Doctor Who - Season 12 (1974) & 13 (1975)

The first season of Tom Baker’s lengthy tenure as the Doctor started with the rather light hearted introductory serial 'Robot', and whilst there has been so much written on the creation of Tom Baker's costume - from how it was based on a French poster advertising Aristide Bruant at a nightclub in 1982, to the oft repeated detail of how the scarf was made so long by accident - I'm not really going to highlight it here due to redundancy (besides, the My 4th Doctor Costume blog post I linked to coveres it in much more detail).

'The Ark in Space'

Costume Design by Barbara Kidd

This serial involved the crew of the 'Nerva' space station facing off an infiltration by giant insectoid aliens - the Nerva's crew are all in white uniforms consisting of flared trousers and zip-up jackets. The jackets having a panel over the shoulders (a design trait that Kidd would use in later futuristic productions) with coloured panelling and piping around the edges. The coloured panels are in a variety of colours, likely inspired by the colour-coded uniforms in Star Trek.

'The Sontaran Experiment'

Costume Design by Barbara Kidd

Set on the same ruined Earth that the spacestation crew in the previous serial had escaped from, this just had a few survivors in drab jumpsuit with open helmets suggesting where a protective helmet would go.

'Genesis of the Daleks'

Costume Design by Barbara Kidd

This dystopian serial depicted the creation of the Daleks on their home planet at the end of a centuries long war between the Kaleds and the Thals. The serial starts with an unnamed Time Lord sent to give the Doctor his mission, wearing an ominous high-collared black robe – apparently this costume design was inspired by the depiction of Death in The Seventh Seal.

Due to the setting, most of the cast are in uniforms with the Kaleds wearing buttonless black jackets and breeches; the design of the jackets feels slightly inspired by WWI Royal Flying Corps jackets, with a more sloping cut.

Another futuristic uniform is worn by the Kaled scientists, the lead researchers wearing white vinyl jackets (vaguely inspired by the Howie labcoat?) with diagonal zips; a similar design is worn by Davros (Michael Wisher), but his is made of black vinyl.

Similarly designed cotton jackets, with the same zips and collars, are worn by the Kaled Elite's guards, but its hard to notice thanks to the videotape quality; for the longest time I thought they were just in jumpers.

The opposing Thals meanwhile have green as their signature colour, with the Thal leaders wearing smart wraparound green jackets (worn over turtleneck jumpers) and trousers.

Budget restrictions meant that the bulk of the serials costumes are just off-the-rack; Kaled extras wear black combat fatigues, dentist jackets and work overalls, while Thal extras wear military surplus, with the Thal dome guards wearing a uniform cobbled up from bought fencing jackets dyed green, green work overalls and orange safety goggles. However, I think the radiation suits worn by the rocket silo guards were bespoke made - the shiny material doesn't match any real fire suit, and the shoulders are ribbed and cut to let the sleeves out.

'Revenge of the Cybermen'

Costume Design by Prue Handley

The costume budget of this serial went to the Cybermen (which, more in the realm of robot/monster costume design, ergo not covered here) and their enemies the 'Vogans'. The Vogan noble Vorus (David Collings) sports the serials flashiest outfit – the Vogans are associated with gold and this motif is plainly demonstrated by his chain-mail like underclothes and symmetrical chest piece.

The soldiers under Vorus’ command wear similar outfits to him, minus the more ornate patterns, but still keeping up a pleasant symmetry.

The Chief Councillor of the Vogans, Tyrus (Kevin Stoney) is opposed to Vorus, and this opposition is also demonstrated in his own dress, which is much less officious or ornate as Vorus, instead essentially being a mesh gown adorned with golden pieces.

The guards loyal to Tyrus also are in similar golden gowns, but with belts and no added pieces, with their commander only distinguished by his belt having more 'gem' pieces stuck on.

'Planet of Evil'

Costume Design by Andrew Rose

Set on another planet in a plot ripping off Forbidden Planet, the military detachment of the 'Morestrans' are all clad in blue bodysuits adorned with white hosing and shoulder pads, very much a 'space age' design.

The scientists of the Morestran team are clad in more drab tan and brown jumpsuits, with padded lining around the neck.

'Pyramids of Mars'

Costume Design by Barbara Kidd

This serial was a science-fiction spin on The Mummy, with the evil alien Sutekh (Gabriel Woolf) having inspired Egyptian mythology as per the usual 'ancient aliens' cheese. Sutekh sends to Earth a 'servant' wearing an all-vinyl black robe and ominous helmet; simultaneously feeling like a spacesuit helmet, but also ancient sculptures.

More vibrant is Sutekh's regal robe of red and black, fitted with tubed material to give it a more futuristic feeling. The design of Sutekh's helmet is clearly inspired Ancient Egyptian headwear such as the red and white 'pschent' crown worn by rulers; Sutekh's species are known as Osirans, so naturally he should wear a helmet similar to how the deity Osiris is depicted in heiroglyhics.

