Great series but way too expensive!

I thought series 4 was really great. Especially the visual effects. They just keep getting better and better. Just recently I saw some episodes of the first series again and everything just keeps looking better, sounding better, better stories (for the most part), and more fun.

But the price is way too expensive. I'm sorry, but let's keep it real. It's only 14 episodes in this box! That's why I only give it 3 stars.

Good, but not great.

Doctor Who Series 3 sees David Tennat and Freema Agyeman come together as the time-travelling duo.

1. Smith & Jones - Bringing the characters together, Smith & Jones sees the Judoon, rhino-headed intergalactic police, searching for an alien assassin inside a London Hospital. 6.5/10

2. The Shakespeare Code - In Elizabethan London, the Doctor and Martha meet Shakespeare, and a trio of witches bent on unleashing a curse using his plays. 8/10

3. Gridlock - In the far future, the Doctor is desperatly searching for a kidknapped Martha. But under the city of New New York, in amongs the millions of cars stuck in a 50 year long traffic jam, an alien crab-like race is feeding on unwary tavellers. 7/10

4. Daleks in Manhatten - As the Empire State Building is being constructed in 1930's New York, the out-of-work people living in Central Park are being tested for a new race of Dalek/Humans. 7/10

5. Evoloution of the Daleks - In a race against time, the Doctor must stop the Daleks from completing their plans. But how will Dalek Sec's human half react to it all. 6.5/10

6. The Lazurus Experiment - The Doctor is introduced to Martha's family when they arrive at Professor Lazurus' convention. What they didn't bet on was facing on a mutated scorpion trying to kill them. 7.5/10

7. 42 - On a spaceship collecting ore from the sun, a possessed crew member starts picking off the survivors one by one. 8/10

8. Human Nature - School Teacher, John Smith has crazy dreams of a flying blue box. But as a strange family are desperate for the power of the TARDIS, it is up to Martha to save the day. 8/10

9. The Family of Blood - With the John Smith in denial and the Family of Blood attacking the school, Martha must use a mysterious fogwatch to bring the Doctor back. 7.5/10

10. Blink - Sally Sparrow must use the help of a mysterious man from 1943 to survive the threat of the Weeping Angels, stone figures obsessed with having the TARDIS. 10/10

11. Utopia - At the end of the universe, a group of desperate humans are trying to reach the legendary Utopia, aided by the amazing Professor Yana. But they live in fear as the Futurekind are breaking in. 9/10

12. The Sound of Drums - The Master has made it to Earth and has become the Primeminister. As democracy turns to anarchy and then to dictatorship, the Doctor must put a stop to it. 8/10

13. The Last of the Time Lords - Trapped on Airhaven, the Doctor and Captain Jack Harkness must rely on Martha to spread the word and save the day. 7/10

Series 3 of Doctor Who has two or three gems but the rest are pretty ordianry. There are a few guest stars (John Simm, Derek Jacobi) and the scripts are good but the real let down is the anit-climatic finale. Built up so well, RTD failed to make it live up to expectations and left most Doctor Who fans disapointed and wanting more. Overall, good, but in the standards of Doctor Who, not the best.

TENNANT IS THE DOCTOR...better than series 1 but not found its feet

series 1 was very good but this series boasted so much that it forgot to take off...Tennant is by far the greatest doctor of them all but his and Pipers chemistry lacks in between the episodes.
christmas invasion-4/5
new earth-3.5/5
tooth & claw-5/5
School reunion-5/5
Girl in the fireplace-4.8/5
rise of the cyber men-2.5/5-not as epic as id hoped.
age of steel-2/5-lacking that something that makes the cybermen...well...scary.
the idiots lantern-2/5-half decent half unfinished.
the impossible planet-3/5-creepy but nothing for the Ood to do.
Satans Pit-3.5/5-not as amazing as id hoped but it is pretty decent and very scary...watch series 4 Planet of the Ood for a better episode.
Love & Monsters-3/5-a decent episode with loads of humour and Peter Kay makes a fun monster...okay not perfect but it is fun.
Fear her-0.5/5-awful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Army of Ghosts-3/5-decent episode...look out for Freema as Martha's cousin Adoela.
Doomsday-4/5-a decent end...watch for the last 15 mins.

all in all good enough...not perfect but worth purchasing

"His Dark Materials: The Northern Doc!"

My favourite show returned and in better form than anyone could have believed. Overall this is a triumphant return in the form of a very rare beast; an updating that works. The roots of The Police Box Show are still there; tardis, lovely new version of the theme, a slightly mysterious loner, companions, monsters, time and space and good triumphing over evil.

