Following from Doctor Who #87: The Hand of Fear...
I can't say enough about BBC World's wonderful DVD packages that usually include an audio commentary by surviving cast and crew, dense production note subtitles, brand new making of documentaries and photo galleries. The exceptions in the following list are Robots of Death and the Key to Time boxed set, which don't have any documentaries (and the former, not even production notes!).
Doctor Who #90: The Robots of Death (Michael Briant, 1977)
Starring the 4th Doctor and Leela. An Agatha Christie murder mystery set in a beautifully stylized art deco future that owes as much to Frank Herbert as it does Isaac Asimov, it may not be the best Leela story, and the villain is telegraphed too early, but the script is crisp and Pamela Salem (Toos) happens to be a favorite of mine. Watch out for some truly terrible acting from Zilda, however. As this was an early release, it's not as complete a package, sadly. Model tests and studio plans are pretty much it.
Doctor Who #91: The Talons of Weng-Chiang (David Maloney, 1977)
Starring the 4th Doctor and Leela. Objectively and, in my case, subjectively, the best story Classic Who has to offer, this piece of Victoriana is dark and moody, incredibly well written, and a beautiful showcase for both Leela and The Doctor, as well the very fun double act of Jago and Litefoot (who almost went on to their own series). Robert Holmes' greatest achievement as Doctor Who writer. The DVD adds a Blue Peter segment on building a Doctor Who cardboard theater, raw behind the scenes footage, and an old Philip Hinchcliffe interview (from Pebble Mill, which is never very dynamic, I'll admit).
Doctor Who #92: Horror of Fang Rock (Paddy Russell, 1977)
Starring the 4th Doctor and Leela. Doctor Who's descent into gothic themes continues with another dark and moody horror tale, this time set on a lighthouse from which only the Doctor and Leela will walk out alive. It features the first and only appearance of the Rutans (though not the only mention of them on the program), those eternal enemies of the Sontarans. The DVD also includes a look at Terrance Dicks' entire writing career (with particular interest in the Target novelizations), a 1993 piece on Doctor Who collectibles and a retrospective interview with director Paddy Russell.
Doctor Who #98-103: Key to Time boxed set (various, 1978-79)
Starring the 4th Doctor, K9 and Romana I. An early attempt to box an entire season, but it's as yet only come out in Region 1, which makes me fear that a better UK release might one day come. Would I feel the need to buy it for the extras? These only have the bare minimum, but for a long while, were the only ones with Tom Baker speaking on them (I'm not sure that's a plus or a minus though). This was a natural season to box since it tried to tell the entire epic story of the Key to Time. In each of six stories, the Doctor and fellow Timelord Romana would collect one more piece of the puzzle. The Ribos Operation sets up the premise and introduces Mary Tamm's haughty Romana, and is a pretty fun Robert Holmes story set on a medieval planet. Then comes The Pirate Planet, an at times silly tale written by Douglas Adams set on a planet that jumps around others and consumes them. The Stones of Blood is the only story set on Earth, and is a gothic story about druidic rituals until the last act when it turns into a campy custody battle in hyperspace. The Androids of Tara is basically The Prisoner of Zenda and has some great flair with the Doctor as a swashbuckler. Towards the end, the season got weaker, and The Power of Kroll has terrible effects, a Cthulhoid tentacle monster and green marsh men. And it all ends in The Armageddon Factor as the Black Guardian makes his first official appearance. It's an overlong war story with some terribly silly moments (even K9 says so), but sets the format for the seasons to come. Overall, the boxed set is low on extras, but even the weaker chapters have a lot of charm thanks to Tom Baker's Doctor.
Doctor Who #105: City of Death (Michael Hayes, 1979)
Starring the 4th Doctor and Romana II. A sparkling gem, superbly written, often funny, and with a great time travel story, City of Death nonetheless features a lot of running up and down the streets of Paris. The performances are fun, the dialogue crisp, and the effects range from campy to very good. They decided to also infuse the DVD release with plenty of humor, and the documentary is especially fun. However, there's a spoof in the style of Oh Mummy (on Pyramids of Mars) that falls flat on its face. Wow, awful and not at all funny. Easter eggs that try to sell you a Jagaroth ship equally try to hard. You'll also find a John Cleese outtake, chicken wrangling footage, model photography, an interview with co-writer Douglas Adams and lots of outtakes and cut scenes (from the story and from the extras).
But what did YOU think? Next: Doctor Who: The Leisure Hive to The Five Doctors...
I can't say enough about BBC World's wonderful DVD packages that usually include an audio commentary by surviving cast and crew, dense production note subtitles, brand new making of documentaries and photo galleries. The exceptions in the following list are Robots of Death and the Key to Time boxed set, which don't have any documentaries (and the former, not even production notes!).
