23 - Twenty-Third Season - Colin Baker

The Mysterious Planet

This is the beginning of the 4-story arc The Trial of a Time Lord. It aired 18 months after the previous episode, a very long break indeed. The Controller of BBC1, Michael Grade, decided he was not happy with the program and that it needed to “rest” for a bit. But the reaction from fans in both the UK and abroad meant it would return. However, the return was only temporary since this was Colin Baker’s last season, and his successor, Sylvester McCoy, would only have three seasons before they killed it. Grade was later quoted as saying that he “hated Doctor Who”. Note that when Doctor Who returned in 2005, Michael Grade came back as BBC Chairman, and his appointment stipulated that he could not kill Doctor Who again.