The 1st new doctor for some time Christopher Eccelston is great. He is a dark loner but this is subtle and never overdone. Intense but not in a pretentious way that would have gone against family entertainment. He is less obviously eccentric than his predecessors but has a fondness for corny humor that is topped off with a toothy grin.

Billie Piper is the best companion in some time and works as the viewer identification.

Of the stories themselves are all of a good standard, with only"the Long Game" a tale of aliens running news feed statellites having ideas that don't gel too well.

The opener Rose introduces the concept of the show in a way Paul McGann's movie failed to. This is a high incident romp that whets the appetite for what's to come featuring old monsters Nestenes & Autons.

After the contemporary opener it's into the far future for"The End of the World" & Victorian Cardiff for"the Unquiet Dead" the new show's 1st classic.

There is more emotion at the core of new Who as we frequently meet Rose's mother and her ex-boyfriend and look at the consequences of being the people left behind. Also Rose instinctively saves her father's life after visiting the day of his death and then the resulting time paradox is meshed with the emotional fallout.

The Daleks triumpantly return with better effects and design and re-establish their menace in an episode featuring just 1 and then in a breathtaking CGI battle for the series finale.

New villains the Slitheen getting similar airtime, are a hit too with their wearing victims skins like a suit and their"gas exchange" causing excessive wind! Guaranteed to have the young ones sniggering.

New character Captain Jack is introduced in the blitz and goes on to be an excellent addition with Steven Moffat's writing and John Barrowman's acting.

This is the same old show and nods to the past are subtle not suffocating, Unit soldiers in the background, daleks ships like in their comic strips.

The extras include a fun commentary for every story, cut down versions of all the companion documentary show Dr Who: Confidential episodes, some video diaries and featurettes. All in all it's a pretty full package and sets the template for furture box sets.

The only gripe is the lack of Eccleston's presence on the extras. He is in some Confidential bits and a Breakfast Time interview, not the better 1 out of the 2 he gave either.

Still a highly recommended purchase especially at the marked down prices that it's come down to after 2 years.

The Police Box show is in safe hands

it is good fun all round

The Brain of Morbius is a good all round Doctor Who, even though it takes place in the studio. It is well paced, and keeps you on your toes most of the time.

In this era of Who this is one of the best ones made mainly because it makes you think as you go along"What's going to happen next?"

So for these things i would recommend you watch it all the way through if you have a couple of hours to spare.

Does what it says on the box.

This is a Christmas episode. It is written specifically to keep the kids happy Christmas evening while the parents tidy up the wrapping paper.
It does just that.

No, it's not the best episode of Doctor Who.
No, the story won't change your life or your view of the world.
No, Kylie isn't the best Companion ever to be on the show.
But yes, it WILL keep you entertained for the duration.

If you have kids they'll love it.
If you are an old-school fan the buy it for the 'Time Crash' special.

Where did it all go wrong...?

This DVD concludes series 4 with the final three episodes which work as a single story arc. I was one of the fans eagerly awaiting this years finale but unfortunately it left a bitter after taste (and to explain why I will include SPOILERS).

The first episode, Turn Left, was an ok affair. The premise for this storyline is Donna, due to the results of a time beetle, experiences what her life would have been like had she not have met the doctor. This episode sees the return of Billie Piper as Rose Tylor, who comes back to help Donna in this alternative reality. Overall the episode is alright but it does drag at times and feels like it's reaching an inevitable conclusion (we all know the Doctor's coming back). Rose's return is a little anti climatic and partnered with the fact Billie Piper seems to have forgot how the character speaks, the return is frankly quite odd. However I assumed that her role would be expanded upon and given significance in the final two episodes (oh how wrong I was!).

The Stolen Earth, the second episode on the disk, is by far my favourite. The premise for this episode is pretty simple, Earth has been stolen and moved into the Medusa Cascade by the daleks. The Doctor must try to figure out what's happening by confronting the Shadow Proclamation. Meanwhile Earth's heroes (the Torchwood team, Sarah Jane, Martha and Rose) must attempt to contact the doctor in the time of crisis. This episode also sees the return of the infamous villain Davros (who is used a little too sparingly in my opinion). Make no bones about it, this isn't a well written, well rounded Doctor who episode like those written by Moffet, however cheap thrills are gained from seeing all the spin off shows come together and seeing massive dalek numbers invading Earth in scenes fitting for a movie. The problem is that all this is fitted into 50 mins so there's no real deep storyline development. Rose, again, feels rather shortchanged considering her comeback has been continously hinted at throughout series 4. However the doctor and her do get one emotional moment where they (rather cheesely but I loved it) run towards each other, however they are interupted by a Dalek shooting the Doctor down and him beggining to 'regenerate'.

