TV Gold

I've got something to say about each of this years releases but lets open things with this...

Using the latest technology (whether it be VidFIRE or Reverse Standards Conversion) to provide the very best in picture and sound quality each subsequent ?classic series? Doctor Who DVD release bristles with a whole host of special features to greatly enhance the viewers appreciation of a particular story. Aside from the gratefully appreciated cast and crew members assembled to provide us with the accompanying commentary option credit is also due to those involved in preparing the detailed production subtitles and comprehensive collection of images assembled for the story?s ?Photo Gallery? feature. Although admitted as a ?labour of love? by those involved the painstakingly detailed endeavours of the Doctor Who Restoration Team are indeed worthy of praise for the results they achieve with each title. It is no small claim that the Doctor Who ?classic series? DVD range continues to maintain their trendsetting high production standards making them a benchmark that other Cult TV titles should aim to match. Well if that doesn?t get me some free BBC Worldwide goodies I don?t know what will! But seriously though 2006 has been another excellent year for ?classic series? Doctor Who DVD releases, however with such a high standard being maintained how can you pick a favourite out of this years titles?

Ever since DVD releases of ?classic series? stories began fans continually longed for those early days of William Hartnell to gain the Restoration Team?s attention. Finally in January of this year a three DVD set entitled ?The Beginning? pulled together ?An Unearthly Child?, ?The Daleks? and ?The Edge of Destruction? now restored to pristine picture and sound quality. Now coming so soon after the Christopher Eccleston Season One box set and with fans memories of David Tennant?s ?Christmas Invasion? debut no doubt fresh in the general publics minds these early 1960?s episodes might seem a bit static and low tech in comparison. I?d agree that these were rather uncertain first steps for what we now consider as ?the franchise? however there is certainly elements of wonder and magic sprinkled occasionally over these thirteen episodes. There is indeed a stark almost ethereal and clinical approach to features like ?Origins?, ?Over the Edge? and ?Inside the Spaceship? however, especially in ?Origins? there is absolutely fascinating insight into the creative process and BBC structure of the time that led to the series debut. As a piece of ground breaking cult television history these thirteen episodes were always going to be worth waiting for but such is the research, car and attention to detail that the Restoration Team lavished on this release I?m sure this DVD title will transcend the usual core Doctor Who fanbase and reach out to the more selective recorded media customer.

I?m sure all the superlatives have been used on the next story to be released during 2006 however when the season twelve six part classic ?Genesis of the Daleks? broke cover in April this highly marketable introductory tale quickly broke sales records for the ?classic series? releases. Peek beyond a gorgeously rendered cover by Clayton Hickman and you?ll find not only the pristine digitally remastered story on the first disc but a wealth of fascinating special features on the second disc. It?s difficult to split the high quality feature length Dalek related documentaries however being so story specific ?Genesis of a Classic? just has the edge with a wealth of cast and production team members helping to analyse various aspects of this 1975 epic. A lot of general Dalek related history is creditably covered in ?The Dalek Tapes? primarily for those viewers who haven?t followed the series over its initial twenty-six year phase with contributors involved in the stories mentioned. Clearly one of the ?classic series? big hitters ?Genesis of the Daleks? continues to delight and captivate audiences for over thirty years and this has to be the finest most comprehensive and thoroughly welcome version of this much released story to date.

With its more scientific serious tone the rather atypical seventh season of the ?classic series? is I believe generally well regarded with the fourth and final story ?Inferno? arguably considered as Jon Pertwee?s finest story. With most material of the Pertwee era only known to exist in low grade NTSC form an experiment was conducted on last years ?Claws of Axos? DVD using a new ?Reverse Standards Conversion? process, something that I felt had limited success on the half of the story this procedure was used on. I have to say that I was initially a little apprehensive about what effect it could have on ?Inferno? however when I got a copy of this release back in June 2006 the clarity and colour on show (particularly in the red lining of Pertwee? s cape!) was absolutely astonishing! Again I won?t comment on such a truly excellent story which captivates and enthrals throughout its epic seven-part length however there is a pleasant, comforting varying contributors commentary on offer in which undoubtedly the utterly charming John Levene is a positive delight particularly during the fifth episode where he has the mic to himself. Of the special features available on the second disc ?Can You Hear The Earth Scream?? successfully enhances your enjoyment of this seven-part alternate dimension thriller with welcome contributors including regular cast members Caroline John, Nicholas Courtney and John Levene. ?The UNIT family? feature is a pleasing first part which covers the secret military organisations initial conception and implementation in the series as seen during Patrick Troughton?s ?Web of Fear? and ?The Invasion? stories and on through the first year of Jon Pertwee?s tenure as the Doctor. Once again one of the finest stories from the ?classis series? is greatly enhanced by such a polished, stunning and comprehensive DVD release.

