The Frequently Asked Questions Lists for Doctor Who
Home Videos and DVDs and Blu-Ray Discs in the

United States and Canada

LATEST NEWS

Last updated June 27, 2009.   Recently updated sections are in red. 

Compiled by Steve Manfred,  smanfred at comcast.net   (change at to @ and remove the spaces to email me)

CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE MAIN DVD FAQ LIST.  or  CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE VHS HOME VIDEO FAQ LIST.

 

A SUMMER TRIANGLE OF CLASSIC STORIES ON JULY 7

BBC Worldwides Americas are bringing out three more classic series Doctor Who stories on DVD as of July 7th.

They are…

 

Doctor Who: The Rescue / The Romans starring William Hartnell (2 stories, The Rescue is 2 25-minute episodes,

and The Romans is 4 25-minute episodes, 2 discs, $34.98)

and

Doctor Who: Attack of the Cybermen starring Colin Baker (2 45-minute episodes, 1 disc, $24.98)

 

Doctor Who: The Rescue / The Romans  is a double pack of two consecutive stories from the classic series’

second season.  In the first, a two-part story called The Rescue, the TARDIS travelers arrive on the planet

Dido in the future where a crashed spaceship houses but two survivors, one of whom keeps a terrible secret.

This story sees Maureen O’Brien join the regular cast as new companion Vicki.  

The second story, a four-part story called The Romans, sees our heroes enjoying a bit of a break in a villa

in Italy in 64 AD, until the Doctor (William Hartnell) grows restless and decides to visit Rome.  And while

he and Vicki are away and seeing close-up the court of Caesar Nero, Ian (William Russell) and Barbara

(Jacqueline Hill) find themselves captured and sold as slaves.

 

Doctor Who: Attack of the Cybermen was the opening story of the classic series’ twenty-second season. 

The Doctor (Colin Baker) and Peri (Nicola Bryant) track an intergalactic distress signal to 1985 London and

find two old enemies on the transmitting end: the treacherous mercenary Lytton, and a force of Cybermen from

the future hatching a history-altering plan from London’s sewers. 

 

Scroll down for further details of all the features on these two releases.

 

UPCOMING RELEASE CALENDAR

 

July 7              Doctor Who: The Rescue / The Romans starring William Hartnell (2 stories in one 2-disc set:

                                    2 25-minute episodes in The Rescue on one disc and 4 25-minute episodes in The Romans

on the other, $34.98).  These stories will not be sold separately (but they’re consecutive

stories in the chronological order in any case).

 

                        Doctor Who: Attack of the Cybermen starring Colin Baker (2 45-minute episodes, 1 disc, $24.98)

 

July 28            Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead starring David Tennant and Michelle Ryan (1 60-minute episode,

                                    1 disc, high-definition BLU-RAY for $19.89 or standard-definition DVD for $14.98 for DVD)

                                    Also includes a 60-minute Doctor Who Confidential

 

Torchwood: The Complete Second Season (13 50-minute episodes, 4 BLU-RAY discs, high-def, $79.98)

 

                        Torchwood: Children of Earth starring John Barrowman and Eve Myles (5 50-minute episodes,

                                    2 discs, high-definition BLU-RAY for $34.99 or standard-definition DVD for $29.98 for DVD)

                                    Also includes Torchwood Declassified

                       

September 1   Doctor Who: The Deadly Assassin starring Tom Baker (4 25-minute episodes, 1 disc, $24.98)

 

                        Doctor Who: Image of the Fendahl starring Tom Baker (4 25-minute episodes, 1 disc, $24.98)

 

                        Doctor Who: Delta and the Bannermen starring Sylvester McCoy (3 25-minute episodes, 1 disc, $24.98)

 

September 15 Doctor Who: The Next Doctor starring David Tennant (1 60-minute episode, 1 disc, $14.98)

 

Further classic series titles will follow in November.  The exact titles are yet to be announced, although they are

extremely likely to just be the same ones that are coming out in the UK this year in the same order that the UK is getting

them, just 4-5 months after they get them.  Also, expect the single-disc release of the 2008 Doctor Who Christmas special

The Next Doctor starring David Tennant sometime in the autumn.

           

Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead  was the 2009 Easter Special featuring the Tenth Doctor on a bus that gets drawn

through a wormhole to a desolate alien planet.  It will be released on July 28th both on DVD and, for the

first time for Doctor Who, on high-definition Blu-Ray disc.   

 

Torchwood: The Complete Second Season  is as the name implies, the entire second season of the adult-themed

Doctor Who spinoff series Torchwood that aired on the BBC in 2008.  This will be the Blu-Ray high-definition release

(1080i).  The on-disc contents will otherwise be the same as the DVD release of this set which came out in 2008,

just all in high-definition.

 

Torchwood: Children of Earth is the entire 5-episode mini-series that will air on the BBC and BBC America this summer

during the week before the DVD/Blu-Ray release date. 

 

Doctor Who: The Deadly Assassin is the classic story where the Doctor is summoned back to Gallifrey and framed

by his archenemy, the Master, for the assassination of the Time Lord President.  It was the first time the Doctor

traveled without a companion in the series’ history, and the first time an entire story took place on his home planet.

It was the third story in Tom Baker’s third season (the fourteenth overall). 

 

Doctor Who: Image of the Fendahl sees the Doctor and Leela investigating a dangerous time fissure, only to find

an even more dangerous ancient enemy of life itself, a psychic gestalt creature called the Fendahl.  Scientists at

a contemporary English country house have unwittingly reactivated it, or at least some of them have been unwitting…

This was the third story in Tom Baker’s fourth season (the fifteenth overall).

 

Doctor Who: Delta and the Bannermen is a truly madcap romp where the Doctor and Melanie join a group of

space/time tourists on their way to Earth in the 1950s for a rock-and-roll holiday, not knowing that one of the

passengers, Delta, is the last survivor of a genocide being pursued by the army that killed her people, the Bannermen.

This was the third story in Sylvester McCoy’s first season (the twenty-fourth overall). 

 

Doctor Who: The Next Doctor is the single 60-minute Christmas special from 2008 starring David Tennant, where

the Doctor visits Victorian London at Christmas and joins forces against his old foes the Cybermen with a mysterious

stranger known only as… the Doctor?    This DVD will contain the episode by itself with no commentary plus one extra

feature, a 60-minute featurette called Doctor Who at the Proms, which contains the highlights of a symphony orchestra

concert of music from the new series with appearances by many of the series stars and monsters. 

(This was the last episode to be made in standard-definition, and as such will be sold on standard DVD only.)

In the chronological order of the series, it falls after Series Four and before Planet of the Dead (which is actually

being DVD-and-Blu-Ray-released before this story, on July 28.)

 

OTHER RECENT RELEASES

 

May 5, 2009               Doctor Who – The E-Space Trilogy starring Tom Baker (3 stories, each is 4 25-minute episodes,

3 discs, $49.98) and

Doctor Who – Battlefield starring Sylvester McCoy (4 25-min. episodes and a 95-min.

Special Edition, 2 discs, $34.98)

 

March 3, 2009            Doctor Who: The Key to Time Special Edition starring Tom Baker (26 25-min. eps, 7 discs, $99.98)

                                    Contains all six stories of the 1978-79 season, also available separately:

                                    Doctor Who: The Ribos Operation Special Edition (4 25-minute episodes, 1 disc, $24.98),

                                    Doctor Who: The Pirate Planet Special Edition (4 25-minute episodes., 1 disc, $24.98),

                                    Doctor Who: The Stones of Blood Special Edition (4 25-minute episodes, 1 disc, $24.98),

                                    Doctor Who: The Androids of Tara Special Edition (4 25-minute episodes, 1 disc, $24.98),

                                    Doctor Who: The Power of Kroll Special Edition (4 25-minute episodes, 1 disc, $24.98), and

                                    Doctor Who: The Armageddon Factor Special Edition (6 25-minute episodes, 2 discs, $34.98)

 

January 6, 2009          Doctor Who: The War Machines starring William Hartnell  (4 25-min eps, 1 disc, $24.98) and

                                    Doctor Who: Four to Doomsday starring Peter Davison (4 25-minute episodes, 1 disc, $24.98).   

 

November 4, 2008      Doctor Who: The Complete Fourth Series  starring David Tennant as the Doctor and

Catherine Tate as Donna Noble, with guest stars Kylie Minogue as Astrid Peth,

Freema Agyeman as Martha Jones, John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness,

Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith, and Billie Piper as Rose Tyler.

                        (6-disc set.  14 episodes, each at least 45 minutes long. $99.98 is the suggested retail price.)