This leads on to Journey's End, the final episode. Needless to say the Stolen Earth did a good job of building up enough excitement for this episode, and it would seem that all Russel T. Davies actually had to do is give it a reasonable conclusion and it would have been a great finale. However instead we are given one of the worst episodes from the new Doctor Who, largely because it doesn't deliver on things it has desperately tried to set up. The first thing that's wrong with this is all the cliffhangers from the last episode are resolved in about 10 seconds each, leaving you feeling rather cheated. Secondly everything from the past episode appears to have been a waste of time. Torchwood are quickly written out, Martha is sent on a trip to Germany with the Osterhagen Key which turns out to be a ludicrous dead end subplot, Mickey and Jackie are brought in despite the fact there are clearly too many chracters to manage already, the shadow proclamation never reapear and Rose is barely given ten minutes screen time. Frankly the episode is quite boring, with the dramatic action sequences from the previous episode being swapped with pointless wads of dialogue between the doctor and Davros. Then there's the rediculous plot that a second 'human' doctor is created, and Donna becomes part timelord. The daleks are then quickly got rid off in a lazy plot deivce where a few switches are flicked and a load of techno babble is spewed. This has utterly destroyed any menace the Daleks once had, they are just too easily beaten. But the ultimate tragedy with this episode is the shambles that is the conclusion. First of Earth is pulled back through space and experiences nothing more than a few rumbles (where has Doctor Who's pseudo science gone)? Despite the promise, no-one actually dies (again), which is rather negative to the overall plot as despite the huge threat that is the dalek invasion, no main character is actually killed by one. The worst conclusion, however, is that of Rose. Having had no real moments with the doctor she is then taken back to the parallel world and has the second doctor dumped on her. She is then left there once again...this time with a doctor wannabe (he's not the doctor! He's got traits of Donna). I can't understand why they chose to devalue the wonderful ending of Doomsday by bringing back the character of Rose for no good reason, and then giving her a fob off conclusion. Surely Rose alone would have been a better finale, rather than having to share the screen with every new Who assistant. The only ending that is handled well is that of Donna, which is a heartbreaking ending to a brilliant assistant.

Overall Turn Left is ok, the Stolen Earth is enjoyable nonsensical fun and Journeys End is a disaster. How can a storyline which had so much promise be delivered so badly? Where did it all go wrong...?

HARTNELL'L FIX IT!

Doctor Who

The War Machines

Starring William Hartnell

* New BBC DVD Release * Latest Triumph of the Restoration Team *

4 Episode Adventure

Feature Length: 95 minutes.

First broadcast 25h June - 16th July, 1966.

Written by Ian Stuart Black, based on an idea by

Kit Pedler.



A marvellous romp through the Swinging Sixties with the original Doctor in all his grumpy, cloak-twirling, chuckling glory.

The TARDIS materialises in Bedford Square, near to the base of the then new Post Office Tower, where the Doctor senses evil at work in the form of a megalomaniac super computer called WOTAN.

Mesmerised humans are soon obeying WOTAN's will and building the trundling War Machines, which the BBC were clearly hoping would rival the Daleks in popularity.

As with many Doctor Who scripts, this story was quite prophetic, as the idea of machines overtaking human intelligence and building robot soldiers is now a mainstay of science fiction. It's been used recently in the Terminator and I Robot films.

There are some great shots of London in the 60s, along with an insight into the groovy fashions and some cringe-worthy nightclub dancing, which should have you all rolling around in hysterics.

Yes, they even had flared trousers way back then.

In The War Machines we see how the Doctor authoratively commands both military generals and government ministers alike; a talent which will come in useful later on in his career and a nice forerunner of his dealings with UNIT.

The Doctor also gets a change of companion, as the BBC unceremoniously dump poor Dodo in favour of blonde dollybird Polly (Anneke Wills) and jaunty sailorboy Ben (Michael Craze).

These two companions would go on to join Patrick Troughton, when he takes over the role of The Doctor, at the end of The Tenth Planet.

I love this DVD, if only for some of the infamous continuity errors. You get to see the TARDIS door lock fly from the left door to the right one and the window frames change from white to dark (blue) - and back again.

Then there's the single War Machine prop playing its own numbers game...oh, and keep a close eye on the Doctor's trendy astrakhan hat...

Extras include commentary by Anneke Wills and Director Michael Ferguson, a Now and Then look at the London locations, Blue Peter presenters meeting the War Machine, the plans to build one and the Radio Times listings from 1966 on PDF.

Tremendous fun and well worth adding to your collection.

10/10

the invasion of gallifrey

A six part doctor who story from 1978 comes to dvd. this features tom baker as the doctor, louise jameson as his companion leela, and john leeson voices his robotic dog K9. In this story the Doctor heads back to his homeworld and becomes president, only to sell the planet out to a race of alien invaders.

