamic similar to the First Doctor and Stephen, becomes somewhat redundant and is often portrayed as inept.
"The Ark in Space" is a must-see story set in the far future on space station Nerva, where humans are in cryosleep awaiting Earth's recovery. The Wirrn, an insectoid race, threatens the station by laying eggs inside humans, causing horrific transformations. Philip Hinchcliffe aimed to shift the show towards an adult audience by increasing the horror elements. The mutated humans are covered in green bubble wrap due to budget constraints. The story also features the Doctor giving a "humanity is amazing" speech, a common trope in later series.
Following "The Ark," the TARDIS crew lands on Earth for "The Sontaran Experiment." Astronauts returning to Earth encounter a distress call, which is a trap set by Styre, a Sontaran doing reconnaissance for an invasion. Styre tortures humans to find efficient ways to kill them. Despite its flaws, this simple, brutal story is highly recommended for its dark and visceral tone. The robot looks unconvincing, and there are questions about the Sontarans' technology level. Tom Baker's injury and the actor playing Styre's illness led to a messy fight scene.
The Time Lords send the TARDIS crew back in time to avert the creation of the Daleks, marking a significant change in how the Daleks operate. This story introduces Davros, the creator of the Daleks, and explores the butterfly effect of destroying them. It is considered the beginning of the Time War, as the Time Lords attempt to prevent the Daleks from eclipsing them. The Daleks' Nazi inspiration is heavily emphasized, with the Kaleds wearing similar clothes and giving similar salutes. Michael Wisher, who played Davros, was also a Dalek voice actor in the Pertwee era, creating a subtle link. Wisher based his performance on Bertrand Russell.
One of the great supporting characters in this story is Nyder, Davros's right-hand man. Terry Nation rewrites Dalek history, making the six-part story a worthwhile watch.
The crew arrives back on space station Nerva thousands of years before "The Ark in Space" in "Revenge of the Cybermen." This marks the Cybermen's first appearance since "The Invasion" in season six, but they are poorly handled. Nerva orbits the planet Voga during the last days of the cyber war. The story introduces the Cybermen's weakness to gold, which is often used inconsistently. The story also introduces what would later be called the Seal of Rassilon, a Vogan symbol that becomes the Time Lord symbol.
Season 12 is inconsistent, with great and bad parts. On average, the space-based stories are better than most Pertwee space stories, while the earth-based stories are not as good as Pertwee's. Tom Baker made a strong start, Elizabeth Sladen was consistently good, and Ian Marter played the drained but stupid Harry Sullivan.
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Transcript
Full transcript of “A Quick Guide to Classic Who Season 12”. Click a timestamp to open the video at that moment. Need another video? Use the YouTube transcript generator.
0:16 changes of his due hello again season 12 ran from the 28th of December 1974 until the 10th of May 1975 this is one of the most important years in the show's history this is the season that introduced the single most iconic incarnation of the doctor and he's teamed up with the most iconic companion the stories aren't always great but this is a very special season
1:03 now when a production team took over the show the groundwork for the next few stories was usually already laid so the new guys couldn't get creative immediately Philip Hinchcliffe who replaced violets as the producer officially took over with the second story the Arkin spaced but he wouldn't really get to flex his muscles until later on and flex them he would now Tom Baker probably had the second most interesting circumstances leading up to him getting the role of the doctor he had done several feature films including a Harryhausen Sinbad movie and a Pasolini film but when he was cast he was between acting jobs and working on a building site rumor has it he didn't even have a suit in the BBC costume department of the find one for him to wear at the press conference in nineteen was the new doctor and if you're interested in what life was like for the others before they were the doctor
1:48 Hartnell was a stock actor who specialized in playing tough characters like sergeants and criminals Charlton was a constantly working character actor Pertwee was a radio comedian Davison was really famous for playing a bass and all creatures great and small one of the big shows of the day Colin Baker was mostly a theatre actor who'd impressed the producer banter hitting people at a wedding Colin was the first doctor who didn't have to audition for the part the doctor was Sylvester McCoy's first serious acting role he was a former bodyguard stuntman children's entertainer carny busker human blockhead and at one point held a record for having ferrets tennis trousers Jesus but back to season 12 viola its life after the first story so he cast the new doctor he was the first man to
2:35 cast more than one doctor originally Lance had planned for the fourth doctor to be more like the first the audition to lots of older actors and even offered to a few but no one was interested Jon Pertwee had made the party zone and most people thought that following him would be career suicide Tom Baker's casting was possibly a desperate gamble but it was one that paid off amazingly well his look was inspired by this painting by till lose the track the reason his scarf is so insanely long is because the VPC sent a bunch of wool to an old woman to make the scarf but they didn't give any instructions with how long it was supposed to be so she just used all the wool they sent they were going to cut it down to a normal length but they saw that Tom would use it as a proper tool and so it stayed he lasted for seven seasons and over that time has looked
