Old Doctor Who - Part 3

[Replies From View]

Found a copy of The Gunfighters.

So here are the DVDs I still don't have:

The Keys of Marinus

THE EPISODES
All six episodes are restored from 16mm film copies of the original black-and-white video
recordings, recovered from BBC Enterprises in 1978. During restoration several short gaps
were discovered in the archived films of episodes two and four, totalling seventeen seconds,
and these have been filled with re-edited footage and audio recordings of the soundtrack to
make the story complete for the first time since its original broadcast. The episodes' mono
soundtracks are remastered and the VidFIRE process is applied to studio-recorded shots to
recapture the smoother motion of video. The title sequences are replaced by a modern transfer
of the best surviving copy of the original 35mm film with end credits remade to match the
originals.
SPECIAL FEATURES
The Sets of Marinus (9m25s): Raymond Cusick talks about designing the sets, props and
models for The Keys of Marinus under tougher than usual conditions, as a new setting was
required for each episode, and his ingenious ways of saving money.
Photo Gallery (7m25s): Slideshow of colour and black-and-white photos taken during
production of The Keys of Marinus, including prop design drawings and contemporary publicity
photos of Carole Ann Ford, plus shots of the commentary participants. Set to sound effects from
the story. Compiled by Ralph Montagu.
Audio Options: Select Commentary to play the audio commentary in place of the main
soundtrack when watching the episodes. This is moderated by writer and journalist Clayton
Hickman, talking with Carole Ann Ford (Susan), William Russell (Ian), director John Gorrie and
designer Raymond Cusick on all six episodes.
– Select Feature Audio to reinstate the main soundtrack when watching the episodes.
Info Text: Select On to view subtitles when watching the episodes that provide information and
anecdotes about the development, production, broadcast and history of The Keys of Marinus.
Written by Richard Molesworth.
PDF Materials: Accessible via a computer are the six episode listings from Radio Times for the
original BBC1 broadcast of The Keys of Marinus and an article introducing the story.
– Packaging and the full set of fifty sweet cigarette cards telling a story in pictures and text of 'Dr
Who' versus the Daleks and Voord from Cadet Sweets' 1964 Doctor Who promotion.
Coming Soon (1m21s): Trailer for the DVD releases of Frontier in Space and Planet of the
Daleks in the Dalek War boxset.
SUBTITLES
Select On to view subtitles for all episodes and Special Features (except commentary).
EASTER EGG
There is one hidden feature on this disc to find. See Appendix 2 for details
RELATED EXTRAS
Coming Soon trailer – The Twin Dilemma

The Sensorites*

THE EPISODES
All six episodes are restored from 16mm film copies of the original black-and-white videotape
recordings, recovered from BBC Enterprises in 1978. Their mono soundtracks are remastered
and the VidFIRE process is applied to studio-recorded shots to recapture the smoother motion
of video. The title sequences are replaced by a modern transfer of the best surviving copy of the
original 35mm film with end credits remade to match the originals.
SPECIAL FEATURES
Looking for Peter (21m19s): Peter R Newman is generally remembered only for writing The
Sensorites and the BBC television play Yesterday's Enemy in 1958, remade the year after by
Hammer Films. Actor and writer Toby Hadoke finds out more about Newman's life and career,
and tracks down his surviving family and even a recording of his voice. With help from
television historian Richard Bignell and film historian Marcus Hearn. Produced by Chris
Chapman.
Vision On (7m4s): Former vision mixer Clive Doig talks about what the job involves and his
work on the early years of Doctor Who, including what it was like recording television
programmes in the early-60s.
Secret Voices of the Sense Sphere (2m4s): Clive Doig explains how the voices of production
members could accidentally get recorded onto a programme's soundtrack, as happens in
episode six of The Sensorites where the voice of the production assistant giving instructions to
the camera operators is audible.
Photo Gallery (4m36s): Slideshow of black-and-white photos taken during production of The
Sensorites, including design department photos of the sets. Set to sound effects from the story.
Compiled by Paul Shields.
NEXT
Audio Options: Select Commentary to play the audio commentary in place of the main
soundtrack when watching the episodes. This is moderated by actor and comedian Toby
Hadoke, talking with Carole Ann Ford (Susan) [eps 1,2,3], William Russell (Ian) [1,2,4],
designer Raymond Cusick [1,3,4], Joe Greig (Sensorite) [2,3,4,5], make-up supervisor Sonia
Markham [4,5,6], director Frank Cox [5,6], Martyn Huntley (First Human) [6] and Giles Phibbs
(Second Human) [6].
– Select Feature Audio to reinstate the main soundtrack when watching the episodes.
Info Text: Select On to view subtitles when watching the episodes that provide information and
anecdotes about the development, production, broadcast and history of The Sensorites. Written
by Stephen James Walker.
PDF Materials: Accessible via a computer are the six episode listings from Radio Times for the
original BBC1 broadcast of The Sensorites, a short article introducing the story and a profile of
William Hartnell published the week of episode four.
– Designer Raymond Cusick's blueprints for props to be built by Shawcraft Models, including
the Sensorite's mind-clearing helmet and the firing key for the disintegrator.
Coming Soon (1m49s): Trailer for the Special Edition DVD releases of The Robots of Death,
The Three Doctors and The Tomb of the Cybermen in the Revisitations 3 boxset.
SUBTITLES
Select On to view subtitles for all episodes and Special Features (except commentary).
RELATED EXTRAS
Coming Soon trailer – The Android Invasion, Invasion of the Dinosaurs

