About this season
Doomwatch is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC, which ran on BBC 1 between 1970 and 1972. The series was set in the then present-day, and dealt with a scientific government agency led by Doctor Spencer Quist, responsible for investigating and combating various ecological and technological dangers. The series was followed by a film adaptation produced by Tigon British Film Productions and released in 1972, and a revival TV film was broadcast on Channel 5 in 1999.
Episodes (13)
1. You Killed Toby Wren
Aired 14 December 1970 • 50 min
Quist's authority is questioned from all directions, and Ridge does some quiet investigations into hybrid science in Norwich.
2. Invasion
Aired 21 December 1970 • 50 min
Ridge and Hardcastle are sent on what seems a simple enough assignment, but stumble onto a major government cover up in an abandoned English manor.
3. The Islanders
Aired 4 January 1971 • 50 min
Doomwatch become involved with the inhabitants of a small, secluded island who have been forced to leave for the English mainland and are struggling to survive.
4. No Room for Error
Aired 11 January 1971 • 50 min
A deadly new strain of typhoid is sweeping through local schools. There is a treatment, though, and the team at Doomwatch endorse this in spite of its side effects.
5. By the Pricking of My Thumbs...
Aired 18 January 1971 • 50 min
The Doomwatch team investigates the myth about the XYY chromosome after a schoolboy is expelled for possessing it.
6. The Iron Doctor
Aired 25 January 1971 • 50 min
A computer oversees the wellbeing of patients at a local hospital. The Doomwatch team look into whether it is saving patients or if something more sinister is afoot.
7. Flight into Yesterday
Aired 1 February 1971 • 50 min
After a long-haul flight Dr Quist's reputation is put seriously in doubt when he arrives drunk to a meeting with the Prime Minister. Is it a simple case of jet-lag, or sabotage?
8. The Web of Fear
Aired 8 February 1971 • 50 min
The Doomwatch team investigate the mysterious outbreak of a deadly subtropical disease which somehow has cropped up on an isolated island off the coast of the UK.
9. In the Dark
Aired 15 February 1971 • 50 min
The death of a young man off the Scottish coast leads to the Doomwatch team investigating a cover up in the case of a sunken ship, and the discovery of a revolutionary life-changing science.
10. The Human Time Bomb
Aired 22 February 1971 • 50 min
The government wants direction for the possible construction of more high-rise apartment buildings. Fay Chantry is asked to live in one and supply a report based on her experiences.
11. The Inquest
Aired 1 March 1971 • 50 min
An inquest is held into the death of a local girl from rabies. How was she infected? A local woman thinks she knows, and she doesn't believe dogs are involved.
12. The Logicians
Aired 15 March 1971 • 50 min
A powerful antidote formula has been stolen near a school full of gifted boys. Are they responsible, and is computer technology somehow to blame?
13. Public Enemy
Aired 22 March 1971 • 50 min
A young boy dies while attempting to retrieve a ball from a high roof, but the cause of his death is not from falling. Doomwatch investigate.