3:21 changed a lot mostly little pieces here and there it's constantly evolving now Pertwee's costume had changed in similar ways over the years but these two are pretty much unique in classic ooh 1 2 5 6 & 7 s looks changed but not by much certainly nothing compared to how much 3 & 4 is changed and a way onto season 12 Story 1 robot and this is the worst doctor debut stir until the twin dilemma with Colin Baker the doctors in the middle of his post regeneration madness which has taken the form of him having no idea what's usual clothing for the 1970s or the 1980s if this is the 1980s the show gave out contradictory information about when the unit's toys were sent and away all in all as poster generation madnesses go it could be much worse although he did run up in the
4:08 TARDIS and up a computer but I'll get to that in the face of evil in a couple of seasons time now for Bartlett's his last story he's taken the interesting choice of making this a Jon Pertwee story with a different doctor in it it's an earthbound menace there's units and the doctor who's driving around in bassy at the time that's felt entirely natural because that's what the show had been for the last five years but looking back it's really weird to see the icons of the third doctor with the wrong doctor it's a bit like if Matt Smith's first story I'm teaming up with Rose and Jackie Tyler the story is a riff on King Kong it features a giant robot that keeps growing and kidnaps sarah-jane it's the first story in the Tom Baker era that brazenly borrows from recognizable already existing stories the first of many and it's one of the worst now I said earlier they'd
4:54 originally intended for the Fourth Doctor to be a lot older and so in preparation for that they had caste and martyr who had appeared in Carnival of monsters that's Harry Sullivan a military doctor who could handle the strenuous stuff they were going to try and create a first doctor and Stephen type dynamic but with Tom Baker's casting poor Harry was pretty much circles to requirements and it didn't help that it was pretty much always written as a blithering idiot Harry lasted until Terra the Zygons in season 13 well boffed is pretty much a last hurrah for the Pertwee era and honestly it deserved much better this is a must-see but it's also terrible the dr. Sarah and Harry leaving the TARDIS and end up in the far future the space station Nerva remember the Beast below where most of the human race are often ships because the Earth's been up
5:40 well that's roughly said at the same time as this after those country ships left some human sitting cryosleep in a space station in orbit waiting for the planet to recover an arc in space if you will also in board the station are the evil wearin an insectoid race who reproduce by laying eggs inside other life-forms who then slowly transform entitled were in its a horrific idea this is basically classic Doctor Who does alien wanna Philip Hinchcliffe chief ideas was of the show needed to branch out from a mostly child audience to a mostly adult one so he upped the horror factor I'm guessing he was onto something because the show was never more popular than it was under him although the adult world looked ok or as okay as the reliable to look on the show's budget the poor half mutated
6:27 people were literally covered in green bubble wrap don't ever say that the special effects guys couldn't think it's at the box luckily the effects improved a little the next time people were slowly and horribly mutated into green aliens because yes that happened again same doctor different aliens this story introduced something that became quite common in the Russell the Davies and Steven Moffat ears the doctor giving a humanity is amazing speech Homo sapiens an inventive invincible species here he talks about how humans are amazing survivors and it's a good speech it's just a pity that it happens so much now that it's cheap in a bit after the ark the TARDIS crew transmat down to the earth to set a signal going
7:12 to let the rest of humanity know that the earth is safe again for habitation and we enter the Sontaran experiment these two are really a six-part story that's been split into a four-part ER and a two-parter on earth some astronauts from one of the escaped ships again the sort seen in the beasts below have returned because they came across a distress call but the distress call was a trap set by steyr a Sontaran who's doing reconnaissance on the human race as appealing to an invasion his idea of reconnaissance is torturing humans to death to better work out ways to efficiently kill them now let me be clear I love the Sontaran experiment regardless of its many many warts and problems it's the sort of simple brutal story that I really think should be tried again it's the show at its darkest and most emplacement in a very visceral way it's not the sort of story that
7:59 could be solved to some clever words or equip or repressing random buttons although ironically star is killed by someone pressing buttons almost randomly my point is that regardless of the problems and I will list some of them this is a story that should be watched by new who fans its tone is so different it's so bleak and so brutal but at the same time it's about 45 minutes long this is like watching the episode and knew who made in the seventies if nothing else it's an interesting experience if you're not used to the classic show now it's problems the robot looks like why the hell with the Centaurs do this to gather that information there must be better in more efficient ways like maybe reading a future with the article and humanity or something
8:44 why aren't the Sontarans at the same technology level in the far future as they were in the Middle Ages and of course the big one we've a fight seam ting steyr in the doctor when Tom Baker had injured himself he couldn't really take part and the guy who played steyr was ill from the heart problems that killed him not long afterwards the fight scene is a complete mess they take the time to ramp home this cloning when sarah-jane briefly thinks that steyr is links from the time warrior of course the impact is ruined somewhat because they had Kevin Lindsay used a completely different masks so they look nothing alike this was because Lindsay had lost a lot of weight because he was in retrospect dying at the time you can even see that Lindsay had lost even more weight between having the cast made and filming in the mask because it's really loose it's really