The Reign of Terror

THE EPISODES
Episodes one and two are restored from 16mm film copies of the original black-and-white
videotape recordings, recovered from a broadcaster in Cyprus in 1984; episodes three and six
are restored from 16mm film copies of the original black-and-white videotape recordings,
recovered by Bruce Campbell in 1985 and 1982 respectively and now held by collectors
Francis Niemczyk and Tim Hawtin. Their mono soundtracks are remastered and the VidFIRE
process is applied to studio-recorded shots to recapture the smoother motion of video. The title
sequences are replaced by a modern transfer of the best surviving copy of the original 35mm
film with end credits remade to match the originals (except episode six). Episodes four and five,
of which no film copies are known to exist, are recreated with black-and-white animation by
Planet 55 Studios with reference to surviving clips and photos from the serial and matched to a
remastered recording of the soundtrack made on audio tape when the episodes were originally
broadcast.
SPECIAL FEATURES
Don't Lose Your Head (25m4s): The making of The Reign of Terror, including memories of
director Henric Hirsch; selecting the cast; problems during rehearsals; shooting the series' first
ever location filming and scenes at Ealing Studios; recording in Lime Grove Studios; and
Hirsch's increasing difficulties, alleviated by a move to Television Centre. With contributions
from production assistant Timothy Combe and actors Carole Ann Ford and William Russell.
Produced by Chris Chapman.
Robespierre's Domain Set Tour (2m44s): Planet 55's detailed set backgrounds created for
the animated episodes, set to sound clips from the story.
Photo Gallery (4m10s): Slideshow of colour and black-and-white photos taken during
production of The Reign of Terror, including design department photos of the sets. Compiled by
Paul Shields.
Animation Gallery (3m39s): Planet 55's character designs for and scenes from the animated
episodes. Compiled by Paul Shields.
Audio Options: Select Commentary to play the audio commentary in place of the main
soundtrack when watching the episodes. This is moderated by actor and comedian Toby
Hadoke, talking with Neville Smith (d'Argenson) [ep 1], Carole Ann Ford (Susan) [1,2,3,6],
production assistant Timothy Combe [1,2,3,6], Jeffry Wickham (Webster) [2], Caroline Hunt
(Danielle) [3] and Patrick Marley (Soldier) [6]. On episode four Hadoke talks with actor Ronald
Pickup (Physician), and on episode five with missing episode hunters Philip Morris and Paul
Vanezis (the latter having helped find these episodes in Cyprus in 1984).
– Select Feature Audio to reinstate the main soundtrack when watching the episodes.
Info Text: Select On to view subtitles when watching episodes one, two, three and six that
provide information and anecdotes about the development, production, broadcast and history of
The Reign of Terror. Written by Nicholas Pegg.
PDF Materials: Accessible via a computer are the six episode listings from Radio Times for the
original BBC1 broadcast of The Reign of Terror and an article that introduced the story.
Coming Soon (1m1s): Trailer for the Special Edition DVD release of The Ark in Space.
SUBTITLES
Select On to view subtitles for all episodes and Special Features (except commentary).
RELATED EXTRAS
Coming Soon trailer – Shada

