Doctor Who Blu-ray review: Season 15 is a significant turning point for Tom Baker’s Doctor

Season 15 is a fascinating turning point for Doctor Who. On the surface, there seemed to be no major changes. Tom Baker and Louise Jameson still starred as the Fourth Doctor and Leela, and every episode began with the same wonderfully reassuring intro first seen in Tom’s debut story Robot. The season even began with Horror of Fang Rock, an atmospheric and violent historical horror that wouldn’t have been out of place in the previous three seasons.

However, while little had changed on-screen, it was a different story behind the scenes. After three years, Philip Hinchcliffe left as producer at the end of Season 14, with Graham Williams taking over. After continuing for a few stories, script editor Robert Holmes also left the show and was replaced by Anthony Read. Together, Willams and Read presented a very different vision for the show, one that was lighter and in some ways perhaps more ambitious, at least in terms of special effects.

Overall, the tone of Season 15 is a relatively light one, most likely in response to complaints by TV campaigner Mary Whitehouse for the previous season. (Particularly The Deadly Assassin, which featured a cliffhanger that she was really angry about.)

The Invisible Enemy features the Doctor and Leela facing an intelligent virus and journeying inside themselves (literally). Image of the Fendahl is, along with Horror of Fang Rock, one of the only horror stories of the season. The Sun Makers focuses on the evils of taxation, while Underworld presents a sci-fi take on Jason and the Argonauts. It all ends with The Invasion of Time, an incredibly ambitious story featuring not one but two invasions of Gallifrey.

And that’s a keyword I’d use to describe this season: “ambitious”. While Doctor Who had often been a show that relied on special effects, this was a season full of stories that often tried to push the limits of what the effects budget could do. This would result in stories going over budget and having a knock-on effect on the following stories. For example, as one of the last stories of the season, Underworld had so little budget that a huge portion of the story was made using bluescreen rather than making actual sets, with arguably less than convincing results.

Variety in stories and special features

Overall though, there’s a nice sense of variety to the season. Horror of Fang Rock is definitely an absolute classic, but while none of the following stories quite live up to it, there’s always something to enjoy about each of them. Even when the presentation doesn’t quite live up to the story or idea, it’s still easy to admire the sense of ambition, at least.

Beyond the stories themselves, what really makes this box set an essential purchase are the special features. Doctor Who has consistently given us excellent special features on both DVD and Blu-ray, and Season 15 (released in North America as Tom Baker: Complete Season Four) is no exception. The box set has a good number of documentaries covering the making of each story, including a brand new documentary for Horror of Fang Rock. All of them are fascinating to watch and provide a great amount of detail.

Beyond the standard documentaries, we also have some excellent focus on some of the key people of the season. In Conversation with Louise Jameson is an excellent examination of the actress’s career, with a large amount of discussion focusing on many of her roles outside of Doctor Who and telling some great stories. There's also Tom Talks: Season 15, in which Tom Baker tells quite a few interesting stories from his life while answering key questions related to each serial.

But perhaps the best feature of the set is Darkness & Light: The Life of Graham Williams. An extensive look at the life and career of Doctor Who’s seventh producer, the documentary includes interviews with actors, crew members, and even Williams’s family. It’s a documentary that at times is emotional to watch, and a real reminder of the impact that Williams had on Doctor Who and beyond.

Whether it's for the variety of stories or the rich number of special features, Season 15 is easy to recommend as another essential Blu-ray purchase, especially for Tom Baker fans.

Have you watched Tom Baker’s fourth season? Which story is your favorite? If you’ve purchased the Blu-ray, what special feature stands out to you the most? Let us know in the comments below.