Doctor Who
Underworld, Part One
TV Flash files “Underworld, Part One” as hour 470 of 700 in the TV Flash guide — Doctor Who (1963–) on BBC, season 15, episode 17, aired 1978-01-07, 25 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S15E17: listed hour 470 of 700 in the Doctor Who guide, hour 17 of 26 in season 15. It aired 1978-01-07 (25 min). The listed hour before it is “The Sun Makers, Part Four” (S15E16). Next is “Underworld, Part Two” (S15E18). Broadcast log — titles and dates, not a plot bible.
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Materializing at the edge of the cosmos, the frontier of creation, The Doctor, Leela & K-9 encounter four ancient space travelers from Minyos, the first race ever contacted by the Time Lords. All but extinct due to their Time Lords encounter, the Minyans (rejuvenated 1000 times each) have been embarked on a long 100,000 year old quest, searching the universe for the lost race bank of their species to take to a new home world. But their equally old ship is finally failing, succumbing to the gravitational pull of a newly forming sun and taking the Doctor and his party with it.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Underworld, Part One sit in the Doctor Who guide?
S15E17 is listed hour 470 of 700 — hour 17 of 26 in season 15, season 15 episode 17.
When did Doctor Who S15E17 air?
Underworld, Part One aired 1978-01-07 and is listed at 25 minutes.
Where should I start with the 1960s serials?
William Hartnell's First Doctor is the origin of the TARDIS-and-companions contract. Patrick Troughton's Second Doctor is the proof that regeneration works. Start at a serial whose surviving episodes interest you; missing-episode gaps are part of the classic-era weather.
In the series
Why this series still plays
A Time Lord, a police box bigger on the inside, and regeneration as infinite franchise life: Doctor Who launched from the BBC in 1963 and never really parked. Early black-and-white serials built the mythology; Hartnell-to-Troughton proved the lead could change without ending the show. The longest experiment in serialized reinvention — woolly, weird, endlessly renewable.
November 23, 1963, is a drop that never really parked. BBC's *Doctor Who* launched a Time Lord and a blue police box bigger on the inside, then treated the lead as renewable inventory. **Regeneration is the window.** Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber, and Donald Wilson were among the early architects. Early black-and-white serials built the mythology; companions, sonic screwdrivers, and cliffhangers became ritual. Rex wants woolly national inheritance. Fine. The business model is recasting without ending the show.
Filed against
- William Hartnell as The First Doctor
William Hartnell’s First Doctor launched Doctor Who from the BBC in 1963 — a Time Lord, a police box bigger on the inside, regeneration as infinite franchise life. Early black-and-white serials built the mythology; Hartnell-to-Troughton…
- Patrick Troughton as The Second Doctor
Patrick Troughton played the Second Doctor on Doctor Who, the 1960s BBC proof that a Time Lord could change faces without ending the franchise. Police box bigger on the inside, regeneration as infinite life, early black-and-white serials…
- Jon Pertwee as The Third Doctor
Jon Pertwee’s Third Doctor kept Doctor Who’s police box moving — a Time Lord, a box bigger on the inside, regeneration as infinite franchise life. BBC serials launched in 1963 and never really parked; Hartnell-to-Troughton proved the lead…