Planet of Giants

THE EPISODES
Episodes one and two are restored from 16mm film copies of the original black-and-white video
recordings, recovered from BBC Enterprises in 1978; episode three is restored from a 16mm
film copy of the 35mm film used for broadcast, itself an edited copy of the black-and-white video
recordings of the original episodes three and four. Their mono soundtracks are remastered and
the VidFIRE process is applied to studio-recorded shots to recapture the smoother motion of
video. The title sequences are replaced by a modern transfer of the best surviving copy of the
original 35mm film with end credits remade to match the originals.
SPECIAL FEATURES
Episode 3&4 Reconstruction (52m37s): Originally produced as a four-part serial, Planet of
Giants had its last two episodes cut down into one before transmission to improve the pacing of
the story. No copies of the original episodes three and four are known to exist, but the original
script does, so for this DVD they have been reconstructed using the unrestored footage from the
broadcast episode three with new footage and re-edited shots from other episodes to replace
the cut scenes, while the missing dialogue has been re-recorded. Carole Ann Ford and William
Russell recreate their roles of Susan and Ian, with John Guilor as the Doctor and Katherine
Mount as Barbara, while the remaining parts are voiced by other actors. New material directed
by Ian Levine, reconstruction produced by Ed Stradling.
Rediscovering The Urge to Live (8m29s): The producers and actors behind the
reconstruction of the original episodes explain how they remade the missing material, while
original actors Carole Ann Ford and William Russell recall recording the original serial. With
John Guilor, Toby Hadoke, Paul Jones, Ian Levine and Ed Stradling.
Suddenly Susan (15m18s): Recorded in 2003 for BBC2's The Story of Doctor Who, actor
Carole Ann Ford recalls her experiences of playing the first ever companion Susan from 1963
to 1964.
The Lambert Tapes - The Doctor (14m): Recorded in 2003 for BBC2's The Story of Doctor
Who, the series' first producer Verity Lambert recalls her experiences on the programme,
including the casting of William Hartnell as the Doctor and her hopes for the then-unbroadcast
New Series. Part one is on More Than 30 Years in the TARDIS
NEXT
Photo Gallery (3m22s): Slideshow of colour and black-and-white photos taken during
production of Planet of Giants, including design department photos of the 'giant' sets. Compiled
by Paul Shields.
Audio Options: Select Commentary Audio to play the audio commentary in place of the main
soundtrack when watching the episodes. This is moderated by composer and sound engineer
Mark Ayres, talking with vision mixer Clive Doig, special sounds creator Brian Hodgson, makeup
supervisor Sonia Markham and studio floor assistant David Tilley on all three episodes.
– Select Feature Arabic Audio to hear the soundtrack with dialogue dubbed into Arabic when
watching all three episodes, made for sales of the programme to Middle Eastern broadcasters.
This also features different incidental music to that used in the UK broadcast.
– Select Feature English Audio to reinstate the main soundtrack when watching the episodes.
Info Text: Select On to view subtitles when watching the episodes that provide information and
anecdotes about the development, production, broadcast and history of Planet of Giants.
Written by Matthew Kilburn.
PDF Materials: Accessible via a computer are the three episode listings from Radio Times for
the original BBC1 broadcast of Planet of Giants, a one-page article that introduced the 1964/65
season and a poetic letter anticipating its return.
– Designer Raymond Cusick's blueprints for the giant sink, briefcase and telephone receiver
props to be constructed by Shawcraft Models.
Coming Soon (1m9s): Trailer for the Special Edition DVD release of Vengeance on Varos.
SUBTITLES
Select On to view subtitles for all episodes and Special Features (except commentary and
Arabic soundtrack).
RELATED EXTRAS
Coming Soon trailer – The Greatest Show in the Galaxy
The Doctor's Composer – The War Games

The Rescue

THE EPISODES
Both episodes are restored from 16mm film copies of the original black-and-white video
recordings, recovered from BBC Enterprises in 1978. Their mono soundtracks are remastered
and the VidFIRE process is applied to studio-recorded shots to recapture the smoother motion
of video. The title sequences are replaced by a modern transfer of the best surviving copy of the
original 35mm film with credits remade to match the originals.
SPECIAL FEATURES
Mounting the Rescue (21m48s): The making of The Rescue, including the reasons behind
Carole Ann Ford's departure and the upset it caused William Hartnell; initial ideas for a
replacement character and selecting who to play her; working with the director; handling this
and the next story as one production; creating the models and designing the sets; casting the
main guest role; the costume for Koquillion; working with Hartnell; an accident with a special
effect during recording and early techniques for picture composition; the importance of
appropriate lighting; and keeping the story's twist a secret in Radio Times. With contributions
from director Christopher Barry, designer Raymond Cusick, actors Ray Barrett, Maureen
O'Brien and William Russell, and fan Ian McLachlan. Narrated by John Bowe, produced by
Steve Broster.
Photo Gallery (8m13s): Slideshow of black-and-white photos taken during production of The
Rescue, including design department photos of the sets, the sand beast being made at
Shawcraft's workshop, and publicity shots of Maureen O'Brien. Set to music from the story
(composed for The Daleks). Plus Raymond Cusick's prop and monster design drawings.
Compiled by Ralph Montagu.
Audio Options: Select Commentary to play the audio commentary in place of the main
soundtrack when watching the episodes. This is moderated by actor and comedian Toby
Hadoke, talking with director Christopher Barry, designer Raymond Cusick and William Russell
(Ian) on both episodes.
– Select Feature Audio to reinstate the main soundtrack when watching the episodes.
Info Text: Select On to view subtitles when watching the episodes that provide information and
anecdotes about the development, production, broadcast and history of The Rescue. Written by
Richard Molesworth.
PDF Materials: Accessible via a computer are the two episode listings from Radio Times for
the original BBC1 broadcast of The Rescue and an article introducing the story.
– Designer Raymond Cusick's blueprints for the TARDIS and rocket ship sets, TARDIS model,
props and sand beast.
Coming Soon (1m7s): Trailer for the DVD release of Attack of the Cybermen.
SUBTITLES
Select On to view subtitles for all episodes and Special Features (except commentary).
RELATED EXTRAS
Coming Soon trailer – Full Circle, State of Decay, Warriors' Gate