Has the doctor gone mad or bad? is he playing a dangerous game? and who are also lurking in the wings waiting to strike?

see the cover of the box for the answer to the latter one.

those involved in old doctor who often say that their primary motivation with a story was to ensure that there weren't twenty five minutes of blank screen on the bbc on a saturday night. and that's why this one exists. it was a last minute replacement for a story that feels through, and it does feel like a story written in a hurry and shot on the cheap. particularly in the last two episodes where the corridors of an old hospital double for the tardis interior.

There's some good acting from the supporting cast and the regulars, but this in many ways merely filler and it's a long way from the best that the show can offer.

The dvd contains two discs. the story is on the first, with all six episodes and direct scene access. production subtitles and english language subtitles for the hard of hearing. there's a commentary from the script editor, louise jameson and john leeson, and one of the special effects people, and the option to replace some of the effects with more modern cgi versions. and some of them need it.

On disc two we have:

out of time a sixteen minute long documentary about the story. As good and comprehensive as these usually are, although a bit short compared to some.

A ten minute feature about gallifrey throughout the history of the show. interesting but a bit too short and doesnt touch on certain stories at all

The elusive david agnew: a jokey little feature about the writer of the story [it was actually a pen name for the producer and the script editor] that is a nice idea but doesnt have much to offer. note the name of the director of the feature. Alan Smithee. if you don't know who that is then google it.

There are several deleted scenes, but this is just more corridor walking from the last two episodes which have enough of those already and these don't add anything.

The bbc trailers of the time for the story

the radio times listings of the time - as a PDF file which you look at on computer

a photo gallery of the story

a trailer for upcoming release of the invisible enemy/k9 and company, two k9 stories.

and for an easter egg go to the second screen on disc two, watch it on a computer, and move the pointer around till a doctor who logo lights up. click on that to find a short piece seemingly cut from the out of time documentary with a props man looking at how one item in particular was made to work. it's not a bad little piece.

An average story. and an okay package for it

A Remarkable Achievement

The Silurians is a decent if rather tedious story, The Sea Devils is wonderful, but Warriors of the Deep is truly a remarkable achievement. It is remarkable because both the Silurian's and The Sea Devil's costumes look *far* worse than in either of the other programmes made over a decade earlier. Really, it's impossible not to laugh. At one point, we are also treated to a 'monster' that looks like a pantomime horse covered in green tinsel. This is particularly disappointing given that Warriors features Ingrid Pitt and Ian McCulloch, and was directed by Survivors stalwart, Pennant Roberts. What on earth were they thinking? It's not even bad in a good way. The Sea Devils is almost worth the price of the set alone, but I would expect someone to pay *me* to watch Warriors of the Deep!

Davros returns.

This story has often been criticised in the past. Perhaps this is due to it being compared with the previous Dalek story - Genesis of the Daleks. Perhaps also, due to a weak start, with a regeneration scene being played for laughs. Nevertheless, I feel that this is a good and enjoyable tale in its own right, even if it is not one of the classics. The Doctor and the newly-regenerated Romana, arrive on Skaro and encounter two warring factions - the Daleks and the Movellans. Both sides are locked in a stalemate and are seeking for the stroke of genius that will give them the upper hand. For the Daleks, this means going back to their origins and seeking out their creator.
There are some fine elements here. The cliffhangers are good, with the end of episode 2 being one of the series most memorable moments. Tom Baker is well-established as the most popular Doctor (from the original series). Lalla Ward makes a highly impressive debut as Romana and shows that she is a worthy successor to Mary Tamm. Less successful is the portrayal of Davros. David Gooderson tries hard, but cannot match the outstanding performance of Michael Wisher from Genesis. It is worth noting that the Daleks themselves, could be done with a makeover!
The DVD contains the usual array of extras. For me, the most interesting was a documentary entitled `Terror Nation.' This pays tribute to Dalek creator Terry Nation and focuses on the different stories he wrote for the series. Overall then, a very worthy addition to the Doctor Who DVD library.

Stirring stuff

Silence in the Library and Forests of the Dead is an enthralling 2 parter concerned with the terrible vashda nerada. Shadows that have a life of their own and the mysterious River Song all work splendidly to make this a 'must not miss' volume. Midnight finishes it off very well, the Dr scared? Frightened by the potential violence humans are capable of in disturbing conditions, this gives a completely new angle to the Dr's personality. Ripping stuff.