Doctor Who #90: The Robots of Death (Michael Briant, 1977)Starring the 4th Doctor and Leela. An Agatha Christie murder mystery set in a beautifully stylized art deco future that owes as much to Frank Herbert as it does Isaac Asimov, it may not be the best Leela story, and the villain is telegraphed too early, but the script is crisp and Pamela Salem (Toos) happens to be a favorite of mine. Watch out for some truly terrible acting from Zilda, however. As this was an early release, it's not as complete a package, sadly. Model tests and studio plans are pretty much it.
Doctor Who #91: The Talons of Weng-Chiang (David Maloney, 1977)Starring the 4th Doctor and Leela. Objectively and, in my case, subjectively, the best story Classic Who has to offer, this piece of Victoriana is dark and moody, incredibly well written, and a beautiful showcase for both Leela and The Doctor, as well the very fun double act of Jago and Litefoot (who almost went on to their own series). Robert Holmes' greatest achievement as Doctor Who writer. The DVD adds a Blue Peter segment on building a Doctor Who cardboard theater, raw behind the scenes footage, and an old Philip Hinchcliffe interview (from Pebble Mill, which is never very dynamic, I'll admit).
Doctor Who #92: Horror of Fang Rock (Paddy Russell, 1977)Starring the 4th Doctor and Leela. Doctor Who's descent into gothic themes continues with another dark and moody horror tale, this time set on a lighthouse from which only the Doctor and Leela will walk out alive. It features the first and only appearance of the Rutans (though not the only mention of them on the program), those eternal enemies of the Sontarans. The DVD also includes a look at Terrance Dicks' entire writing career (with particular interest in the Target novelizations), a 1993 piece on Doctor Who collectibles and a retrospective interview with director Paddy Russell.
Doctor Who #98-103: Key to Time boxed set (various, 1978-79)Starring the 4th Doctor, K9 and Romana I. An early attempt to box an entire season, but it's as yet only come out in Region 1, which makes me fear that a better UK release might one day come. Would I feel the need to buy it for the extras? These only have the bare minimum, but for a long while, were the only ones with Tom Baker speaking on them (I'm not sure that's a plus or a minus though). This was a natural season to box since it tried to tell the entire epic story of the Key to Time. In each of six stories, the Doctor and fellow Timelord Romana would collect one more piece of the puzzle. The Ribos Operation sets up the premise and introduces Mary Tamm's haughty Romana, and is a pretty fun Robert Holmes story set on a medieval planet. Then comes The Pirate Planet, an at times silly tale written by Douglas Adams set on a planet that jumps around others and consumes them. The Stones of Blood is the only story set on Earth, and is a gothic story about druidic rituals until the last act when it turns into a campy custody battle in hyperspace. The Androids of Tara is basically The Prisoner of Zenda and has some great flair with the Doctor as a swashbuckler. Towards the end, the season got weaker, and The Power of Kroll has terrible effects, a Cthulhoid tentacle monster and green marsh men. And it all ends in The Armageddon Factor as the Black Guardian makes his first official appearance. It's an overlong war story with some terribly silly moments (even K9 says so), but sets the format for the seasons to come. Overall, the boxed set is low on extras, but even the weaker chapters have a lot of charm thanks to Tom Baker's Doctor.
Doctor Who #105: City of Death (Michael Hayes, 1979)Starring the 4th Doctor and Romana II. A sparkling gem, superbly written, often funny, and with a great time travel story, City of Death nonetheless features a lot of running up and down the streets of Paris. The performances are fun, the dialogue crisp, and the effects range from campy to very good. They decided to also infuse the DVD release with plenty of humor, and the documentary is especially fun. However, there's a spoof in the style of Oh Mummy (on Pyramids of Mars) that falls flat on its face. Wow, awful and not at all funny. Easter eggs that try to sell you a Jagaroth ship equally try to hard. You'll also find a John Cleese outtake, chicken wrangling footage, model photography, an interview with co-writer Douglas Adams and lots of outtakes and cut scenes (from the story and from the extras).
But what did YOU think? Next: Doctor Who: The Leisure Hive to The Five Doctors...
Comments
Your bank manager now hates me.
(Oh, and "Planet of Evil" came out yesterday, with "Destiny of the Daleks" next month. BBC Worldwide has finally remembered Tom after years of over-emphasis on the 1980s.)
Up next for us on the Region 1 schedule, more 80s fare: Time-Flight and Arc of Infinity!
But those Tom Baker ones are coming in January I think.
Leela could read the phone book for an entire story and I'd still watch. Yowza!
As for the non-Region 1 stuff, you can snag a very cheap player with a PAL-to-NTSC converter capable of modifying region settings on the fly. If all you want to do is watch the stuff, it works fine.
Somehow I want more given they are enemies of the Sontarians.
I think it fleshes things out a bit for this great war races to have other enemies who are formidable.
It makes it feel more like a whole universe.