The Romans*

THE EPISODES
All four episodes are restored from 16mm film copies of the original black-and-white video
recordings, recovered from BBC Enterprises in 1978. Their mono soundtracks are remastered
and the VidFIRE process is applied to studio-recorded shots to recapture the smoother motion
of video. The title sequences are replaced by a modern transfer of the best surviving copy of the
original 35mm film with end credits remade to match the originals.
SPECIAL FEATURES
What Has 'The Romans' Ever Done For Us? (33m59s): The making of The Romans and its
faithfulness to known history, including the state of the Roman Empire in the First Century and
the real Emperor Nero; memories of writer Dennis Spooner and his more comedic script for The
Romans; Derek Francis' portrayal of Nero compared to others on film and television; designing
the sets; arranging the fight scenes; the real Poppaea; the accuracy of the serial's
representation of Christianity, slavery and the Great Fire of Rome; and referencing The
Romans in the New Series. With contributions from director Christopher Barry, designer
Raymond Cusick, actors Barry Jackson, Kay Patrick and William Russell, New Series writer
James Moran, fan journalist Tom Spilsbury, and fan Ian McLachlan; plus historian Dr Mark
Bradley of Nottingham University, and actors Anthony Andrews and Christopher Biggins who
have played Nero in other productions. Narrated by John Bowe, produced by Steve Broster.
Roma Parva (2m33s): Director Christopher Barry describes how a studio recording session
would be planned, using a surviving original studio floorplan and model of the sets for The
Romans to demonstrate how camera positions were managed.
Dennis Spooner - Wanna Write A Television Series? (17m47s): Profile of the life and career
of Dennis Spooner, who died in 1986, the writer for many popular television series of the 1960s
and 1970s, including five Doctor Who stories as well as being the series' second story editor.
With memories from friend and colleague Brian Clemens and his wife Janet, actors Peter
Purves and William Russell, story editor Donald Tosh, and New Series writer Rob Shearman.
Narrated by Anna Hope, produced by Robert Fairclough.
Blue Peter (7m15s): Extract from the Thursday 4 January 1973 edition of the BBC1 children's
magazine programme in which Valerie Singleton hosts a Roman banquet in the studio for
Lesley Judd and Peter Purves, with John Noakes serving them.
NEXT
Girls! Girls! Girls! - The 1960's (17m40s): Overview of the changing roles and portrayals of the
female companions over the course of the 1960s. With Carole Ann Ford (Susan), Jean Marsh
(Sara), Anneke Wills (Polly) and Deborah Watling (Victoria), plus story editor Donald Tosh,
director Christopher Barry, and actors Honor Blackman, Frazer Hines, Peter Purves and
William Russell. Narrated by Dona Croll, produced by Robert Fairclough.
Photo Gallery (6m7s): Slideshow of black-and-white photos taken during production of The
Romans, including design department photos of the sets. Set to period music. Compiled by
Ralph Montagu.
Audio Options: Select Commentary to play the audio commentary in place of the main
soundtrack when watching the episodes. This is moderated by actor and comedian Toby
Hadoke, talking with Nick Evans (Didius) [ep 1], Barry Jackson (Ascaris) [1,2], William Russell
(Ian) [1,2,3,4], director Christopher Barry [1,2,3,4] and designer Raymond Cusick [4].
– Select Feature Audio to reinstate the main soundtrack when watching the episodes.
Info Text: Select On to view subtitles when watching the episodes that provide information and
anecdotes about the development, production, broadcast and history of The Romans. Written
by Richard Molesworth.
PDF Materials: Accessible via a computer are the four episode listings from Radio Times for
the original BBC1 broadcast of The Romans and an article that introduced the story.
Coming Soon (1m7s): Trailer for the DVD release of Attack of the Cybermen.
SUBTITLES
Select On to view subtitles for all episodes and Special Features (except commentary).
RELATED EXTRAS
Coming Soon trailer – Full Circle, State of Decay, Warriors' Gate