A true winner of a story - brilliant on every level

Barcode: 5014503245023

Ultimately, when you have five doctors together, the results are bound to be something special. Epic in its revelling in past companions and monsters, there is surely something here to please everybody. Yes, some things like the Dalek feel shoehorned in for completeness but on the whole everything goes slickly. As mentioned in the accompanying booklet, Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee slip effortlessly back into their roles and a pure joy to watch while Richard Hurndall makes for a more than admirable stand-in for the First Doctor.

Peter Davison forms the centre of events as the then current Doctor, helped out by the quiet, brooding Turlough and my personal fave, the ever charming Tegan. Other past companions surface in the form of the Brigadier, Susan and Sarah Jane.

Of course, there are minor flaws - the extremely budget looking special effects one of the more amusing ones while Tom Baker's absence is all too conveniently explained away by having him trapped in the time vortex for the whole episode. These are only minor annoyances though and on the whole 'The Five Doctors' stands as a perfect example for everything that is so great about Doctor Who.

Highlights appear in the form of Anthony Ainley's creepy incarnation of the Master, leading a troup of Cybermen into a deadly laser trap while even more Cybermen death ensues in the form of the brilliant Raston robot decapitating them. The TARDIS has a glossy new makeover and who could forget the classic Sarah Jane fall down the gentle slope mentioned by some of the other reviewers?

The pace and tension of the episode is set perfectly, the scenes in the Gallifrey Capitol lending themselves to a classic whodunnit scenario, the denouement classic Doctor Who wit. A lengthy and informative documentary narrated by 6th doctor Colin Baker makes a great addition to this already fantastic DVD, presented in a special 25th anniversary card slipcase.

Contains two of the best stories of the series. A delight.

After the disappointment of the mainly dismal third series, this one has turned out to be the best yet. This is mostly thanks to Catherine Tate joining the Doctor as his companion. After the emotional turmoil of Rose, and having to suffer the vacant, goggle-eyed staring of Martha, the poor old Doc was badly in need of some light relief, and he certainly gets it with Donna, especially in the first story in the series. Though as the season progresses, we see far more to Donna's personality than just wise-cracking humour and wittiness. But in the first story, we get quite a bit of that and most welcome it is too. The hilarious moment when the Doc and Donna first clap eyes on each other is classic and just gets funnier the more I see it. And this is mainly down to Donna's lively, ebullient personality, which makes such a refreshing change from what has gone before, and of course, she's pretty too, which helps, but mainly it's her vibrant, sparky personality that draws you in and makes you want more.
Miss Foster is hilarious too, in an icily restrained manner, and the Adipose make you go 'aaahh' they are so cute. It was a nice, fun episode, but with pathos too, when we see Donna at home being nagged by her unappreciative mother, and then with her grandfather on the hillside at night, telling him about the Doctor and how she wanted to find him. And then at the end, after she'd found him, but momentarily doubted that he still wanted her to accompany him, she switched from high spirits and ebulliance to vulnerability in the blink of an eye. And then, when she doubted the Doctor's intentions and misinterpreted something he said, she was outraged at what she thought was a dishonourable suggestion on his part, and this was her back in expressively funny mode. The whole interaction between them a delight to behold.
A wonderful first episode to start the season off.

Not so keen on the second story, as I'm not usually with the historical ones, but still entertaining and the relationship between Donna and the Doctor evolving into them being very comfortable in each other's presence and with a lively repartee bouncing off one another that ran throughout the whole series. Nice how the Doctor was shown to be responsible for the events that happened way back in history. This was quite cleverly worked in to the story and was a bit of a twist seeing as how it wasn't really going to happen and he had caused it all along.

The Planet of the Ood was a delight. Once again, the humans were shown in a bad light and the Ood as really rather superior in their innocence. The planet could have been shown a bit more, rather than just snow-covered industrial machinery, but I guess maybe budget restrictions could have been behind this. But it was still very effective and Donna's sympathy for the Ood was very touching. At least in this story, the Ood had a happier outcome to the last time we saw them.

All in all, a great start to a great fourth season. And if you only buy one dvd from this season, then to me, this would be the best.

Oh, and I think the picture on the cover of the dvd is the best yet too!

"Objections sustained, or overruled"

