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Review: One of the wonders about Doctor Who is how the Daleks ever managed to conquer Earth, not just once, but on several occasions - after all they have enough trouble moving on paved roads and pavements, let alone moving over grass or rocks, and I won't even get started on steps or stairs! Masters of the Earth? They're completly hopeless, yet somehow young children were afraid of them. This episode is the Dalek's second appearance in the show from 1964. It was later remade as a theatrical film starring Peter Cushing as the Doctor. This is the original version in black and white - it also has a longer running time than the movie. What's not so original in this presentation is the option to view the episode either as intended, or with some new CGI footage added to improve the look of the Dalek ships and the model shot of a future Battersea Power Station. They're done quite well and tastefully though. There are two disks to this release, the second one carries the bulk of the extras, my favourite being the look at the locations of the story, as they were then and as they are now, some 40 years on. Some places like Trafalgar Square, the Albert Memorial and the Houses of Parliment have changed very little, others have been completed redeveloped, more still are rather neglected. I found it very enlightening. The main featurette is a 45minute retrospective look back at the making of the serial, featuring interviews with all those members of the cast still alive and not on the commentary (the director, producer Verity Lambert, William Russell as Ian and Carole Ann Ford as Susan). Everyone has their own opinion of William Hartnell of course, who famously was very difficult to get on with. Other featurettes look at the work of the designer of the show and an interview with the providers of the Dalek voices. There's a lot of other stuff too, making this one of the most extras-packed Doctor Who DVDs the BBC has released so far, and even better, a sleeve inside the case reveals that the BBC is going to release seven episodes of the show on DVD this year (the 40th anniversary) - one for each of the doctors. We've had Troughton and Baker so far (Seeds of Death and Talons of Weing Chang) and we'll be getting Davisons 'Earthshock', Colin Bakers 'Two Doctors', McCoys 'Curse of Fenric' culminating on the day of the 40th anniversary itself in November with Pertwees 'Three Doctors'. If they're all as packed with extras as this one then its going to be a very good year for 'Who' fans indeed. I can't wait... |
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