Techtite DVD Reviews

The Series: If I were to tell you that the fourth person to accept a lead role was considered the best to have ever played that role, you'd probably think I was crazy...unless, of course, someone was talking about Tom Baker's years as Doctor Who. Baker would play the role longer than any of the actors before or since, making his farewell to the series a very poignant one, indeed. Now, not only is that memorable episode offered on DVD, but the whole three story "Saga" that surrounded it, as well: "The Keeper of Tarkin," "Logopolis," and "Castrovalva," the first episode starring new series lead Peter Davison. This set is the perfect addition to any sci-fi shelf; one of the boldest and most remembered cast changes in the history of sci-fi television.

Indeed: the agnostic TV viewer may wonder what the fuss was. The best part of Doctor Who was how the character could "regenerate" whenever he was about to die (or, more to the point: "whenever the lead actor wanted out"). The role had been played by William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, and Jon Pertwee, respectively. Here's where things get complicated: Baker ("The Fourth Doctor") played the role almost twice as long as any actor preceding him. Furthermore; he was The Doctor from 1974 to 1981, during the peak of "Star Wars mania" worldwide. It has also been said that the "Tom Baker years" were some of the best stories in Doctor Who history. Then Baker opted out...and one of the best "departures" in sci-fi was born.

This three-disc set is intriguing for an additional reason: it is in essense one complete "saga" in Doctor Who lore. The fun begins (so to speak) with "The Keeper of Traken," where The Doctor is requested at the planet of Traken, by a thousand year old being known as The Keeper. He's reached the end of his reign as "keeper" and is passing his powers on to a successor, but he suspects something is amiss, and wished the Doctor to preside over the transfer of power. As you might expect; things go downhill from there, as this is the first step to The Fourth Doctor's (Tom Baker's) downfall. In short; The Doctor's arch-villain, The Master, is back...and after a chilling cliffhanger, the stage was fully set.

The second episode, "Logopolis," is perhaps one of the most pivotal episodes in Doctor Who history. The Doctor and The Master fight to the death, and although The Doctor technically "wins," he must "regenerate" into his fifth form, played by Peter Davison. Here's the fun part for fans: because both the leaving and arriving "Doctors" were available during filming of the episode, we actually see The Doctor "regenerate" for the first time, from one "face" to another. Mind you: "Logopolis" is a fun story in its own right, as well as the premiere of two new "friends" joining the Doctor on his journeys: the fair Nyssa (Sarah Sutton), and a particularly, um, "flighty" flight attendant named Tegan (Janet Fielding). This season finale's final minutes are particularly poignant, with The Doctor's fourth "life" literally flashing before his eyes, showing all the villains and allies he had met since Baker's first episode. It was a fitting farewell, indeed.

So why include the following season's premiere? Because the story was not quite over. The Master was still at large, and a newly regenerated Doctor had a score to settle. "Castrovalva," the first story of "The Fifth Doctor" (Peter Davison), concludes this story arc, and allows new fans to see Peter Davison's first mission in Doctor Who lore. It's a fitting end to the story, to be sure, though much like the prior two episodes in this set; there are a lot of "fanboy moments" as well. Note the scene near the start of the story, when Peter Davison slowly removes the seemingly endless scarf that had been Tom Baker's trademark costume piece through the years.

There's really nothing more that I can say about this three disc set that a fan doesn't know already...so why ramble? There's three whole discs filled with their own extras, to consider. Let's jump right to them!...

The DVD Extras!: Why include extras on each disc? Simple: these discs are made to be sold individually, as well as in this "set." However; at the time of this review, each DVd is individually priced at $19.99, while the three disc set is $35. What this means is that essentially one disc is "free" while another is 25% off. I'm just saying; it's not like we are trying to coerce you into buying the three disc set by removing the individual order links from this review. It's just economically smarter to buy the whole set. That said: on to the many extra features!

All three discs include audio commentaries of various cast and crew members. For The Keeper of Traken, we have two surprises: one, Tom Baker is not present, yet the late Anthony Ainley is; the actor who doubled as both Nyssa's father in Traken, as well as the new "Master," in successive episodes. Also on hand on disc one are Sarah "Nyssa" Sutton, Matthew "Adric" Waterhouse, and writer Johnny Berne as well. Disc two includes commentary from Tom Baker (yay!), Janet Fielding ("Tegan"), and writer Christopher H. Bidmead. Disc three includes commentary from "Fifth Doctor" Peter Davison, plus Fielding, Waterhouse, and Bidmead, with episode director Fiona Cumming.

Disc one's video-centric extras include a clip of the British talk show Swap Shop, when Noel Edmunds interviewed Sarah Sutton as the then "new" star of Doctor Who. Two additional features include an 8 minute look at the "Return of The Master," and a "Making of" type documentary.

Disc two (Logopolis) includes a rather thorough 50 minute "making of" documentary, which may seem extensive and yet given everything that happened in this one season finale, it's actually quite fitting. There is also an additional eight minute "Nationwide" nterview with Tom Baker and Peter Davison, an additional Peter Davison interview from the British program "Pebble Mill At One," and yet another BBC News clip about Tom Baker's wedding, Tom Baker's farewell to the series, and Peter Davison's arrival as Doctor Who.

Disc Three (Castrovalva) includes a 13 minute look at how Peter Davison approached his role as the Doctor, in addition to two different interviews of Davison at the time, from the British shows "Swap Shop" and "Blue Peter." There is also an 11 minute interview with director Fiona Cumming, and an amusing 11 minute look at the now "Crowded Tardis," including comments from Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Sarah Sutton, John Black and Christopher H. Bidmead. There's also one single deleted scene which I won't spoil for you here yet admittedly is strictly for fans. Speaking of fans: they're sure to enjoy most of all, on this third disc, a special music video of the remixed Doctor Who theme for the 1980's.

All three discs include extras that enhance the replay value of the episodes (yes; even more replay value than they already have!). There's a music-only option to listen to only the background music. There's an option to see each episode with production notes that pop into the subtitles on occasion. Each disc also has a photo gallery, as well as a copy of the 1982 Doctor Who Annual, Radio Times and BBC literature, in PDF format (simply place the disc in your PC or Mac DVD drive). Of course; each episode has been digitally remastered, though you probably already knew that, the same way you knew each episode includes the trailers and continuity announcements released for each episode at the time it aired. In short: if half a dozen paragraphs of "extras" was not enough to get you to buy this DVD set, I don't know what will.

	Final Rating : Deep Impact. These three episodes are not just timeless moments in Doctor Who history; they're timeless moments in the history of science fiction television entirely.
For more on this site's ratings system, click here.

Got a review you'd like to share? Techtite will post 2 of the best "guest" reviews received for any product, online, for all the world to see!

All text, Title graphics, and pix not of reviewed products, are created by Techtite, copyright 1999-2005; all rights reserved. Picture of DVD cover is used only for the purpose of review (and to make shopping for product easier); it by no means represents any affiliation with Techtite and the distributors of this product. For further "legalese" & disclaimers, click here...

Techtite's DVD Reviews!

Doctor Who: New Beginnings (A Three-Disc Set)

Review by Techtite