UK DVD releases update for second quarter

Wednesday, 8 February 2012 - Reported by John Bowman
The BBC and 2|Entertain have given further details about the forthcoming DVD releases of The Dæmons, Nightmare of Eden, and the Ace Adventures box set comprising Dragonfire and The Happiness Patrol.

The Dæmons
Release date: 19th March 2012 (brought forward from 26th March) (available for pre-order)

Starring Jon Pertwee as the Doctor, with Katy Manning as Jo Grant
Written by Barry Letts and Robert Sloman (as Guy Leopold)
Directed by Christopher Barry

Broadcast: 22nd May - 19th June 1971

In the peaceful village of Devil's End something very strange is happening. A professor is preparing to open a nearby burial mound and a local white witch foresees death and disaster. Meanwhile, the new vicar looks suspiciously like the Master and he is using black magic to conjure up an ancient Dæmon. Can the Doctor, Jo and UNIT stop their old enemy before he succeeds?
 

Special Features
  • Commentary
  • The Devil Rides Out - Cast and crew talk about the making of the story.
  • Remembering Barry Letts - A look at the life and work of Barry Letts.
  • Location Film - A mute amateur 8mm film shot in the village of Aldbourne during the location filming.
  • Colourisation Test - The original colourisation test version of episode one from 1992.
  • Tomorrow's World - An article on the technology used in the restoration.
  • Radio Times listings
  • Programme subtitles
  • Production information subtitles
  • Photo gallery
  • Coming Soon trailer
  • Digitally remastered picture and sound quality
Nightmare of Eden
Release date: 2nd April 2012 (available for pre-order)

Starring Tom Baker as the Doctor, with Lalla Ward as Romana and David Brierley as K-9
Written by Bob Baker
Directed by Alan Bromly and Graham Williams

Broadcast: 24th Nov - 15th Dec 1979

Two spacecraft fuse in a hyperspace collision, and with the dimensional instabilities threatening everyone aboard, it's fortunate the Doctor, Romana, and K-9 arrive to help. But when a crew member is found clawed by a ferocious creature, it seems there's something even more frightening stalking the corridors. But what can this have to do with a zoologist, Professor Tryst, his CET projection machine, and a planet called Eden?
 

Special Features
  • Commentary - with actors Lalla Ward (Romana) and Peter Craze (Costa), writer Bob Baker, effects designer Colin Mapson and make-up designer Joan Stribling. Moderated by Toby Hadoke
  • The Nightmare of Television Centre - A look back at a somewhat troubled production with three of the behind-the-scenes crew who worked on it
  • Going Solo - Writer Bob Baker talks about Nightmare of Eden
  • The Doctor's Strange Love - with comedian Josie Long and writers Joe Lidster and Simon Guerrier
  • Ask Aspel - Lalla Ward's appearance on the popular BBC TV children's show
  • Radio Times listings (DVD-ROM)
  • Programme subtitles
  • Production information subtitles
  • Photo gallery
  • Coming Soon trailer
  • Digitally remastered picture and sound quality

Ace Adventures Box Set
Release date: 7th May 2012 (available for pre-order)

In the classic-era stories Dragonfire and The Happiness Patrol, Ace joins the Seventh Doctor aboard the TARDIS and is soon battling a biomechanoid and liberating a world where just feeling sad can get you shot!
 

Dragonfire

Starring Sylvester McCoy as the Doctor, with Sophie Aldred as Ace

Written by Ian Briggs
Directed by Chris Clough

Broadcast: 23rd Nov - 7th Dec 1987

On the planet Svartos, the Doctor and Mel unexpectedly encounter an old friend – Sabalom Glitz. Joined by Ace, a teenage waitress with a love for explosives, the group ventures off to find the fabled Dragonfire treasure.

 

Special Features
  • Commentary
  • Deleted/extended scenes
  • Trivia subtitles
  • Video and audio restoration
  • Radio Times billings (PDF)
  • Making-of documentary
  • Photo gallery
  • Danny Bang - documentary
  • The Doctor's Strange Love - documentary
  • Coming Soon trailer

The Happiness Patrol

Starring Sylvester McCoy as the Doctor, with Sophie Aldred as Ace

Written by Graeme Curry
Directed by Chris Clough

Broadcast: 2nd - 16th Nov 1988

On the planet Terra Alpha, the population constantly displays happy smiles. Anyone feeling remotely glum disappears. Quickly. Having heard disturbing rumours, the Doctor and Ace arrive to topple the entire regime.

 

Special Features
  • Commentary
  • "Ace" wishes Blue Peter Happy Birthday - archive clip
  • Isolated score
  • Deleted/extended scenes
  • Trivia subtitles
  • Video and audio restoration
  • Coming Soon trailer
  • Radio Times billings (PDF)
  • Making-of documentary
  • Photo gallery
  • Politics In Doctor Who - documentary


A reminder to our readers that the Revisitations 3 DVD box set, comprising special remastered, repackaged and reappraised editions of The Tomb of the Cybermen, The Three Doctors, and The Robots of Death is released on 13th February 2012 and is available for pre-order. The special features for each story are as follows:

The Tomb of the Cybermen
  • Morris Barry introduction - The director’s introduction from the 1993 VHS release
  • Title sequence - Tests and build-up elements for the Patrick Troughton title sequence
  • Late Night Line-Up - Behind the scenes at the BBC Visual Effects department to interview Jack Kine
  • The Final End - The Evil of the Daleks is mostly missing from the BBC archives. A small taste of the climactic battle . . .
  • The Abominable Snowmen audio trailer
  • Coming Soon trailer
  • Production subtitles
  • The Lost Giants - Cast and crew look back on the making of the story
  • The Curse of the Cybermen's Tomb - Sir Christopher Frayling and Dr Debbie Challis examine the ancient Egyptian origins to the story
  • Cybermen - Extended edition of a history of the Cybermen
  • The Magic of VidFIRE - A look at the technology behind the VidFIRE process
  • Sky Ray advert - 1960s Doctor Who-themed promo for Walls Sky Ray ice lolly
  • Photo gallery
  • Radio Times listings
The Three Doctors
  • Commentary
  • Happy Birthday To Who - A brand-new look at the making of this anniversary story
  • Was Doctor Who Rubbish? - Raising a defence against criticism of the classic series
  • Girls, Girls, Girls – The 1970s Katy Manning, Caroline John (Liz Shaw) and Louise Jameson (Leela) on being a 1970s Doctor Who girl
  • Pebble Mill At One - Archival interview with Patrick Troughton and visual effects wizard Bernard Wilkie
  • Blue Peter - Jon Pertwee introduces the Whomobile
  • BSB highlights - Cast and crew discuss The Three Doctors
  • The Five Faces Of Doctor Who - The full trailer for the 1981 repeat season, which included The Three Doctors
  • BBC1 trailer
  • 40th anniversary trailer
  • Radio Times listings
  • Production subtitles
  • Photo gallery
  • Coming Soon trailer
  • Digitally remastered picture and sound


The Robots of Death
  • Commentary 1 - Original release commentary
  • Commentary 2 - New commentary with actors Tom Baker, Louise Jameson and Pamela Salem (Toos), plus director Michael E Briant
  • The Sandmine Murders - Cast and crew look back at the making of the story
  • Robophobia - Toby Hadoke takes a humorous look at the history of robots
  • Studio sound - Example of a studio scene before the robot voice effects were added
  • Model shots - Black-and-white time-coded recording of the original model insert film
  • Studio floor plan - Interactive view of the studio layout via the original floor plan drawings
  • Continuity - Off-air continuity for the first episode's original transmission plus mute continuity slide
  • Radio Times listings
  • Programme subtitles
  • Production information subtitles
  • Photo gallery
  • Coming soon trailer
  • Digitally remastered picture and sound




FILTER: - UK - Tom Baker - Jon Pertwee - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD - Sylvester McCoy

DVDs Update

Saturday, 28 January 2012 - Reported by John Bowman
The DVD releases of Nightmare of Eden, Dragonfire and The Happiness Patrol have been cleared by the British Board of Film Classification.

Extras for all three stories were also cleared, with the details as below.