                                    Doctor Who: The Infinite Quest starring the voices of David Tennant and Freema Agyeman

                                    (1 disc, 1 45-minute animated adventure, $9.98)

 

October 7, 2008          Doctor Who: The Brain of Morbius starring Tom Baker (1 disc, 4 25-min. episodes, $24.98) and

                                    Doctor Who: The Trial of a Time Lord starring Colin Baker (4 discs, 14 25-min. episodes, $59.98)     

                                    The Sarah Jane Adventures – The Complete First Season starring Elisabeth Sladen

                                    (4 discs, 1 60-minute episode and 10 30-minute episodes, $49.98)

 

September 16, 2008   Torchwood: The Complete Second Season (13 50-minute episodes, 5 discs, $79.98)

                                    Torchwood: The Complete First Season on high-definition Blu-Ray (13 50-minute episodes,

6 Blu-Ray discs, $99.98)

 

September 2, 2008     Doctor Who: The Invisible Enemy (starring Tom Baker) with K9 and Company

(starring Elisabeth Sladen and John Leeson) (4 25-minute episodes on disc 1, 50-minute

special on disc 2, $34.98)

                                    Doctor Who: The Invasion of Time starring Tom Baker (6 25-minute episodes, 2 discs, $34.98)

 

August 5, 2008           Doctor Who: The Time Meddler starring William Hartnell (4 25-minute episodes, 1 disc, $24.98),

                                    Doctor Who: Black Orchid starring Peter Davison (2 25-minute episodes, 1 disc, $14.98), and

                                    Doctor Who: The Five Doctors 25th Anniversary Edition starring Peter Davison, Jon Pertwee,

Patrick Troughton, Richard Hurndall, Tom Baker, and William Hartnell

(90 minute special on disc 1, 100-minute special edition on disc 2, $34.98).

 

JULY RELEASES IN DETAIL

Doctor Who: The Rescue / The Romans starring William Hartnell as Doctor Who, William Russell as Ian Chesterton,

            Jacqueline Hill as Barbara Wright, and introducing Maureen O’Brien as Vicki.

            Contains two consecutive stories from the middle of the 1964-1965 (2nd) season.  Each is on its own disc,

            sold together in one 2-disc Amaray case.  The stories are NOT sold separately.

            Contained on each disc:

            Disc 1: The Rescue

-          Both 25-minute episodes with full restoration treatment.

-          Graphical menus, episode and scene selection features, and subtitles for the hearing impaired.

-          Optional commentary track with actor William Russell, designer Raymond Cusick, and

director Christopher Barry.  Moderated by Doctor Who expert Toby Hadoke.

                        -     Information Text subtitles option.  Displays pop-up production trivia throughout the story.

-          “Mounting the Rescue”  A 22-minute making-of documentary featuring interviews with

actors William Russell, Maureen O’Brien and Ray Barrett (Bennett), designer Raymond

Cusick, director Christopher Barry, and avid viewer Ian McLachlan.

-          Photo Gallery.  An 8-minute montage of still photographs from the production.

-          PDF Materials.  Two pdf files that your home computer can read from the disc if you put it

into your computer’s DVD-ROM drive.  One is the Radio Times TV listings for this story

from 1965 (with a feature article about Maureen O’Brien), and the other is a set of Design

Drawings from the time made by RaymondCusick for the sets and a model of the TARDIS.

-          The disc boots up with trailers for the Complete Fourth Series DVD set, and one for the BBC

America cable channel, but these are skipable with your remote.

            Disc 2: The Romans

-          All four 25-minute episodes with full restoration treatment.

-          Graphical menus, episode and scene selection features, and subtitles for the hearing impaired.

-          Optional commentary track with actors William Russell, Barry Jackson (Ascaris), and Nick Evans

(Didius), designer Raymond Cusick, and director Christopher Barry.

-          Information Text subtitles option.  Displays pop-up production trivia throughout the story.

-          “What Has ‘The Romans’ Ever Done For Us?”  A 34-minute featurette about the making

of this story, and also about depictions of Caesar Nero in other BBC productions, and

the true history of Rome at the time of the Great Fire.  Features interviews with actors

William Russell, Barry Jackson, Kay Patrick (Poppea), Anthony Andrews (Nero in A.D.

Anno Domini), Christopher Biggins (Nero in I, Claudius), historian Dr. Mark Bradley,

avid viewer Ian McLachlan, designer Raymond Cusick, new series Doctor Who writer

James Moran, and Doctor Who Magazine editor Tom Spilsbury.

-          Roma Pava.   3-minute featurette where director Christopher Barry shows off the designer’s

original set design model from the 1964/65 production that he’s kept all these years.

                        -     Dennis Spooner – Wanna Write a Television Series?   18-minute featurette about the career

                                    of Dennis Spooner, writer of The Romans (amongst others) and the series’ second Story Editor.

                                    Features interviews with actors William Russell and Peter Purves (Steven Taylor),

                                    Story Editor Donald Tosh, friends and colleagues Brian and Janet Clemens, and new

                                    Doctor Who series writer Robert Shearman.

-          Girls! Girls! Girls!  The 1960s.   An 18-minute featurette looking at all of the Doctor’s female

companions from the 1960s.  Features interviews with Carole Ann Ford (Susan), Jean Marsh

(Sara Kingdom), Anneke Wills (Polly), Deborah Watling (Victoria), Honor Blackman

(Cathy Gale from The Avengers), William Russell (Ian), Peter Purves (Steven), Frazer

Hines (Jamie), Story Editor Donald Tosh, and director Christopher Barry.

-          Photo Gallery.  A 6-minute montage of still photos taken during the production.

-          PDF Materials.  One pdf files that your home computer can read from the disc if you put it

into your computer’s DVD-ROM drive.  It is the Radio Times TV listings for this story

from 1965.

-          The disc boots up with trailers for the Complete Fourth Series DVD set, and one for the BBC

America cable channel, but these are skipable with your remote.

 

Doctor Who: Attack of the Cybermen starring Colin Baker as the Doctor and Nicola Bryant as Peri.

-          Both 45-minute episodes with full restoration treatment.

-          Graphical menus, episode and scene selection features, and subtitles for the hearing impaired.

-          Optional commentary track with actors Colin Baker, Nicola Bryant, Terry Molloy (Russell),

and Sarah Berger (Rost)

-          Optional isolated music track, that plays the episodes with only the music soundtrack playing.

-          Information Text subtitles option.  Displays pop-up production trivia throughout the story.

-          “The Cold War”  27-minute making-of documentary featuring interviews with actors

Colin Baker, Nicola Bryant, Terry Molloy, and Sarah Berger, Script Editor and

surreptitious writer Eric Saward, fan consultant Ian Levine, Film Cameraman Godfrey

Johnson, and Director Matthew Robinson. 

-          “The Cyber Story”  23-minute featurette about all of the Cybermen’s appearances

throughout all of Doctor Who through 2007.  Features interviews with their original

Costume Designer Sandra Reid, original voice actor Roy Skelton, Director Morris Barry,

Writer/Script Editor Eric Saward, Earthshock Costume Designer Dinah Collin,

Cyber-actor Mark Hardy, and Kevin Warwick, a scientist attempting to become the world’s

first real cyborg.

-          “Human Cyborg”  8-minute featurette about scientist Kevin Warwick’s efforts to become the

world’s first real cyborg.

-          Photo Gallery.  8-minute photo montage of stills taken throughout the production.

-          The Cyber-Generations.  A second 8-minute photo montage of the Cybermen as they appeared

in every classic series story.

-          Trails and Continuity.  3-minute featurette of the advertising and introduction materials from

the original 1985 broadcasts.

-          Coming Soon trailer.  A 1-minute trailer for the forthcoming DVD of Image of the Fendahl

starring Tom Baker.

-          PDF Materials.  Three pdf files that your home computer can read from the disc if you put it

into your computer’s DVD-ROM drive.  One is the Radio Times TV listings for this story

from 1985, including feature articles.  The other two are files that were originally intended

to appear in the DVD of the Patrick Troughton Cybermen story The Invasion but were left

out by error (an error common to every edition in every region around the world).  The

first of these are the Radio Times TV listings and features for the 1968 Invasion broadcast.

The second is a feature article for a magazine called The Listener about the future of

robotics written by Dr. Kit Pedler, the co-creator of the Cybermen.

-          The disc boots up with trailers for the Complete Fourth Series DVD set, and one for the BBC

America cable channel, but these are skipable with your remote.

-          1 Easter Egg.  Highlight the blank area below to reveal the invisible text and see what this is and

how to find it.

Go into the second page of the Special Features menu, then highlight the Cyber-Generations

Option and press the left arrow.  A Doctor Who logo will appear.  Click on this and you’ll

see a 1-minute featurette about an autonomous Dalek that Kevin Warwick has built in his lab.

 

MAY RELEASES IN DETAIL

Doctor Who: The E-Space Trilogy starring Tom Baker as Doctor Who, Lalla Ward as Romana, John Leeson

            as the Voice of K9, and introducing Matthew Waterhouse as Adric.

            Contains three consecutive stories from the middle of the 1980-81 (18th) season.  Each is in its own

            Amaray case, and all three are sold together inside an outer slipcase.  They are NOT sold separately.

            Contained on each:

            Disc 1:  Full Circle  

-         All four 25-minute episodes with full restoration treatment.

-         Graphical menus, episode and scene selection features, and subtitles for the hearing impaired.

