Season guide
43 episodes · first aired 1966-09-10
This season was a season of major changes for Doctor Who, including some that have influenced the series and franchise ever since. Most notably, season 4 saw William Hartnell's First Doctor hand off the baton to Patrick Troughton's Second Doctor in the very first regeneration. When Hartnell announced his plans to leave the series, the show's writers came up with the idea of having the Doctor change his appearance and personality. In 1966, while it was not uncommon for actors to change in ongoing TV and film roles, this was possibly the first time a change in appearance was written into the very nature of the character.
The Doctor discovers Polly and Ben aboard the TARDIS shortly before the ship arrives in 17th century Cornwall, where the local churchwarden gives the Doctor a cryptic message shortly before being murdered.
Pike is convinced that the Doctor knows the location of Avery's treasure while Polly and Ben try to convince the locals they were not responsible for Longfoot's murder.
Polly and Ben are placed in the custody of Blake, who reveals he also has his suspicions about the Squire, while the Doctor and Kewper are forced to team up to escape from Pike's ship.
The Doctor and his friends are at the mercy of Cherub, who is now seeking Avery's treasure for himself, while Pike prepares to attack the village.
In 1986 a new planet appears in the Solar System which turns out to be a long-lost twin of Earth's named Mondas. Its inhabitants are the Cybermen.
The Doctor's warnings are ignored and the Cybermen take over the base, hampering the crew's efforts to help Zeus IV.
With the Doctor out of action, it is up to Polly, Ben and Barclay to stop Cutler using the Z-Bomb and devastating half the world.
The Cybermen take over the base again, apparently to stop the humans using the Z-Bomb, but then the Doctor realises they intend to use it themselves to destroy Earth.
The TARDIS arrives on the Earth colony of Vulcan where the newly-regenerated Doctor assumes the identity of an Earth Examiner.
While the Doctor worries about the inert Daleks in the capsules, Lesterson makes plan to reactivate one of them.
The Doctor fails to convince the colonists of the danger posed by the Daleks and soon the other two are also reactivated.
With Polly being held prisoner by the rebels, the Doctor and Ben decide to investigate them, while Lesterson discovers the Daleks are reproducing.
The Doctor and Quinn attempt to escape in order to stop Bragen using the Daleks to take over the colony.
With Bragen having taken over, the Daleks trick the rebels into turning them loose and only the Doctor can stop them wiping out the entire colony.
The Doctor, Polly and Ben arrive in 1746, in the aftermath of the Battle of Culloden, and are captured by a group of Highlanders shortly before they themselves are captured by redcoats.
Polly and Kirsty capture Lieutenant Ffinch to try and enlist his help while the Doctor tricks Grey in order to escape.
With the Highlanders imprisoned aboard Trask's ship, the Doctor attempts to expose Grey's plan.
Ben manages to join up with the Doctor, Polly and Kirsty and together they work to free the Highlanders from Trask's ship before Grey sells them into slavery.
The TARDIS materialises on a deserted beach where the Doctor and his friends are captured by primitive warriors and taken to the fabled city of Atlantis.
While Ara tries to save Polly from being turned into a Fish Person and Ben and Jamie try to escape from the mines, the Doctor discovers the full extent of Zaroff's plans.
The Doctor and Ramo are sentenced to be sacrificed to the goddess Amdo and must escape to put a stop to Zaroff's plan.
With Zaroff's plan nearing completion, the Doctor and Ben realise the only way to save the world is to destroy Atlantis.
The TARDIS arrives on the Moon in the year 2070.When Jamie is injured, the other travellers are forced to seek the help of a moonbase afflicted with a space plague.
The Doctor and his friends attempt to convince the Moonbase crew that the Cybermen are responsible for the disappearances and find a cure for the plague.
The Cybermen take over the Moonbase and begin using the Gravitron to attack Earth but Polly, Ben and Jamie come up with a way to fight back.
With the Cybermen preparing to launch a full attack, the Doctor and his friends must keep the Moonbase and the Gravitron out of their hands until help arrives from Earth.
The TARDIS arrives at a holiday camp company with the crew worried by a prediction of giant crabs and the Doctor becomes interested in the apparent madman Medok's stories of creatures that roam the colony at night.
The Doctor is unable to convince the colonists that the Macra exist and an attempt to brainwash his companions results in Ben betraying his friends.
The Doctor, Polly and Jamie are sentenced to work in the pits and an escape attempt sees Ben's loyalties called into question again.
The Doctor and Polly manage to save Jamie from the Macra and then try to show the Pilot who is really in charge of the colony.
The TARDIS materialises on the runway of Gatwick Airport, where Polly witnesses a murder only to be kidnapped before she can report it.
With Polly having apparently forgotten them, the Doctor, Ben and Jamie decide to carry out their own investigation of Chameleon Tours.
The Doctor, Jamie and Sam manage to convince Crossland to trust them and he persuades the Commandant to let them continue their investigation.
When Spencer attempts to kill them, the Doctor, Jamie and Sam become convinced Chameleon Tours are hiding something and Sam decides to book a ticket on one of their flights.
Jamie finds himself aboard the Chameleons' satellite and meets their Director while the Doctor forces the Chameleon Meadows to tell him the aliens' plans.
The Doctor and Pinto are captured by the Chameleons but the Doctor manages to use their dependence on their human originals to create dissent in their ranks.
Trying to find the stolen TARDIS, the Second Doctor and Jamie are lured into a trap by the Doctor's old enemies the Daleks.
The Doctor and Jamie investigate Waterfield's antiques shop, where they are knocked unconscious and transported back to the 19th century.
As part of the Daleks' experiment, the Doctor manipulates Jamie into attempting to rescue Victoria.
Jamie and Kemel team up to try and find Victoria, while the Doctor and the Daleks continue to monitor their progress.
With the experiment at an end, the Doctor begins to suspect the key to rescuing Jamie, Victoria and Kemel from the Daleks lies with Terrall.
The Doctor, Jamie and Waterfield follow the Daleks to Skaro, where they discover an unforeseen consequence to their experiment.
The Daleks are poised to spread the Dalek Factor throughout the history of Earth and begin by implanting the Doctor.
Series, season and episode metadata is supplied by TMDB. No season-specific provider claim is made on this page.
