Official Synopsis:
The Time Lords intercept the transmat beam from Earth to Nerva and strand the Doctor (Tom Baker), Sarah Jane and Harry on the planet Skaro in an era before the Daleks evolved. Before the travelers are to be allowed to return to the TARDIS, the Doctor must fulfill a daunting mission - to change the course of evolution itself. Originally transmitted March 8 - April 12, 1975.
Our Take:
As somebody who's fairly new to the world (or should I say the universe) of Doctor Who, I was pretty eager to go back and explore some of the good Doctor's earlier exploits. I mean, we're talking about a character that's almost 40 years old at this point; I know there's a wealth of back stories.
So it's fitting that my first chance to go back and check out some classic Doctor Who is with Tom Baker as The Doctor. Of all the Doctors, the only one I was ever exposed to at all was Tom Baker. When I was a kid, we'd occasionally run across some Doctor Who episodes on PBS, and I remember my dad always describing Baker as "that yo-yo with the funny hat." Not an entirely inaccurate description, really.
BBC's new Doctor Who: Genesis of the Daleks is a great place to jump into the show. Baker is one of the most well-known Doctors, and this series gives us the origin of his most hated enemies, the Daleks. While the show features the typical low-budget production values embodied by 70's-era BBC, there's no denying the quality or quirkiness of the episodes or the characters. I will say that the story runs a bit long and tends to drag in places, but overall, it's a fascinating insight into the history of Doctor Who.'
What makes this release even more remarkable is that this two-disc set comes packed with great extra features.
* Commentary - Featuring actors Tom Baker, Elisabeth Sladen and Peter Miles and director David Maloney, this is a real treat.
* Genesis of a Classic (60-minutes) A making-of featurette that explores the creation of this story arc.
* The Dalek Tapes (53-minutes) - A documentary on Doctor Who's most iconic villains narrated by Terry 'Davros' Molloy that includes rare footage.
* Blue Peter (7-minutes) - This feature shows off a collection of Doctor Who models built by a 16 year old fan.
* DVD-ROM features - The 1976 Doctor Who comic book annual and Radio Times listings.
* Production Note Option - Watch the entire series with on screen trivia and production notes.
* Photo Gallery - A collection of on-set and promotional stills.
This is a terrific release for Doctor Who fans. It might not be THE best place for a new fan to jump in (at least watch the new series first), but you can't beat the value with all those great extra features.
Overall Picture:
Show: B
DVD: A+
- Mike Spring
Editor
|
|