-         Optional commentary track with actor Matthew Waterhouse, writer Andrew Smith, and

Script Editor Christopher H. Bidmead.

-         Information Text subtitles option.  Displays pop-up production trivia throughout the story.

-         Isolated Music option.  Plays the story with only the music soundtrack playing by itself.

-         “All Aboard the Starliner”  24-minute featurette about the making of the story, featuring

interviews with actors Lalla Ward, John Leeson, George Baker (Login),

Bernard Padden (Tylos), writer Andrew Smith, script editor Christopher H. Bidmead,

film cameraman Max Samett, and an archival interview with director Peter Grimwade.

-         “K9 in E-Space”  A 5-minute featurette about K9’s final three stories of the classic series,

featuring interviews with Christopher H. Bidmead, Lalla Ward, Andrew Smith, John Leeson,

and writer Terrance Dicks.

-         “Swap Shop”  An 8-minute segment from a 1980 edition of Multi-Coloured Swap Shop where

Matthew Waterhouse was interviewed shortly after getting the part of Adric.

-         “E-Space: Fact or Fiction?”  A 15-minute featurette narrated by Sophie Aldred speculating

on the real-life possibilities of there being other universes.  Features interviews with

Doctor Who cast and crew, other science fiction authors, and real scientists, including

Sir Patrick Moore. 

-         Continuity.  3 minutes of the BBC’s introductions and trailers for the episodes on their original

1980 broadcasts.

                        -     Photo Gallery with Info Text option.  6 minutes of still photographs from the production, now with

                                    the option to display descriptive captions as subtitles.

-         Radio Times Listings.  PDF files for your computer containing the original Radio Times TV

listings for this story, as well as some contemporaneous articles about it they ran.

            Disc 2:  State of Decay

-         All four 25-minute episodes with full restoration treatment.

-         Graphical menus, episode and scene selection features, and subtitles for the hearing impaired.

-         Optional commentary track with actor Matthew Waterhouse, Writer Terrance Dicks, and

Director Peter Moffatt.

-         Information Text subtitles option.  Displays pop-up production trivia throughout the story.

-         Isolated Music option.  Plays the story with only the music soundtrack playing by itself.

-         “The Vampire Lovers  20-minute featurette about the making of the story.  Features interviews

with actors Lalla Ward, John Leeson, and Clinton Greyn (Ivo), Writer Terrance Dicks,

Script Editor Christopher H. Bidmead, Designer Christine Ruscoe, and Director Peter Moffatt.

-         Film Trims.  5 minutes of silent film from the modelwork sessions of the Tower and the Great Vampire.

-         “Leaves of Blood”  17-minute featurette about the historical depiction of vampires in literature

including interviews with historians and published authors such as Kim Newman.

-         “The Blood Show  10-minute featurette about blood itself and its uses in our diets.  Has nothing

t     o do with Doctor Who.

-         “The Frayling Reading”  5-minute featurette where Sir Christopher Frayling analyzes where

State of Decay fits into the more general mythology of vampires.

-         Continuity.  4 minutes of the BBC’s introductions and trailers for the episodes on their original

1980 broadcasts.

                        -     Photo Gallery with Info Text option.  6 minutes of still photographs from the production, now with

                                    the option to display descriptive captions as subtitles.

-         Radio Times Listings.  PDF files for your computer containing the original Radio Times TV

listings for this story, as well as some contemporaneous articles about it they ran.

            Disc 3:  Warriors’ Gate

-         All four 25-minute episodes with full restoration treatment.

-         Graphical menus, episode and scene selection features, and subtitles for the hearing impaired.

-         Optional commentary track with actors Lalla Ward and John Leeson, Visual Effects Designer

Mat Irvine, Script Editor Christopher H. Bidmead, and Director Paul Joyce.

-         Information Text subtitles option.  Displays pop-up production trivia throughout the story.

-         Isolated Music option.  Plays the story with only the music soundtrack playing by itself.

-         “The Dreaming  27-minute featurette about the making of the story.  Features interviews with

Actors Lalla Ward, John Leeson, David Weston (Biroc), and Clifford Rose (Rorvik),

Writer Steve Gallagher, Script Editor Christopher H. Bidmead, Visual Effects Designer

Mat Irvine, and Director Paul Joyce.

-         “The Boy With the Golden Star”  20-minute interview with Matthew Waterhouse covering all

of Adric’s stories in the series.

-         “Lalla’s Wardrobe”  A 19-minute featurette about the various outfits worn by Lalla Ward as

Romana throughout the series, with interviews with Ward herself, classic series costume

designer June Hudson, new series costume designer Louise Page, writers Nev Fountain and

Jonathan Morris, and some ordinary girls in the street.

-         Extended and Deleted Scenes.  4 minute assembly of eight different scenes that were trimmed

or removed altogether from the finished story.

-         Continuity.  2 minutes of the BBC’s introductions and trailers for the episodes on their original

1981 broadcasts.

                        -     Photo Gallery with Info Text option.  6 minutes of still photographs from the production, now with

                                    the option to display descriptive captions as subtitles.

-         Radio Times Listings.  PDF files for your computer containing the original Radio Times TV

listings for this story, as well as some contemporaneous articles about it they ran.

 

Doctor Who: Battlefield starring Sylvester McCoy as the Doctor, Sophie Aldred as Ace, and guest starring

            Nicholas Courtney as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart.   2 discs. 

            On Disc 1:

-         All four 25-minute episodes (the original 1989 versions) with full restoration treatment.

-         Graphical menus, episode and scene selection features, and subtitles for the hearing impaired.

-         Optional commentary track with actors Sophie Aldred, Nicholas Courtney, and Angela Bruce

(Brigadier Winifred Bambera), Writer Ben Aaronovitch, and Script Editor Andrew Cartmel.

-         Information Text subtitles option.  Displays pop-up production trivia throughout the story.

-         Isolated Music option.  Plays the story with only the music soundtrack playing by itself.

-         “Storm Over Avallion”  23-minute featurette about the making of the story, featuring interviews

with Actors Sylvester McCoy, Sophie Aldred, Angela Bruce, Nicholas Courtney, and

Jean Marsh (Morgaine), Writer Ben Aaronovitch, Script Editor Andrew Cartmel, and

Director Michael Kerrigan.

-         “Past and Future King”  12-minute featurette about the writing of this story, featuring

interviews with Ben Aaronovitch, Andrew Cartmel, Sylvester McCoy, Sophie Aldred,

Angela Bruce, and Michael Kerrigan.

-         “Watertank”  7-minute featurette that goes into detail about the near-fatal accident that

occurred during the scene of Ace trapped in the flooding spacecraft airlock when the

glass in the tank she was in cracked open.

-         Studio Recording.  19 minutes of raw footage from the studio floor during the original studio

recording session for this story.

-         “From Kingdom to Queen”  8-minute interview with Jean Marsh charting her 1965, 1966,

and 1989 appearances in Doctor Who.

-     Radio Times Listings.  PDF files for your computer containing the original Radio Times TV

listings for this story, as well as some contemporaneous articles about it they ran.

            On Disc 2:

-         Battlefield Special Edition. 

A 95-minute movie-format version of the story, with numerous deleted scenes edited

back into the action, other reediting of the action and the music, boosted CGI effects,

and a Dolby 5.1 sound mix.   Comes with graphical menus, scene selection menu,

and subtitles for the hearing impaired.

-         Season 26 Trailer

A 1:30 trailer for the entire 26th season that was shown to the press in 1989.                            

 

THE WHATs and WHYs of THE KEY TO TIME – SPECIAL EDITION

A very Frequently Asked Question I’ve been getting lately is “Why are they re-releasing The Key to Time (especially

when half the rest of the series isn’t out yet?)” 

 

The answer has to do with how and why we got the 2002 edition of this set.  In their first DVD releases in North America

in 2001 and early 2002, BBC Worldwide Americas included a questionnaire that pointed to a website poll

where their customers could choose from amongst a list of titles which Doctor Who title they would most like to see

released next.  On that list was The Key to Time, and it won the poll.  They went back to their partners in the UK and

requested that it be released.  They met with some resistance as the UK BBC people didn’t feel the time was right

for their market for a box set of this many episodes to be released, however the BBC WA people emphasized how

important box sets had already become in the North American market and how having one was in fact now essential

to get stores to stock Doctor Who titles at all.  They’d had a wave of some individual titles in 2002 that many chains

chose not to stock because all they were was individual stories.  A box set was now seen as a requirement to save the

range’s future in North America.  And so an agreement was reached whereby The Key to Time could be released in

late 2002 in North America without there having been a UK release first.  This is the only time that this has happened,

and it probably will never happen again.  Due to there being no UK release, the volume of episodes in the set, and the

quick turnaround time needed, the titles in the 2002 set came out with only minimal extras.  Although they did all

have commentaries and production notes, they had no featurettes, only a few deleted scenes, and the restoration work

was very minimal. 