Fun stories but a long way from classics. Slightly the epic that never was as the defiance of reflecting the BBC attitude to the show in the stories needed stranger scripts to sustain it. Breaking away from stories to come back to the courtroom does slow things down a lot. With an actor of Michael Jayston's calibre playing the prosecuting Valeyard we get some dramatic confrontations, but on the whole trial scenes are samey.
A thankless but necessary role for Linda Bellingham playing the inquisitor made up like a young Barbara Cartland and whittering on about court procedure! At 1 point I noticed an extra looking like Leonard Sachs playing Borusa, maybe they found him in a cupboard!
After some top notch FX summoning the Tardis to court and a scene establishing the trial we're in to the 1st of the stoires that the Timelords have matrix pirated copies of.
Celebrated writer Robert Holmes' last complete story"The Mysterious Planet" is sadly not his best, but he was v ill at the time. Better than Power of Kroll or Space Pirates he offers a slightly Planet of the Apes post apocalypse scenario with good characters (especially Glitz darker than in later offerings and dear old Katryca too), wit and crsip dialogue. What it lacks is energy.
On the production side there's a terrific robot design in Drathro (although the L1 looks a bit Wallace & Grommit!), and a spectacular location for the tribal huts.
Philip Martin's"Mindwarp" works better in spite of itself, the finished script is a bit of a mess. The sheer energy plus the direction and performances really lift it. Patricularly noteworthy are returning character Sil played by Nabil Shaban, his weary boss Kiv played by Staal from Sontaran Strategm: Christopher Ryan, the loud and lovely Brian Blessed and Patrick Ryecart as Crozier, the scientist dipping into Dr Moreau's(1)xmas bumper books of cruel experiments. His measured insanity is even menacing when he's drinking tea!
Colouring the sky to look alien & the pink sea is terrific. Pink must be the official respray colour of the look at the old Terileptil costume.
Watch for Martha's dad as Trevor Laird plays a guard!
"Terror of the Vervoids" is a fun bit of fluff, a lightweight but very enjoyable whodunnit in space. It goes a bit Terence Dudley with red herrings but is pacy and entertaining.
The Vervoids are a silly monster with a head that I can't describe in case children are reading. Oddly on original transmission, we never noticed!
"The Ultimate Foe" is the best bit, as the Valeyard's true nature is revealed for a showdown inside the fantasy world of the matrix. The Doctor gets help from 2 unlikely sources; Glitz (again marvellously played by Tony Selby) and the Master. Anthony Ainley's Master is at his best just enjoying the events and waiting for a chance to do the Doctor/Valeyard or both in. One of Ainley's most relaxed and charming portrayals, his scens with Glitz are a joy.

Uncle Colin gives some of his best work in this season. Witness when he comforts Peri that her Earth is safe whatever happens in the future (long before a similar scene in End of the World) and his reaction to her"death". Just 2 examples, there are many more.
The Doctor and Peri get a warmer relationship in Mysterious Planet but are shortchanged in Mindwarp. Even before the Doctor is damaged by an interrogation machine, he has taken Peri to the home planet of Sil without even warning her and jokes about her nearly being transmogrified into a bird!
In story 2 & 3 it's never really resolved what is making the Doctor act out of character and this weakens Colin's good work.
SPOILER ALERT!
I think this is pretty well known now but having killed Peri off chillingly in"Mindwarp" they reverse it in"Ultimate Foe" never explaining what actually happened in Mindwarp.
Sorry but at the time Bonnie Langford was miscast. She never gives bad performances but is announcing her lines rather than naturally delivering them Ultimate Foe.To be fair she has some awful lines to work with and made me eat my words by being so good in Big Finish CDs.

A ton of extras, Uncle Colin gives great commentaries for every episode with various others and they talk about plot points that Philip Martin wrote into Mindwarp that got left out, location work,wheeler dealer Geoffrey Hughes & what was Colin's last scene recorded. Eric Saward does lone commentaries for episode 1 and 13 of the season, remembering how he acted out of mourning at the time after Holmes'death.
There is a 4 part documentary, 1 part for each story & they are good if a little short. As per usual there are some gems like Dominic Glynn's explanation of how he came to creat the new version of the theme & even though I think his version's weak, I still found it interesting.
Show piece doc"Trials & Tribulations" covers the Colin Baker era and is full of treats like how Colin hated his costume, that charity record, how he loved his role of course and the sound bites from Jonathan Powell giving the real lowdown on why the show was cancelled and whether fan protests made a difference.
"Now get out of that" is a fun look at cliffhangers right up to the current version of the show.
There are many pieces of contemporary footage Blue Peter, Superstore & Wogan plus music videos inclduing the infamous charity record.
Deleted scens are mostly wisely cut courtroom action.

There is noting new form Lynda Bellingham, nabil Shaban or Bonnie Llangford all are in archive stuff.There's a lot of Pip N'Jane Baker who remind me of Neil & Christine Hamilton.

A great package of stories that are more for big Colin fans than others but if you can find it at a good price the extras are so good you'll be bound to find something you like.
1) See The Island of Dr Moreau by H.G.Wells

Must-Buy!

This was the first Classic Who that I watched, as it was time and time again recommended to me as the best story.
And, of what I've seen so far, I'd have to agree.

You can see why Tom Baker and Elisabeth Sladen are so many fans dream-pairing. They work incredibly well, both together and apart.