Nightmare of Eden
will have the following extras:
THE DOCTOR'S STRANGE LOVE: NIGHTMARE OF EDEN (15:41:12)
THE NIGHTMARE OF TV CENTRE (13:22:03)
ASK ASPEL (11:01:05 )
GOING SOLO - BOB BAKER REMEMBERS NIGHTMARE OF EDEN (07:42:23)
PHOTO GALLERY (05:47:00)
Dragonfire's extras comprise:
FIRE AND ICE - THE MAKING OF DRAGONFIRE (35:04:23)
THE DOCTOR'S STRANGE LOVE - DRAGONFIRE (15:40:14)
THE BIG BANG THEORY (12:31:19)
DELETED AND EXTENDED SCENES (09:55:15)
PHOTO GALLERY (04:46:06)
while those for The Happiness Patrol are:
WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE (46:03:04)
HAPPINESS WILL PREVAIL (23:44:08)
DELETED AND EXTENDED SCENES (23:18:03)
PHOTO GALLERY (05:46:01)
Release dates for the DVDs have yet to be confirmed. A trailer for Dragonfire that was cleared on 18th January states that the story will form part of The Ace Box.

(with thanks to Dave Ashby)




FILTER: - Tom Baker - Blu-ray/DVD - Sylvester McCoy

The Sensorites - Preview Clips

Friday, 20 January 2012 - Reported by Chuck Foster
The BBC/2Entertain have released a couple of clips from Looking for Peter, a feature on the forthcoming The Sensorites DVD out next Monday. The item features presenter Toby Hadoke tracing the life of the largely unknown writer of the story, Peter R. Newman.

In the first clip, Toby meets up with Richard Bignell at Alexandra Palace to discuss potential clues:

Looking for Peter (clip 1), 2Entertain, via YouTube

In the second clip, Toby visits archivist Marcus Hearn to discuss Newman's work with Hammer Films:

Looking For Peter (clip 2), 2Entertain, via YouTube


In other news, Mark Ayres has reported that the 'Revisited' re-release of Sixth Doctor story Vengeance on Varos will also feature a new 5.1 Surround Mix to accompany the original mono soundtrack.

Also, last year's release of Day of the Daleks has been named the Best DVD Exclusive for 2011 in Home Cinema Choice magazine's awards.





FILTER: - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD

DVD Update

Saturday, 14 January 2012 - Reported by Chuck Foster
BBC Worldwide and 2|Entertain have released a synopsis for the forthcoming DVD of First Doctor adventure The Sensorites, which is due to be released on 23rd January.
The Doctor and his companions land on a spaceship orbiting a distant and mysterious world, where a human crew lie frozen somewhere between life and death. The planet is the Sense-Sphere, home of the Sensorites, beings of immense intelligence and power. Unable to leave, the Doctor and his companions must deduce the Sensorites’ intentions: are they friendly, hostile, or frightened? And what is the deadly secret at the heart of the Sense-Sphere?
The DVD's commentary features William Russell (Ian Chesterton), Carole Ann Ford (Susan), Joe Grieg (Second Sensorite), Martyn Huntley (First Human), Giles Phipps (Second Human), Frank Cox (director), Raymond Cusick (designer), and Sonia Markham (makeup).

Other extras on the DVD include Secret Voices of the Sensorites, Vision On, Looking for Peter, plus the usual production notes, photo gallery, and PDF extras.

The DVD is available to pre-order via our Amazon shop.



The latest edition of Doctor Who Magazine has confirmed the commentary participants for the stories currently due out in March.
  • Fourth Doctor adventure The Face of Evil (5th March) features Louise Jameson (Leela), Leslie Schofield (Calib), David Garfield (Neeva), Michael Elles (Gentek), Harry H. Fielder (tribesman), Philip Hinchcliffe (producer) and John McGlashan (film cameraman).
  • Eighth season finale The Dæmons (26th March) features Katy Manning (Jo Grant), Richard Franklin (Mike Yates), Damaris Hayman (Olive Hawthorne) and Christopher Barry (director).



A number of feature clips from the U.N.I.T. Files Boxed Set (released last week) have been made available online via the BBC's Classic Doctor Who YouTube channel. From Invasion of the Dinosaurs, presenter Matthew Sweet discusses politics in the story, director Paddy Russell discusses capturing a deserted London on film, and Jon Pertwee talks about the creation of the Whomobile. From The Android Invasion, Philip Hinchcliffe discusses making a cliffhanger more effective, reflects upon the Kraal costumes, and Milton Johns reflects upon his own eyepatch story!




FILTER: - Tom Baker - Jon Pertwee - William Hartnell - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD

Sarah Jane DVD Release

Tuesday, 3 January 2012 - Reported by Marcus
The fifth and final series of The Sarah Jane Adventures will be released in the UK on DVD and Blu-ray on Monday 6th February 2012.