 

Nowadays, with the revival of the series’ fortunes that began with the coming of the new series, the market for classic

Doctor Who in the UK has become much healthier, and box sets have become much more attractive, and you’ll have

noticed there have been more of them in recent years, and that when they come out they get the same full treatment

extras-wise that the individual titles get.  And so in 2007, they decided to bring The Key to Time to the UK, with that

full press of extras.  The release pattern in North America is for them to bring out the UK’s recent titles in largely the

same order that they come out in the UK, but they decided to hold off for a while on this particular title as they already

had the old edition on the market, and also they’d fallen behind the increased pace of releases coming from the UK and

wanted to catch us up on the titles we had never seen before first.  Now in 2009, that catching-up has been largely

completed, and they feel they can spend a release slot on bringing us the UK’s edition of The Key to Time, and will

begin selling it in North America on March 3 with the “Special Edition” moniker attached to all the titles to distinguish

it from the original edition.  

 

Descriptions of the contents of each title in the set follow below. 

Extras and features that appeared on the 2002 editions are listed in italics.

 

Doctor Who: The Key to Time Special Edition starring Tom Baker as Doctor Who, Mary Tamm as Romana, and

            John Leeson as the Voice of K9. 

-         Available as a single digistack box set containing 7 discs for the suggested retail price of $99.98.

-         The individual stories are also available separately in single Amaray cases for $24.98 each, except

The Armageddon Factor which contains 2 discs and is priced at $34.98.  Descriptions of the individual

titles follow, but remember that everything in the individual titles is also on the discs in the box set.

The only thing you miss out on in the box set is the individual title covers.

-         The box set contains an 8-page booklet that contains the text details on one page each that are on the

back covers of the separate Amaray box releases, so you don’t miss out on any of that if you buy the box.

 

Doctor Who: The Ribos Operation Special Edition starring Tom Baker as Doctor Who, Mary Tamm as Romana, and

            John Leeson as the Voice of K9.  Guest starring Cyril Luckham as the White Guardian.

-         All four 25-minute episodes with full restoration treatment.

-         Graphical menus, episode and scene selection features, and subtitles for the hearing impaired.

-         Commentary with actors Tom Baker and Mary Tamm

-         Production Notes subtitles.  Displays pop-up production trivia throughout the story.

-     “A Matter of Time” 60-minute documentary about the whole of Graham Williams' producer-ship.

Features interviews with actors Tom Baker, Mary Tamm, John Leeson, Louise Jameson (Leela),

Lalla Ward (the second Romana), Paul Seed (Graff Vynda-K), writers Bob Baker, Dave Martin,

Gareth Roberts, David Fisher, Douglas Adams, script editor Anthony Read, visual effects designers

Colin Mapson and Mat Irvine, Doctor Who Appreciation Society Founder Jeremy Bentham,

Production designers Richard McManon-Smith and Dick Coles, directors Pennant Roberts,

Darrol Blake, Michael Hayes, Ken Grieve, and Christopher Barry, and Graham Williams’ widow

Jackie Williams.  Narrated by Toby Longworth.
-     “The Ribos File” 20-minute featurette about the making of The Ribos Operation.  Features interviews

with actors Mary Tamm, Paul Seed, Nigel Plaskitt (Unstoffe), and Prentis Hancock (Captain of the

Shrieves), stuntman Stuart Fell, and Doctor Who Magazine editor Clayton Hickman.
-      Continuities. 2 minutes of the intro and outros from the BBC broadcasts.
-      Season 16 Trailer. 40 seconds.
-      Photo Gallery. 6 minutes of stills. (Not the same ones as on the old set. This is true for all the discs.)

-      Radio Times Listings.  A pdf file on the disc of the TV listings for this story, readable by a computer. 

 

Doctor Who: The Pirate Planet Special Edition starring Tom Baker as Doctor Who, Mary Tamm as Romana, and

            John Leeson as the Voice of K9.

-         All four 25-minute episodes with full restoration treatment.

-         Graphical menus, episode and scene selection features, and subtitles for the hearing impaired.

-     Commentary 1 with director Pennant Roberts and actor Bruce Purchase (the Captain)
-     Commentary 2 with actors Tom Baker and Mary Tamm, and script editor Anthony Read.

-         Production Notes subtitles.  Displays pop-up production trivia throughout the story.

-         “Parrot Fashion” 30-minute behind-the-scenes documentary.  Features interviews with writer Douglas Adams

(archival footage), Douglas’ brother James Thrift, Douglas Adams biographer Nick Webb, actors Mary

Tamm, Bruce Purchase, Primi Townsend (Mula), Rosalind Lloyd (Nurse/Xanxia), and John Leeson,

script editor Anthony Read, Visual Effects Designer Colin Mapson, Film Cameraman Elmer Cassey,

and Director Pennant Roberts.

-     Film Inserts, Deleted Scenes, and Outtakes. 13 minutes.  Over twenty deleted scenes, alternative

takes, or outtakes.  (Most of the ones from film inserts also appeared on the 2002 edition.)

-     “Weird Science” 17-minute spoof science show that takes the mickey out of the science in 70s s.f. shows.

Starring David Graham, Matthew Irvine, and STEVII the super-computer.
-     Continuities. 4 minutes.  (These are the BBC introductions and trailers for the episodes.)
-     Photo Gallery. 7 minutes.

-     Radio Times Listings.  A pdf file on the disc of the TV listings for this story, readable by a computer. 

 

Doctor Who: The Stones of Blood Special Edition starring Tom Baker as Doctor Who, Mary Tamm as Romana, and

            John Leeson as the Voice of K9.

-         All four 25-minute episodes with full restoration treatment.

-         Graphical menus, episode and scene selection features, and subtitles for the hearing impaired.

-     Commentary 1 with actor Mary Tamm and director Darrol Blake
-     Commentary 2 with actors Tom Baker, Mary Tamm, and Susan Engel (Vivien Fey), and writer David Fisher.

-         Production Notes subtitles.  Displays pop-up production trivia throughout the story.

-         “Getting Blood From the Stones” 27-minute making-of documentary.  Features interviews with actors Mary

Tamm, John Leeson, and Susan Engel, writer David Fisher, script editor Anthony Read, Doctor Who Magazine

Editor Clayton Hickman, SFX Magazine’s Steve O’Brien, and director Darrol Blake.

-         “Hammer Horror” 13-minute documentary looking at links between Hammer horror movies and Doctor Who.

Features interviews with actor Tom Baker, writers Terrance Dicks and Anthony Read, Shivers’ magazine’s

David Miller, and English Gothic magazine’s Jonathan Rigby.

-         “Stones Free” 9-minute documentary about the real life stone circle in the story, hosted by Mary Tamm,

where she talks to local historians about the site.

-      Deleted Scenes.  Two scenes taken out of Part Two.  2 minutes’ duration.
-      Continuities. 2-1/2 minutes.  (These are the BBC introductions and trailers for the episodes.)
-      Model World.  2-1/2 minute excerpt from a contemporaneous show that looked at the model work in this story.
-      Blue Peter. 6-minute segment from 1978 that spotlighted Doctor Who's 15th anniversary.
-      Nationwide. 9-minute segment from 1978, again about the anniversary. Interviews Tom Baker, Mary Tamm,

and Carole Ann Ford.
-      Photo Gallery. 8 minutes.

-      Radio Times Listings.  A pdf file on the disc of the TV listings for this story, readable by a computer. 

 

Doctor Who: The Androids of Tara Special Edition starring Tom Baker as Doctor Who, Mary Tamm as Romana, and

            John Leeson as the Voice of K9.

-         All four 25-minute episodes with full restoration treatment.

-         Graphical menus, episode and scene selection features, and subtitles for the hearing impaired.

-         Commentary with actors Tom Baker and  Mary Tamm, and director Michael Hayes.

-         Production Notes subtitles.  Displays pop-up production trivia throughout the story.

-    “The Humans of Tara” 20-minute behind-the-scenes documentary.  Features interviews with actors Mary Tamm,

Paul Lavers (Farrah), and Neville Jason (Prince Reynart), writer David Fisher, script editor Anthony Read,

and director Michael Hayes.
-    “Now and Then: The Androids of
Tara” 10-minute featurette on Leeds Castle in Kent, the primary location used

in the making of this story, spotlighting how it looked in 1978 compared to the present.
-    “Double Trouble” 11-minute featurette on the history of doubles in Doctor Who.  With interviews with Tom

Spilsbury of Doctor Who Magazine, and Paul Lang and Moray Laing from Doctor Who Adventures.
-    Photo Gallery. 8 minutes.

-    Radio Times Listings.  A pdf file on the disc of the TV listings for this story, readable by a computer. 

 

Doctor Who: The Power of Kroll Special Edition starring Tom Baker as Doctor Who and Mary Tamm as Romana.

-         All four 25-minute episodes with full restoration treatment.

-         Graphical menus, episode and scene selection features, and subtitles for the hearing impaired.

-         Commentary with actors Tom Baker and John Leeson

-         Production Notes subtitles.  Displays pop-up production trivia throughout the story.