'The Android Invasion'

Costume Design by Barbara Lane

This serial was a typical ‘alien duplicate’ plot, set on contemporary Earth; I however feel that Saran Jane's pink sailor costume was designed and bespoke made by Barbara Lane, due to looking like it was tailored to Elisabeth Sladen, having a consistent colour-scheme and is a fairly odd outfit as is! The white beret was most likely bought though.

Lane's duties also went to designing the uniforms of the invading rhino-like Kraal; they wear odd outfits consisting of of brown underclothes and rectangular meshing - the commanding Kraal has a necklace over his mesh uniform, which has a slightly golden hue as well.

'The Brain of Morbius'

Costume Design by L. Rowland-Warne

This serial was a scifi spin on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, and as such a lot of it is in dark and atmospheric lighting. This is rather irritating from a costume design perspective, as it results in a lot of the costume details to not be seen well, especially in the awful videotape quality that BBC TV shows were filmed in! Sarah wears an outfit that was presumably bespoke-made by Rowland-Warne, consisting of a quilted vest and shirt made of the same brown material, and adorned with powder blue lining.

The mad scientist Solon (Philip Madoc) wears a green buttonless jacket with raised shoulders; Rowland-Warne, in an interview with the fanzine In-Vision, described it as looking like something from a Gerry Anderson production.

The design highlight of this serial has to be, in my opinion, the robes worn by the Sisterhood of Karn, all clad in robes and gold and red with oranted lining around their headdresses and chest garments. The leader, Maren (Cynthia Grenville), sports a red robe with what looks like an ornate golden-lined vestment over it, as well as a flat-topped rounded headpiece.

Her deputy Ohica (Gilly Brown) wears a similar headpiece (with a red and gold striped band around it) and as well gold and red makeup on her face in the design of flames, keeping in line with how the Sisterhood are fire worshipers. Lesser members of the Sisterhood are dressed similarly, with some of them having slightly conical headpieces also covered in golden piping, as well as makeup similar to Ohica’s.

Doctor Who - Season 8 & 9 (1971 - 1972)

Costume Design by:

- Michael Burdle ( notable efforts: The Borgias (1981), Macbeth (1983), The Tragedy of Coriolanus (1984), The Importance of Being Earnest (1988), )

- Barbara Lane ( notable efforts: Out of the Unknown 'The Machine Stops', Blake's 7 'The Way Back' to 'Project Avalon' (1978), Heat and Dust (1983), Willow (1988), Dungeons & Dragons (2000) )

- James Acheson ( notable efforts: The Prince and the Pauper (1976), Time Bandits (1981), The Meaning of Life (1983), Brazil (1985), Highlander (1986), The Last Emperor (1987), Dangerous Liasons (1988), Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994), Restoration (1995), The Man in the Iron Mask (1998), Spider-Man (2002) )

- Mary Husband

Costume Design Genre: contemporary, futuristic, period (various eras, most notably ancient Minoan)

When Doctor Who carried over into the 1970s, a good few changes hit the show including Patrick Throughton being replaced by Jon Pertwee as the Doctor, an increased amount of serials set on present-day Earth, and a bit more influence from the 'spy fi' film genre, such as the James Bond movies and more importantly The Avengers television series produced by the BBC's rival ITV

'Colony in Space'

Costume Design by: Michael Burdle

‘Colony in Space’ was the first Pertwee-era story that had him finally travel to the future again, after almost two seasons of entirely Earth-bound stories, and a fairly dystopian tale as well, about a group of starving colonists being forced out by an unscrupulous mining corporation. The colonists on the planet Uxarius for the most part are clad in drab earth-toned clothes, though there are various leather vests, patterned aprons, and even one or two rough jumpsuits (most likely reused!) worn among them. The exception is the agitator Winton (Nicholas Pennell) who wears a pink jumper and purple leather vest.

The natives of Uxarieus aren’t dressed in anything too worth noting, as with the alien priests just in plain white sheets with large collars covered in little pebbles. The main antagonists of the story are the troops of the unscrupulous Interplanetary Mining Corporation, or IMC, who also happen to have the most visually striking outfits, clad in uniforms of red and black with striped helmets and boots.

The Doctor’s nemesis, the Master (Roger Delgado) appears in this story, masquerading as an ‘Adjudicator’ sent from Earth to determine whether the colonists or IMC who have a legal right to the planet. His legal robes are also one of the more memorable outfits of the story, especially with the collar and pattern.

The Time Lords are also briefly seen in this serial, albeit not seen very clearly - they seem to be black and white, with circular collars.

'The Daemons'

Costume Design by: Barbara Lane

This particular serial, being a pastiche of such films as The Devil Rides Out, had the Master running a Satanic cult to help awaken a demonic alien and for the occasion wears this rather striking red robe with a Greek key pattern, with a slightly raised collar and golden lining around the sleeves.

'Day of the Daleks'

Costume Design by: Mary Husband

This serial involved the Daleks (you don't say), who had taken over Earth in an alternate timeline - here they use the ape-like 'Ogrons' to bolster their forces, the Ogrons all clad in grubby shirts worn under leather vests with tubing around the collar and shoulders. Barbara Kidd would reuse these costumes in the serial 'Frontier in Space' as well.

