Upcoming "Doctor Who" Releases

[Kenneth Morgan]

Just saw on Amazon that three serials from the original series are set for release on 9/1. They are:

-"Delta and the Bannermen": This is a Seventh Doctor/Mel story that's pretty good, actually. It has an unusual (for the series) 50's setting, good work by Don Henderson as the villain, a nice near-Companion (Ray), and an unexpected twist about 3/4 of the way in. Nothing major, but OK.

-"Image of the Fendahl": This one is a Fourth Doctor/Leela story that, while produced by Graham Williams, has all the feel of a Hinchcliffe era story. While it owes a fair amount to "Quatermass and the Pit", and seems more written for Sarah Jane than Leela, it has a well-done creepy atmosphere and one of my favorite supporting characters: the clairvoyant Mrs. Tyler (no relation to Rose, so far as I know).

-"The Dealy Assassin": This is the one I've been waiting for. One of the best, and most controversial, stories of the original series. I haven't heard anything re: extras, but I have to figure they'll be pretty extensive, particularly regarding the Whitehouse reaction. I hope they got Tom Baker to do a commentary on this one.

Anyone else heard anything on these?

[HGervais]

-"Image of the Fendahl": This one is a Fourth Doctor/Leela story that, while produced by Graham Williams, has all the feel of a Hinchcliffe era story. While it owes a fair amount to "Quatermass and the Pit", and seems more written for Sarah Jane than Leela, it has a well-done creepy atmosphere and one of my favorite supporting characters: the clairvoyant Mrs. Tyler (no relation to Rose, so far as I know).

-"The Dealy Assassin": This is the one I've been waiting for. One of the best, and most controversial, stories of the original series. I haven't heard anything re: extras, but I have to figure they'll be pretty extensive, particularly regarding the Whitehouse reaction. I hope they got Tom Baker to do a commentary on this one.

Anyone else heard anything on these?

I have the R2 releases of the two Baker ones already. "Deadly Assassin" does have Baker on the commentary, as does "Image". "DA" also has a feature on the making of the episode and the impact as well a featurette that focuses in on its most direct influence, The Manchurian Candidate. The image work is up to the usual standards of the Restoration Team.
I think I read it a review some where that "Deadly Assassin" really does mark the begining of the end for Doctor Who in that it lead to Philip Hinchcliffe's removal from the show with the transfer going to Graham Williams and the show kind of becoming "The Tom Baker Show". From there of course we got JNT & Eric Saward, and well, it never really came close to hitting the heights of the Hinchcliffe/Robert Holmes days did it?

[Eric Profancik]

-"Image of the Fendahl": This one is a Fourth Doctor/Leela story that, while produced by Graham Williams, has all the feel of a Hinchcliffe era story. While it owes a fair amount to "Quatermass and the Pit", and seems more written for Sarah Jane than Leela, it has a well-done creepy atmosphere and one of my favorite supporting characters: the clairvoyant Mrs. Tyler (no relation to Rose, so far as I know).

-"The Dealy Assassin": This is the one I've been waiting for. One of the best, and most controversial, stories of the original series. I haven't heard anything re: extras, but I have to figure they'll be pretty extensive, particularly regarding the Whitehouse reaction. I hope they got Tom Baker to do a commentary on this one.

Anyone else heard anything on these?

I have the R2 releases of the two Baker ones already. "Deadly Assassin" does have Baker on the commentary, as does "Image". "DA" also has a feature on the making of the episode and the impact as well a featurette that focuses in on its most direct influence, The Manchurian Candidate. The image work is up to the usual standards of the Restoration Team.
I think I read it a review some where that "Deadly Assassin" really does mark the begining of the end for Doctor Who in that it lead to Philip Hinchcliffe's removal from the show with the transfer going to Graham Williams and the show kind of becoming "The Tom Baker Show". From there of course we got JNT & Eric Saward, and well, it never really came close to hitting the heights of the Hinchcliffe/Robert Holmes days did it?

"DA" bonus items from the Restoration Team website:

DVD extras for this release include:

• Commentary with actors Tom Baker and Bernard Horsfall, producer Philip Hinchcliffe.

