This was the seventeenth season released, on March 3rd 2025 in the UK.
Sources
Spearhead from Space is sourced from original 16mm colour film elements. Doctor Who and the Silurians and The Ambassadors of Death Episodes 2-7 exist as 16mm black and white film prints, as well as US off-air colour copies on NTSC Betamax. The Ambassadors of Death Episode 1 is sourced from the original PAL transmission tape. Inferno exists both as 16mm black and white film prints and colour NSTC-format videotapes returned from Canada, which have been reverse standards converted back to PAL.
Spearhead is based on the 2013 standalone Blu-ray with some additional clean-up. Inferno is upscaled from the Special Edition DVD with new transfers of the film inserts. The other stories are completely new restorations from the original sources.
Doctor Who and the Silurians was colourised in 1992 using the NTSC off-airs for the VHS restoration, and these were used again for a ground-up DVD restoration in 2007. Chroma dot recovery has been possible for the new BD restoration, except for Episodes 1 and 3 which utilise the off-airs. Two short sections are missing from the NSTC tapes: a few seconds at the start of Episode 3, and approximately 90 seconds between the end of Episode 5 and start of Episode 6. In 1992, the first portion was cut, with the soundtrack covered by slowing down a portion of the existing footage; the original footage was then hand-colourised in 2007. The second section was computer colourised in 1992, and this was retained and incorporated into the 2007 version. The latter has been colourised using the chroma dots for BD, and it remains to be seen how the former has been restored.
The Ambassadors of Death‘s NTSC off-air colour recording suffers from interference that reduces the colour to rainbow-like stripes, and so the 2002 VHS release dropped to black and white intermittently in Episodes 2, 3, 6 and 7 to avoid the worst of this (with Episode 4 presented entirely in monochrome). Chroma dot recovery was achieved for the 2012 DVD release, and has been used again for a completely new BD restoration.
UK Release History
| VHS | VHS Art | DVD/BD | DVD/BD Art | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spearhead from Space | 1/2/88 13/2/95 | 29/1/01 9/5/11 (SE) 15/7/13 (BD) | Clayton Hickman (SE) Lee Binding (BD) | |
| Doctor Who and the Silurians | 12/7/93 | Andrew Skilleter | 14/1/08 | Clayton Hickman |
| The Ambassadors of Death | 20/5/02 | 1/10/12 | Lee Binding | |
| Inferno | 9/5/94 | Colin Howard | 6/11/06 27/5/13 (SE) | Clayton Hickman Lee Binding (SE) |
| The final episode of Inferno also appeared on The Pertwee Years VHS | 2/3/92 | Photographic |
For more information see our VHS guide.
The original releases of Spearhead from Space and Inferno were both included in the Amazon exclusive Third Doctor Collection DVD set, 6 November 2006. Spearhead was also reissued in a sleeve with the new series logo on 2 July 2007.
A Special Edition of Spearhead from Space was featured in the Mannequin Mania DVD set in 2011. The SE was then included in the US and Australia (but not the UK) omnibus format on the 2013 DVD The Doctors Revisited 1-4, and in the HMV exclusive An Introduction to the Third Doctor in 2015. The story also became the first release on Blu-ray in 2013.
Doctor Who and the Silurians was first released in the Beneath the Surface box set, with The Sea Devils and Warriors of the Deep. It was reissued paired with two new series episodes on the 2013 DVD The Monster Collection: The Silurians.
The restored episodes were issued as part of the Doctor Who DVD Files magazine (2009-14) across the following issues: 35 Spearhead from Space (May 5th 2010), 65 Doctor Who and the Silurians (Jun 29th 2011), 145 The Ambassadors of Death (July 23rd 2014) and 44 Inferno (Sep 8th 2010).
Summary
Information text is provided by Martin Wiggins, updating his own DVD versions and the Spearhead from Space SE text by Richard Bignell (which itself replaced the originals by Richard Molesworth). Paul Scoones assists on Spearhead from Space.
Behind the Sofa are:
- Katy Manning and Matthew Waterhouse
- Janet Fielding, Sarah Sutton and Sophie Aldred
- Geoffrey Beevers, Daisy Ashford and Toby Hadoke
Doctor Who and the Silurians includes an isolated soundtrack of Carey Blyton’s incidental music, as per the DVD.
Audio navigation is provided by Katy Manning.
Disc Layout
With the exception of the audio commentaries, titles are as they appear on the menu screen (and in the same order), with explanatory information in square brackets.
The disc layout was previewed in Doctor Who Magazine 613 (released 30 January 2025, cover date February 2025) with the features listed out of order, and with alternate titles.
Disc 1 – Spearhead from Space (1:37:04)
Commentary #1 with Nicholas Courtney and Caroline John. Recorded June 2000.
