Utterly compelling - classic Tom Baker

Utterly compelling - classic Tom Baker

Barcode: 5014503258627

I went into this serial not knowing what to expect. From having a quick look over some of the other reviews on here, it seemed many were not overly keen on this serial. And as I started watching, I could kind of see where they were coming from. The premise is slightly confusing as a lot of information is restricted from the viewer and you are very much thrown into the middle of things. For those still relatively new to the classic series, this could be disconcerting, but really, give this serial a chance as when viewed in its whole 6 part epicness and you realise the intricacies behind what is presented in the opening, it is truly awesome.

By the end of the first episode, I was completely won over. You see, there is something irresistible about the overall look and feel of this serial and it is testament to the quality of writing and production that this serial succeeds so well, all the elements coming together to deliver a thoroughly entertaining slice of intrigue and Gallifrey based fun. The afore-mentioned confusion actually becomes integral to the serial, the Doctor's strange behaviour is intentional designed to be disconcerting, his anger and absolute authority quite shocking in its extremity - and when you realise why the Doctor is acting this way you are simply in awe of his courage and intellect.

The pacing is perfectly done too, again, the throwing you into the midst of things right from the start means the tension in this story never lets up and the cliff-hangers that bookend each episode hook you completely. Tom Baker of course is in his element here, every line packed with such intensity, whether seriousness or yet another witty one-liner, his performance draws you into the action and you are completely involved in the story. The sets look particularly fantastic, both on Gallifrey and in the TARDIS and I really like how we get an extended look into some of the other rooms in the latter in episode 6 (yes, it even has swimming pool!)

Where this serial really succeeds though is the dialogue. The acting is top notch and some of the witty sophisticated wordplay between the Doctor and the various other Time Lords will put a smile on your face again and again - not least the repeated jelly baby mentions (which is fine by me, they're one of my favourite sweets). And the Doctor's election ceremony as he becomes president is undoubtedly moving in its extravagance.

The adorable Leela is used really well here, her feisty attitude serving as the perfect juxtaposition against the pomp and strictness of the Time Lords and she seems very keen to keep whipping that little silver knife of hers out every second! Equally, K-9 is utilised really well too - all in all, both companions serving the story in a significant way, always at the heart of the action and always ready to help the Doctor. Rodan is a nice little touch too, filling out that kind of quasi-one-off-companion style role and acting as a friend for Leela to chat with.

In terms of the Time Lords, Borusa, Kelner and Andred all work brilliantly here and the way they play off each other is fantastic to watch. As for the villains, I was actually quite surprised, as being a Sontaran story, they only really feature in the last 2 episodes although Commander Stor's halting, half-whispered Cockney voice is pretty eerie. No, on the whole I actually found the Vardans to be a far more interesting villain here - in their crinkly, ghost-like tin foil forms they are haunting, their apparent alliance with the Doctor only adding to their sinister nature.

All in all then, a completely fascinating episode which succeeds again and again. If I were to be picky, the only glaring fault I'd pick up on is the stereotyped and poorly used savages from the Gallifreyan wastelands. But aside from that, I'd say give this story a chance - released as a 2 DVD set and packed with all the usual brilliant extras we have come to expect with the Doctor Who DVD releases, this is well-worth getting if you're a Who fan.

Good, but in my opinion, the weakest of the three so far

Lots of reviews here are making series two out to be mind blowing, with the exception of a few. In my opinion, this has actually been the weakest of the three"new who" series so far.

The latest series (three) has maintained a good quality throughout and Ok so series one has the odd poor episode here and there- like boom town, or perhaps the slitheen episodes, but moving on to series two and we see an abundance of not so good episodes.

We have zombies infected with"every disease in existence", the doctor and rose being chased by a computer graphic warewolf and making jokes about the queen which quickly become annoying. Later on, we get monsters who look like their mouths are made from minced beef, and a living doodle. The episode"love and monsters", the actual input of the doctor and rose is about as much as being seen chased around"scooby doo style" as the rest of the episode is someones life story, would have been harmless fun, had it have been a spin-off, rather than a proper part of the series.

Thankfully, there where a few reasons to still tune into this series, as it is saved (once again) by the inclusion of old enemies/allies. The cybermen, daleks, K-9 and Sarah Jane Smith all make welcome appearances, in what is otherwise a series that was quickly losing appeal.

Considering however, we are looking at a price of nearly £40, I would much rather cherry pick from the individual"vanilla" releases, and avoid forking out for what is overall, a very up and down series.