The set will contain a special tribute to the late Elisabeth Sladen featuring contributions from those who worked closely with her, including the Eleventh Doctor, Matt Smith. Goodbye Bannerman Road was filmed on location and also features Sladen's co-stars Daniel Anthony & Anjli Mohindra.

Also released on the same day is a 12 disc Box Set containing the entire five series of The Sarah Jane Adventures.

Doctor Who News Shop. Series 5 / Box Set




FILTER: - UK - Sarah Jane - Blu-ray/DVD

The Doctor, The Widow and The Wardrobe: DVD details

Sunday, 1 January 2012 - Reported by Chuck Foster
The 2011 Christmas Special, The Doctor, The Widow and The Wardrobe is to be released on DVD and Blu-ray in the United Kingdom on the 16th January:

Set during World War II, Madge Arwell receives tragic news that her husband Reg has died in combat. Unable to break the news to her two children, Cyril and Lily, she takes them away to a country home for Christmas. But there’s something familiar about the caretaker – a man with a bow tie who seems to bring Christmas spirit and other strange things with him.

Most exciting of all there’s a big blue box sitting under the Christmas tree, but is it really a present or a gateway to a magical, mysterious adventure...

The release also includes the special BBC "prequel" that precedes the story's start, and also three 45 minute specials commissioned by BBC America to showcase the favourite moments from the Eleventh Doctor's era: Best of the Doctor, Best of the Monsters and Best of the Companions.

Both the DVD and Blu-ray releases are available for pre-order.


Meanwhile, the USA/Canada DVD and Blu-ray releases are planned for 14th February, whilst Australia will see the release of the episode on 1st March.




FILTER: - Specials - Blu-ray/DVD

DVD Release Dates (R2 2012)

Friday, 16 December 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
The BBC have now confirmed the dates for the first five DVD releases of 2012, along with the Region 2 cover art.



The U.N.I.T. Files
9th January 2012
pre-order


The Sensorites
23rd January 2012
pre-order


Revisitations 3
13th February 2012
pre-order


The Face of Evil
5th March 2012
pre-order


The Dæmons
26th March 2012
pre-order


Since our last update, the extras for Tomb of the Cybermen have now been classified by the BBFC: The Lost Giants - Making of Tomb of the Cybermen (26m51s), The Curse of the Cybermen's Tomb (14m24s), The Magic of Vidfire (5m56s), Cybermen - Extended Edition (32m25s), Sky Ray Advert (30s), Photo Gallery (3m23s), plus an easter egg (1m8s).

In addition, three intriguing items have also been classified as additional material for a future release: Best of the Doctor (43m29s), Best of the Companions (43m21s), and Best of the Monsters (43m31s). A recent press statement from Warner Home Video indicated that these three titles would appear as extras on the Region One release of The Doctor, The Widow and The Wardrobe (due 14th February), and were previously broadcast by BBC America in the run-up to Let's Kill Hitler, so it is possible the BBFC classification is for the UK release as well.






FILTER: - UK - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD

The Dæmons DVD Release

Thursday, 15 December 2011 - Reported by Marcus
The 1971 story The Dæmons has been confirmed for DVD release at the end of March.

The five part story stars the third Doctor, Jon Pertwee in one of the stories most loved by fans and production staff alike, with Jon Pertwee often naming it as his favorite Doctor Who story.

The Doctor is joined by Katy Manning playing Jo Grant as well as UNIT regulars Nicholas Courtney, Richard Franklin and John Levene with Roger Delgado appearing as the main villan of the piece.

Christopher Barry directed the story which was written by Barry Letts and Robert Sloman

The story was originally screened between 22nd May and 19th June in 1971, where it brought to an end the eighth season of the show. Its popularity saw it repeated the following Christmas in an omnibus form. It received a further repeat in 1992 when restored versions of each episode were repeated on BBC2 on consecutive Fridays.

Extras on the disc include:
  • The Devil Rides Out - A documentary on the making of the story. (29 mins)
  • Episode One Colourisation Test. (25 mins)
  • Tomorrow's World Extract (5 mins)
  • The BBC's Dr Who - On Location - At Aldbourne (7 Min)
  • Photo Gallery (6 Min)
  • Remembering Barry Letts. Feature on the much loved Doctor Who Producer. (33 mins)
The DVD is released in the UK on 26th March and around the world shortly afterwards.