Commentary #2 with Derrick Sherwin and Terrance Dicks. Recorded April 2008.
| Format | Length | Original DVD Source & Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Making-of Documentary [Down to Earth] | SD | 22:41 | Spearhead from Space SE |
| Behind the Sofa | HD | 36:40 | New |
| Jon Pertwee Documentary [A Dandy and a Clown] | HD | 42:27 | Spearhead from Space BD |
| From Black & White to Colour [Regenerations] | SD | 18:42 | Spearhead from Space SE |
| Title Sequence Tests | HD | 22:38 | Spearhead from Space BD |
| Restoration Featurette | HD | 2:13 | Spearhead from Space BD |
| Trails & Continuities | HD | 5:49 | New, covering broadcasts from 1970, 1971, 1999 and 2006. Despite the name this only featured continuities, missing the 1999 trailers from the DVD. |
| Audio Commentary Behind-the-Scenes | HD | 6:30 | New |
| Photo Gallery | HD | 9:02 | Alternate 3:51 SD version on SE DVD, with 56 static photos on original DVD |
| Audio Archive [Derek Martinus interview] | Audio | 5:32 | New |
Total disc contents: 4:29:18
- The audio navigation menu positions the Photo Gallery last, after the Audio Archive.
- Coming Soon: Frontios (from the SE) expected to move to Season 21
- Coming Soon: The Green Death SE (from the BD) already moved to Season 10
- Coming Soon: Beneath the Surface (Doctor Who and the Silurians, The Sea Devils and Warriors of the Deep) (from Destiny of the Daleks) was not included, neither was it on Seasons 9 or 20
- Carry On: The Life of Caroline John (from the BD) moved to Disc 6
- UNIT Recruiting Film (from the original and SE DVDs) was not included, perhaps held back for a Wilderness Years set, as per The Antique Doctor Who Show (which didn’t appear on Horror of Fang Rock on BD), along with the other 1993 Doctor Who and the Daleks featurettes. It has been mooted that the rights could not be cleared.
- The original and SE DVDs included 1m40s of 1999 trailers for the Doctor Who Night and Spearhead repeat (originally presented across 3 menu items, then as one feature on the SE)
- An unused version of the title sequence (45s, from the original and SE DVDs as an easter egg) was not included
- The original US DVD included a text-only feature, Who’s Who, which was not included
- A widescreen, unrestored, omnibus version with introduction by Steven Moffat was released on the 2013 US/Australian DVD, The Doctors Revisited 1-4, though was not included as per Earthshock (Season 19), Vengeance on Varos (Season 22) and Remembrance of the Daleks (Season 25)
Disc 2 – The Silurians (2:48:52)
Commentary with Caroline John [1,2,3,5,7], Barry Letts [1,2,3,4,6,7], Timothy Combe [1,2,3,4], Peter Miles [1,2,4,5,6], Terrance Dicks [1,3,4,6,7], Nicholas Courtney [5,6,7] and Geoffrey Palmer [5,6]. Recorded August 2007.
| Format | Length | Original DVD Source & Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design Featurette [Going Underground] | SD | 19:09 | Doctor Who and the Silurians |
| What Lies Beneath | SD | 35:13 | Doctor Who and the Silurians |
| Behind the Sofa | HD | 37:13 | New |
| Locations Now & Then | SD | 9:41 | Doctor Who and the Silurians |
| DVD Restoration Featurette [Colour Silurian Overlay] | SD | 4:44 | Doctor Who and the Silurians |
| On Target: Malcolm Hulke | SD | 20:01 | The War Games |
| Opening & Closing Titles | HD | 1:34 | New |
| Trails & Continuities | SD | 6:13 | New, covering broadcasts from 1970 and 1999-2000 |
| Photo Gallery | HD | 13:13 | Alternate 6:03 SD version on original DVD |
| Coming Soon [The Ambassadors of Death] | SD | 1:07 | Vengeance on Varos SE |
Total disc contents: 5:17:00
- The labels and booklet entries for Discs 2 & 3 honour the full title of Doctor Who and the Silurians, though the menu title is simply The Silurians
- The audio navigation menu positions the Photo Gallery last, after Coming Soon.
- As on DVD, the original trailer for The Ambassadors of Death follows Episode 7 (and is included in the running time above). The commentary track continues over this.
- Coming Soon: The Time Meddler already moved to Season 2
- Musical Scales featurette from the original DVD already moved to Season 9
- The story was originally split across two DVDs, with Episodes 1-4 on Disc 1 and 5-7 on Disc 2
Disc 3 – The Silurians: Omnibus (1:47:02)
| Format | Length | Original DVD Source & Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Malcolm Hulke Documentary [Looking for Mac] | HD | 48:23 | New |
| Nicholas Courtney Documentary [Splendid Chap: The Life and Times of] | HD | 1:26:17 | New |
Total disc contents: 4:01:42
Disc 4 – The Ambassadors of Death (2:52:04)
Commentary with Derek Ware [1,2,3,5], Terrance Dicks [1,4,5], Michael Ferguson [1,4,5,6,7], Nicholas Courtney, [1,4,6,7], Roy Scammell [2, 3], Derek Martin [2,3], Caroline John [3,5,7], Peter Halliday [6], Geoffrey Beevers (Private Johnson) [7]. Recorded in November 2009.
| Format | Length | Original DVD Source & Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Making-of Documentary [Mars Probe 7] | SD | 25:52 | The Ambassadors of Death |
| Behind the Sofa | HD | 40:28 | New |
| Monster Masterclass | SD | 3:46 | The Seeds of Death SE |
| BBC1 Trailer Broadcast Version | HD | 1:34 | The Ambassadors of Death / The Silurians [Easter Egg] |
| BBC1 Trailer Long Version | HD | 1:58 | New |
| Photo Gallery | HD | 8:57 | Alternate 4:26 SD version on original DVD |
| Coming Soon [Inferno SE] | SD | 1:04 | The Visitation SE |
Total disc contents: 4:15:43
- The audio navigation menu positions the Photo Gallery last, after Coming Soon
- Coming Soon: The Claws of Axos SE already moved to Season 8
- Tomorrow’s Times: The Third Doctor from the original DVD removed, probably reserved for the third Doctor’s last season, as per Seasons 18, 23 and 26
- The restoration feature from the 2002 VHS release is not included, neither is the mix of black and white and colour presented on VHS for Episodes 2-7
Disc 5 – Inferno (2:46:45)
Commentary with Nicholas Courtney [1,2,3,4,6,7], Barry Letts [1,2,4,6,7], Terrance Dicks [1,2,4,6,7], John Levene [1,3,4,5,6,7]. Recorded in December 2005.
| Format | Length | Original DVD Source & Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extended Episode [5] | HD | 24:16 | VHS, available via Play All and Episode Selection. Does not include Info Text or Commentary. |
| Making-of Documentary [Can You Hear the Earth Scream?] | SD | 34:46 | Inferno (and SE) |
| Behind the Sofa | HD | 37:01 | New |
| Deleted Scene | SD | 1:58 | Inferno (and SE) |
| The Pertwee Years Intro | SD | 2:45 | Inferno (and SE) |
| Opening & Closing Titles | SD | 2:16 | Inferno (and SE) easter egg of the opening titles only |
| Photo Gallery | HD | 11:14 | Alternate 6:11 SD version on original DVD (and SE) |
| Coming Soon – Season 8 | HD | 2:51 | YouTube. Edited by James Barnett. |
Total disc contents: 5:08:08
- The audio navigation menu positions the Photo Gallery last, after Coming Soon
- Coming Soon: The Mind of Evil (from the SE) already moved to Season 8
- Coming Soon: Mannequin Mania (Spearhead from Space, Terror of the Autons) (from the Planet of the Spiders DVD) not included here
- Countdown clock for Episode 7 (an easter egg on the original and SE DVDs) incorporated into Studio Clocks on Disc 7
- The entirety of The Pertwee Years VHS was not included, unlike Seasons 12 (The Tom Baker Years) and 22 (The Colin Baker Years).
- Doctor Forever! Lost in the Dark Dimension and a David Burton interview (both from the SE DVD) were not included, perhaps held back for a Wilderness Years set, as per the instalments on The Green Death SE, The Ark in Space SE, and The Visitation SE which were not carried across to BD
- In the booklet, the Opening & Closing Titles were erroneously listed as Clean Opening Titles
Disc 6 – Inferno: Omnibus (1:35:46)
| Format | Length | Original DVD Source & Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| UNIT Documentary [The UNIT Family: Part One] | SD | 35:36 | Inferno (and SE) |
| Caroline John Documentary [Carry On: The Life of] | HD | 29:08 | Spearhead from Space BD |
| HAVOC Documentary [Hadoke versus HAVOC] | SD | 27:35 | Inferno SE |
| 1970 Visual Effects Promo | SD | 6:02 | Inferno (and SE) |
| DVD Version | SD | 2:46:37 | Inferno SE |
Total disc contents: 6:00:44
- The DVD versions of the episodes do not include Info Text or Commentary, and only have 3 chapter points (fewer than the original DVD, or the main feature)
Disc 7 – Bonus Disc
| Format | Length | Original DVD Source & Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Levene in Conversation | HD | 1:04:15 | New |
| Doctor Who Escape Room [Team Third Doctor] | HD | 1:10:10 | New |
| Terror of the Suburbs Documentary | HD | 35:11 | New |
| Lucky 13 Documentary | HD | 49:46 | New |
| Panopticon Archive [Caroline John and Barry Letts 25.09.94] | SD | 48:59 | New |
| Season 7 Blu-ray Trailer | HD | 5:31 | New |
| Studio Clocks | SD | 3:11 | New. Inferno 7 appeared on Inferno (and SE) as an easter egg |
Total disc contents: 4:37:03
PDF Materials
Radio Times listings and associated articles were included on all the original DVDs. The 1971 Doctor Who Annual appeared on Inferno (and SE), already moved to Season 8.
The Doctor Who Magazine preview listed the Spearhead from Space scripts as Camera Scripts, rather than Filming Scripts.
