DVD developments

Sunday, 19 February 2012 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Speaking at the GallifreyOne convention in Los Angeles, Patrick Troughton's son Michael said that he had recently recorded a commentary on the life of his father to be included as a feature for The Ice Warriors. There are no details as yet over whether the incomplete story will be an individual DVD release or form part of a boxed set.

On the subject of incomplete stories, Nicholas Pegg reported on Twitter that he was "into the final furlong of the Shada DVD production subtitles, and still unearthing previously unknown trivia bombshells!«" Earlier he said: "Researching the full facts and events of the Shada cancellation for the DVD info text. It's awfully sad. They so nearly made it!«"

Ed Stradling has made the following appeal: "if any Doctor Who fans out there know the whereabouts of any of the original models from Terror of the Zygons, could you let me know? Thanks«"


Talking about the forthcoming The Face of Evil (out 5th March), Chris Chapman said on Twitter: 'Into the Wild' features an exclusive chat with the child voice of Xoanon, then-schoolboy Anthony Frieze! Yes, I can tell you are excited!« It also features Louise Jameson, Philip Hinchcliffe, Austin Ruddy, Mat Irvine and an archive interview with Pennant Roberts.« But the big star of the doco is Mat Irvine's AMAZING Tom Baker mountain face!«"

Chapman also discussed the documentary The Show Must Go On, to be included on the DVD of The Greatest Show in the Galaxy: "The guest line-up (Aldred, Wareing, Reddington, Laskey, Tucker, Cartmel and JNT archive) now has an added cameo from the Bus Conductor Robot!« Worth saying that the doco and commentary feature an almost completely different line-up of guests - virtually no crossover!« Doco is clocking in just over 30mins, which I think is our longest yet.« It includes the words 'doormat', 'rat-bucket' and 'I was a bit too male for that'« ... Fiddling on with our doco - one last scan through the 'studio' footage... looking for things that went wrong!« ... Just added a bit of swearing - will have to bleep that one out!«" Today, he added: "We're just finishing our Greatest Show doco - which is a great chance to say how flippin' brilliant Who was at that time!«".

The latest edition of Nothing at the End of the Lane reports that some 90 seconds of behind-the-scenes footage had been captured on 8mm film during the recording of Robot on location at Wood Norton Hall by an extra in the story, Roger Squires; the material may appear on a future DVD release.

DVD range producer Dan Hall updated Doctor Who Magazine on the status of the recently rediscovered episodes of Galaxy 4 and The Underwater Menace: "There's one release that hasn't been announced yet which will provide a home for one of them. And there's a potential release that will provide a home for the other one as well. People aren't going to see them out on DVD in 2012, though. But they are on our schedule."

Hall also indicated that other special editions might be on the way: "I'm hoping that Vengeance on Varos will be the first of our single Revisitations imprint. So we'll see how Varos does and I've certainly got my sights on some future titles. (on choosing the titles) It's a mixture of things. I'll sit down with the Restoration Team and say 'What do you think could look a lot better now than it did on its first release?' Another consideration is looking at the extras that are on the existing DVD, and seeing if there's really basic stuff missing. I'm very proud of the idea that the DVDs form a kind of encyclopaedia."




FILTER: - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD

Revisitations 3 - Preview Clips

Friday, 10 February 2012 - Reported by Chuck Foster
In the run-up to its release next week, BBC Worldwide have provided a number of preview clips on their Classic Doctor Who YouTube channel for the Revisitations 3 boxed set, reflecting some of the features available on the stories contained within.

The Tomb of the Cybermen

In the first clip, cast and crew share their memories of seeing the Cybermen, and the work that went into creating them:

The Cybermen, BBC Worldwide, via YouTube

Actor Michael Kilgarriff discusses what it feels like to be inside a large and looming costume:

Inside the costumes, BBC Worldwide, via YouTube

In the next clip, second Doctor companions Frazer Hines and Deborah Watling reflect some of their challenges and the more light-hearted moments during the production of the story:

Inside Jokes, BBC Worldwide, via YouTube

The Robots of Death

In this clip, the origin of the look and feel for the story's setting and characters is revealed:

Art Deco Spaceships, BBC Worldwide, via YouTube

Pamela Salem and Louise Jameson share their memories of working with the director on the story:

Corpsing, BBC Worldwide, via YouTube

The Three Doctors

In this clip, Terrance Dicks and Barry Letts discuss how they tackled bringing the original Doctor, William Hartnell, into the 10th Anniversary Special:

Hartnell's Perseverance, BBC Worldwide, via YouTube

In this clip, Terrance and Barry alongside Stephen Thorne (Omega) chat about the acting styles of Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee:

Pertwee and Troughton, BBC Worldwide, via YouTube

Finally, Caroline John, Katy Manning and Louise Jameson give their thanks to Doctor Who for helping to kickstart their careers:

Thank you Doctor Who, BBC Worldwide, via YouTube




FILTER: - UK - Blu-ray/DVD

UK DVDs - a change of identity

Friday, 10 February 2012 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Eagle-eyed readers will notice a subtle change in the covers of DVD releases from the spring, as the old 2|Entertain identity is finally retired.

The company was created in 2004 with the merger of the BBC Video and Video Collection International, with a 60% stake held by BBC Worldwide and the remaining 40% by the Woolworths Group. With the collapse of the latter in 2008 BBC Worldwide eventually acquired the whole of 2|Entertain in 2010, and as of this year has fully integrated the company into its Consumer Products division, which is responsible for the company's DVDs, download business and licensed product brands.

With regard to Doctor Who, BBC Worldwide told us:
You will start to see different labelling on BBC product and from the Spring, the 2|entertain label will disappear from Doctor Who DVDs. The reverse sleeve will remain as it is now with the old 'BBC' logo so you can match each release with your collection.

Doctor Who remains, as ever, an incredibly important property to us and we'll be continuing to bring you a extensive range of great quality Classic Doctor Who DVDs. The name change will not affect the quality of the restoration or the extras which we're excited to be able to bring to fans on DVD throughout the year.





FILTER: - UK - Blu-ray/DVD - BBC

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