Doctor Who (season 24)

==Production==

==Production==

[[Colin Baker]] was originally due to reprise his role as the [[Sixth Doctor]] prior to his dismissal at the request of [[Michael Grade]], who said that a 24th season would only happen if a new actor took the title role. Baker was offered the chance to film a single four-part story ending in his character’s demise, but he declined (as he did not want to miss out on other work in the meantime), instead offering to do the entirety of the season and leave the show at its conclusion. The BBC never responded to his letter. Had Baker reprised his role, a story featuring himself and Mel properly meeting for the first time was going to open the season.

[[Colin Baker]] (contracted for four years) was originally due to reprise his role as the [[Sixth Doctor]] prior to his dismissal at the request of [[Michael Grade]], who said that a 24th season would only happen if a new actor took the title role. Baker was offered the chance to film a single four-part story ending in his character’s demise, but he declined (as he did not want to miss out on other work in the meantime), instead offering to do the entirety of the season and leave the show at its conclusion. The BBC never responded to his letter. Had Baker reprised his role, a story featuring the Sixth Doctor and Mel properly meeting for the first time was going to open the season.

A new logo for the series was introduced with this season along with a new opening credits sequence that moved away from the “starfield” motif introduced in 1980, as producer [[John Nathan-Turner]] thought it was time for the series to have a brand new look. As with the opening sequence from the Sixth Doctor era, the Seventh Doctor’s opening does not use a static image of the Doctor, but rather one with [[limited animation]]: the image of the Doctor starts as a scowl, then fades to a wink followed by a smile. McCoy wears makeup that gives his face and hair a silver/grey appearance. Episode four of Time and the Rani mistakenly uses an early version of this sequence, which gives the Doctor’s face a shadowy look which producer [[John Nathan-Turner]] felt was not prominent enough.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Howe |first1=David J. |author-link1=David J. Howe |last2=Walker |first2=Stephen James |author-link2=Stephen James Walker |title=Doctor Who The Handbook – The Seventh Doctor |year=1998 |publisher=[[Virgin Books|Doctor Who Books]] |location=London |isbn=0-426-20527-8 |page=40 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Howe |first1=David J. |author-link1=David J. Howe |last2=Walker |first2=Stephen James |author-link2=Stephen James Walker |title=Doctor Who: The Television Companion |year=1998 |publisher=[[BBC Worldwide]] |location=London |isbn=0-563-40588-0 |page=502 |chapter=Time and the Rani |chapter-url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/episodeguide/timerani/detail.shtml#trivia }}</ref>

A new logo for the series was introduced with this season along with a new opening credits sequence that moved away from the “starfield” motif introduced in 1980, as producer [[John Nathan-Turner]] thought it was time for the series to have a brand new look. As with the opening sequence from the Sixth Doctor era, the Seventh Doctor’s opening does not use a static image of the Doctor, but rather one with [[limited animation]]: the image of the Doctor starts as a scowl, then fades to a wink followed by a smile. McCoy wears makeup that gives his face and hair a silver/grey appearance. Episode four of Time and the Rani mistakenly uses an early version of this sequence, which gives the Doctor’s face a shadowy look which producer [[John Nathan-Turner]] felt was not prominent enough.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Howe |first1=David J. |author-link1=David J. Howe |last2=Walker |first2=Stephen James |author-link2=Stephen James Walker |title=Doctor Who The Handbook – The Seventh Doctor |year=1998 |publisher=[[Virgin Books|Doctor Who Books]] |location=London |isbn=0-426-20527-8 |page=40 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Howe |first1=David J. |author-link1=David J. Howe |last2=Walker |first2=Stephen James |author-link2=Stephen James Walker |title=Doctor Who: The Television Companion |year=1998 |publisher=[[BBC Worldwide]] |location=London |isbn=0-563-40588-0 |page=502 |chapter=Time and the Rani |chapter-url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/episodeguide/timerani/detail.shtml#trivia }}</ref>