Season 34 - 1997-98

 


Season 33 had seen in some ways a new era for the show as Nick Berry and Gillian Kearney were introduced as the Doctor and Lillian, Garwood and Brake were carrying on the success of the Fraser years but this season was going to be the end of someone’s tenure.

Producer Stephen Garwood announced his departure in February 1997 as he was going to take over of Eastenders, despite his departure Colin Brake decided to stay on.

This seasons writers included Nicholas Briggs, Kate Orman, Steven Moffat, David Banks, Paul Cornell, Keith Topping, Gary Russell and Russell T Davies and the stories included the return of the Sontarans, Feudal Japan, the Vashta Nerada, return of the Cybermen, a planet where everybody accepts their fate, one of the worst Doctor Who stories of all-time, return of the Silurians and The Downfall of the Human Empire.


The Honour of War

By Nicholas Briggs

Aired: 18th October - 1st November


This story would see the return of the Sontarans, we would’ve seen the Doctor and Lillian land on a jungle planet and later get into the midst of the Sontaran - Rutan war. We would see the Doctor be captured by
the Sontarans and we would see Lillian start to help the Rutans as she tries to find the Doctor, in the end the Doctor is rescued by a Rutan task force and he and Lillian get back to the TARDIS.


The Room With No Doors

By Kate Orman

Aired: 8th - 22nd November


This story would see the Doctor and Lillian land in 1560’s Japan where a god falls from the sky and all sides good and bad want to use the god, this story is great character piece for Lillian as the Doctor isn’t really in it as we see her overcome her self-doubt as she dosen’t think she can handle the situation on her own.


The Shadows of Death

By Steven Moffat

Aired: 29th November - 20th December


The story would see the Doctor and Lillian landing on a planet-size library and meeting an archeological team, the story would see the Doctor, Lillian and the crew go up against the Vashta Nerada, carnivorous
beings that take the shape of a shadow, in the end the planet is left to the Vashta Nerada.


Iceberg

By David Banks

Aired: 27th December - 3rd January


This story would’ve been set on a cruise ship headed for Antarctica and would’ve been mainly told through the perspective of Ruby Duvall, a journalist on the ship, this story would be the return of the
Cybermen but shows a different side to them, it would’ve been the usual Cyberman story where they try and convert every human on Earth but it’s only to save them from the effects of climate change.


The Inevitable Fate

By Paul Cornell

Aired: 10th - 24th January


This story would see the TARDIS land on Beta Scorpii V where the Doctor and Lillian discover that the planet is starting to boil and everyone seems to accept it, the Doctor discovers that monks carry out sacrifices to stop the planet from being destroyed and their main city, Artavas City is under martial law and anyone who tries to flee is shot and killed, in the end the Doctor sparks a revolution and everyone on the planet manages to save themselves before it’s destroyed.


The Havos Project

By Keith Topping

Aired: 31st January


This story sees the TARDIS landing on Havos where the Doctor and Lillian discover a business on the planet illegally mining the planet for the richest minerals in the known universe which can only be found on Havos, their plan is to sell it and make a profit for themselves, in the end the Doctor and Lillian thwart their plans and the main business people are arrested. Later down the line this story would become known as one of the worst stories in Doctor Who history, while not as bad as ‘The Twin Dilemma’ it’s down there with some of the worst .


The Scales of Injustice

By Gary Russell

Aired: 7th February - 21st February


This story sees the Doctor and Lillian land on Earth and helping UNIT with the Silurians, the Doctor attempts to make contact with them himself, but this triggers a near-conflict with the colony, populated by Silurian-Sea Devil hybrids seeking a way to breed further, and a renegade
faction of C19 seeking to use alien technology to conquer the world. The Doctor, Lillian and UNIT are able to thwart these efforts and expose the true conspiracy, but the Silurian colony decide to remain in secret for the moment.


Starship of The Damned

By Russell T Davies

Aired: 28th February - 14th March


This story sees the TARDIS lands on the luxurious Starship: Starburst. The Doctor explains to Lillian that they've arrived three years after Satellite 5, in the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire's declining period. They split up, and the Doctor meets Koryn, who shares his disdain for the Empire's cover-ups. Meanwhile, Lillian learns about the Empire's hidden history and meets Devon and Mike, who reveal further secrets.

The Doctor and Koryn bond over their knowledge of the Empire's dark past. Lillian, Devon, and Mike discover a file documenting atrocities covered up by the Empire and bring it to the Doctor. As they discuss the revelations, an alarm sounds, and an explosion shakes the Starship, sending everyone tumbling to the floor.

Recovering from the explosion, the group learns from Koryn about a resistance movement against the Empire. The Doctor is horrified by the innocent casualties but agrees they must escape. They navigate the upper levels, finding a map that shows the TARDIS's location. Koryn sneaks off to leak more of the Empire's secrets.

The group finds an elevator shaft, but Devon reveals himself as an Empire officer, holding them at gunpoint. A struggle ensues, and the Doctor and Devon fall into the shaft, with the Doctor hanging onto a rope.

The survivors help the Doctor climb up, but Devon falls to his death. They find another missile heading towards the station and see riots on Earth caused by leaked Empire secrets. The group tries to swing across a broken bridge with a rope, but it snaps, and Mike falls to his death.

The Doctor, Lillian, and Koryn reach the main lobby as the ship starts to descend. The Doctor gets them aboard the TARDIS just in time, and they escape to London, finding the city in chaos. The Doctor declares the Empire has fallen. After a heartfelt goodbye, Koryn leaves, and the Doctor and Lillian depart in the TARDIS.


And that concludes Season 34 of Doctor Who, it was a good season and a good send off to the Garwood era, overall this era would be the era which kept the show fresh and continued the popularity after the departure of Ian Fraser. The next season is Season 35 of Doctor Who until then thank you for reading and goodbye.

Thank You To:

Our Holy Leader Sylvester McCoy

Opticalspectre

Conbow

Knottyorchid

DonNeutron

Toffa

The Name's Jim




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