9:30 sad Kevin Lindsay was great the original and best Sontaran and a way overall I suggest you least watch this story even if post-apocalyptic earth looks like some English moorland at the end of the story the TARDIS crew transmat back to the station but are interrupted by the Time Lords who send them back in time and across the universe to avert the creation of the Daleks this is the classic story of the early Tom Baker era by introducing Davros the creator of the Daleks it completely changed that they operated from now on not for the better because it pretty much reduced them to being Davros his soldiers but it certainly changed them this gave the Fourth Doctor his most iconic moment as he contemplated the butterfly effect is destroying the dots would have in the future touch these two stands together
10:17 and the Daleks are finished by that right to destroy the Daleks you can't doubt it this is officially the beginning of the time war the Time Lord saw that the Daleks would one day Eclipse them and so this is an attempt to preach any side and the Daleks took it personally now the Daleks have always been inspired for the Nazis but this took the idea to the nth degree the cowhides the race that became the Daleks wear clothes like this do this salute and the one thing I don't care for in this story is how will the knows the coward Nazi connections are it's distracting I'm constantly half wondering when the Nazi started a space program that included intergalactic travel or trying to come up with a way to fit this an iron sky in the same continuity there's other issues too like
11:04 how can these two sentient individual species that look pretty much identical be having a technologically advanced war when they're only cities aren't about a mile from each other there's also the accidental hilarity of having left Tennant Gruber from a lower low as a college soldier battlecry will be total extermination of the flowers who is lieutenant Gruber well the sky the danger does outweighs the excitement allo allo was made long after this but it kind of ruins your ability to take him seriously as an alien not see what his most famous rule
11:50 is as a flaming Li camp not seen a sitcom for the French Resistance if you haven't seen a lower low then check it out but watch this first Michael wisher you played Davros a tear there being one of the Dalek voice actors in the three Pertwee Dalek stories it's a nice and subtle touch to Lincoln with its creations the rest of the links like the wheelchair and the one eye are nice but they're about as subtle as the Daleks themselves now wisher based his performance as Davros on the philosopher Bertrand Russell supposed Lord Russell this film were to be looked at by our descendants what would you think it's worth telling that generation about the life you've lived and the lessons you've learned from it the moral thing I wish to say to them is very simple I should
12:36 say love is why hatred is foolish I have no idea why he chose Bertrand Russell when it comes to villain inspiration that's about as random as Carl Sagan if you wish to make an apple pie from scratch you must first invent the universe suppose I cut a piece out of this apple pie crumbly but good seriously what the one of the great supporting characters in this story is Neider da frost his right-hand man there's something different about those two they're not dolls and they're not mutant we'll find out what's different about them by autopsy the most effortlessly
13:23 creepy guy in Doctor Who history and away Terry nation completely rewrote what little we had previously found out about Dalek history with the six part er but it's well worth a watch the last story of the season is revenge of the Cybermen the crew arrived back on the space station Nerva but thousands of years before the events of the arc and space it's the first appearance of the Cybermen since the invasion in season six and they're handled so badly that they didn't appear again until Earth shock in season 19 an away Nerva is orbiting the planet Volga in the last days the cyber war so Cybermen shenanigans this is four episodes long and sending it a nerf it was an obvious cost-saving measure even if it makes no sense that the space station would still exist and be identical thousands of years in the future all I can say so they really built space
14:09 stations to last back in the whenever in the future this is set this story introduced the Cybermen's allergy to Gold a weakness that is sometimes used rationally but usually used ridiculously the new show was wise to jettison it next time we see the Cybermen their look will be a little bit different and the story will be much better but that's not for a few seasons and then a few more and then another couple this is the story that introduced what would later be called the seal of Rassilon it's a Volga symbol that in a few years is used to the Time Lord symbol Doctor Who fans being blessed with lots of time and a tenacious obsession to make everything make sense came up with an explanation for that they come up with explanations for everything the two best parts the Doctor Who fandom are its ability to come up with reasons to explain away
14:55 those ridiculous that makes no sense and their lawful complaining you can tell which of these I gravitate to more so the TARDIS arrives back in time from the ark and space here in earth and meets the crew just in time to head home and in the season this season is really and has great parts and some really bad parts it's very up and down it's like it can't agree no quality levels so it's all over the place but an average it's space stuff is better than most a Pertwee space stuff well this earth-based stuff is not as good as Pertwee's earth-based stuff Tom Baker hit the ground running Elizabeth Sladen was good as usual and I really like Ian marked her as the drained reserve but really stupid Harry Sullivan and away join me next time when we'll meet David Tennant's favorite monsters the Zygons will meet the best voiced villain
15:42 in Doctor Who history and we'll see exactly how blatant they can be with ripping off other stories you
