Fan Casting Doctor Who (1979-

At the end of Season 17, both Graham Williams and Douglas Adams announced their intentions to step down from Doctor Who. Whilst Adams was replaced fairly quickly by Christopher H. Bidmead, who had been suggested for the position by former writer Robert Banks Stewart, Williams' replacement was less certain. Initially, production unit manager George Gallaccio had been asked, but he declined. However, with nobody else wanting to take up the role, Gallaccio relented on his former decision. Gallaccio's intentions were to combine the wit of the Williams era with the darkness of the Hinchcliffe era to try and strike a perfect balance. This was combined with Bidmead's intentions to try and bring the show back to basics and make it more scientifically minded, with the two striking a somewhat uneasy agreement to allow some more fantasy-esque stories to balance out the scientific ones. This season was the last Tom Baker as the Doctor, Lalla Ward as Romana II and David Brierley as K-9, this was also the first season for Lesley Dunlop as Andria, a stranded pilot from the far future, who would be introduced in the first episode.