KryptonSite's DVD Review Column #5: January 2009 Classic Doctor Who Releases
Reviewed
by Craig Byrne
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Read previous installments of the KryptonSite DVD Column:
#1 (10/08) Legion of Super-Heroes Vol. 3 & Supernatural Season 3
#2 (10/08) Doctor Who: The Brain Of Morbius, Trial Of A Time Lord, & The Sarah Jane Adventures
#3 (11/08) Doctor Who: The Complete Fourth Series
#4 (11/08) Primeval: The Complete Series 1 and 2
More DVD reviews, this time covering Craig's favorite British import this side of Merlin - Doctor Who! These two recent releases are from two very different eras of the original Doctor Who series, which ran between 1963 and 1989, and both offer a look at the world of Who in the days before Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant were the Doctors of choice.
Discuss Doctor Who on KryptonSite's Doctor Who & Torchwood forum!
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Doctor Who: The War Machines
Starring William Hartnell, Jackie Lane, Anneke Wills, and Michael Craze
BBC Video
4 episodes on 1 disc
Release Date: January 6, 2009
Doctor Who met the swinging Sixties in this, one of the last completely-surviving episodes of the William Hartnell era of the series.
The Doctor is joined in these episodes by newcomers Ben and Polly, and companion Dodo disappears somewhere along the way, becoming the only Doctor Who companion (aside from Ace) to not have an on-screen departure.
The threat in The War Machines is a super-computer called WOTAN, and certain "science fiction" elements of this story (aired in 1966) actually foresee the coming of technologies such as the Internet.
Seeing The Doctor in what would have been the present day in this episode is a bit surreal. Current viewers of Doctor Who wouldn't find it odd at all to see The Doctor interacting with present-day people - but at the time, this was something rarely seen. For once, even the police box could be mistaken for a genuine article! Ben and Polly are introduced at their "mod" best and sadly they never were presented quite as well ever again - at least not in stories that are still available to see.
This episode also marks one of the only times in the show's 45-year history that someone calls the Doctor "Doctor Who," as WOTAN says eerily "Doctor Who is required."
Extras produced by 2entertain for this DVD set are top-notch. There's a featurette on locations, and a REALLY cool feature on the Post Office Tower, a location used in the episode which is also seen on the DVD's cover. Another personal favorite feature takes a look at the re-creation of the episode to make it complete, as clips from several continents were spread and assembled to get The War Machines as close to completion as possible.
I really hope that someday, more of the "missing stories" from the William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton eras of the series are found. But for those of you who are curious to see one of the Doctor's early adventures, The War Machines would definitely be it. Rating: 9/10
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Doctor Who: Four To Doomsday
Starring Peter Davison, Sarah Sutton, Janet Fielding, and Matthew Waterhouse
BBC Video
4 episodes on 1 disc
Release Date: January 9, 2009
As far as I know, this was the first episode shot with Peter Davison as The Doctor, even though Castrovalva aired earlier. By this time John Nathan-Turner had taken over the series and the TARDIS was a really crowded place, as the Doctor had not one, not two, but THREE companions traveling with him through time and space.
Surprisingly, this episode in some ways looks more dated than The War Machines. Not to say The War Machines looked modern; it was a product of its time. But here, some of the special effects just look a bit... well... obvious. The makeup on several characters in this serial are also a bit on the cheesy side.
There are some memorable moments, and most can be chalked up to the charm and performance of Peter Davison as The Doctor. Although things looked cheesy he really seemed to try to make the best of it.
Extras on this DVD are okay at best. There is an interview with Davison soon after getting the Doctor Who role where there seems to be more of a focus on his previous role on All Creatures Great And Small, which didn't interest me much. The 27-minute "studio recording" feature gets boring very quickly, and there's nothing truly new-seeming with the "Theme Music Video."
Commentary for the episodes is provided by actors Peter Davison (The Doctor), Matthew Waterhouse (Adric), Janet Fielding (Tegan), Sarah Sutton (Nyssa), and director John Black (no relation to Roman Brady).
If you want to see something better from the Peter Davison era, there are many choices such as Earthshock, Caves of Androzani, Resurrection of the Daleks, and even Davison's first aired story, Castrovalva. I'd probably recommend those before I would recommend this one. However, I am glad for its release as we're getting closer and closer to full seasons of the series being out. Rating: 2/5
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Next up in the KryptonSite DVD Review column... The All-New Superfriends Hour, Volume 2! Want something reviewed? Send us an e-mail!
