| Season Start: | 01 January 1972 | | Season End: | 24 June 1972 | | Season Length: | 26 Weeks | | Writers: | Bob Baker, Brian Hayles, Dave Martin, Louis Marks, Malcolm Hulke and Robert Sloman | | Directors: | Christopher Barry, Lennie Mayne, Michael Briant and Paul Bernard | | Producer: | Barry Letts | | Script Editor: | Terrance Dicks | | Visual Effects: | Bernard Wilkie, Ian Scoones, Jim Ward, John Horton, Michealjohn Harris, Peter Day and Peter Pegrum | | Title Sequence: | Bernard Lodge and Ben Palmer | | Title Music: | Ron Grainer and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Arranged by Delia Derbyshire |
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Incarnation of the Doctor: |
The Third Doctor
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| Number of
Companions: |
4 |
| The
Companions: |
The Brigadier, Sergeant Benton, Jo Grant and Captain Mike Yates
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| Number of
Stories: |
5
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| Number of
Incomplete/Missing Stories: |
0
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| Number of
Episodes: |
26
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| Number of
Incomplete/Missing Episodes: |
0
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| Percentages: |
| Full Stories Held | 100% | | Episodes Held | 100% |
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| Doctor Who Magazine Poll (1998) | | | Doctor Who Magazine Poll (2009) | | | Doctor Who Magazine Poll (2014) | |
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 'That's a most good-natured wine. A touch sardonic, perhaps, but not cynical. A most civilized wine, one after my own heart'
The Doctor
(Day of the Daleks) |
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| The Ice Warriors |
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This season could be seen as a continuation of the previous with the same key characters continuing their roles. With both Jon Pertwee and Katy Manning well established, as Doctor and companion, the only significant change was less involvement by the members of UNIT and for The Master, as played by Roger Delgado, not appearing in every story. This was partly due to not every story being set on Earth.
The most notable thing about this season though is the welcome return, after an absence of five years of the dreaded Daleks. Their previous appearance was in the 1967 Second Doctor story " The Evil of the Daleks" – so making "Day of the Daleks" the first Dalek story for the Third Doctor and their first on television in colour. Another previously encountered enemy would also make a return in "The Curse of Peladon", in the form of the Ice Warriors – but their return would contain an unexpected twist… The next story "The Sea Devils" would see the debut of the aquatic cousins of the Silurians. This story also included the first of two appearances for The Master. "The Sea Devils" being, for The Master at least, the sequel to last season’s final story "The Dæmons" in which, at the end of that story he was finally caught and imprisoned by UNIT.
It was not until the fifth story, "The Mutants", that no elements from the past would be included. This story also was the second time that the Third Doctor and Jo Grant would visit an alien planet (the first for this season being "The Curse of Peladon"). In both cases The Doctor would be in fact running errands for the Time Lords.
The final story "The Time Monster" would again be set on Earth and would involve The Doctor, Jo and UNIT trying to thwart yet another of The Master schemes to take over the world. Interestingly whereas in the previous season all but one story involved UNIT only the first and the final story in Season Nine could be classed as being ‘UNIT stories’. This season certainly had taken the best elements from the previous and improved on them.
With no significant changes taking place behind the scenes this period of the show was the most stable – thus enabling one season to flow seamlessly into the next. The viewing figures also remained at a respectable average for the whole show up until that point in its history. They did though fall steadily (but slowly) during the duration of this season with "Day of the Daleks" having 9.6 million viewers and "The Time Monster" dropping to 7.4. The highest viewed episode though was the second part of "The Curse of Peladon" (at 11.0).
Although "The Time Monster" was the final story for Season Nine, the ninth production block included one further story. For the first time since the Sixties, it had been decided to record a story for the next season prior to the summer break, and so the recording block continued, in May and June 1972, with "Carnival of Monsters". But unlike previous seasons, where stories had been recorded in advance, this story would not be the one that started Season Ten. This slot would go to a very special story - the tenth anniversary special "The Three Doctors" which would, as the title suggests, see the First Doctor (played by William Hartnell ) and the Second Doctor (played by Patrick Troughton) joining Jon Pertwee.
Exciting things for the show were just around the corner…
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| The Daleks |
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Daleks in colour for the first time on television, the welcome return of the Ice Warriors in (where, in a very clever twist, they turn out not to be the villains), the introduction of the Sea Devils (with the classic scene of them coming out of the sea, and) The Master watching The Clangers.