Ups and Downs

I'm still a huge Doctor Who fan, which makes me quite nervous when I think that the writing might easily at any point plummet downwards. So far it's staying more good than bad. Everyone says the episode Blink was fantastic, and I can't agree more. It was the best Dr Who episode I've ever seen. (Granted, I've only seen the last three series).
Some of the episodes were great, some were alright and some were...um, not brilliant. 'Blink' was great, bits of the stuff with the Master in were good. The episode 'Utopia' for example was quite excellent. The episode I think it was called '42', that wasn't too bad, I mean it was very similar to 'The Impossible Planet' but not completely the same. It was sort've like the writer had seen the film"Sunshine" and thought"This is how it should have gone..." and I agree with him. That film would have been far cooler...
Bits of 'Family of Blood' were good, the poignant scenes about humanity, war and childhood lost etc. That was good. The hammy stuff where the villains literally cackled and preened was just...corny. A lot of the villains are really cliched, they hiss through fangs and cackle maniacally with each other over and over again. *sigh*
I've heard it said that the old Doctor Who was camp and corny and all the rest of it. But that was then, and this is now and so I'm judging it by the standards of today.
It still passes though, on the whole.
Watch Doctor Who!!

doctor whodunnit

a two part doctor who story from 1982, featuring peter davison as the fifth doctor, and his companions tegan played by janet fielding nyssa played by sarah sutton and adric played by matthew waterhouse.

This is a slightly unusual story compared to the norm because it contains no science fiction other than the tardis, and reintroduces a style of story not seen since the 1960's known as historical, in which the tardis lands on earth in the past and the crew get caught up in goings on of the time. often such stories involved actual historical events and figures but this, set in 1920's england, doesn't. It involves the tardis crew visiting a stately home and getting caught up in a murder mystery and the secret of the family who live there.

This could be an agatha christie story. It's nothing special, but it's a pleasant little diversion, well made and well acted. and the restoration team have done a good job on the film and the picture now looks superb.

The extras:

a commentary from peter davison and the actors who played the companions. this group are always very good at commentaries and they're fun to listen to. and you'll find they're not personally too keen on the story.

for an easter egg, go to the special features pages and move a pointer around them [if watching on a pc] and a doctor who logo will light up. click on this to see bbc continuity announcements of the time for the story

There are a few deleted and extended scenes, running for about ten minutes in total. nothing special but worth a look, and nicely framed in the style of a 20's movie

A now and then feature of ten minutes duration looks at the locations where the story was filmed as they were then and as they are now. they all look very nice so this is a decent watch

Stripped for action is a fifteen minute documentary about the comic strips that featured the fifth doctor. It's interesting stuff, showing how they were put together despite behind the scenes tribulations.

There's a nine minute clip from childrens show blue peter made at the time showing two of the presenters visiting a costumers that supplied the costumes for this story. and lots of other programmes. interesting and worth watching

A short clip from bbc points of view of the time - long running show where viewers opinions are aired - shows viewers of the time weren't happy about the time slot the show was given. and that points of view then as now patronises and doesnt address the issue. some things never change.

A fascinating feature, also framed in 20's style, looks at how the film was restored. technical and very interesting

The radio times listings for the story can be accessed on a pc as a pdf file

and there's the usual information text, english subtitles and photo gallery for the story

the coming soon trailer is for the soon to be released 6th doctor story the trial of a time lord. and it makes it look very good. possibly a little better than it actually is. This isn't actually the next release, and a date for it awaits to be confirmed.

decent little story. decent little package for it

Not the best ever Who, but a lot of FUN

Ok so perhaps this wasn't the most original or even best written episode of the New Who. That being said it was perfect Christmas day viewing, a bit of glamor (Tennant/Kylie), some interesting aliens (Bannakaffalata), and a big glitzy action romp. David Tennant as ever, is brilliant as the Doctor, and the rest of the cast do a solid job. What was really great about this was, despite the high death toll it was watchable by the WHOLE family, and indeed had something for everyone, which cannot be said about most modern Sci-Fi productions. I like many of the other reviewers am a life-long Doctor WHo fan, however, unlike some other reviews here I realise the shows strength has always been it's ability to deliver a range of types of stories, in a variety of genres, and yet always still be Doctor Who. New Who goes from strength to strength, I will be tuning in next Christmas, even if it is Rudolf the red nosed Rutan!!