Full Release Guide




FILTER: - Jon Pertwee - Blu-ray/DVD

The Android Invasion: talking Kraals

Friday, 2 December 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
A clip from the forthcoming DVD of The Android Invasion has been released on the BBC Classic Doctor Who YouTube channel, featuring producer Philip Hinchcliffe discussing the design of the Kraals' costumes in the story.


Talking Kraals, 2Entertain, via YouTube

Several clips from the accompanying Pertwee story in the UNIT Files Boxed Set, Invasion of the Dinosaurs, are also available to watch via the company's YouTube channel.





FILTER: - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD

Forthcoming DVD features update

Saturday, 26 November 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
The BBFC have classified several features for forthcoming DVDs in the Doctor Who range.

January's release of the UNIT Boxed set has been reported before, but the feature lengths have now been confirmed as follows. The Android Invasion (classified 11th November): The Village That Came To Life (30m56s), Life After Who - Philip Hinchcliffe (29m35s), Weetabix advert (31s), Photo Gallery (4m51s), Easter Egg (7m48s). Invasion of the Dinosaurs (classified 9th November): People, Power and Puppetry - Remembering Invasion of the Dinosaurs (32m41s), Now and Then (13m40s), Billy Smart's Circus (1m41s), Doctor Who Stories - Elisabeth Sladen (13m58s), Deleted Scenes - Episode One (44s), Deleted Scenes - Episode Three (3m59s), John Levene Commentary - Part Five (10m13s), Photo Gallery (6m10s), Easter Egg (26s)

The Sensorites is believed to be released in February, and its features were classified on 9th November as: Secret Voices of the Sensorites (2m3s), Vision On (7m2s), Looking for Peter (21m17s), Photo Gallery (4m35s)

March is the expected date for the next Revisitations boxed set, which contains the following three stories. The Robots of Death (classified 23rd/25th November): The Sandmine Murders (32m22s), Robophobia (11m47s), Studio Sound (1m1s), Model Shots (7m38s), Continuity (42s), and Photo Gallery (5m35s). The Three Doctors (classified 23rd November): Happy Birthday To Who (23m10s), Girls, Girls, Girls - the 1970s (21m15s), and Was Doctor Who Rubbish? (13m59s). No features have been classified for Tomb of the Cybermen at this time, though two audio commentaries were passed for the story on the 25th November.

Finally in this round of classifications comes The Face of Evil, which on 25th November saw the following features passed: Into The Wild - The Making of The Face of Evil (25m9s), From The Cutting Room Floor (9m2s), Multi-Coloured Swap Shop (4m26s), Doctor Who Stories - Louise Jameson (17m19s), Denys Fisher Toys advert (30m11s), Tomorrow's Times - The Fourth Doctor (14m4s), Photo Gallery (5m40s)

(with thanks to Gavin Salkeld)



The latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine provides more detail on the features, and also confirms the commentaries: The Sensorites features William Russell (Ian), Carole Ann Ford (Susan), Joe Grieg (Second Sensorite), Martyn Huntley (First Human), Giles Phipps (Second Human), Frank Cox (director), Raymond Cusick (director), Sonia Markham (makeup); The Tomb of the Cybermen's new commentary features Deborah Watling (Victoria), Frazer Hines (Jamie), Bernard Holley (Haydon), Shirley Cooklin (Kaftan), Reg Whitehead (Cyberman), Victor Pemberton (script editor); The Robots of Death also features a new commentary with Tom Baker (The Doctor), Louise Jameson (Leela), Pamela Salem (Toos), and Michael E. Briant (director).



Some other DVD tidbits that have been mentioned on Twitter over the last couple of months include:
  • People interviewed for The Face of Evil documentary Into The Wild include producer Philip Hinchcliffe, designer Austin Ruddy and visual effects designer Mat Irvine.
  • The Shada documentary has been renamed from Death Comes to Time to Taken Out of Time
  • Other forthcoming feature titles include The Military Mind, Battle for Mars Probe 7.
  • Nicholas Briggs has provided Dalek voices for a forthcoming feature.
  • There are no current plans for a CGI Skarasen for Terror of the Zygons




FILTER: - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD