Fang Citadel

A rugged mountain fortress where the werewolf clans unite to defy vampire tyranny.

The fifteenth season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 3 September 1977 with the serial Horror of Fang Rock, and ended with The Invasion of Time. The fourth series for the Fourth Doctor, new producer Graham Williams became producer for this series (and the two following), while Robert Holmes left script editing for Anthony Read midway through.

Lore & Background

Graham Williams took over as producer from Philip Hinchcliffe. Robert Holmes was replaced as script editor by Anthony Read, during The Sun Makers. The season took a short transmission break of two weeks over the Christmas 1977 period, between the broadcasts of The Sun Makers and Underworld.

Reader's Guide

Read approached David Weir, an old co-worker of his, to write the planned finale to the season, Killers of the Dark. This would have had elements of Asian culture, and included a race of cat people with links to Gallifrey; it was determined impossible to shoot within the show's budget, and scrapped two weeks before filming, resulting in The Invasion of Time being hastily produced to serve as the season's finale. Douglas Adams' The Krikkitmen was a proposal submitted to the production office around the time he was working on The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy radio series.

Holmes rejected the script and encouraged Adams to work on The Hitchhiker's Guide and future proposals for Doctor Who, leading to his commission for The Pirate Planet. Adams would later revise the script as part of a pitch in 1980 for a Doctor Who feature film, though plans failed to develop. Ideas from The Krikkitmen were later incorporated into his book Life, the Universe and Everything, the second sequel of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Another story by Moris Farhi titled The Divided was left unproduced and scrapped, with Farhi later stating he didn't remember what the story was about.

Did You Know?

The entire season was broadcast from 3 September 1977 to 11 March 1978, but with a three week break between the fourth and fifth serials from 17 December 1977 to 7 January 1978.
Tom Baker and Louise Jameson continue their roles as the Fourth Doctor and Leela.
K9, played by John Leeson, makes his first appearance during the second serial The Invisible Enemy.
Louise Jameson makes her final appearance as Leela in The Invasion of Time.