This will be the seventeenth season released, on 3rd March 2025 in the UK. It was announced in December.
This page is under construction.
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 replacing the Spearhead from Space text by Richard Molesworth (original) and Richard Bignell (SE).
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.
Disc Layout
The disc layout was previewed in Doctor Who Magazine 613 (released 30 January 2025, cover date February 2025). All the details below are provisional and will be updated when the set is released.
Disc 1 – Spearhead from Space
Commentary #1 with Nicholas Courtney and Caroline John
Commentary #2 with Derrick Sherwin and Terrance Dicks
| Format | Length | Original DVD Souce & Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Making-of Documentary [Down to Earth] | SD | 22:40 | Spearhead from Space SE |
| Behind the Sofa | HD | New | |
| A Dandy and a Clown | HD | 42:26 | Spearhead from Space BD |
| Regenerations: From Black and White to Colour | SD | 18:42 | Spearhead from Space SE |
| Commentary feature – behind the scenes | New | ||
| Title Sequence Material | HD | 22:39 | Spearhead from Space BD |
| Restoration Comparison | HD | 2:13 | Spearhead from Space BD |
| Unused version of the title sequence | SD | 0:45 | Spearhead from Space (and SE) easter egg |
| Trails and Continuities | SD | New. Spearhead from Space (and SE) included 1m40s of 1999 trailers (originally presented across 3 menu items, then as one feature on the SE). | |
| Photo Gallery | HD | Alternate 3:51 SD version on SE DVD, and static 56 photos on original DVD | |
| Audio Archive [Derek Martinus interview] | Audio | New |
- 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
- 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 Revisted 1-4, though was not included as per Earthshock (Season 19), Vengeance on Varos (Season 22) and Remembrance of the Daleks (Season 25)
- The unused version of the title sequence was not mentioned in the DWM preview, so it remains to be seen whether it is included
Disc 2 – Doctor Who and the Silurians
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]
| Format | Length | Original DVD Source & Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Making-of Documentary [What Lies Beneath] | SD | 35:12 | Doctor Who and the Silurians |
| Behind the Sofa | HD | New | |
| Going Underground | SD | 19:09 | Doctor Who and the Silurians |
| Now and Then | SD | 9:41 | Doctor Who and the Silurians |
| Colour Silurian Overlay | SD | 4:44 | Doctor Who and the Silurians |
| On Target: Malcolm Hulke | SD | 20:00 | The War Games |
| Clean Opening & Closing Titles | New | ||
| Trails and Continuities | SD | New | |
| Photo Gallery | HD | Alternate 6:03 SD version on original DVD | |
| Coming Soon: The Ambassadors of Death | SD | 1:06 | Vegeance on Varos: SE |
- Coming Soon: The Time Meddler already moved to Season 2
- Musical Scales featurette from the original DVD already moved to Season 9
- The commentary for Episode 7 continues over the trailer for The Ambassadors of Death, so it will be interesting to see whether it is kept for BD
- The story was originally split across two DVDs, with Episodes 1-4 on Disc 1 and 5-7 on Disc 2
Disc 3 – Doctor Who and the Silurians
| Format | Length | Original DVD Source & Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Cave Monsters Omnibus | HD | 107m | New |
| Looking for Mac | HD | New | |
| Splendid Chap: The Life and Times of Nicholas Courtney | HD | New |
Disc 4 – The Ambassadors of Death
Commetary 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].
| Format | Length | Original DVD Source & Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Making-of Documentary [Mars Probe 7] | SD | 25:51 | The Ambassadors of Death |
| Behind the Sofa | HD | New | |
| Michael Ferguson’s Monster Masterclass | SD | 3:46 | The Seeds of Death SE |
| BBC1 trailer – Transmitted (Reconstruction) | SD | 1:31 | The Ambassadors of Death / The Silurians [easter egg] |
| BBC1 trailer – Extended | SD | 1:55 | New |
| Photo Gallery | HD | Alternate 4:26 SD version on original DVD | |
| Coming Soon: Inferno SE | SD | 1:05 | The Visitation SE |
- 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, 3 and 7
Disc 5 – Inferno (HD Blu-Ray Restoration)
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]
| Format | Length | Original DVD Source & Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Making-of Documentary [Can You Hear the Earth Scream?] | SD | 34:48 | Inferno (and SE) |
| Behind the Sofa | HD | New | |
| Deleted Scene | SD | 1:57 | Inferno (and SE) |
| Pertwee Years Intro to Episode 7 | SD | 2:44 | Inferno (and SE) |
| Episode 5 Extended | New | ||
| Clean Opening & Closing Titles | SD | Inferno (and SE) easter egg of the opening titles | |
| Sesaon 8 Blu-Ray Trailer | HD | New | |
| Photo Gallery | HD | Alternate 6:11 SD version on original DVD (and SE) |
- Coming Soon: The Mind of Evil (from the SE) already moved to Season 8
- Coming Soon: Mannequin Mania (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 installments on The Green Death SE, The Ark in Space SE, and The Visitation SE which were not carried across to BD
Disc 6 – Inferno (SD DVD Version)
| Format | Length | Original DVD Source & Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inferno Omnibus | HD | 96m | New |
| Carry On: The Life of Caroline John | HD | 29:09 | Spearhead from Space BD |
| Hadoke versus HAVOC | SD | 27:34 | Inferno SE |
| The UNIT Family: Part One | SD | 35:36 | Inferno (and SE) |
| Visual Effects Promo Film | SD | 6:01 | Inferno (and SE) |
Disc 7 – Bonus Disc
| Format | Length | Original DVD Source & Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Terror of the Suburbs | HD | New | |
| Lucky 13: Rockets, Aliens and Spare Parts | HD | New | |
| John Levene in Conversation | HD | New | |
| Studio Clocks | SD | New. Inferno 7 appeared on Inferno (and SE) as an easter egg | |
| Escape Room: Team Third Doctor | HD | New | |
| The Collection Season 7 Trailer | HD | New | |
| The Panopticon Archive [Caroline John and Barry Letts 25.09.94] | SD | New |
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.