RTD is a curse to Doctor Who and needs removing

Russel T. Davies cannot write, full stop,
and if you think he can write a good story you obviously don't know what good tv is, try watching 'lost' or 'life on mars' and see how a good story is written,

RTD proves once again (and he's done this with every end of season finale since doctor who started) that he's the king of the anti-climax, he'll build a story up and up and up, and then when we're all waiting for a very clever and enjoyable ending he can't think of one and comes out with the most simple dumbass solution that leaves you feeling cheated, and ruining doctor who

what i liked:
John Simm - good master (and actor)
Derek Jacobi - good master (and actor)

what i didn't:
- the episode - last of the time lords
- John Barrowman, annoying in life and annoying on the screen
- the lack of the doctor being the doctor - the doctor being turned into an old man and then into Golumn from lord of the rings - what is the point of that
- that no one else can see how badly written and poorly plotted a season finale it was

Wow

I never watch Doctor Who, I always thought of it as dumb sci-fi, so I was surprised when I saw these three episodes on TV. If you've never watched Doctor Who before, buy this DVD first before any others (although there's some in-jokes there that you don't get if you're not a fan).

There are three episodes on here and the first up is Human Nature, where a school teacher dreams of havign adventures in space. Worst episode on the disc, but still very scary. Baines, the villain is a brilliant actor and those scarecrows are... scary.

THe second is the second part of Human Nature; Family of Blood. More Baines, more scarecrows, and some truly sad moments. Paul Cornell is a brilliant writer and all the actors are incredible.

The final episode is Blink, and if you go to any Doctor Who website, most people say this is the best Doctor Who episode. It doesn't have Doctor Who in it much, but the plot which starts very confusing makes brilliant sense in the end and the bad guys are very creepy.

The weird thing is, these are the first Doctor Who I watched and Doctor who was in all three episodes together for about five minutes. Still great though.

Can't this kind of thing be prevented?

By which I mean: people reviewing a product that hasn't been released yet? I've gone for three stars because I have to enter a score in order to post this. But I haven't seen this DVD, and neither has anybody else who's 'reviewed' it.

Dr Who indeed?

I must admit I was given this, I didn't buy it, but that isn't to say I would not have bought it, I was, and still am, a huge fan of the original DR Who. However despite all the reviews this is not realy Dr Who at all.

Talk about dumbing-down, a program that was en enlightenment in its time, that managed to push back the boundaries of TV and SF whilst maintaining a responsible atitude toward society has become"Creature Shop meets Eastenders" starring Billy Piper. There is no doubt that Billy looks nice, and it is her show, there is no doubt of that either, but the Dr has died. In the place of an excentric but highly civilised and intelligent man has arisen a 900 year old bore with the psychological development of a randy 14 year old and the intelligence of a high school drop-out.

In this first series the Dr continually refers to Rose's (B.Piper) ex-boyfriend as Micky the Idiot, without cause, needlessly puts Rose's life in danger on several occasions, is rescued by Rose on several occasions because of his own incompetance, displays sufficient cowardice to get an ally needlessly killed and even commits murder. Not once does he solve a problem using his mind, and on many occasions he looks stupid, and is always upstaged by Rose i.e. Billy Piper, to top it off he is arrogant and boorish in his general atitude.

In short this program is a colourfully produced, wonderfully staged insult to the spirit and character of the real Dr Who and a disgrace to the BBC.

Looks like the best series yet!

First of all, I want to talk about the new theme. When I first heard it at the start of 'Voyage of the Damned' last Christmas, I initially didn't like it much. But when I heard it again at the beginning of 'Partners In Crime' and then later watched an episode from the last series, I realised that it is a nice change with the new guitar sounds added in. So I like the new theme!
Secondly, I really enjoyed 'The Runaway Bride' so I was never worried about Catherine Tate rejoining the Doctor this season as many people appeared to be in the run - up to this year's series.
Now let's move on to the episodes on this DVD.

1. Partners In Crime
I always enjoy the opening episode, especially if a companion is being introduced, like 'Smith and Jones' last year. Although in Donna's case, being re-introduced. Anyway, the plot. Donna Noble has regretted her decision not to travel with the Doctor ever since she turned him down. Determined to find him again, she has investigated all things unusual, including the bees disappearing??? , hoping to bump into the Doctor as he has a knack for getting into trouble. When investigating Adipose Industries and its mysterious owner Miss Foster, Donna's plan finally succeeds.
This was a great opening, with some really funny aliens that, for once, weren't threatening. Also Sarah Lancashire was great as Miss Foster. Also some great things seeded for later on in the series such as the disappearing bees and the surprise return of Rose Tyler in a brief non-speaking part.

