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This is not the approach that the BBC has taken with its Doctor Who franchise. Once again, the BBC has done an excellent job in compiling episodes of Doctor Who as originally screened together with an exhaustive amount of interesting support material.
This particular boxset includes two Doctor Who episodes from the 1981-84 'Fifth Doctor' era of Peter Davison.
The
first, "Time Flight", was originally broadcast in four installments
during March of 1982. Two missing Concorde aircraft from London’s
Heathrow Airport are the centrepiece for this story where the Doctor
goes back in time to deal with a mysterious magician who is trying to
obtain ancient powers to create havoc to the world as we know it
today. This magician is ultimately revealed to be none other than
the Doctor’s main adversary, The Master.
This is a relatively
silly story - even for Dr Who - with some very suspect special effects
and make up. Nevertheless, it is Peter Davison at his peak in his
role as the Doctor and was a milestone episode as it was the first time
a TV series had been filmed at Heathrow Airport.
The second inclusion in this Box Set is "Arc of Infinity". This episode was also first screened in four
parts, a year later than "Time Flight", in January of 1983. The story revolves around an
‘anti-matter’ alien who uses the Doctor and a dimensional doorway to
become human. This particular alien had actually appeared in a Doctor
Who episode some ten years previously (and who said the British aren't conscious of recycling?!).
In this episode, we are
also treated to a visit on Gallifrey for a look at the home planet of
the Time Lords. Another treat is the appearance of Colin Baker in a small
support role. Apparently, it was this performance that ultimately led
him to be selected to follow on from Davison as the Sixth Doctor.
While the sets, costumes and performances are often laughable - it is these exact same factors which have made Dr Who an institution for so many years. Ultimately making this a worthwhile purchase for any Who fan.
EXTRAS
The most welcome extra for Doctor Who fans will be the 13 minute
conversation with Aussie Janet Fielding (which can be found on the "Time Flight" disc) who has traditionally not done
these sort of interviews since she left the series. Her memories of
her time with the Doctor are worth listening to. The extended deleted
scenes, behind-the-scenes footage and outtakes on the “Time-Flight” DVD
provide some amusing moments too. The commentary on this episode (as
well as the next) is as informative as ever and maintains your interest throughout.
The major extra is a 35 minute retrospective which (although a bit long
and repetitive in parts) allows the series’ actors to talk about
working on this episode some 25 years after it was filmed. I
particularly liked hearing Peter Davison’s honest but positive
recollections and Colin Baker recalling his pre-Sixth Doctor
performance. On the other hand, the episode’s writer is surprisingly
critical of the script’s translation to the screen.
The “Arc of
Infinity” DVD also contains an assortment of oddities, clips and
features (like an option to view the story with CGI-enhanced special
effects sequences). Some would perhaps be of interest to only the most
devoted fan, but there are several funny bloopers of actors fooling
around between scenes and other information about the episodes.
As always, a top notch package!
Conclusion: Episodes 60% Extras: 80%
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