DOCTOR WHO – THE COLLECTION: SEASON 12 / CERT: PG / DIRECTORS: CHRISTOPHER BARRY, RODNEY BENNETT, DAVID MALONEY, MICHAEL E BRIANT / SCREENPLAY: TERRANCE DICKS, ROBERT HOLMES, BOB BAKER, DAVE MARTIN, TERRY NATION, GERRY DAVIS / STARRING: TOM BAKER, ELISABETH SLADEN, IAN MARTER / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
Originally issued as the first ‘classic’ Doctor Who Blu-ray set in February 2018 in a strictly limited edition release, Season 12 – let’s call it ‘the one where Tom Baker arrives and shakes things up as bit’ – sold out in days and quickly became a cherished and much sought-after collectors’ item. Fans who missed out were forced to consider paying eye watering sums of money on a popular auction site if they wanted to get their hands on this rather tasty little celebration of Doctor Who in something approaching its 1970s prime with many wondering if they really needed the luxury of two kidneys. The BBC have bowed to pressure and reissued the set – again in limited numbers – and for a second time, it’s become as rare as hen’s teeth within days of its availability. Unless you can find one lurking in the dark depths of some online retailer or other then it’s back to that popular auction site and weighing up the pros and cons of bodily mutilation…
Season 12 is, by any consideration, a real milestone in the history of Doctor Who. Jon Pertwee had been comfortably ensconced in the role for five years and his reassuring, avuncular presence had made the show a bigger hit that it had been in years. His adventures (firstly largely Earth-based thanks to the period of exile imposed by him by the Time Lords at the end of the 1960s and his second incarnation with his ability to travel in Space and Time slowly restored as the seasons rolled by) were colourful, action packed and richly imaginative. But by 1975, it was time for things to change. New producer Philip Hinchcliffe and his script editor Robert Holmes had a grander vision for the series. They decided that it was time Doctor Who grew up a little, set aside its propensity for tentacle-waving rubber monsters and started exploring the darker side of the Doctor’s universe. But change takes time. The eccentric Tom Baker stepped into the TARDIS and brought a mercurial new energy to both the series and the character and Hinchcliffe was frustrated at taking over the series with a number of scripts already commissioned that singularly did not completely fit the plan he had for the series. Yet Season 12 demonstrates the show moving away from the safety net of the Pertwee era – once the solidly-predictable and rambunctious season opener Robot is out of the way – and moving into more unpredictable territory. Robert Holmes’ Ark in Space (heavily rewritten from an original script by veteran writer John Lucarotti) quickly saw the series’ ratings rise to new heights – the serial is in many ways a precursor to the likes of Alien and is a favourite amongst many fans. Genesis of the Daleks saw the reliable Terry Nation delivering his best script for the series for years in a story that told the story of the creation of the Doctor’s deadliest enemies, introducing the maniacal Davros, who would reappear years later to increasingly diminishing returns until he was spectacularly reimagined in 2008 in the revived series. The Cybermen returned for the first time since 1968 in the mundane but enjoyable Revenge of the Cybermen and two-parter The Sontaran Experiment is a gritty, rather cruel throwaway that quickly reintroduced the warlike potato-heads from Pertwee’s final season. With just 20 episodes (the season’s production was curtailed by industrial action) and a recession hammered budget (necessitating the reuse of some sets and an ‘arc’ structure that loosely connected four serials), Season 12 is very much Doctor Who setting off on a new creative curve and indicating the slightly less child-friendly direction that was to bring the show massive audiences and popular acclaim in the following two seasons.
For many fans, the TARDIS line-up here – Tom Baker, brilliant and buzzing with invention and far from the comedic parody of himself he would sadly become in later years, the magnificent Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith and Ian Marter as starchy new boy Harry Sullivan (drafted into the series to do some heavy lifting in case an older and less physical actor was cast as the Doctor) – is pretty much iconic. The chemistry between the three is instantly likeable and the partnership’s dissolution early the following year (Marter was written out in Season 13 when it became evident that Baker’s Doctor was more than capable of fending for himself physically) prematurely brought to an end one of the great TARDIS teams (even though we never actually see them all together inside the Doctor’s time machine). It’s not for nothing that Season 12 is so well regarded and beloved by fans.
As ever, your mileage will vary in relation to the issuing of SD TV material on Blu-ray, but Season 12 has scrubbed up nicely, the picture is sharp and colourful, the sound quality has been buffed up and, of course, the set includes almost all the bonus material available from the original DVD releases of the serials. But there’s new stuff here including an engrossing hour long interview with Tom Baker conducted by journalist and super-fan Matthew Sweet, a couple of new ‘making of’ featurettes, Behind the Sofa features in which assorted Who luminaries watch and comment on the episodes and some new VFX on Revenge of the Cybermen.
Season 12 is a little rough around the edges in places, a series working slowly to change its format and yet shackled by some elements from its past. But it’s very much ‘the shape of things’ to come, Hinchliffe’s second and third seasons in embryo form, with Tom Baker bringing a new manic energy to the lead role and offering up countless exciting options for the show’s new direction. If you’re a proper Who fan you will need this in your life and if it’s slipped the net so far, well… what’s a kidney between friends?