Although the Restoration Team have said that their schedules are planned in advance the next story issue on DVD was undoubtedly a marvellous coincidence. At the end of April (2006) Tenth Doctor David Tennant meets former companion Sarah Jane Smith, quite by chance at a comprehensive school. In the ?classic series? DVD releases her last regular appearance in ?The Hand of Fear? went on sale in July. Apart from Judith Paris (who features in the commentary) captivating performance as the crystalline Kastrian Eldrad this is, in my opinion, a fairly unremarkable story from Tom Baker?s third season. Having said that this DVD title is greatly enhanced by another specially shot documentary. ?Changing Time? does for the most part concentrate on the special relationship between the fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane with the relaxed discussion from Tom Baker and Elisabeth Sladen no doubt being the main attraction for the discerning DVD buying public.

The Restoration Team do their usual commendable job in presenting the historically set mid?80s Colin Baker era story ?The Mark of the Rani?, this particular adventure is further embellished by pleasing period filming around Ironbridge Gorge and Blists Hill, something further supported on the discs extra features. Amongst the generous assortment of extras on offer on this release undoubted the 43 minute ?Lords and Luddites? documentary is the star attraction which brings together various cast and crew recalling the making of this story. A pleasing enough release however when compared with other ?classic series? adventures making their DVD debuts in 2006 I guess it can really begin to feel like a enjoyable ?also ran? and is certainly not helped by potentially one of the blandest covers we have seen for quite some time!

In a bid to increase the number of release each year the regular ?special edition? titles will now, we are told, be supplemented by ?standard edition? DVD?s which will offer less in the way of special features but retail at a cheaper price. Whilst welcoming such news I, like others, was puzzled and maybe a little concerned as to whether such a proposition would adequately raise these stories above their original basic VHS videotape release. On the basis of the first of this new line, namely ?The Sontaran Experiment? which went on sale at the beginning of October 2006 this sceptiscm rather evaporated. Alongside the digitally remastered picture and sound of this two-parter (a rare beast indeed!) you get the standard production subtitles, a lighthearted commentary from messrs Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith), Hinchcliffe (Producer) and Baker (writer) and the usual pleasing slowly phased rolling Photo Gallery. This was really all I was expecting from such a basic release however it was a marvellous surprise to also be offered up the forty minute ?Built For War? documentary tracing the genesis and development of the Sontaran race through the history of the series. In turn we visit ?The Time Warrior? (their delightful series debut which would make for a marvellous ?special edition? DVD), ?The Sontaran Experiment?, a passing nod to ?Horror of Fang Rock? (with the Sontaran?s ?Rutan? enemy), ?The Invasion of Time? and ?The Two Doctors? in the company of cast and crew involved in these productions. Although a pleasing nostalgic stroll through these stories I didn?t think it was stated strongly enough that the Sontaran?s involvement in ?The Invasion of Time? was really only confined to the last two episodes of this season fifteen six-part finale, their arrival at the end of episode four one of the most iconic, memorable cliff-hangers from the Tom Baker era. However this is a minor quibble for a marvellous first ?standard edition? DVD further embellished by a gorgeously evocative cover by Lee Binding. It will indeed be interesting to see what further stories will benefit from this lower priced, limited extras release strategy!

It?s been forty years since the Cybermen made their series debut confronting William Hartnell?s Doctor at the south pole in ?The Tenth Planet? and we have already had the new series honour this event by the metallic giants returning to confront tenth Doctor David Tennant. However due to the loss of the final episode of the Cyber debut (widely regarded as the ?classic series? fans holy grail!) a return to this story through a DVD release is presently not possible. Another fortieth anniversary worth noting (and in fact celebrating!) is the debut, on 5th November 1966, of the second incarnation of Patrick Troughton, an actor whose portrayal of the series lead is still held with great affection by fans of the ?classic series? of Doctor Who. The answer for the Restoration Team to help celebrate these two notable fortieth anniversaries was to turn their attention back towards the eight-part 1968 Season Six story ?The Invasion?. Not only does it feature Troughton (with his companions at that time of Jamie (Frazer Hines) and Zoe (Wendy Padbury)) and the Cybermen but it is a key story in the development of UNIT, a secret military organisation that went on to become such a mainstay of the subsequent Pertwee era. However the problem with this story is that both episodes one and four are currently missing believed destroyed from the BBC archives. Rather than shelve their plans the Restoration Team have taken the unorthodox stop of enlisting animation company Cosgrove Hall to recreate the missing episodes from surviving telesnaps and matching their Flash animation to the original soundtrack. Whilst I applaud such a risky approach to resurrect a classic story I am extremely uneasy about how the finished work will compare to the surviving material. I?m also concerned about fluidity of movement and lip-synch of characters in particular the series three main leads. Spread over two discs this November 2006 released adventure (featuring the silky smooth charm of Kevin Stoney?s scheming Tobias Vaughn character) will undoubtedly be backed up by a wealth of intriguing and insightful features making for another extremely strong ?epic content? release worthy of the high reputation that ?classic series? releases have established over the years. If the animation is as strong and complimentary to the remaining material as they claim then it may indeed win over those sceptical fans, like myself who question whether or not this is respectful to the original production. If it is a resounding success which despite my reservations I hope it is, then perhaps 1967?s Season Five tale ?The Ice Warriors? set in England during the Second Ice Age ? AD3000 may follow the same route as this six-parter is also short of two episodes!