| 116[1] – Castrovalva | |||
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| Doctor Who serial | |||
| Cast | |||
Others
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| Production | |||
| Directed by | Fiona Cumming | ||
| Written by | Christopher H. Bidmead | ||
| Script editor | Eric Saward | ||
| Produced by | John Nathan-Turner | ||
| Music by | Paddy Kingsland | ||
| Production code | 5Z | ||
| Series | Season 19 | ||
| Running time | 4 episodes, 25 minutes each | ||
| First broadcast | 4 January 1982 | ||
| Last broadcast | 12 January 1982 | ||
| Chronology | |||
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Castrovalva is the first serial of the 19th season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four twice-weekly parts on BBC1 from 4 to 12 January 1982. It was the first full serial to feature Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor. The title is a reference to the lithograph Castrovalva by M. C. Escher, which depicts the town Castrovalva in the Abruzzo region, Italy.[citation needed]
In the serial, the alien time traveller the Doctor is led into a trap when his arch-enemy the Master (Anthony Ainley) uses the mathematical abilities of the Doctor's travelling companion Adric (Matthew Waterhouse) to create Castrovalva, a town whose dimensions fold in on itself.
This was the first Doctor Who story not to air on Saturday nights. With Peter Davison taking over as the Doctor, the BBC chose to move the show from its usual Saturday night slot, where it had been since its launch in November 1963. For this new Doctor Who series, the show moved to airing two new episodes per week, on a weeknight prime time slot instead. For Castrovalva, it aired new episodes on a Monday and Tuesday evening.[2]