-    “In Studio” 11 minutes of the raw studio recording taken from a surviving black and white videotape of the

session, featuring the making of two scenes from late in the story in the refinery control room.
-     Variations. 6-minute segment from a local news program that visited the location filming.
-    “There's Something About Mary” 10 minute featurette spotlighting Mary Tamm's year on the show, featuring

interviews with her.
-    “Philip Madoc: A Villain for All Seasons” 10-minute featurette about Philip Madoc's four roles in the series

and his one in the second Peter Cushing Dr. Who film, featuring interviews with Madoc himself.
-     Continuities. 3 minutes. (These are the BBC introductions and trailers for the episodes.)
-     Photo Gallery. 5 minutes.

-     Radio Times Listings.  A pdf file on the disc of the TV listings for this story, readable by a computer. 

 

Doctor Who: The Armageddon Factor Special Edition starring Tom Baker as Doctor Who, Mary Tamm as Romana,

            John Leeson as the Voice of K9, and guest starring Valentine Dyall as the Black Guardian.

            2 discs.  

On Disc 1:

-         All six 25-minute episodes with full restoration treatment.

-         Graphical menus, episode and scene selection features, and subtitles for the hearing impaired.

-     Commentary 1 with actors Mary Tamm and John Woodvine (the Marshal) and director Michael Hayes.
-     Commentary 2 with actors Tom Baker, Mary Tamm, and John Leeson.

-         Production Notes subtitles.  Displays pop-up production trivia throughout the story.

-         PDF Files.  Two pdf files on the disc: one of the Radio Times TV listings for this story, and the 1979

Doctor Who Annual.  The files are readable by a computer. 

 

            On Disc 2:

-         “Defining Shadows" 16-minute making-of featurette, featuring interviews with writers Bob Baker and

Dave Martin, actors Lalla Ward (Princess Astra), Barry Jackson (Drax), Davyd Harries (Shapp),

designer Richard McManan-Smith, and director Michael Hayes.
-   Alternative/Extended Scene. 3 minutes from a black and white videotape of a scene that was truncated

a bit in the final edit in Part Three of the Doctor meeting up with Shapp on Zeos.
-   Directing Who. 8-minute featurette about Michael Hayes' three stories as the director (those were

The Androids of Tara, The Armageddon Factor, and City of Death), featuring an interview with Hayes

himself.

-   “Rogue Time Lords” 13-minute featurette about all the renegade Time Lords we've met down the years.
-   Pebble Mill at One. 8-minute interview with Tom Baker from 1979 tying in to the series hitting its 500th

episode as of Part One of this story.
-   Radiophonic Feature. 4-minute segment from Pebble Mill in 1979 that visited the BBC Radiophonic

Workshop.  Features interviews with Dick Mills and Brian Hodgson of the Workshop.
-   The New Sound of Music. 1-minute bit from the cutting room floor of that same BBC RW feature.
-   Merry Christmas, Doctor Who. Special 1-minute sketch recorded from the Armageddon Factor set where

K9 asks the Doctor what he most desires at Christmas... and then he has a look at Romana....
-   Continuities. 3 minutes.  (These are the BBC introductions and trailers for the episodes.)
-   Photo Gallery. 5 minutes.
-   Late Night Stories. Five children’s short story readings by Tom Baker for a short TV series.

Each is about 15 minutes. The titles are The Photograph, The Emissary, Nursery Tea, The End

of the Party, and Sredni Vashtar.
-   Easter Egg.  Highlight the blank area below to reveal the invisible text and find out what this is and where…

Highlight the “Continuities” selection on page 2 of the Special Features, then press the right arrow.

A Doctor Who logo will appear up in the top right corner.  Select this and you will see a reconstruction

of a technical fault that occurred during the original 1979 broadcast that interrupted the program for

a minute as the video playback machine jammed and they put up some music to cover the dead air.

 

The only things that were on the 2002 edition that are not in the Special Edition are the original photo galleries

(which were very minimal and have been replaced by much better ones on the special edition) and the Who’s Who

text file biographies of the principal cast members, which were discontinued from all releases some time ago.

 

JANUARY CLASSIC SERIES DVDs IN DETAIL

Here’s what you’ll find in the two January classic series Doctor Who releases:

 

Doctor Who: The War Machines starring William Hartnell as Dr. Who, Jackie Lane as Dodo, and

introducing Anneke Wills as Polly, and Michael Craze as Ben.

-         All four 25-minute episodes.

-         Graphical menus, episode and scene selection features, and subtitles for the hearing impaired.

-         Commentary track by actor Anneke Wills (Polly) and Director Michael Ferguson.

-         “Now and Then”  A 7-minute featurette looking at the locations used for the filming in 1966 and how they

look in the present-day.

            -    Blue Peter.  A 16-minute featurette presenting three different segments from then-contemporary episodes of

                        the children’s magazine show Blue Peter.  The first is a segment on the completion of the Post Office Tower.

                        The second is a segment where a War Machine invaded their studio.  The third is a segment where they

present a school class that built its own Dalek

            -    “One Foot in the Past  An 8-minute featurette hosted by Britain’s former Postmaster General Tony Benn, where he

                        shows us around the Post Office Tower in the present day and tells us what it was used for in the past and

                        what it’s still used for now.

            -    “WOTAN Assembly  A 9-minute featurette about the extensive restoration given to these episodes film prints.

      -    Information Text.  Selecting this displays pop-up production notes trivia as the story plays.

            -    Photo Gallery with Info Text Option.  Displays 4 minutes worth of production stills.  New to this DVD is an option

                        to turn on descriptive captions as the stills play out.          

            -    PDF Materials.   Place this DVD into the DVD-ROM drive of a computer and you can look at two different PDF

                        files.  One is the original Radio Times TV listings for this story.  The other is a production design drawing

                        giving specifications to the independent contractor on how to build the War Machine for the story.

            -    1 Easter Egg.  Highlight the area of blank space below to see what it is and how to find it.

                        Go into the Episode Selection menu.  Highlight the selection for Episode 2, and then press the right arrow

                        on your remote.  A Doctor Who logo will appear.  Click on this and you will see a 1 minute 35 mm film reel

                        that was shot on location of the War Machine attacking the army.

-     The disc boots up with an ads for the Complete Fourth Series Box Set and for BBC America, both of which are

skippable with your remote.

 

Doctor Who: Four to Doomsday starring Peter Davison as the Doctor, Janet Fielding as Tegan,

            Sarah Sutton as Nyssa, and Matthew Waterhouse as Adric.

-         All four 25-minute episodes.

-         Graphical menus, episode and scene selection features, and subtitles for the hearing impaired.

-         Commentary track by actors Peter Davison, Janet Fielding, Sarah Sutton, and Matthew Waterhouse, and

         Director John Black. 

-         “Studio Recording”  A 27-minute featurette of footage from Peter Davison’s first day in the studio playing

  the Doctor, showing highlights of what went on between takes on the studio floor.

            -     “Saturday Night at the Mill”   A 14-minute TV interview recorded with Peter Davison in 1980 just after his

                    casting as the Doctor.

-         Theme Music Video.  A 3-1/2 minute featurette presenting a mix of the “starfield” title sequences used for

  Tom Baker’s final season and all of Peter Davison’s era to the accompaniment of a new Dolby 5.1 extended

  remix of the theme music from this era.  This featurette has been previously seen in the “New Beginnings”

  box set.

-         Photo Gallery.  A 7-minute featurette showing production stills taken during the making of the story.

-         Information Text.  Selecting this displays pop-up production notes trivia as the story plays.

-         Radio Times PDF Files.  If you place this DVD into the DVD-ROM drive of a computer, you can find and view

  a PDF file containing the original Radio Times TV schedule listings for this story.

            -     The disc boots up with an ads for the Complete Fourth Series Box Set and for BBC America, both of which are

        skippable with your remote.

 

NOVEMBER 2008 NEW SERIES DVDs IN DETAIL

Here’s what you’ll find in the two November new series Doctor Who releases:

 

Doctor Who: The Complete Fourth Series  starring David Tennant as the Doctor and Catherine Tate as Donna Noble,

            with guest stars Kylie Minogue as Astrid Peth, Freema Agyeman as Martha Jones, John Barrowman as

            Captain Jack Harkness, Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith, and Billie Piper as Rose Tyler.

            6-disc set.  14 episodes. $99.98 is the suggested retail price.  Catalog number 3000018377 for the standard

cardboard box, and 3000019207 for special steelbox available only at Best Buy stores.

On all the discs:

-         Graphical menus, episode and scene selection features, and subtitles for the hearing impaired.

-         Dolby 5.1 sound

-         16:9 Enhanced aspect ratio.

-         Discs 1-3 boot up with trailers for other BBC Video DVD sets, but these are skippable with your remote.

On Disc 1:

-         Voyage of the Damned  (the 71-minute 2007 Christmas special. Guest stars Kylie Minogue as Astrid Peth.)

with optional commentary track by actor Russell Tovey (Midshipman Frame), Murray Gold (music

composer), and first assistant director Peter Bennett.