2. The Fires of Pompeii
A great first trip in the Tardis for Donna, with a really good dilemma for the Doctor as Donna challenges him.
The plot - The Doctor and Donna land in what they think is Ancient Rome but actually turns out to be Pompeii, 79AD, the day before the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. As strange rock monsters roam the mountain and the local psychics' visions are surprisingly accurate, can Donna dare the Doctor to change history?
Again, some good guest stars, more seedings when Lucius says,"She is returning." Can it be Rose? Also a brilliant emotional performance from Catherine Tate, who I think is a brilliant companion, even though I liked Rose and Martha also.

3. Planet of the Ood
Yet another great episode to finish off this outstanding DVD. I really enjoyed this episode, being one of very few Doctor Who fans who didn't enjoy 'The Impossible Planet' and 'The Satan Pit'.
The plot - The Doctor takes Donna to her first alien world. The Oodsphere is a world of ice and snow where Ood Operations breeds and sells Ood into service across the galaxies in the 42nd century. However, the Doctor and Donna discover that the Ood are not so willing to serve as the Red Eye infection takes a hold of them. Can the Doctor and Donna get to the core of Ood Operations and find out what's really going on?
An absolutely excellent episode, one of the few of the revived series that is actually set on another planet!!! Still I understand that there are not that many quarries in the country - and they all look the same. Another great emotional performance from Catherine Tate, who has proved she can do the emotion and be funny. Another seeding towards the end when Ood Sigma says,"I think your song must end soon." Creepy... what can it all mean? I certainly can't wait!

So, five stars from me and I will definetely be buying this - I always buy the 'vanilla' releases because I can never be bothered to wait until November for the full series boxset - even if it does have extras!

Dalek Human! Dalek! ...Human!

Daleks in Manhatten/Evolution of the Daleks: One complaint that I have about the new series of Doctor Who is that the Daleks have turned into pansies! Take Dalek, where a Dalek became lonely, guilty and depressed and killed himself, just because he was"touched" by rose. In the bad wolf double bill they planned to take over the world by means of taking over reality TV shows. In the Doomsday double Dalek Sec gets involved in a bitching match with a cyberman"this is not war! it is pest control!" and now they have decided to abandon their supremacist ideology by merging with a human and becoming all tolerant and almost nice. The Dalek race are saved however when they turn on Sec and Caan's temporal shift after the Doctor empassioned speech is a good ending. But the badly faked american acents and out of character Dalek's, and simply silly pigmen make this the weakest Dalek story of the new series so far, and not really worth a second look.

The Lazarus Experiment: This episode is much better. It's exciting and original and features dramatic fast paced action sequences and a thoroughly nasty baddy. The effects look pretty poor however, with the CG monster Lazarus looking very unrealistic (I realise the irony in this comment). The part is well acted by Mark Gatiss, and the inclusion of Martha's family is a nice touch.

42: This episode is OK, although it basically feels like a less entertaining version of The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit from series 2. There are some good moments however, the progression of the Mr. Saxon storyline from the previous episode here is also interesting. This episode did create some moments of genuine tension as Martha drifts towards the sun, but somehow just isn't that entertaining.

The DVD features mainly average episodes, but they are worth a look, I wouldn't recommend paying too much though.

The"Greatest Easter Egg" - fantastic

I found the Easter Egg, with 2 Entertain's help. The"hidden Easter Egg commentary where David Tennant, Phil Collinson and Helen Raynor take the microphone" is fantastic...

Fantastic series

I love this DVD, but I cant really comment on the DVD itself, I can only comment on the Doctor Who series. The best yet in my view and well done to all the team who made Doctor Who, and the amazing actors.

Get Dalek overload with this little lot

Great package for a superb price, this is an absolute must for any Dr.Who fan, young or old. These films have a superior atmosphere than most stages of the TV series did. I'm not a massive fan myself, certainly of the post Tom Baker versions, but I did remember these films to be especially compelling, so I had to buy them (for a snip at this price), and I was quite impressed all over again, especially with the second film. The first movie did remind a lot of HG Wells' Time Machine, with those pasty looking passifists living underground and under the yoke of the cruel Daleks. It is quite Wellsian in its pseudo scientificness as well, and has a real feel of sc-fi about, unlike the increasingly fantasy based TV series of the 70s and beyond.

The second film shows a lot of development from the first and is a much more entertaining adventure. This is more War of the Worlds Wells in style and has a fair bit of Orwell about it too. It's beautifully British (and cheap) looking, and very sci-fi. Both movies have good visually based scenes with an atmosphere worthy of Hammer films, and some great music adding to the flavour. Cushing was also a great choice as a slighty doddering old eccentric with a passion for complex astro physics and of course, time travel. Great hokey stuff.

Did it really happen like this?

