Doctor Who: Frontier In Space

After receiving a bit of a telling off from Andrew Lewin, the esteemed curator of Taking The Short View for not feeling the Pertwee love in my last Doctor Who related post, I decided to give him another try.

Frontier In Space is a six part story from 1973, which features a plethora of creatures from the "whoniverse" including the Ogrons and the Draconians, the latter being Jon Pertwee's favourite monsters, and rather brilliantly realised they are too.

This story is also the final appearance from Roger Delgado as The Master, before the tragic car accident that claimed his life. His portrayal for many fans is the definitive version of this classic villain.

My issue with many six part stories is that they tend to be padded out which makes the story drag, but this manages to keep up a decent pace.

The idea of the sonic gadget that makes the characters see the thing that they fear the most is a clever plot device.

I chose this as it was the story that was being broadcast when I was born, although not quite a Genesis Of The Daleks or an Earthshock, it's a good one to be associated with (thankfully I'm too old to have had Time And The Rani as my story!)

And for anyone who hasn't yet seen this classic series story, there is a little cameo at the end that will make it worth watching all the way through.

I would be really interested to hear what story was doing the rounds when you were born, so please feel free to leave a comment.

Overall I quite enjoyed this one, I may yet be converted to the Pertwee cause!

Doctor Who: Day Of The Daleks (Special Edition)

As with many a Doctor Who nerd of my generation (I'm 38), my first experience of this story was in the form of the Target novelisation by Terrance Dicks, so upon watching a repeat of the programme as a kid, it was a little bit disappointing to see the actual programme compared to the version conjured up in my mind by the novel. The difference between your memory of a story and the reality is addressed in the extensive list of DVD extras.

© 2|Entertain

This release contains the original version, and a souped up special edition, containing new special effects, new Dalek voices (from THE voice of the Daleks Nick Briggs) and new footage shot on vintage film cameras in order to match up with the original print.

The plot revolves around a group of guerrillas from the 22nd century who have travelled back to the 20th century in an attempt to kill the man they believe is responsible for the Daleks conquering the Earth. The Doctor is sent by U.NI.T. to investigate. I can't help but think that James Cameron might have seen this prior to coming up with the idea for The Terminator.

This may seem like heresy to hardcore classic Who fans, but I really like the special edition version, the new effects don't look out of place, and the new Dalek voices make a huge difference to the atmosphere of the story. For those who can't bear tinkering with the classics, you still have the original version on disc one.

In terms of extras, as usual 2 Entertain have put in lots of interesting content including the aforementioned 'The Cheating Memory' (nice title), part two of 'The U.N.I.T. Family', 'Now and Then' looking at locations used for the story, the very entertaining Toby Hadoke presents 'The U.N.I.T. Dating Conundrum', 'Blasting The Past' a making of documentary, along with a making of documentary for the special edition, as well as 'A View From The Gallery', and clips from Blue Peter and Nationwide, production subtitles and a commentary from Anna Barry, Jimmy Winston, Barry Letts, Terrance Dicks and Mike Catherwood.

If you are after a classic Who DVD to add to your collection this is a must.