-         Children in Need:  Time Crash  (the 8-minute charity special scene of the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant)

meeting his earlier self, the Fifth Doctor (Peter Davison).  Viewers may wish to watch this first as

it fits into the opening scene of Voyage of the Damned.) 

-         David Tennant’s Video Diary.  15 minutes of David Tennant documenting his mad rush to the

lighting ceremony at the famous Blackpool pleasure beach in the fall of 2007.

-         Deleted Scenes. Russell T. Davies introduces three scenes deleted from Voyage of the Damned,

and indeed he introduces all the deleted scenes on all the other discs where they appear.  3 minutes.

-         BBC Trailers.  Five trailers used on broadcast and in cinemas to advertise Voyage of the Damned.  4 minutes.

On Disc 2:

-         Episode 1: Partners in Crime with optional commentary by Executive Producer/Writer Russell T. Davies,

Executive Producer Julie Gardner, and Director James Strong.

-         Episode 2: The Fires of Pompeii with optional commentary by actors David Tennant and Catherine Tate,

and Production Manager Tracie Simpson.

-         Episode 3:  Planet of the Ood with optional commentary by actor Roger Griffiths (Cmdr. Kess) and

Director Graeme Harper.

-         All episodes are 45 minutes in duration.

-         Howard Attfield Deleted Scenes.  Three scenes and their introductions totaling 7 minutes where the late

actor Howard Attfield had returned to play Donna’s father in Partners in Crime, but which scenes

were later reshot with Bernard Cribbins as Donna’s grandfather Wilf instead when it became clear that

Attfield was too ill to continue later in the series, and indeed he sadly passed away not long afterwards.

-         Deleted Scenes.  11 minutes worth of eight other deleted scenes from the other episodes on this disc.

-         BBC Trailers.  Six trailers used on broadcast and in cinemas to advertise these episodes.  4 minutes.

On Disc 3:

-         Episode 4:  The Sontaran Stratagem with optional commentary by actor Dan Starkey (Commander Skor),

Neill Gorton (Prosthetics Designer), and Executive Producer Julie Gardner.

-         Episode 5:  The Poison Sky with optional commentary by actor David Tennant, Producer Susie Liggat, and

Executive Producer Russell T. Davies.

-         Episode 6:  The Doctor’s Daughter with optional commentary by actors Catherine Tate, Georgia Moffett

(Jenny), and Orchestra Conductor Ben Foster.  Note that the accompanying episode guide booklet

promises a different commentary line-up to the one that’s actually here.  This appears to be a mistake

in the booklet, and not like the commentary swap that happened on the North American Series Three set

last year as the UK  edition is like this too. 

-         Episode 7: The Unicorn and the Wasp with optional commentary by actors Fenella Woolgar (Agatha Christie),

and Felicity Kendall (Lady Eddison).

-         All episodes are 45 minutes in duration.

-         Deleted Scenes.  14 minutes worth of scenes deleted from episodes 6 and 7, eight scenes in total.

-         BBC Trailers.  Four trailers used on broadcast to advertise these episodes.  2 minutes. 

On Disc 4:

-         Episode 8: Silence in the Library with optional commentary by actor David Tennant, Writer and future

Executive Producer Steven Moffat, and Executive Producer Julie Gardner.

-         Episode 9: Forest of the Dead with optional commentary by Script Editor Helen Raynor, Costume Designer

Louise Page, and Director Euros Lyn.

-         Episode 10: Midnight with optional commentary by actor David Tennant, Director Alice Troughton, and

Writer/Executive Producer Russell T. Davies.

-         All episodes are 45 minutes in duration.

-         Deleted Scenes.  6 minutes worth of deleted scenes from episodes 9, 11, and 13.  Four scenes in all.

-         BBC Trailers.  Three trailers used on broadcast to advertise these episodes.  2 minutes.

On Disc 5:

-         Episode 11: Turn Left with optional commentary by actors Catherine Tate, Jacqueline King (Sylvia Noble),

and Bernard Cribbins (Wilf).

-         Episode 12: The Stolen Earth with optional commentary by actor David Tennant, Executive Producer

Julie Gardner, and Executive Producer/Writer Russell T. Davies.

-         Episode 13:  Journey’s End with optional commentary by actors David Tennand and Catherine Tate,

and Executive Producer/Writer Russell T. Davies.

-         Episodes 11 and 12 are 45 minutes in duration.  Episode 13 is 63 minutes.

-         David Tennant’s Video Diary.  16 minutes of behind-the-scenes footage shot by David Tennant during

the making of The Stolen Earth  and Journey’s End.

-         “The Journey (So Far)  A new 31-minute featurette that looks back on all four seasons of the new series.

-         BBC Trailers.  Five trailers used on broadcast and in cinemas to advertise these episodes.  2 minutes.

On Disc 6:

-         14 episodes of Doctor Who: Confidential: Cut Down.  This is the companion behind-the-scenes documentary

series that airs directly after each parent episode.  There is one for every episode in this set. 

Each is between 10-15 minutes long. 

Also in the Box Set:

-         An 18-page illustrated booklet called “Series 4 Episode Guide,” including an introduction from Russell T. Davies.

 

 

Doctor Who: The Infinite Quest  an animated adventure starring the voices of David Tennant as the Doctor,

            Freema Agyeman as Martha Jones and Anthony Stewart Head as the villainous Balthazar. 

            1 disc.   Main program is 47 minutes.  Suggested retail price of $9.98. 

            -     This was originally a series of 3-minute-long separate episodes that ran as part of the children’s magazine

                        series Totally Doctor Who in 2007 concurrent with the broadcast of the 2007 season of Doctor Who

(Series Three).  All of the episodes have been edited together into one program on this DVD.

-         Graphical menus, scene selection features, and subtitles for the hearing impaired.

-         16:9 enhanced aspect ratio.

-         Stereo sound.

-         The disc boots up with ads for other BBC DVD sets.  These are skippable with your remote.

-         Character Profiles.   Displays text and graphics of each of the speaking characters in the story.

-         Actor Interviews.  1-3 minute interviews with each of the following participants:  David Tennant,

Freema Agyeman, Anthony Stewart Head, Toby Longworth, and director Gary Russell.

-         Animation Tests.  42 seconds worth of animation demonstrations used in the pre-production process.

-         Photo Gallery. 

-         Trailers for the Complete Fourth Series box set and also The Sarah Jane Adventures.

-         Behind the Scenes With the Animators.  A 2-minute look at the animation studio.

-         Behind the Scenes With the Voice Artists (with Barney Harwood).  This segment, which appeared on

Totally Doctor Who, sees series host Barney Harwood visit the recording studio and contribute a

small acting role of his own.

-         Dialogue Recording:  Episode 1.   Raw video footage of the actors recording what was episode 1 of the series.

4 minutes.

            -     Dialogue Recording: Episode 9.  More raw video of voice recording, this time from episode 9.  4 minutes.

            -     Animatics and Deleted Scenes.  9 minutes of sketch art for scenes that were later fully animated, and a few

                        that never were.

-         1 Easter Egg.  Highlight the invisible text area below to see what it is and how to find it.

-         While on the main menu, highlight the “Extras” selection and then press the up arrow on your remote. 

A switch on the TARDIS console will light up.  Click on this and you will see a clip of David Tennant

recording the section where the Doctor imitates a pirate. 

 

OCTOBER 2008 DVDs DETAILED

Here’s what you’ll find in the October North American Doctor Who-releated releases:

 

First, every October disc starts off with a trailer for The Complete Fourth Series Box Set starring David Tennant.

 

Doctor Who: The Brain of Morbius  starring Tom Baker as Doctor Who and Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith.

-         4 25-minute episodes.

-         Graphical menus, episode and scene selection features, and subtitles for the hearing impaired.

-         Commentary track by actors Tom Baker, Elisabeth Sladen, and Philip Madoc (Solon), Producer

Philip Hinchcliffe, and Director Christopher Barry.

-         “Getting a Head  A new 32-minute behind-the-scenes featurette narrated by Paul McGann.

Features interviews with actors Philip Madoc, Cynthia Grenville (Maron), Gillian Brown (Ohica),

and Colin Fay (Condo), producer Philip Hinchcliffe, director Christopher Barry, designer Barry

Newbury, and musician Dudley Simpson.

-         “Designs on Karn  A new 6-minute interview with designer Barry Newbury about how the sets were made.

-         “Set Tour  A 2-minute computer-generated virtual tour of the studio and how the sets were fitted into it.

-         Photo Gallery.   A 5-minute presentation of still photos taken during the production.

-         Sketch Gallery.  A 2-minute presentation of the designer’s sketches and of the DVD featurette artwork.

-         Information Text.  Select this option and production trivia subtitles will appear as you watch the story.

-         Radio Times Listings.  Place the DVD into the DVD-ROM drive of a computer and you can access pdf

files containing the original Radio Times TV listings for this story.

-         Two Easter Eggs.  Highlight the blank text below to see what it is and how to find it:

Egg 1: Go to the Special Features menu and highlight “Set Tour,” then press the left arrow on your remote.

