 |
Doctor Who - Day of the Daleks (DVD)
by Tolteca
This is the first Pertwee Doctor Dalek story and Skaro's Finest's first appearance in colour in the show they have been such an iconic part of since the show first aired in 1963. It sees them face off against not only the Third Doctor and his faithful assistant Jo Grant but also UNIT and The Brigadier.
This is a relatively ... tight four-part story which still manages to tell a story which spans two seperate time periods. It does aim for a Shock Reveal!!! at the end of the first episode, but this is rather spoiled for anyone who read the titles at the time or seen it and/or the Pepperpots of Doom on the front of the DVD.
Nevertheless, the story itself is not spoiled. This is a terrifically fun Dalek story and one of the very, very few Classic Who stories which takes the Timey-Wimey aspect currently being explored in the New Series and produces a very enjoyable story from that.
This is not only a story with a four Dalek invasion force - if aided and abetted by their Ogron servants. This is a genuinly interesting story of people trying to change their own time-line and the consequences of trying to do this.
We are also luckier now than those of us who watched this first time round. We live in the future and have The Restoration Team. This is a Special Edition Who DVD and this is a Very Special Edition Indeed. The four Dalek invasion is there. It is as beautifully restored as the other DVD's they have produced, but here they have really spoilt us with goodies.
There is not only the restored original version in this two disc set. There is also a version with new CGI effects, more Daleks, scarier Future Distopia, better chase sequences but also, and possibly even more importantly, they have replaced the Dalek voices. One of the worst problems of the original version was the terrible high pitched and dreadfully over elongated voices. This DVD offers the listener the choice in the enhanced version of replacement voices by Nick Briggs - the voice of the Daleks on the show nowadays. This and the full bells and whistles CGI of the new version makes a fun story an even better one.
If these were the only thing that the Restoration Team had done, this would be a great reason to buy this DVD. However, they have also added the usual commentary and production subtitles, making of documentaries, photo galleries, features and archive matierials about the story. One of the best documentaries is the UNIT Family one, covering the second part of the UNIT era. This is good on its own merits, but has become even more moving since we lost the Brig.
This is not one of his greatest stories - my favourite always being The Silurians with The Daemons coming a close second - but this is a good UNIT story. It should prove enjoyable to those still discovering the back catalogue of Doctor Who, as it has great UNIT interaction, Pertwee's Doctor at his most imperious as well as playing on quad bikes and, of course, Daleks.
Watching the original version will be enjoyable even to those not familiar with this story, but I cannot recommend watching the enhanced version highly enough to those who come to this serial from the New Series. It blends the modern effects and the charm of the original in a seamless way and produces a genuinely enjoyable Modern Classic Doctor Who story that goes down a treat.
And only costs £6.75 from Amazon for the two disc set.
Cheap at twice the price - which is what I spent getting it when it first came out.
Read the complete review |
 |
Chris Ryan's Strike Back (DVD)
by wolby2010
Chris Ryan is an author and Ex-SAS most famous for surviving the incident known as Bravo 2-0 (Similar to Andy McNab.) Strike Back is a 6-part series with 3 episodes each in two halves. The story follows an Ex-SAS security guard John Porter (Richard Armitage) who uses his personal experience in Iraq to rescue the kidnapped daughter of the ... former Foreign-Secretary allowing him a position back doing what he does best for Section 20 (Mi6.) Despite three different episodes a central story runs throughout reaching a climatic conclusion in the final episode all regarding the beginning of the story of how he was retired from the army concerning the loss of his colleagues. The story is really gripping and quite similar to Spooks (Which also features Richard Armitage) but has extra Sky1 panache featuring intense action scenes and stunning locations.
I thoroughly recommend this as one to watch. If you have ever read a Chris Ryan book it fits quite well with how Chris Ryan writes, and has not taken too many liberties.
Personally I do not recommend the Second series which I was quite disappointed in as there is frequent nudity (which cheapens the programme) and quite a lot of 'artistic licence' taken with the story not to mention Richard Armitage only appearing once or twice and an almost completely different cast from the first series.
This DVD is definitely the better of the two and easily lends itself to watching over and over again.
Read the complete review |
|
|
Doctor Who - Death to the Daleks (DVD)
by Tolteca
This story was the first VHS I ever bought. I had to wait a very long time for the DVD. In fact, my video recorder gave out before Death to the Daleks came out, so it had been a while since I watched it.
It was not a disappointment. I loved it as much as when I got it for this year's birthday prezzie as I had when I bought ... that VHS - and for that matter, when mini me watched it when it first aired.
As the Daleks are on the cover as well as in the title, it cannot be a spoiler to say that it includes Daleks. It also includes the sadly no longer with us, Third Doctor and much loved Sarah Jane Smith, in her first Dalek story.
The writer, Terry Nation, brought the Daleks to Doctor Who, way back in 1963 and had already developed his favourite tropes for the Evil Pepperpot stories. This story, however, does do something new and interesting with Skaro's Evilest and this results in an interesting twist on the traditional Dalek story, as well as a great scene with the Daleks and a certain model.
The effects are dated. As it was made in 1974 on a Doctor Who budget, this is unsurprising. Unlike some of the early Who serials, this is a relatively tight four-parter and the pace of the storytelling does hold up better than the effects.
The picture and audio have been beautifully restored by the Doctor Who Restoration Team, who also provided the comprehensive set of extras. There is a documentary on the making of the story. There is not only a commentary featuring surviving actors and behind the screens people as well as a written production track as well as the subtitles. There are also on the set studio recordings, photo galleries and a trailer for a forthcoming Classic Who story.
All of these are great, though sadly lacking in input from those who are no longer with us.
But they are on screen. Jon Pertwee's Doctor in his last season, gets a great last Dalek story. Sarah Jane Smith gets to be in peril and be plucky, as well as playing her full part in the fight back against the Daleks and their latest Evol Plan of Evol. There is atmosphere, big questions, tree roots, quarries and Daleks. It is great, fun Classic Who.
Who needs anything else?
Especially at £6.75 for the two disc set from Amazon.
Read the complete review |