• The Matrix Revisited (dur. 29' 16") - cast, crew and critics look back at the making of the story in this documentary from Paul Vanezis. With actors Tom Baker, Bernard Horsfall, producer Philip Hinchcliffe, director David Maloney, designer Roger Murray-Leach, founding president of the Doctor Who Appreciation Society Jan Vincent-Rudzki, and the founder of the National Viewers' and Listeners' Association, Mary Whitehouse. Narrated by Sara Griffiths.

• The Gallifreyan Candidate (dur. 10' 30") - this featurette from Dene Films looks at Richard Condon's novel 'The Manchurian Candidate', adapted in 1962 into a film thriller starring Frank Sinatra, which is often cited as being a major influence on the plot of 'The Deadly Assassin'. With Newcastle University's Stacy Gillis and Oxford University's Andrew Shail.

• The Frighten Factor (dur. 16' 36") - what exactly is Doctor Who's 'Frighten Factor'? A diverse panel of experts try to answer the question for featurette producer Brendan Sheppard. With producer Barry Letts, script editor Terrance Dicks, education psychologist Lucy Lewis, church minister Peter Cavanna, Doctor Who Magazine's editor Tom Spilsbury and assistant editor Peter Ware, Doctor Who Adventures magazine editor Moray Laing and head writer Annabel Gibson, writer John Dorney, television archivist Jim Sangster and Doctor Who expert Alex Lydiate. Narrated by Simon Ockendon.

• Radio Times Listings in Adobe PDF format for viewing on PC or Mac.

• Plus of course the usual Coming Soon trailer, Programme Subtitles, Subtitle Production Notes and Photo Gallery.

[the5thghostbuster]

Just saw on Amazon that three serials from the original series are set for release on 9/1. They are:

-"Delta and the Bannermen": This is a Seventh Doctor/Mel story that's pretty good, actually. It has an unusual (for the series) 50's setting, good work by Don Henderson as the villain, a nice near-Companion (Ray), and an unexpected twist about 3/4 of the way in. Nothing major, but OK.

-"Image of the Fendahl": This one is a Fourth Doctor/Leela story that, while produced by Graham Williams, has all the feel of a Hinchcliffe era story. While it owes a fair amount to "Quatermass and the Pit", and seems more written for Sarah Jane than Leela, it has a well-done creepy atmosphere and one of my favorite supporting characters: the clairvoyant Mrs. Tyler (no relation to Rose, so far as I know).

-"The Dealy Assassin": This is the one I've been waiting for. One of the best, and most controversial, stories of the original series. I haven't heard anything re: extras, but I have to figure they'll be pretty extensive, particularly regarding the Whitehouse reaction. I hope they got Tom Baker to do a commentary on this one.

Anyone else heard anything on these?

Can't wait for Delta and the Bannermen. I'm a McCoy fan, so any release is welcome to me. And Deadly Assassin is one I've beern hoping to see for a good while.

[Kenneth Morgan]

Any word on if the two Tom Baker releases will include the Howard DaSilva intros/outros from the Time-Life syndication prints? I know many fans have a problem with them, but they remind me of how I first found the series. WOR-TV in New York would run the early Tom Baker stories (part one of "Robot" to part six of "The Invasion of Time") for an hour every Saturday morning.

Besides, how many shows are so cool they have Ben Frankin introducing them? This should be a selling point, not a liability.

[HGervais]

This is what R2 is expecting in the coming months so you can add a couple of month to each release date to know what we can expect stateside:

The second Doctor swan song, The War Games, is due for release on July 6th. The ten part story, staring Patrick Troughton is released on 3 discs. First shown in 1969, it also features Frazer Hines and Wendy Padbury.
Extras cleared for release at the BBFC website include a feature on the truth behind the War Games, Timezones; a feature on Malcolme Hulke; a 'Now and Then' on the Locations used in the story; a feature on Dudley Simpson; and a look at the Second Doctor in Comic strips.

August 10th sees the release of a box set entitled The Black Guardian Trilogy which contains three stories from the fifth Doctor. Mawdryn Undead, Terminus and Enlightenment were originally broadcast in the winter of 1983. They cover the arrival of Mark Strickson as Turlough and the departure of Sarah Sutton as Nyssa as well as featuring Janet Fielding as Tegan Jovanka.

Listed for release in September are two stories. The first Colin Baker story, The Twin Dilemma is listed for release on Spetember 7th. This is the first conformation that the story will be released this year. It completes the DVD releases for the sixth Doctor. Just two weeks later sees the release of the first Doctor story, The Keys of Marinus.