A Doctor Who logo will appear.  Click on this and you’ll see and hear being read a letter

of complaint written by a young fan in 1975 to “Robin Bland,” the so-called author of the story,

and script editor Robert Holmes’ reply.

                        Egg 2: Go to the Episode Selection menu, then highlight the Main Menu option.  Then press the left

                                    arrow.  A Doctor Who logo will appear.  Click on this and for about a minute and a half you’ll

                                    see the virtual studio tour take you into the Sacred Flame of Karn and then play you a video

                                    showing how this story links to some of those used in the spinoff fiction.

 

Doctor Who: The Trial of a Time Lord starring Colin Baker as the Doctor, Nicola Bryant as Peri, Bonnie Langford

            as Melanie, Michael Jayston as the Valeyard, Lynda Bellingham as the Inquisitor, Tony Selby as Glitz, and

            Anthony Ainley as the Master.

 

Four separate Amaray-style cases, each containing one disc which has one of the four sub-stories on it.  Each disc

has graphical menus, episode and scene selection features, and subtitles for the hearing impaired.  Each also has

the Information Text option that plays pop-up production trivia subtitles as you watch the story when selected.

In Box 1:

-         Disc One, containing the sub-story The Mysterious Planet.   4  25-minute episodes.

-         Two different commentary tracks.  The first covers the whole story and features actors Colin Baker,

Nicola Bryant, Tony Selby, and Adam Blackwood (Balazar).  The second is only on the first episode

and features script editor Eric Saward detailing the problems he encountered in scripting the season.

-         “The Making of The Mysterious Planet”  A new 25-minute behind-the-scenes documentary featuring

interviews with actors Colin Baker, Nicola Bryant, Michael Jayston, and Tony Selby, script editor

Eric Saward, musician Dominic Glynn, visual effects designer Mike Kelt, and journalists Jim Sangster

and Clayton Hickman.  Also features archive clips from Blue Peter. Narrated by Michael Jayston.

-         Deleted and Extended Scenes.  8 minutes of fifteen different scenes that were cut or trimmed before the

final edit.

-         Trails and Continuity.  10 minutes of trailers and “previously on Doctor Who” segments used by the BBC

before or after each broadcast.

-         35mm Film Sequence.   The entire 1-minute motion control model shot sequence of the Time Lord space

station seen at the start of the story.

-         Music Videos.  Leads to a sub-menu where you can select one of three video sequences, each with 2-3

optional soundtracks.  They are:

o       Clean Titles.  Plays the opening and closing title sequences in full without any credits on them. 

§         Sound options are Original Music, a 2008 Stereo Remix by original arranger Dominic

Glynn, and that same 2008 remix rejigged again for Dolby 5.1.

o       Theme Music Remix.  Plays treated title sequence video mixed with footage from the stories to the

accompaniment of one of three sound options:

§         Sound options are Original (which is the stereo version of the theme music Dominic Glynn

made in 1986 for use on commercial albums and cassettes and later CDs), a 2008 Stereo

Remix where Glynn has rejigged that version, and then that same 2008 remix again but in

Dolby 5.1.

o       The Trial Theme.  Plays a montage of video from throughout the trial to the accompaniment of

a music track Dominic Glynn made for a Doctor Who Magazine promotional disc in 1987,

which mixed some of his incidental music from this story with some newly composed music. 

§         Sound options are Stereo or Dolby 5.1

-         Wogan.  Plays a 14-minute section of an episode of Terry Wogan’s talk show from 1986 where

Colin Baker and Lynda Bellingham were interviewed. 

-         Blue Peter.  Plays a 7-minute segment of a 1986 edition of the children’s magazine show that showed off

the robots from this story, briefly spoke with Nabil Shaban in costume as Sil, and also briefly spoke

with Colin Baker and Bonnie Langford. 

-         Photo Gallery.   Plays a 7-minute presentation of still photos taken during the production.

-         There is one featurette that is on the Region 2 edition of this disc that has had to be removed from this

North American edition due to rights clearance issues.  This was a 2-minute segment from a viewer

feedback show called “Points of View” hosted by Anne Robinson.

In Box 2:

            -     Disc Two, containing the sub-story Mindwarp.  4 25-minute episodes.

            -     Commentary track by actors Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant and writer Philip Martin.

            -     “The Making of Mindwarp  A new 20-minute behind-the-scenes documentary featuring interviews

                        with actors Colin Baker, Nicola Bryant, Michael Jayston, Brian Blessed (King Yrcanos),

                        Patrick Ryecart (Crozier), script editor Eric Saward, writer Philip Martin, and journalists Jim

                        Sangster and Clayton Hickman. 

-         Deleted and Extended Scenes.  9 minutes of footage from seventeen different scenes that were cut or

trimmed before the final edit.

-         “Now and Then: On The Trail of a Time Lord”  A 21-minute featurette that looks at the locations used

in all of the trial stories as they were then and as they are now, and also talks about the changing

techniques used to capture location material on Doctor Who.

            -     “A Fate Worse Than Death?”   Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant watch and commentate on the final 2

minutes of the final episode of the final story where more information about Peri’s departure is

revealed to the Doctor.  Don’t watch this unless until you’ve seen the entire trial all the way through,

as it’s a spoiler.

-         Trails and Continuity.  3 minutes of trailers and “previously on Doctor Who” segments used by the BBC

before or after each broadcast.

-         Children in Need.  A 3 minute segment from the 1986 “Children in Need” appeal where a couple dozen

former cast members present checks of money raised by fans for this annual charity telethon.

-         Lenny Henry.   A 5-minute Doctor Who spoof sketch from The Lenny Henry Show that aired

shortly before this time.

            -    Photo Gallery.  Plays a 7-minute presentation of still photos taken during the production.

In Box 3:

-         Disc Three, containing the sub-story Terror of the Vervoids.  4  25-minute episodes.

-         Commentary track by actors Colin Baker and Michael Craig (Commodore Travers), writers Pip and

Jane Baker, and director Chris Clough.

-         “The Making of Terror of the Vervoids”  A new 19-minute behind-the-scenes documentary featuring

interviews with actors Colin Baker, Michael Craig and Malcolm Tierney (Doland), writers Pip and

Jane Baker, script editor Eric Saward, and journalists Jim Sangster and Clayton Hickman.

-         Deleted and Extended Scenes.  14 minutes worth of edits and trims made to thirty-two different scenes.

-         Trails and Continuity.  3 minutes of more trailers and “previously on Doctor Who” segments.

-         “The Lost Season.”  An 11-minute featurette about the stories that were being planned to form the

original 23rd season of Doctor Who before the series was put on hiatus by Michael Grade.

Narrated by Colin Baker and featuring interviews with script editor Eric Saward and writer

Philip Martin.

-         “Now, Get Out of That”  A new 28-minute featurette about cliffhangers and their uses and drawbacks

throughout all of Doctor Who.  Features interviews with actors Tom Baker (the Fourth Doctor),

Peter Davison (the Fifth Doctor), Colin Baker (the Sixth Doctor), Anneke Wills (Polly),

Sophie Aldred (Ace), and writers Robert Shearman, Nev Fountain, and Joseph Lidster.

-         Saturday Picture Show.   A 7-minute segment of a 1986 magazine show that interviewed Bonnie Langford

about her taking on the role of Melanie.

-         Photo Gallery.  A 6-minute presentation of still photos taken during the production.

In Box 4:

-         Disc Four, containing the concluding sub-story The Ultimate Foe.  2 episodes, 25 and 30 minutes respectively.

-         Two commentary tracks.  The first features actors Colin Baker and Tony Selby and director Chris Clough

on episode 13, and then they are joined by writers Pip and Jane Baker on episode 14.  The second

commentary is only on episode 13 and features script editor Eric Saward discussing by himself the

scripting problems that came with this season and his own acrimonious departure at this time. 

-         “Making of the Ultimate Foe”  A new 15-minute behind-the-scenes featurette featuring interviews

with actors Colin Baker, Michael Jayston, and Tony Selby, writers Pip and Jane Baker,

script editor Eric Saward, director Chris Clough, and journalists Jim Sangster and Clayton Hickman.

-         Deleted and Extended Scenes.  5 minutes worth of deletions and edits made to ten different scenes.

-         Trails and Continuity.  1 minute of more trailers and “previously on Doctor Who” segments.

-         “Trials and Tribulations”  A new 55-minute documentary about the whole of the Sixth Doctor’s era

and the numerous obstacles it had to face both from within and without, leading to Colin Baker’s

dismissal.  One of the best featurettes yet, it features new interviews with actors Colin Baker

and Nicola Bryant, script editor Eric Saward, writers Pip and Jane Baker and Philip Martin,

former BBC Head of Series and Serials David Reid and his successor Jonathan Powell (under whose

dubious leadership this era was made), fan adviser Ian Levine, fanzine editor Gary Leigh,

and archival interviews with producer John Nathan-Turner and BBC1 Controller Michael Grade.

