Tom Baker’s final series of Doctor Who is coming to Blu-ray on 25th February as Doctor Who – The Collection: Season 18.
Originally airing in 1980-81, the show’s 18th season includes The Leisure Hive (four episodes); Meglos (four episodes); Full Circle (four episodes); State Of Decay (four episodes); Warriors’ Gate (four episodes); The Keeper Of Traken (four episodes), plus K9 & Company – the pilot for an intended spin-off starring Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah-Jane Smith and John Leeson as K9.
The title is now available to pre-order from Amazon.
Baker’s final year saw the programme undergo radical changes in front of the cameras and behind the scenes. Producer John Nathan-Turner revamped the series with new writers, new directors, a new title sequence and theme arrangement, glossy production standards and – throughout the course of the season – a brand new regular cast.
Over seven classic adventures the Doctor and his companions encountered the Foamasi, Meglos, the Marshmen, vampires and Tharils, building to a final deadly showdown between the Doctor and his arch nemesis the Master (Anthony Ainley).
Special Features exclusive to this set include: a new Making-Of documentary and updated special effects for Logopolis, revealing new 2019 commentaries moderated by Matthew Sweet (Tom Baker on The Leisure Hive, Lalla Ward & Rachel Davies on State Of Decay).
Also include is a surround sound mix for Warriors’ Gate, rare behind-the-scenes footage from The Leisure Hive, Full Circle and Logopolis, eight more editions of Behind The Sofa, brand new documentaries The Writers Room and Weekend With Waterhouse, a new interview with K9 & Company’s Ian Sears, another dip into the Panopticon convention archives with Tom Baker.
Plus HD photo galleries plus scripts, production files and rare documentation provided as PDFs. The eight-disc box set also includes hours of extensive special features previously released oDVD.
All material has been remastered for Blu-ray by Peter Crocker and Mark Ayres. Lee Binding has provided stunning packaging and new series writer/content consultant Pete McTighe has written another extensive booklet. Russell Minton is Executive Producer.