In addition, a special edition of the 1988 Sylvester McCoy story Remembrance of the Daleks is being issued on July 20th.

The current expected UK DVD release schedule is therefore as follows:

• 22 June 2009 - Delta And The Bannermen
• 6 July 2009 - The War Games
• 20 July 2009 - Remembrance Of The Daleks - Special Edition
• 10 August 2009 - The Black Guardian Trilogy
• 7 September 2009 - The Twin Dilemma
• 21 September 2009 - The Keys of Marinus

[HGervais]

Details for the second Doctor's final adventure, "War Games" are in and it looks like an impressive set:

The Restoration Team has posted details of the upcoming DVD box set release of the final Patrick Troughton adventure The War Games on its website. The extras include:

• Commentary, with contributions from actors Frazer Hines, Wendy Padbury, Philip Madoc, Jane Sherwin and Graham Weston, co-writer Terrance Dicks and script editor Derrick Sherwin.

• War Zone (dur. 36' 23") - cast and crew recall the making of Patrick Troughton's epic swansong. With actors Frazer Hines, Wendy Padbury, Bernard Horsfall, Jane Sherwin and Graham Weston, director David Maloney, producer Derrick Sherwin, co-writer Terrance Dicks, designer Roger Cheveley, Doctor Who Magazine editor Tom Spilsbury , new series writers Paul Cornell, James Moran and Joseph Lidster. Narrated by Gerard Murphy.

• Shades of Grey (dur. 21' 45") - just how did the technical and artistic constraints of monochrome television conspire to effect the unique look and feel of early productions? With actors Frazer Hines, Wendy Padbury and Jane Sherwin, script editors Terrance Dicks and Derrick Sherwin, director Timothy Combe, production designer Roger Cheveley, graphic designer Bernard Lodge and sound designer Brian Hodgson. Narrated by Gerard Murphy.

• Now and Then (dur. 9' 35") - the ongoing series visits the locations of 'The War Games' forty years on…

• The Doctor's Composer (dur. 17'32") - prolific composer Dudley Simpson looks back at his first five years of work on Doctor Who.

• Sylvia James - In Conversation (dur. 8' 27") - make-up designer Sylvia James talks about her work on Patrick Troughton's Doctor Who stories.

• Talking About Regeneration (dur. 24' 12") - the concept of regenerating a show's main character into an entirely new physical form proved to be both a lifesaver for the show and an increasingly important part of its mythos. This feature explores the ideas involved and takes a closer look at each of the Doctor's regenerations. With actors Peter Davison and Kate O'Mara, writers Rob Shearman, Joseph Lidster and Gareth Roberts.

• Time Zones (dur. 15' 21") - historians discuss the reality behind the various time zones featured in 'The War Games'. With political historian Dr. Martin Farr, military historian Crispin Swayne, Newcastle University's Lindsay Allison-Jones and author Prof. Susan-Mary Grant.

• Stripped for Action - The Second Doctor (dur. 13' 46") - the continuing series of features focussing on the Doctor's comic strip adventures looks at the Second Doctor. With former Doctor Who Magazine editors Alan Barnes and Gary Russell, comics historians Jeremy Bentham and John Ainsworth.

• On Target - Malcolm Hulke (dur. 20' 00") - the first in a series of features on the Target range of TV story novelizations looks at the work of writer Malcolm Hulke. With authors Terrance Dicks, Gary Russell and David J Howe, artist Chris Achilleos.

• Devious (dur. 12' 15") - for over a decade, a group of friends on England's south coast met on weekends to shoot an amateur Doctor Who film - 'Devious' - which takes place between the events of Patrick Troughton's swansong 'The War Games' and Jon Pertwee's introduction in 'Spearhead from Space', and features their own previously unknown incarnation of the Doctor. To segue back into 'Spearhead', the team decided to put up the money to employ Jon Pertwee for a day… in what was to become his last ever appearance as the Third Doctor. This feature also has a commentary from the production team.

Plus of course the usual Photo Gallery, Subtitle Production Notes, PDF material and Coming Soon trailer. If you look carefully on all three discs, you might find some interesting Easter Eggs hiding away, including a somewhat different take on 'The Trial of Doctor Who'. And so might I! And so might he!