Doctor Who : The John Pertwee Years

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Review by David Woodward

Several new Classic Doctor Who Series DVDs have been released providing an homage to the contribution made by Jon Pertwee as The Doctor between 1970 and 1974.

The DVDs feature several key episodes from the Pertwee era, including his first and last.

While Tom Baker was perhaps the quirkiest actor to play the part, Jon Pertwee portrayed Doctor Who in a more elegant style while still displaying the irritability and childishness often associated with the Doctor Who character.

Spearhead from Space is part of a two DVD pack entitled Mannequin Mania which brings together two episodes featuring the Autons, a terrifying plastic facsimile race.

Spearhead is, in fact, a Special Edition version.  The episode was originally shot entirely on film and has now been digitally restored with extremely clear and colourful footage. It was Pertwee’s very first episode (watch for his opening segment when he falls out of the door of the Tardis!).

Terror of the Autons (the second DVD in the Mannequin Mania pack) was Pertwee’s first episode of his second season and features the Autons returning to menace the human race. 

More importantly, it includes the first appearance of Katy Manning as The Doctor’s companion Jo Grant and the emergence of The Master, one of the longest running adversaries of The Doctor.

The other release is Planet of the Spiders, a two-DVD hardcase which is an intriguing bit of Doctor Who nostalgia as it is Pertwee’s last episode and features the transition regeneration scene between Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker.

Interestingly, it also includes the return of many actors who had played with Pertwee in previous episodes.

The release of these three episodes is a satisfying collection of the best of the Pertwee Years and a valuable addition to the Doctor Who library.

DVD Special Features

All three DVDs in these special releases have the traditionally high standard of Extras expected of Doctor Who – audio commentaries, program subtitles, photo galleries, etc.

The most impressive Extras however are the documentaries that explore various aspects of the Doctor Who mythos and which all include segments from a rare 1995 interview with Jon Pertwee.

On Spearhead from Space, the 22-minute “Down to Earth” talks about the overhaul of the Doctor Who series when the producers wanted to rejuvenate it after the departure of Patrick Troughton in 1969.

On Terror of the Autons, the 34-minute “Life on Earth” deals with Katy Manning’s first appearance but, most importantly, relates several aspects of the Pertwee Years back to the current incarnation of the series and comparisons between the two eras.  

There is also a 19-minute “The Doctor’s Moriarty” which is a rather long-winded story of how The Master was introduced and re-appeared throughout all the subsequent incarnations of the Doctor Who series.

On Planet of the Spiders, the 38-minute “Final Curtain” includes extensive segments of the 1995 Jon Pertwee interview and examines the background to the departure of Roger Delgado as The Master and how this particular episode brought together threads from previous episodes. 

A real treasure is the 7-minute “Then and Now” which is an interesting comparison of how the film locations used in the episode look over the 37 years between 1974 and 2011.

Conclusion: Episodes 80% Extras: 90%