Not the best on offer but this story has a lot going for it. And if you look hard enough, I'm sure you'll find it. Look, this is the first story that suggested the Doctor and the TARDIS were in no way unique. It must have been quite a surprise in its day when our heroes enter another TARDIS, and a fully functional one at that. This was Verity Lambert's final outing as producer. It's also the first of the sci-fi based historical shows, and an interesting study in the way Dr Who was made in those days. Although the commentary is a trifle bland, featuring remarkable comments like, Pat Troughton was miscast as the Doctor, and the Pertwee era was the beginning of the end for Dr Who. (Who are these people? Have they never heard of Tom Baker?). Peter Butterworth leans somewhat towards slapstick, but overall it's not a bad show.

'We are entombed but we live on...'

From the chilling moment when the squad of wretched soldiers are mowed down (very much in the fashion of the First World War) and the Doctor appears in the fog, you just know this story is going to be something special.

A war of attrition with very young generals - a stalemate that has driven both the Kaleds and the Thals into impregnable bunkers - a nightmare landscape in which extreme evil is being quietly incubated and a mad scientist who will stop at nothing to see his dreams of evolution realised.

The Time Lords have a mission for the Doctor: Avert the creation of the Daleks or affect their development so they evolve into less aggressive creatures.

This is one of the best in my opinion; perhaps the Daleks should have been modified to make them appear more primitive but this pales when compared to the quality of the story.

This story belongs to Davros and his slimy side kick Nyder, played to perfection by Michael Wisher and Peter Miles respectively. After many trials and tribulations the Daleks decide they no longer need Davros, as all beings are inferior to themselves, and quite right too. If only it had stayed that way!

I can't fault this story, ten out of ten.

2 episodes to few

The episode is decent, although catherine tate's character was a bit annoying to begin with she became tolerable towards the end. The baddie is brilliant, and we see the doctor in a new light when drowning the racnoss young. Tennant is excellent again.

As i said it is a decent episode but really not worth buying on a DVD on its own. Series 2 and 3 could easily have been combined with the Christmas specials on 4 DVD's and their insistence on stretching them to 5 is annoying. The extra on here isn't anything special by any means. This hour long episode costs around the same as Series 3 volume 2 which contains 4 full length episodes.

So this is one to avoid for anyone but the completists.

Plague, The Master and, ah, Monsters

A themed box set, 'Beneath the Surface' covers the three adventures featuring the Doctor's encounters with the Silurians and Sea Devils. This covers the Third Doctor's (Jon Pertwee) incarnation and the Fifth Doctor (Peter Davison).

All stories have their flaws - The Silurians is far too long even with the addition of the plague element in the story, which was nicely presented on screen.

In the Sea Devils, the Doctor and Jo are visiting the Master when they learn of a series of disappearances out at sea. Teaming up with a local naval base the pair find the sea devils, an underwater version of the silurians. Here the Third Doctor's overbearing attitude to those around him came strongly to the fore. The major downside here was the electronic sound track which was a bit overbearing and screechy in parts.

In Warriors of the Deep, the Fifth Doctor Tegan and Turlough find themselves in a deep sea defence base that finds itself under attack from a combined force of Silurians and sea devils. The realisation of these creatures was actually an improvement on their earlier versions in my opinion (mostly - I'm not sure about the Silurians' flashing eye, though it did prove to be the only way to tell which was talking!). However, the Myrka was a laugh (in the wrong way...) once we got a full view of the thing and some of the acting was... ill considered, shall we say, especially the tactics of the troopers assigned to defend the base.

In all cases there's a 'Making of...' feature which makes useful watching along with a collection of other bits and pieces.

A great collection

Some of the reviewers seem to have little knowledge as to why the boxset is being released or what it even contains, and therefore beware of such reviews.

Lets make this clear, the boxset is being released to coinside with the upcoming appearance of the Sontarans in the new series, and as such is there as a catch up release for those who have seen them in said episodes and wish to be able to see sll their previous stories at a reduced price. The boxset contains nothing that hasn't been released before for this exact reason. Indeed the only new thing to come with this is the slipcase to hold them together and if people want to buy these again just for a cardboard box then more fool them...

As the the actual dvds, seperate reviews can easily be found for each dvd, but I would advise fans that do not yet own these titles to pick this release up as it is a fine collection. while the later 2 stories are nowhere near the quality of the first two, its still worth seeing them. The extras are interesting, particularly on TTW and the documentary 'Bred for War' on TSE is one of the best extras to appear on the classic series dvds.

A must own release for fans who as of yet do not own the previous outings of the Sontarans.