By now we should all know that Davros is coming back in the current series finale, and that was another of my motivations to buy this.
I can see why people have been desperate to get him back - he is genuinely scary in this episode! His presence, his apearance and his plans make him a quite terrifying baddie, and when he demands the Doctor tell him the future it is just as powerful as anything the new series could offer up.

One thing I would say that I feel there is a bit too much running between the two opposing buildings on Skaro, and at times I found myself wondering if the production team were inventing certain situations simply to fill time rather than further the story.

If you're thinking of buying a Classic Who to fill the time between this years finale and the specials you couldn't go very much wrong with this.

A Brilliant Collection of Episodes

The Sontaran Strategem/The Poison Sky were good but they aren't the best of the DVD, there are a few funny moments though e.g when the Doctor turns on Tommy Zoom to ignore the Sontaran war cry and of course Donna's"Back Of The Neck". Also a good way of introducing Donna and Martha your immediate reaction when they see each other is"There gonna kick off" but then they turn on the Doctor contradicting his size!
Doctor's Daughter amazing Georgia Moffet does a fantastic job portraying Jenny and its always great to see Donna contradict the Doctor and trying to include Jenny. And it was good to have Martha go off on her own adventure for a bit and not rely on the Doctor.
The the Unicorn and the Wasp what can I say - absolutely FANTASTIC! The whodunnit theme is excellently mysterious and the constant jokes throughout this spectacular episode e.g."Copyright Donna Noble" and the absolute classic poison scene with a shocking antidote!!!

TOM BAKER LANDS ON THE FORBIDDEN PLANET??

Yet another Tom Baker classic! (seriously, how many weren't?!!)
Strong horror element to this with a creepy atmosphere, and the planet itself is a TRIUMPH of set design; exotic and nightmarish, almost alive in itself!
The main monster, a creature made of anti matter is effective, and well rendered visually for the time (NOT a man in a rubber suit here!). Definiteley inspired by the Id monster from the SciFi classic, Forbidden Planet.
The acting is good with an interesting mix of characters, in the crew stationed on the planet. There are shades of Aliens/The Thing as the 'Evil' of the story picks the men off one by one.

One of my favs from long ago and well presented on DVD with some great features, especially re the set design.

How it all began.

This is how a television instiution began back in 1963. William Hartnell was an inspired choice for the part that he would play for the first three years of the show.
We begin with a good opening story. The opening episode is a real classic with two school teachers wandering why one of their pupils knows far more about science and history than she should. Their investigations, take them to an old junk yard, where, inside they discover a mysterious police box and an irascible old man. Eventually they force their way inside the box ... This episode paved the way for all that was to come.
The remaining episodes are set back in the stone age, and tell of the Doctor and his companions struggling to survive and ultimately, escape. These episodes may not match up to the first, but are still very tense and exciting. They also contain a darker element than many of the stories to come over the years.
The second story in the set sees the beginning of another television legend that continues to this day. The Tardis lands on planet Skaro, home to the beautiful pacifist Thals ..... and the Daleks! The series most popular monsters made their debut in a seven part morality tale. There were better Dalek stories to follow in subsequent years, but no one could doubt the impact of this story, which saw Doctor Who's ratings soar over the weeks. It may be a little bit long and sag in the middle, but it contains some of the shows most memorable scenes. The most notable of these being the cliffhanger to Episode 1.
The final story, `The Edge of Destruction' is a bit of a disappointment. The first episode is a good one, which builds up tension, as the Tardis crew appear to be facing real danger. Too bad that this is all spoiled with a disappointing resolution in the second episode! However, significantly, this is the first episode to hint that the Tardis is more than just a time-travel machine.
The set contains the usual array of DVD feaures icluding commentaries, interviews withcast and crew and documentaries charting the making of the programmes. The first disc contains the original pilot episode. It is very similar to the opening episode of an unearthly child, but has a few subtle differences. You may note, in particular, as the Tardis takes off, there is a much more different, electronic sound, compared to the one that we have become used to. Then on the third disc, we have an abridged soundtrack of the lost story `Marco Polo.' This is accompanied by a series of still shots and gives us an insight into what this adventure would have been like.
There were better stories to follow over the years, but nevertheless, these are still worth watching. As someone said many years later:"After all, that's how it all started!"

every dog has his day

back in the 1970's doctor who gained a new companion. a robotic dog called K9. The combination of a good character design and an appealing voice made him a big hit, and the popularity of the character has never gone away.

This latest doctor who, which contains two dvds in their own packaging, all together in a relatively sturdy cardboard box, contains two tales featuring him.