Even though the Daleks had been seen in colour before (in the two Peter Cushing films) "Day of the Daleks" has the accolade of being the first full colour television story to include them. It is however, the scene in which The Doctor is shocked to see the appearance of one of them in the tunnels that sticks in the mind – that and the amusing scene in which Jo Grant attempts to feed Sergeant Benton only to be thwarted by the appearance of Captain Mike Yates who replies to Jo’s annoyance with the line ‘Rank has its privileges’.
Despite containing the very annoying Alpha Centauri "The Curse of Peladon" is more memorable for re-introducing to the viewers to the Ice Warriors. But instead of being the baddies they are the good guys – the first time in the show that a foe has turned into a friend. Also listen out for The Doctor singing a Venusian lullaby, and a new use for his sonic screwdriver, to soothe Aggedor.
As well as the scene of The Master watching The Clangers, "The Sea Devils" included the Silurians' aquatic cousins. But it was the location filming around Portsmouth, on the Isle of Wight and on No Man's Land Fort in the Solent which makes this story a classic. This story contains many ‘not to be missed’ scenes that it is impossible to list them all. It is therefore worth watching the whole story.
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| Face-to-Face With a Sea Devil |
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Season Nine is best known for containing the return of The Doctor’s deadliest foes – the Daleks. And so the season’s opening story, "Day of the Daleks", with these iconic Doctor Who monsters, should be the season’s highest point. Unfortunately, due to the late inclusion of the Daleks and a very limited budget, which prevented the building of any more Daleks (Director Paul Bernard had to make the best out of the three only available Daleks that were still held by the BBC), this story is not considered to be the best Dalek story. Nor is it seen as being the best story of Season Nine. That accolade, it is felt, should go to "The Sea Devils".
In this third story of the season we have the return of The Master (after his absence in three stories) and a re-use of the concept, of other creatures living on Earth before humans, that was introduced in "Doctor Who and the Silurians". But instead of just bringing back the Silurians (or should that be ‘the Eocenes’?) we had their aquatic cousins - the Sea Devils. But what really made this story special was the extensive involvement of the Royal Navy. They even allowed the BBC to film aboard a serving naval vessel. All-be-it a deep diving and submarine rescue vessel - rather than a fighting warship. Even actual service personnel filled in as extras for the battle sequences.
Despite the disappointment of the lack of a real army of Daleks (remember this was long before CGI) in "Day of the Daleks" it would be unfair to consider this story as the lowest point of the season. Introducing the Ogrons and a very clever plot line involving time travel and the creation of a paradox made this still a good story. The lowest point has to go to the final story of the season. Even the viewing figures and subsequent polls have made "The Time Monster" the least liked story of Season Nine. Being yet another Master story (and providing the third explanation, in the show, of the fate of Atlantis) this story became a bit of a disappointment. It did though contain one memorable scene right at the end. But the least said about the better…
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The Firsts:
The first appearance of the Daleks in the show since 1967 (and the first time in colour on TV). (Day of the Daleks)
The first appearance of the Ogrons. (Day of the Daleks)
The first time that the Ice Warriors state that they are from Mars. (The Curse of Peladon)
The first appearance of the Sea Devils. (The Sea Devils)
The first use of the often-quoted phrase 'I've reversed the polarity of the neutron flow'. (The Sea Devils)
The first and only time during Season Nine that the main interior of the TARDIS appears. (The Time Monster)
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The Lasts (Subject to Future Stories):
The last Doctor Who story to be released in the Betamax format. (Day of the Daleks)
The last time that Nicholas Courtney and John Levene would work alongside Roger Delgado. (The Time Monster)
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| Doctor Who CMS Magazine (An Adventure in Space and Time) | Season Nine Special | | Doctor Who Magazine - Article | Issue 135 - (Released: April 1988) | | Doctor Who Magazine - Episode Guide | Issue 146 - (Released: March 1989) | | Doctor Who Magazine - Countdown to 50 | Issue 438 - (Released: September 2011) |
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The Doctor and Companions| |  | | The Third Doctor |
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 | | The Brigadier |
|  | | Sergeant Benton |
|  | | Jo Grant |
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On Release | | The Collection Season 9 Limited Edition Blu-Ray Cover |
VIDEO |
| |  | | The Collection Season 9 Standard Edition Blu-Ray Cover |
VIDEO |
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Magazines | | Doctor Who CMS Magazine (An Adventure in Space and Time): Season Nine Special |
|  | | Doctor Who Magazine - Article: Issue 135 |
|  | | Doctor Who Magazine - Episode Guide: Issue 146 |
|  | | Doctor Who Magazine - Countdown to 50: Issue 438 |
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(Position = 20 out of 31)
