All episodes Season 16 S16E13 1978-11-25 25 min 1960s BBC

Doctor Who

The Androids of Tara, Part One

TV Flash files “The Androids of Tara, Part One” as hour 492 of 700 in the TV Flash guide — Doctor Who (1963–) on BBC, season 16, episode 13, aired 1978-11-25, 25 min.

From the desk

How this hour is filed

This leaf is S16E13: listed hour 492 of 700 in the Doctor Who guide, hour 13 of 26 in season 16. It aired 1978-11-25 (25 min). The listed hour before it is “The Stones of Blood, Part Four” (S16E12). Next is “The Androids of Tara, Part Two” (S16E14). Broadcast log — titles and dates, not a plot bible.

Doctor Who — The Androids of Tara, Part One (S16E13)

Catalog log

Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.

The Doctor and Romana are now searching for the 3rd segment of the Key to Time. Landing on the world of Tara, the Doctor decides to send Romana off in search of the 3rd segment while he takes a break and does some fishing.

Viewer FAQ

Where does The Androids of Tara, Part One sit in the Doctor Who guide?

S16E13 is listed hour 492 of 700 — hour 13 of 26 in season 16, season 16 episode 13.

When did Doctor Who S16E13 air?

The Androids of Tara, Part One aired 1978-11-25 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.

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Also in season 16

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