The first 'the invisible enemy' was his debut. made in 1977 it's set out in the far reaches of the solar system and involves the doctor coming into contact with the nucleus, a nasty creature lurking at the middle of a swam in space. the nucleus takes control of people, and wants to take over the universe.

Running for four twenty five minute long episodes this is a homage to the film fantastic voyage as miniaturised clone versions of the doctor and his companion leela are sent into the doctor to destroy the creature. a lot of the story is also set in space, and this is realised via some excellent model work.

unfortunately budget constraints, and constraints from the bbc to pull back on the levels of violence and horror the show had been doing for the past few years rather hurt this one, and the result is a very cheap and tacky and quite silly at times run around. but taken in the right mood, it can be quite fun.

the extras on this disc:

a commentary from actors louise jameson [leela] john leeson [voice of k9] bob baker [one of the writers] and mat irvine [visual effects designer]

dreams and fantasy. a twenty minute long documentary about the story. not a bad documentary but not the best they've ever done as it rather lacks focus. whilst it conducts the interesting experiment of showing us present day tv viewers see the story for the first time, and shows some of their reaction, it doesn't show us much more, so this idea doesn't entirely work.

studio sweepings. footage of the story being made. a lengthy extra and quite odd to watch as there's lots of visual trickery in the recording, but an interesting look at the tv recording process

visual effects: visual effects designer mat irvine talks to model maker ian scoones about his work on the show. interesting stuff and the craftsmanship on display is to be admired, although ian scoones does have trouble getting a word in edgeways at points

blue peter: a clip from the bbc children's show showing presenter of the time john noakes and his dog shep meeting K9. Quite funny for most of it, and very funny when Shep comes on and reacts to the robot.

Optional CGI effects: these allow you to make some of the effects in the story replaced with CGI ones. some of these clear away big problems but some aren't really necessary, as the model sequences are good enough as they stand.

trailers: various trailers from the bbc of the time for the story. these are always quite interesting as a way of being reminded how the bbc did these things at the time

production information subtitles. these bring up information about the story whilst you watch in the form of subtitles, and are always quite itneresting.

english language subtitles.

a photo gallery of the story and it's making.

the radio times listings of the story as PDF files [accessible by looking at the disc on a computer]

a trailer for the impending dvd: doctor who the brain of morbius. these trailers are getting very good at giving epic feel to the stories.

and for an easter egg watch this on a PC, and on the first special features screen move the pointer around the left side of the screen till you light up a hidden doctor who logo. click on this to see a clip from the game show the generation game, with presenter larry grayson meeting K9. A nice little item. especially for dog lovers as there are some cute puppies in it.

IMPORTANT NOTE RE THIS DISC: the release was initially faulty, and near the end of episode three the disc skips a scene. you can hear it make an audible skipping noise.should you have this problem [although corrected versions have now been issued so with any luck you shouldnt] send the disc [not the box just the disc on it's own] to:

DVD Support
2entertain
33 Foley St
London
W1W 7TL

with a covering letter explaining the problem and they will send out a replacement.

the other story in the box is K9 and company. This is a one off fifty minute programme from 1981, featuring K9 and the doctor's former companion sarah jane smith. intended as a pilot episode for a possible series. which never came to pass.

the story involves sarah and K9 investigating a black magic cult in a small village, and it has it's moments but it never quite clicks. although it does manage one excellent surprise reveal near the end that you probably won't see coming. despite excellent work from elisabeth sladen as sarah jane this remains an interesting curio, nothing much more. be wary of the strange and quite cringeworthy title sequence, which tried to copy the style of the american detective show hart to hart in showing lots of clips of the leads doing glamorous things. it doesnt really work and is funny for the wrong reasons.

the disc contains:

a commentary from elisabeth sladen and john leeson, script editor eric saward and cast member linda polan.

the k9 files: a documentary about the story and the character. running about fifteen minutes this is rather cursory and doesnt go into nearly enough depth.

K9: A dog's tale: a spoof interview with K9. about half of the jokes in this are quite funny but the rest fall very flat.

pebble mill at one: a short clip from a bbc news show of the time with a presenter talking to K9 about the story. much like the interview above half of it is okay and half is not funny.

trailers: the bbc trailers for the story shown at the time

a photo gallery of it and it's production

english language subtitles and production information subtitles

the same trailer for the brain of morbius as is on the invisible enemy

and as PDF Files:

the radio times listing for the story

the adventures of K9: four short books for young children about the character

the 1983 K9 annual

the box for this does come with a reversible sleeve, so if you want it to look almost like the other doctor who dvds so they fit together nicely on your shelf flip it over and it will.

both of these stories have been digitally remastered and the sound and picture quality are very good indeed as a result.

so: two stories that are not essential purchases, and in packages that are very good rather than great, but they have their moments all in all