<span class="SFPTagline"> From SCIFIPEDIA </span>

Producer Philip Hinchcliffe had decided that Doctor Who, Season 14 would be his last with the program. It would mark the height of his successful partnership with script editor Robert Holmes, achieving the second highest average ratings in the entire 26 season run of the classic series (a mark only topped by season 17, but that season was boosted by a strike that took competing network ITV off the air for several weeks).

For this season, the production would introduce a new wood paneled TARDIS interior set. Unfortunately, the set would be improperly stored between seasons, rendering it unusable for the next season due to water damage. It would never be seen again.

Elisabeth Sladen had indicated that she would be leaving the role of Sarah Jane at the end of the second story. Lead actor Tom Baker had been inisting that he didn't need a companion character. So, Hinchcliffe decided to not immediately introduce a new companion character in order to convince the actor that this idea wouldn't work. However, the script for "The Deadly Assassin" turned in by Robert Holmes would be far from a failure. On the contrary, it would be considered a great classic, featuring the Doctor's first lengthy return to his home planet and defining ideas about the Time Lords and their culture that would remain definitive until the end of the classic series and beyond. Unfortunately, one particularly violent moment in this story would rouse the ire of the parental groups whose criticism had dogged the program for years. On this occasion, their attacks would be so severe that they would impact the direction of the program for years to come.

The following story would introduce another popular companion, Leela.

It was the season closer, however, that would largely be considered the season's high point. "The Talons of Weng-Chiang" would perennially rank among the most popular stories in the programme's history. To this day, it frequently appears in the number 1 position.

Season Fourteen began airing on September 4, 1976.

• The Masque of Mandragora (4 episodes)
• The Hand of Fear (4 episodes)
• The Deadly Assassin (4 episodes)
• The Face of Evil (4 episodes)
• The Robots of Death (4 episodes)
• The Talons of Weng-Chiang (6 episodes)