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

Doctor Who, Season 7 would mark perhaps the largest transformation in the entire 26 season run of the classic series. Producers Peter Bryant and Derrick Sherwin had decided to follow through on their plan to add a more adult and more realistic edge to the show by having the Doctor trapped on Earth and assisting UNIT in fighting alien threats.

Furthermore, the entire regular cast of the show had left at the end of the previous season, leaving the roles of the Doctor and at least one companion to be filled. Well known comedic actor Jon Pertwee was cast to fill the lead role, but contrary to expectations, Pertwee would choose to play the part straight. For the companion role, Bryant and Sherwin wanted a much more intelligent character than had been the case in the last few seasons. To this end, they created the character of Liz Shaw, a respected scientist from the university at Cambridge.

There was also another problem, however. Departing lead actor Patrick Troughton had cited the show's gruelling 40+ episode a year schedule as one of his reasons for leaving and the production team were also clearly feeling that the extraordinary workload was causing sheer chaos behind the scenes. To ameliorate the situation, the BBC decided to limit the number of new episodes to just 25 this season. On the plus side, however, the network would shift its entire output (including Doctor Who) to color this season.

Bryant and Sherwin, however, were not able to oversee the entire season. After the production of "Spearhead from Space," the were reassigned to attempt to breathe life into another failing BBC program. Barry Letts agreed to fill the now empty producer's chair, but he would not be available until the production of the third story, "The Ambassadors of Death." Though Letts's name would appear on "The Silurians," the serial would actually be produced by a production assistant.

Upon arrival, Letts was immediately informed that the BBC was considering cancelling the program and asked him to create a replacement. Although Letts did make progress on this task, it ultimately would not be necessary. Doctor Who would be saved by a modest, but signifant increase in ratings this season.

Season seven began airing on January 3, 1970. The season itself is easily one of the best of the Pertwee era. "Spearhead from Space" introduces both the Doctor's third incarnation and a classic monster, the Autons. The next story introduces another classic villain who would return multiple times, the erroneously-named Silurians. "Inferno" ranks among the all-time fan favorites and "The Ambassidors of Death" is quite outstanding as well.

• Spearhead from Space (4 episodes)
• The Silurians (7 episodes)
• The Ambassadors of Death (7 episodes)
• Inferno (7 episodes)