The security forces of the human collaborators in this serial are dressed in similar uniforms to the Ogrons, albeit with a shirt of a brown patterned material under their leather vests, and worn with a rounded helmet - the commander is distinguished by having a padded red shirt underneath instead.

As for the civilian members of the puppet regime, they are dressed far more plain, with the 'Controller' (Aubrey Woods) wearing a forest green nehru-style jacket, and his underlings in grey jackets with v-collars.

Resisting the regime are a group of guerilla fighters in slightly futuristic uniforms consisting of greyish camo-patterned pocketless nehru jackets and large sash belts, with their squad leader Anat (Anna Berry) distinguished by her jacket having a deep v-collar.

'The Curse of Peladon'

Costume Design by: Barbara Lane

The titular Peladon is a fairly medieval planet so naturally the costumes are a bit of a riff on medieval fashion, which is most obvious being the regal dress of the King of Peladon (David Troighton) dressed in shorts, doublet and ridged cape, fixed together with the emblem of Peladon. At some parts in the story, he then sports a large bulbous collar over his shirt, which seems to have been adorned with bubble-like stones (or at least, supposed to be stones).

The high priest and chancellor of Peladon wear almost identical robes, the only difference being that the high priest’s has more of a purple hue, and lacks the fur epaulettes that the chancellor sports on his.

The various royal guards of Peladon are in vaguely Greco-Roman style armor, with segmented armor and short kilts - the chief guard is distinguished both by his kilt being grey, and his armor consisting of three pieces rather than two.

At the very end of the story we see the real Earth ambassador, who isn’t seen for very long, but has a black and silver glitter dress and hat.

'The Mutants'

Costume Design by: James Acheson

This rather dystopian serial once again involved humans colonizing another planet, with this one detailing the human colonial forces attempts to quell an alien rebellion, whilst trying to discover why the native alien 'Solonians' are mutating. The main antagonist is ‘the Marshal’ (Paul Whitsun-Jones) always clad in the same uniform showing the number of the ‘skybase’ he commands (58), except for when he briefly dons his coat or helmet.

The Marshal’s troops all have the same black frock-like uniform with silver trim, with helmets that seem similar to the ones worn by the guards in ‘The Enemy of the World’, an example of the prop reuse that the BBC was infamous for with regards to shows like Doctor Who and Blake’s 7. When outside on Solos, they wear gas masks under the visored helmets.

The Administrator (Geoffrey Palmer) wears a frock-like outfit that resembles the uniform of the Marshal’s soldiers, except with gold trim instead of silver, and during his speech to the Solos natives, wears a golden coat similar in fabric to the Marshal’s.

The investigators sent from Earth are dressed in white and gold robes, a visual indicator that they are of some extremely high authority, but also somewhat medieval-like in its design.

The investigator’s own guards are dressed in cream uniforms with bronze trim in the same pattern as the investigator’s robes, and are wearing the same reused helmets that the Marshal’s own troops wear.

The Marshal’s own scientist Jaeger (George Pravda) is in similar frock-like dress but in a more drab earth-tone colour scheme, but still with the lining around the collar patch and cuffs.

The human scientist Sondergaard briefly also wears a blue and silver hazmat suit, that even has its visor tinted blue.

The twist of the story is that the ‘mutant’ Solonians are actually undergoing a metamorphosis into higher beings, these higher beings being angel-like entities with rainbow effects superimposed over them.

'The Time Monster'

Costume Design by: Barbara Lane

'The Time Monster' was the last serial of the season, and marked a slight departure in that it involved the mythical city of Atlantis, which here was depicted very differently than how it was in 'The Underwater Menace' a few years earlier. The costumes in this serial had a more historical sense by adhering to a costume sense inspired by the Minyans - but the costumes are so beautiful, it would be a shame to not cover them, and really Atlantis never actually existed, so a perfect excuse to include them too. The serial involves the Master trying to use the people of Atlantis for his own ends, allying himself with the Atlantean priest Krasis (Donald Eccles), who wears a gown of white, yellow and red in an alternating pattern, with gold trim. You may notice this is the first 'historical' serial I have covered on here since 'The Aztecs' - that's simply because most of the previous historical serials were not really notable much, some of them easily looking like they were just from stock.

Most of the men of Atlantis are in gowns or loinclothes, but the women are in patterned dresses, with the Doctor's companion Jo (Katy Manning) in an especially lovely dress with a rainbow pattern around the waist and a diagonal striped skirt.

The costume design highlights of the serial are worn by the Atlantean queen Galleia (Ingrid Pitt), who is first seen wearing a white dress with a waistline made of a golden material, with more gold trim around the top of the dress - which, noticeably, is also cut to highlight a certain part of Pitt's physique.

Galleia's second outfit is a more ornate blue and white dress, again covered in golden trim, with the dress also having a more serrated quality with its design, such as the silver lined triangular segment at the top of the skirt piece, with the waistline again being golden, finished off with golden speckles over the shoulders (and, again, designed to highlight Pitt's sex appeal!).