-         1985 Hiatus.  4 minutes worth of BBC news clips that covered the ’85 hiatus events.

-         Doctor in Distress.  The infamous 4-minute music video released during 1985 hiatus to raise money

for charity and demand the return of Doctor Who to television.

-         Open Air.   A 10-minute segment from a 1986 edition of this BBC feedback show that pitted disgruntled

fans from the Doctor Who Appreciation Society against writers Pip and Jane Baker and a disdainful

host.  Of particular interest is that one of these fans is none other than Chris Chibnall, who twenty

years later would become the head writer and showrunner on Torchwood and also wrote the David

Tennant Doctor Who episode 42. 

-         Saturday Superstore.  A 13-minute segment of Colin Baker appearing on this Saturday morning call-in

show for kids -  from 1986.

-         Photo Gallery.  A 5-minute presentation of photographic stills taken during production.

-         PDF Files.   Place this disc into your computer and you can access three different PDF files.  They are:

o       Radio Times.  The TV listings for all 14 episodes of the trial.

o       BBC Press Offfice Release.  A 12-page press release about the season from 1986.

o       Zig Zag.  A 4-page segment from a magazine that went behind-the-scenes on the production

of this season.

There are no Easter Eggs anywhere on this set.

 

The Sarah Jane Adventures – The Complete First Season starring Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith,

            Yasmin Paige as Maria Jackson, Tommy Knight as Luke Smith, Daniel Anthony as Clyde Langer,

            with Alexander Armstrong as the voice of Mr. Smith and John Leeson as the voice of K9.

On every disc:

-         Graphical menus, episode and scene selection features, and subtitles for the hearing impaired.

-         Stereo sound on all episodes.

            -     “Sarah’s PC”   A facsimile of Sarah’s desk computer with three sub-folders:

                        -  “Character Profiles  Text files about all the main characters we’ve met up to this point.

                        -  “Investigating Tools  Text files about all of Sarah Jane’s hardware we’ve seen to this point.

                        -  “Alien Profiles  Text files about the alien creatures we’ve met so far.

                        On each disc, each sub-folder is added to with the new characters, tools, or aliens we’ve met

in the episodes on that disc.

 

On Disc 1:  

            Story One: Invasion of the Bane  (60-minute pilot episode)

-          “Telescope”   Graphics of the telescope in Sarah’s attic leading to two trailers, one for the pilot

episode that was used on the  BBC’s website, and one for the Doctor Who Complete Third

Series Box Set.

            -     “Mr. Smith”   Sarah’s super-computer opens up to reveal links to the following featurettes:

                        -   “Sarah Jane Smith: From Journalist to Time Traveller and Beyond”

                                    A collection of clips from Sarah’s episodes of Doctor Who, telling the story of

                                    her friendship with the Doctor.  Stories that are highlighted are The Time Warrior,

                                    Planet of the Spiders (where we see the Third Doctor regenerate into the Fourth),

                                    Robot, The Sontaran Experiment, The Hand of Fear, The Five Doctors,

                                    School Reunion, and finally The Sarah Jane Adventures: Invasion of the Bane.

                                    Each starts with some explanatory text.

-    BBC Norfolk Web TV: Interview with Elisabeth Sladen.  A 7-minute interview with the star.

-    Blue Peter Footage.  A 5-minute segment from children’s magazine show Blue Peter

            where they go behind-the-scenes on the sets and talk with Elisabeth Sladen,

            Yasmin Paige, and Samantha Bond (Mrs. Wormwood)

-    Behind the Scenes.  A collection of still photos taken during production.

-           When booting up, this disc plays a trailer for the movie Journey to the Center of the Earth and

  another one for BBC America.   These are skippable with your remote.

On Disc 2:

            Story Two: Revenge of the Slitheen (2 30-minute episodes) and

            Story Three: Eye of the Gorgon (2 30-minute episodes)

-         When booting up, this disc plays a trailer for the BBC’s Robin Hood series.  It is skippable with

your remote.

On Disc 3:

            Story Four:  Warriors of Kudlak (2 30-minute episodes) and

            Story Five:  Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane?  (2 30-minute episodes)

-         When booting up, this disc plays a trailer for Doctor Who – The Complete Fourth Series box set.

It is skippable with your remote.

On Disc 4:

            Story Six:  The Last Boy  (2 30-minute episodes)

-         “The Sofa Area”:  A graphic of Sarah’s sofa, where a book sits on the nearby coffee table.  This

book opens to display text synopses of every episode in the series.

            -     “Telescope”   Graphics of Sarah’s telescope again leading to two trailers for the series used on

                        CBBC, one of 20 seconds and one of 40 seconds.

-         “Mr. Smith”  More super-computer links to the following featurettes:

-         “Blue Peter TV Spot:  Making of a Slitheen Mask”  A 4-minute segment from Blue Peter

where Elisabeth Sladen is interviewed and where Yasmin Paige, Tommy Knight, and

Daniel Anthony try to make a Slitheen mask. 

-         “BBC Breakfast News TV Spot:  Interview with Elisabeht Sladen”  An 8-minute interview

with Elisabeth Sladen from 2006 just before her reappearance in the School Reunion

episode of Doctor Who.

-         Audio Adventures

Two 1-minute audio-only trailers for two Sarah Jane Adventures talking books that available

Elsewhere:  The Thirteenth Stone and The Glittering Storm.

-         Photo Gallery.   A collection of still photos taken during the production.

-         Quiz Area…. Leading to Outtakes.    You’re asked some multiple choice questions about the

episodes.  Get five of them in a row right, and you’ll be played fifteen different outtakes

from the series, totaling about four minutes.

 

and trailers that ran on the original BBC1 broadcasts                    of this story. 

UK DVD RELEASES

Though we can’t play the UK’s Region 2 DVDs on our ordinary North American DVD players and TV sets, it’s still

worth our while to keep an eye on what they’re getting over there, as the titles we get are usually what’s first been

released over there, and usually with the same sets of bonus features, and usually (but not always) in the same order

they got it.

 

The titles they’ve got that we haven’t yet are as follows:

Doctor Who (the TV Movie) starring Paul McGann  (UK release in August 2001)

This may never be released in North America due to the complicated rights issues surrounding

this production.

Davros Box Set (UK in November 2007 – all 5 Davros stories in one box set.  This will not be released in North America.)

The Next Doctor (UK in January 2009.  North America on September 15, 2009.)

The Rescue and The Romans  starring William Hartnell (2-story box set.  UK in February 2009. North America

in July 2009.)

Attack of the Cybermen starring Colin Baker (UK in March 2009.  North America in July 2009.)

Image of the Fendahl starring Tom Baker (UK in April 2009. North America in September 2009.)

The Deadly Assassin starring Tom Baker  (UK in May 2009. North America in September 2009.)

 

Upcoming…

Delta and the Bannermen starring Sylvester McCoy (UK in June 2009.  North America in September 2009.)

Planet of the Dead starring David Tennant (UK in June 2009.  North America on July 28, 2009.)

The War Games starring Patrick Troughton (UK in July 2009.  3-disc set.)

Remembrance of the Daleks: Special Edition starring Sylvester McCoy (UK in July 2009.)

The Black Guardian Trilogy starring Peter Davison (3 stories in a 4-disc set.  Stories are Mawdryn Undead,

            Terminus, and Enlightenment. UK in August 2009.)

Torchwood: Children of Earth starring John Barrowman and Eve Myles (2 discs, standard DVD or Blu-Ray.

            UK date to-be-announced.  North America on July 28, 2009.)

The Twin Dilemma starring Colin Baker (UK in September 2009.)

The Keys of Marinus starring William Hartnell (UK in September 2009.)

Dalek War Box Set starring Jon Pertwee (UK probably in December 2009.  Contains 2 stories:

            Frontier in Space and Planet of the Daleks.  The third episode of Planet of the Daleks has been restored

            to full color for the first time in 30 years for this DVD release.)

There will reportedly be no classic series releases in October or November in the UK to make way for

releases from the new series and its spinoffs, though those titles are yet to be announced. 

 

There is one further box set being heavily rumored to be coming out in 2010.  

It’s s called Myths and Legends and will contain three stories that were all based on classical Greek myths. 

These are Jon Pertwee’s The Time Monster and Tom Baker’s Underworld  and The Horns of Nimon.  

 

 

Doctor Who is the copyright of the BBC, BBC Worldwide, BBC Video, and is distributed on VHS and DVD in North America by Warner Home Video under license. 

 It was previously released on home video by CBS/Fox. No infringement upon this copyright is intended in any way by this site.  This site is a purely volunteer effort

 to inform consumers as to where they can find Doctor Who videos, and it details what is on each video.   All images used by this site are also the copyright of the

BBC and/or CBS/Fox Video and/or Warner Home Video and are taken from Steve Hill's Doctor Who Image Archive at http://www.shillpages.com/dw/dwia.htm

(so sue him first).  J 

 

I hope this all helps!
Compiled by Steve Manfred,  smanfred at comcast.net   (change at to @ and remove the spaces to email me)