The Time Meddler*
The Ark
The War Machines
The Tenth Planet
(I have Tomb of the Cybermen but not the Special Edition)
The Ice Warriors
The Dominators
The Seeds of Death

*out of print in North America.

Do any of these have essential extras?

That's enough for now.  I'm just copy-pasting from the DVD Compendium but it's taking ages!

The pdf link is here if you want to look for yourself:  https://vk.com/doc-5742320_328270798?hash=27cb59257af97c58e4

[Weeping Prophet]

Thank you!

I plan on getting them all whenever possible, but I have all my favorites and it's just for completion at this point. Just making sure there aren't any substantial documentaries or other gems I'm missing.

[Replies From View]

Just making sure there aren't any substantial documentaries or other gems I'm missing.

Well arguably you are, as I said it depends what you like.

[Norton Canes]

Definitely without question get The Sensorites, for the 'Looking for Peter' feature that investigates the mysterious past of scriptwriter Peter R. Newman. You won't learn much about the Hartnell era (except for the tiny portion of it that was written by Peter R. Newman) but you will see an exceptionally enjoyable and moving feature. If you get through it without even the tiniest trace of a tear in the corner of your eye, you're more impassive than me.

[Replies From View]

If you're interested in the reconstruction of fragmented episodes, 'The War Machines' has a good 10 minute feature.

Meanwhile episode 5 of 'Reign of Terror' has a commentary with Philip Morris and Paul Vanezis talking about the recovery of lost episodes.


All the releases have something to recommend them, depending on what you like.

[daf]

the DVD Compendium

Great book - First thing I did was search for 'The Story of Doctor Who' interviews to see how long they'd be all together (the original 2003 documentary was one hour) - comes to a grand total of 3 hours, 5 minutes & 16 seconds!

[Norton Canes]

One of my favourite recurring features is 'Stripped for Action', the story of the Doctor Who comic strips.

Here's where you can find them:

1965_S The Time Meddler - Stripped for Action, The 1st Doctor
1969_ZZ The War Games - Stripped for Action, The 2nd Doctor
1973_QQQ Frontier in Space - Stripped for Action, The 3rd Doctor
1973_SSS Planet of the Daleks - Stripped for Action, The Daleks
1976_4L The Seeds of Doom - Stripped for Action - The 4th Doctor
1982_6A Black Orchid - Stripped for Action, The 5th Doctor
1984_6S The Twin Dilemma - Stripped for Action, The 6th Doctor
1987_7F Delta and the Bannermen - Stripped for Action, The 7th Doctor
1996_8A The Movie (Special Edition) - Stripped for Action - The 8th Doctor

[purlieu]

Novels, April 2017 edition. Been on a bit of a film bender these past couple of months so less time for reading, so season 5-era has taken me a while. Still, got there in the end.

Doctor Who and the Tomb of the Cybermen. Decent novelisation of a tremendous story. Despite having seen the TV version many times, this still kept me captivated. No real fleshing out, but it's hard to go wrong with this story.
Heart of TARDIS. Fourth Doctor & Romana I crossover, although in hindsight it would probably have worked better placed somewhere mid-Key to Time. The story itself is fucking excellent though, completely bonkers. UNIT get taken over, The Doctor, Jamie and Victoria end up in a moebius strip of a town, based pretty much on Springfield (of Simpsons fame), a strange multi-dimensional being is killing things, Aleister Crowley appears, and Romana is hilarious. I really enjoy the bonkers stories, and this is as bonkers as they come. Excellent.
Doctor Who and the Abominable Snowmen. Oh I'd love them to recover this one. Lovely atmospheric tale. Also elements of their second appearance make much more sense now in context.
Doctor Who and the Ice Warriors. Not one of my favourite Troughton-era ones. Although I like the Ice Warriors themselves, even by this point the standard base-under-seige complete with boss-who-doesn't-believe-the-monsters and rogue-scientist format is becoming tiring. Novelisation does little to add to the story.
Dream of Empire. A rather strong political thriller of a story, with enough twists and turns along the way to keep it from being too straight-forward. The action-focused second half is a bit of an anticlimax (rampaging robots are very difficult to properly convey on page, I think), but enjoyable overall.
Combat Rock. I think after the characters' names, the word 'whore' (or variants of) probably popped up more than any other word here. A bunch of psychotic mercenaries, political racism, a lot of swearing and brutal killing, and some cannibals. I struggled to make this properly fit within the Whoniverse.
Doctor Who and the Enemy of the World. One of my favourite serials, an ok novel. The actiony first half doesn't translate well into writing, but it picks up as it goes on.
Doctor Who and the Web of Fear. This one, however, definitely captured the brilliance of the serial. I don't think even Terrance Dicks could ruin this story. That said, I could really do without his tedious foreshadowing. "Little were the Doctor and Brigadier to know they'd become close friends..." blah blah blah. Either you're reading the whole series and you'll know that, or you're reading it as a one off and thus that's irrelevant.
Twilight of the Gods. Christopher Bulis, so once again it's perfectly enjoyable whilst sort of very forgettable. Back to Vortis this time, where the Menoptera and Zarbi have been invaded again. I really enjoyed the fleshing out of the world, the well-written opposing races, and the creepy zombie duplicates, but the reveal that it's the fucking Animus again just ruined it.
The Dark Path. Political stuff involving the Earth Empire, a reality-bending second half, some strong characters, nice development for Victoria, and note-perfect writing for the second Doctor all make this great. But really, that's all shadowed by what the story really is: a Master origin story. I've seen some criticism for how simplistic his character arc in the book is, but I think those people have overlooked how he appears from the get go. It has him and the Doctor as two friends who are generally working towards the same ends, but in very different ways and different priorities. His conversion to the version we know now doesn't need that much. It's all rather lovely, and I much prefer it to the nonsense about looking into the time vortex or whatever we were given for John Simm's master.
Fury From the Deep. Likely a bog-standard base-under-seige story, but this was nicely written with some very realistic characters that made it pretty enjoyable to read.
The Wheel in Space. And this was the total opposite. A great story, ruined by Terrance Dicks's uninspired writing. I'd love to see a reconstructed version of this. Although I'm a sucker for '60s Cybermen in general.

A generally strong set of books this time around. Now onto The Dominators. Back in a few weeks with a series 6 roundup.

[daf]

Thought some fans of the classic era might enjoy this podcast, which includes a rare audio interview with Malcolm Hulke from 1979 :
http://thedoctorwhopodcast.com/podcast/behind-the-scenes/the-doctor-who-podcast-200-interviews-with-malcolm-hulke-and-terrance-dicks/

[daf]

Tom Baker's Dr. Who gets new companion on Big Finish :
https://www.bigfinish.com/news/v/a-new-companion-for-the-fourth-doctor

Now they're branching out with the companions, audio would be the perfect place for a few stories with the fabled talking cabbage on his shoulder. They could fit nicely in that gap between The Deadly Assassin and The Face of Evil.

[daf]

BENTON!


https://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/unit---assembled-1211

[Replies From View]

Benton now doesn't look like Benton should, though.  He's like Luke Skywalker, Rick Deckard and Colin Baker in that respect.

[purlieu]

And you can hear how he looks in the audio.


One of those occasional past Doctor books from recent years, the Troughton-era Wheel of Ice, dragged possibly more than any book I've ever read.

[Replies From View]

One problem I have is that John Levene in his present-day form reminds me of someone who hangs out with my parents sometimes.  This guy is a bit of a dick and I bump into him every now and then when I'm visiting them.

The 1970s Benton doesn't look or sound anything like this guy.  It's only a problem with the present-day form.


Not sure whether this is John Levene's fault, really, but what should I do?  Phone him?

[Alberon]

BENTON!


https://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/unit---assembled-1211

Oh, Jesus Christ!

[Replies From View]

At least you're being honest.

[Malcy]

Really looking forward to listening to the new UNIT boxset. They announced it ages ago. Been a long wait. Still haven't listened to my signed copy of John Levene's album that i won on Twitter last year haha.

[Small Man Big Horse]

I've just watched some of The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang, a cartoon from the eighties which saw the Fonz and friends fucking about in time, and noticed how similar their time machine is to the Tardis:



Though it does look more like the new series than the old, so maybe Russell T Davies stole the look from them.

[Weeping Prophet]

I've just watched some of The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang, a cartoon from the eighties which saw the Fonz and friends fucking about in time, and noticed how similar their time machine is to the Tardis:



Though it does look more like the new series than the old, so maybe Russell T Davies stole the look from them.

This was the result of Hanna-Barbara attempting to buy the rights to Doctor Who to make an animated series. When that didn't pan out, they went with sci-fi Fonz.

[Replies From View]

Dunno why, but that reminds me of

[Small Man Big Horse]

This was the result of Hanna-Barbara attempting to buy the rights to Doctor Who to make an animated series. When that didn't pan out, they went with sci-fi Fonz.

Huh, I'd never heard about that and it's a shame it didn't happen. Unless the scripts were equally as weak, then it'd have been horrific. Thanks for the info, anyway.

[Alternative Carpark]

Joking maybe?

It's just that the Fonz cartoon dates from about 1983, certainly no later, when Doctor Who was still in production on television and would be for some years afterwards, so there'd have been no reason at that time for anyone to expect the TV rights to it to be up for grabs.

Additionally, I doubt whether Hanna-Barbera would have been interested in doing anything with DW, or even whether it would have been on their radar then.  It wasn't hugely well known in the USA in the early 80s, and was mainly shown on relatively low key PSB slots.  So it sounds like a joke to me.

[samadriel]

Indeed, the only animated DW talk I know of is the aborted 1990 Nelvana series. http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Nelvana

[purlieu]

Fucking hell that looks awful.

The Master was to be " half man, half robot with a cybernetic bird accessory and a face modelled after Sean Connery."

Also

The cartoon series was to feature an unspecified Doctor incorporating elements of various BBC series Doctors and was not to be oriented to a younger audience than the live action series but was intended to be a continuation of the cancelled series but in animated form in order to save costs but with design elements that would promote merchandise sales.

aaaaand breathe.

[Bad Ambassador]

An animated version would clearly have been cheaper than the live-action series was. Clearly. Christ.

[Replies From View]

Fairly sure it's not true.  It's reported as a myth on plenty of sites.

[Norton Canes]

Joking maybe?

It's just that the Fonz cartoon dates from about 1983

Hanna-Barbera must have watched Arc of Infinity and thought "Surely we can do better than that."

[purlieu]

Season 6-era novels and novelisations:

The Dominators - I always find the bickering between the two Dominators very entertaining, but otherwise nothing can bring this story to anything other than average. An unexciting novelisation of an unexciting story.
The Mind Robber - A story that relies heavily on its visuals, I think. Actually quite dull to read. Also opens with an eruption on Vesuvias, rather than continuing on from The Dominators, which was jarring.
The Invasion - My favourite '60s story, and a fine novelisation.
The Indestructible Man - One of those books that I cannot mentally tie in with the show at all. We're used to the Doctor and companions being separated, but all three spend six months apart in this story: The Doctor in a coma from an aborted regeneration; Zoe sold into slavery, working her way up and eventually falling in love and getting engaged, only to have her fiancee shot in front of her; Jamie becomes a psychotic mercenary suffering severe mental trauma after thinking the Doctor has died. The idea that two stories later these characters could be prancing about in The Krotons is just far too much to take. They'd all need years of therapy to recover from this.
The story itself is literally Captain Scarlet, for reasons I can't quite work out. There's homage, and then there's literally just taking a scenario and renaming all the elements (SPECTRUM become PRISM etc.). The second half brings in Thunderbirds, and actually ties them together in an intriguing way, but frankly none of it fits well into the Whoniverse.
Quite enjoyable to read in a strange way, but absolutely self-indulgence fanfic nonsense that should never have been given an 'official' publication by the BBC.
Foreign Devils - A very enjoyable little time-travel romp by Andrew Cartmell. My favourite of the Telos novellas up to this point. Despatches with Jamie for almost the entire story, leaving it led by the Doctor and Zoe. In general there seems to be a lot more Zoe than Jamie in the original books from this era, which is refreshing as he's been around for fucking ages (much as I love him).
The Krotons - I'm very fond of this story, and the novelisation was pretty easy going. Didn't add much new but did the job.
The Seeds of Death - One of Terrance Dicks's better novelisations, a bit more depth to the characterisation here made it engaging, even despite it being an over-long story I've seen many times.
The Wheel of Ice - One of a few novels written since the PDA range finished. Does an extremely good job of capturing that "six episodes where three would have done" feel of some of the Troughton era, right down to Jamie spending more than half the novel in a plot arc that is totally irrelevant to the rest of the story. None of the three main characters was remotely recognisable. All in all, Stephen Baxter did a great job of taking a lot of really fascinating and often quite creepy ideas and turning them into a dull, incoherent mess.
The Final Sanction - One of the problems with reading these books in internal chronological order is they weren't written in that way. As such, this is the climax to Steve Lyons' Selachians arc, but I've only met them once before, which is a shame as this seems like an excellent way to end it. An intriguing and intelligent story for the most part. Zoe gets taken prisoner and falls for another guy only to see him killed again. I think after all this lot she'll be happy to have her memory wiped at the end of The War Games. Also features genocide and the destruction of an entire PoW camp, bringing it close to the top of the "stories with the most deaths" list.
The Space Pirates - Oh my. Let's say I'm not especially eager for a copy of this to be recovered at any point. And with that, I'm now familiar with all the lost stories.
The Menagerie - A very nice one with plenty of ideas going on. Possibly not as clever as it thinks it is - I guessed all the reveals - but some good characterisation, interesting concepts and engaging narrative. A couple of questionable moments: Zoe gets sold into slavery AGAIN, and the Doctor tells her she's "too pretty" to drink beer. Er.
The Colony of Lies - An unpromising setting (a Western town on a colony planet also inhabited by dog people), but a very enjoyable story. I got through this one very quickly, lots going on, a few interesting twists, good characterisation of the main trio, and ties in nicely with the whole Earth Empire story that's evolving over the novels.
The War Games - Opens with a paragraph that explains the entire plot, which is utterly daft. Rushes through the story at a hell of a pace, but it's a strong enough story that even this lightweight version was fun enough.
World Game - Ah, my first Terrance Dicks original. Written with all the spark, colour and wit of one of his novelisations. I have no idea what age group this is aimed at, with its combination of childish "little did he know, but things would get a lot worse" asides and swearing. Mostly feels like it was written for the third Doctor rather than the second. Serena was almost an enjoyable character had she been fleshed out a little more. Not really sure I like the series 6B idea in general either.

Troughton is my favourite Doctor, but after reading books based on his era for the last six months I'm very happy to be heading UNIT-wards now.

[Phil_A]

The Indestructible Man - One of those books that I cannot mentally tie in with the show at all. We're used to the Doctor and companions being separated, but all three spend six months apart in this story: The Doctor in a coma from an aborted regeneration; Zoe sold into slavery, working her way up and eventually falling in love and getting engaged, only to have her fiancee shot in front of her; Jamie becomes a psychotic mercenary suffering severe mental trauma after thinking the Doctor has died. The idea that two stories later these characters could be prancing about in The Krotons is just far too much to take. They'd all need years of therapy to recover from this.
The story itself is literally Captain Scarlet, for reasons I can't quite work out. There's homage, and then there's literally just taking a scenario and renaming all the elements (SPECTRUM become PRISM etc.). The second half brings in Thunderbirds, and actually ties them together in an intriguing way, but frankly none of it fits well into the Whoniverse.
Quite enjoyable to read in a strange way, but absolutely self-indulgence fanfic nonsense that should never have been given an 'official' publication by the BBC.

I wouldn't have expected the novels to be exact replicas of the show itself, but it does get absurd when you think these stories are supposed to be in continuity with what we've seen on screen. The New Adventures/EDAs had more of an excuse as they took place after the show had "finished" and were not obliged to fit in with any specific tone, but the Missing Adventures/PDAs took some absolutely ridiculous liberties with the characters. I do wonder what the editorial guidelines for these books were, if any.

I still think Devil Goblins From Neptune ranks highest in my "How did this get published" list. Absolute drivel. And unfortunately it's a third doctor book, so it'll be coming up on your list no doubt!

World Game - Ah, my first Terrance Dicks original. Written with all the spark, colour and wit of one of his novelisations. I have no idea what age group this is aimed at, with its combination of childish "little did he know, but things would get a lot worse" asides and swearing. Mostly feels like it was written for the third Doctor rather than the second. Serena was almost an enjoyable character had she been fleshed out a little more. Not really sure I like the series 6B idea in general either.

Troughton is my favourite Doctor, but after reading books based on his era for the last six months I'm very happy to be heading UNIT-wards now.

Whenever I read Dicks' original novels I get the impression he's never really got the hang of writing for a grown-up audience, he seems to believe just including lots of "adult" things is enough but the tone still feels like it's aimed at children.

[Gurke and Hare]

Hanna-Barbera must have watched Arc of Infinity and thought "Surely we can do better than that."

Pip and Jane Baker must have watched Arc of Infinity and thought "Surely we can do better than that."

Whenever I read Dicks' original novels I get the impression he's never really got the hang of writing for a grown-up audience, he seems to believe just including lots of "adult" things is enough but the tone still feels like it's aimed at children.

Really? I've not read them all, but I thought his Timewyrm novel and the vampire New Adventure that I can't remember the name of were great.