The Claws of Axos Extras

Saturday, 5 February 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

Full details of the extras from the forthcoming DVD release The Claws of Axos have been revealed in the latest DWM. They include commentaries by Katy Manning, Richard Franklin and producer Barry Letts; an interview with director Michael Ferguson; "Who Was Doctor Axon?", a feature on the restoration of the story produced by John Kelly; another of Richard Bignell's "Now and Then" location features, on Dungeness (Nuclear Power Station), narrated by Katy Manning; a 30-minute compilation of "Vampire from Space" studio material, including all the Roger Delgado footage and some extended and deleted scenes; production subtitles; and a photo gallery. While the release is noted as May 2, the BBC Shop currently lists it as being released on May 9.




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

North America DVD Update

Thursday, 27 January 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon
As expected, the next confirmed releases for North American DVDs -- following the releases of "The Green Death" and "The Visitation" on March 1 -- will be The Leisure Hive starring Tom Baker and Ghost Light starring Sylvester McCoy, likely in early June, according to the BBC America Shop website. We expect to have cover illustrations as soon as they're released by Warner Home Video, the distributor. (Thanks to David Deddo)




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

Mind Robber DVD Note

Friday, 14 January 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon
Although we previously announced the BBFC's clearance of several extra items from the forthcoming UK DVD release ofThe Mind Robber in May, one item does not appear on that list: the Basil Brush sketch "The Himalayas." It was originally classified as part of the "Horror of Fang Rock" DVD release, but was bounced to "The Mind Robber" due to disk space issues. (Thanks to the Restoration Team)




FILTER: - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD

Axos DVD, Daleks CD Notes

Friday, 14 January 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon
The BBC Shop has posted details of two BBC Worldwide releases coming soon... the UK release of The Claws of Axos, due out May 9, 2005, featuring the press release and several extras notes; and the audio CD Doctor Who in an Exciting Adventure with the Daleks, the audio recording of William Russell (Ian) reading the classic story novelization, for which a small thumbnail of the cover is provided. More details on each below. (Thanks to Ross Meresman, Steve Tribe)
The Claws of Axos DVD

An approaching Alien spaceship is detected on monitoring equipment at UNIT HQ, where the Brigadier is entertaining two visitors - Chinn, a civil servant making a security inspection, and Bill Filer, an American agent sent to discuss the threat of the Master. The Ship lands in England and the UNIT team, joined by Hardiman and Winser from the nearby Nuton power station, meet its occupants: beautiful golden-skinned humanoids called Axons.

The Axons claim that their ship, Axos, is damaged and that they need time in which to repair it. In return, they offer Axonite, a substance that can cause animals to grow to enormous sizes and thus end food shortages. The Doctor is suspicious, and rightly so: Axos, Axonite and the Axons - whose true appearance is hideous - are all part of a single parasitic entity brought to Earth by the Master to feed on the planet's energy. The Doctor manages to materialise his TARDIS, with the Master on board, at the centre of Axos. He offers to link the two ships together to make one giant time machine, on condition that Axos in return helps him to take revenge on the Time Lords for exiling him to earth. This is merely a trick, however, and Axos is locked in a time loop from which it can never escape. The Doctor returns to Earth in theTARDIS, where he reluctantly admits to the Brigadier that the Master may also have escaped.

Extras: Commentary track; photo gallery; production subtitles; outtakes/deleted scenes; "Now and Then" featurette about the Dungeoness location Interview with Michael Ferguson (director); and Reverse Standards Conversion featurette. Due May 9, 2005. ID #: BBCDVD1354.

Doctor Who In An Exciting Adventure With The Daleks
Read by William Russell

This is Doctor Who's first exciting adventure with the Daleks! Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright travel with the mysterious Doctor Who and his granddaughter, Susan, to the planet Skaro in the space-time machine, the TARDIS. There they strive to save the peace-loving Thals from the evil intentions of the hideous Daleks!

'Doctor Who and the Daleks' is the classic novelisation of the Doctor's first TV encounter with the Daleks. Written by the programme's original story editor, David Whitaker, it is narrated by the character of Ian Chesterton, one of the first ever TARDIS companions.

Now, in an exclusive recording, the actor who played Ian on television û William Russell û reads the complete and unabridged novelisation. This MP3-CD disc will be enhanced with on-screen illustrations from the book, for PC and Mac users. Due March 7, 2005; ISBN # 0563527293.




FILTER: - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD

Mind Robber - Cleared DVD Extras

Monday, 10 January 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon
The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has issued the following data about the extras for the forthcoming DVD release of The Mind Robber in March 2005 in the UK. The extras include:

00:22:25:19 | HIGHLANDER THE JAMIE MCCRIMMON STORY
00:34:54:20 | THE FACT OF FICTION THE MAKING OF THE MIND ROBBER
00:06:49:22 | THE MIND ROBBER GALLERY
00:02:02:08 | EASTER EGG

While all of these extras are known, this actually quantifies them with running times. (Thanks to Steve Tribe)




FILTER: - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD

Five Doctors DVD Cover

Thursday, 23 December 2004 - Reported by Shaun Lyon
Illustrators Lee Binding and Clayton Hickman have completed a new cover for the UK DVD release of The Five Doctors, which was originally issued years ago with a different cover design than the current releases. The official Doctor Who site has both low- and high-resolution covers available for download; click here to download them.




FILTER: - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD

Hi-Res Mind Robber Cover

Tuesday, 21 December 2004 - Reported by Shaun Lyon
Thanks to Tenth Planet we have a higher-resolution copy of the cover illustration for the forthcoming DVD release ofThe Mind Robber which we posted on Sunday. Click here to view the hi-res version (note: file is nearly 100k).




FILTER: - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD

Mind Robber DVD Cover

Sunday, 19 December 2004 - Reported by Shaun Lyon
The BBC Shop website has revealed the cover illustration for the forthcoming UK DVD release of The Mind Robber starring Patrick Troughton, due out in March 2005. Click on the thumbnail for a larger version of the cover. (Thanks to David Howe)




FILTER: - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD

New Zealand DVD Special

Wednesday, 8 December 2004 - Reported by Shaun Lyon
According to the latest e-Newsletter from New Zealand chain store Whitcoulls, the Five Doctors Special Edition DVDis being re-released in that country in a special box set that contains a Dalek keyring, pin, a set of Doctor Who playing cards and the BBC nonfic book "The Dalek Survival Guide." Retailing at $NZ59.99, this is a Whitcoulls exclusive and is being released on 9th December. (Thanks to David French)




FILTER: - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD - New Zealand

Australia/New Zealand DVD Updates

Sunday, 5 December 2004 - Reported by Shaun Lyon
According to the DVD Bits website, Roadshow has changed its DVD release schedule... to be expected considering the UK dates. The Claws of Axos will now be released on July 7, because the story isn't out in the UK until May. Horror of Fang Rock will be released on April 7. (Thanks to "Cyberman Dan")




FILTER: - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD