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Tuesday, 24 June 2003 - Reported by Shaun Lyon
Updated June 25: BBC America and Warner Home Video have revealed further details and cover illustrations for the forthcoming North American versions of The Talons of Weng-Chiang starring Tom Baker and The Dalek Invasion of Earth starring William Hartnell, both due out September 2, as well as a collectors' box cover and details for The End of the Universe Collection, the massive 11-story, 13 tape VHS release that will mark the end of Doctor Who on video, scheduled for October 7. Details and covers are below (click each thumbnail for a larger version). The tapes in the "End of the Universe" collection will be sold separately as well as in the box set, which retails for $149.98. Meanwhile, BBC America has also announced that, later this year, Warner Home Video will reprice all existing VHS tapes; single tapes will be $9.95, double tapes $14.95 and the triple tape "Trial of a Time Lord" $29.95, all while supplies last (but not including this year's new releases). Details are below. (Thanks to Warner Home Video and Laura Palmer/BBCA) Cover illustrations below are updated with better versions!

The Talons of Weng Chiang
The Doctor brings Leela to Victorian London to meet her ancestors (though Agincourt might have been more her style). The TARDIS materializes in the darkest heart of the city, where life - and death - is anything but dull. A hapless cabbie is slain by agents of a secret Chinese cult. Young women are disappearing at an alarming rate, and Li H'sen Chang, the Palace Theatre's celebrated magician, may know more about that than he admits. Li H'sen's ventriloquist dummy, Mr. Sin, appears to have a life of its own, and the rat problem in the sewers is bigger than anyone can imagine. With Tom Baker and Louise Jameson. WHV catalog #E1814.

The Dalek Invasion of Earth
Radiation nil, oxygen normal, pressure normal, yet London is deserted, with no sign of life and no sense of normality. Exploring the decaying city sometime after 2164AD, the Doctor and his companions soon learn that it is not as empty as it seems. The Daleks - far from having been destroyed on Skaro - have conquered the world. Nearly wiped out by storm and plague, the Earth's population has been commandeered by the Daleks into huge mining operations. Some humans have suffered the further indignity of being transformed into Robomen to serve the Daleks in their diabolical plans. Humanity's only hope for survival lies with a small band of resistance fighters who need all the help they can get. With William Hartnell, Carole Ann Ford, Jacqueline Hill and William Russell. WHV catalog #E1813.

The End of the Universe Collection
On November 23, 1963, the BBC launched the world's longest running science fiction television series when it aired the premiere episode of Doctor Who. To celebrate the Doctor's 40th Anniversary, BBC Video presents the largest Doctor Who video collection ever assembled. On home video for the first time, these eleven adventures span 16 of Doctor Who's 26 seasons. With four Doctors, 19 companions, 56 episodes and 46 cliffhangers, fans will agree that this cosmic collection is "bigger on the inside." WHV catalog #E1840. This set contains:
  • The Sensorites starring William Hartnell (#E1852)
  • Meglos starring Tom Baker (#E1862)
  • The Mutants starring Jon Pertwee (#E1857)
  • The Horns of Nimon starring Tom Baker (#E1861)
  • The Ambassadors of Death starring Jon Pertwee (#E1856), a double-tape set
  • The Gunfighters starring William Hartnell (#E1855)
  • The Invisible Enemy starring Tom Baker (#E1859)
  • The Time Meddler starring William Hartnell (#E1854)
  • Invasion of the Dinosaurs starring Jon Pertwee (#E1858)
  • The Creature from the Pit starring Tom Baker (#E1860)
  • The Reign of Terror Collectors Set starring William Hartnell (#E1853), a double-tape set that includes linking material and the standalone extant episodes "The Faceless Ones" parts 1 & 3 and "The Web of Fear" part 1, starring Patrick Troughton




FILTER: - USA - Blu-ray/DVD