The 2008 Doctor Who DVD thread (R1 & R2) TV Movie in USA

[2099net]

2099net,

No offense, but I think you are the first Who fan to ever praise "The Happiness Patrol." Seriously a villian named the Kandyman, who looks like a cheap Halloween costume, that executes unhappy people in a stream of molten candy is ridiculous! The only statement that episode made was how bad the series had become under JNT.

None taken, because I know it is controversial. However, I'm somewhat surprised that somebody with a user name like "Prince Charming 12" is so negative towards The Happiness Patrol, because I see it as a modern-day fairytale. I really do. Imagine if there was the money, and the BBC managed to get feature-film quality sets and effects and Tim Burton to direct it. It would be phenomenal!

Yes, the Happiness Patrol has lots of faults, most of them endemic in Doctor Who in the '80's – stagey sets, over bright lighting, a budget too small to realise the demands of the script. But if you look past all that – like all Classic Who fans have learned to have to, you'll see that is it a triumph of imagination.

Going back to the fairytale aspect, Helen A fits easily into the Maleficent and Lady Tremaine role of the story, and the Kandyman is a combination of the Witch from Hansel and Gretel and the Ogre from Puss in Boots. And I love the Kandyman's costume – I still find it and his performance a little chilling today.

And depending on your point of view, the ability to render him immobile just with lemonade is either a stroke of genius or lazy writing (in case you haven't guessed, I with the former).

Finally, the ultimate message about happiness can't be manufactured or mandated and how without experiencing pain, suffering or sadness that happiness alone means little (or indeed nothing) I think is an ideal "moral" for a fairy story.

I'm not a big supporter of JNT – the man obviously did a lot of things that were wrong, but I'm not a JNT distracter either. And I refuse to say the Happiness Patrol was something he did that was wrong. It's no more odd-ball than "The Celestial Toymaker" or "The Mind Robber" or "Love & Monsters" for example, and I love how it stretches the definition of what Doctor Who can and cannot do.

p.s. Do you know when the complete Series #4 will be released on DVD?

The just published issue of Doctor Who Magazine says "mid-November" for the UK release.

New DVD News

The Complete The Sarah-Jane Adventures Series 1 will be coming to DVD in both the US and the UK on October 7th and November 10th respectively. It's a four disc set and includes Invasion of the Bane. Personally, four discs seems to be going a little overboard (I'm sure it would happily fit on three), especially as the special features don't sound that great (most are from the single disc Invasion of the Bane already released)

http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Sarah- ... tras/10145

[Prince Charming 12]

[quote="2099net"None taken, because I know it is controversial. However, I'm somewhat surprised that somebody with a user name like "Prince Charming 12" is so negative towards The Happiness Patrol, because I see it as a modern-day fairytale.]

As I read your analogy, I think this statement really hits home our differences on this episode. I would have never drawn the conclusion between this Season 25 title and a fairytale story. Obviously most Who Fans would agree with me, as evidenced by Escapay's limited search results of favorable reviews. My expectations of a sci-fi program, especially Dr Who, are quite different from a Disney film. Also from what I have read, Curry's intent was to write a political satire of the 80's PM Thatcher. I do not think he intented this story to be a fairytale.

I am not a JNT basher either. I thought he did a good job of producing the show in the early 80's (w/Peter Davison); one of my favorite stories was 'The Caves of Androzani.' His ability to provide overall direction to the show probably started to decline in Season 22. Seasons 24 -26 sealed his infamous mark on the program and are probably why so many fans despise him even today.

Thanks Net and Escapay for providing an approximate release date for Series #4. They have usually advertise it after each episode, but I have not seen it so far on tv.

[ichabod]

*ahem*

http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Doctor-Series-4/10188

[2099net]

As I read your analogy, I think this statement really hits home our differences on this episode. I would have never drawn the conclusion between this Season 25 title and a fairytale story. Obviously most Who Fans would agree with me, as evidenced by Escapay's limited search results of favorable reviews.

Well Paul Cornell obviously likes it - he wrote a story of the Kandyman landing on Tara for one of the "Short Trips" short story collections. The writers of About Time like it too. But there's nothing wrong with not liking it. The world would be a boring place if we all liked the same things.

My expectations of a sci-fi program, especially Dr Who, are quite different from a Disney film. Also from what I have read, Curry's intent was to write a political satire of the 80's PM Thatcher. I do not think he intented this story to be a fairytale.

My only expectations of Dr Who are to feed my imagination. I hate - really hate Revenge of the Cybermen. It's the dullest Dotor Who story ever (at least the opening episode of The Space Museum, the second dullest shows lots of promise). Revenge is just awful in every respect because it has no ambition or aspiration, and it feels like its just been knocked up in a painted-by-numbers fashion. Whatever you think of The Happiness Patrol, you can't accuse it of that!

I think its possible for a story to have been inspired by more than one thing. I don't see how, when you have a monster made from candy, on brightly coloured sets, some form of fairy tale comparison isn't intended. As for Thatcher's politics, I think that's quite clear at the end, with Helen A's self-justification speech.

I am not a JNT basher either. I thought he did a good job of producing the show in the early 80's (w/Peter Davison); one of my favorite stories was 'The Caves of Androzani.' His ability to provide overall direction to the show probably started to decline in Season 22. Seasons 24 -26 sealed his infamous mark on the program and are probably why so many fans despise him even today.

26 (apart from Battlefield) was a dramatic improvement on seasons 24-25.

Thanks Net and Escapay for providing an approximate release date for Series #4. They have usually advertise it after each episode, but I have not seen it so far on tv.

I guess you're in America. The series has been shown a little earlier in the US this year than normal, so that probably explains why no adverts. They can't realease the US DVDs until close to the UK release (mainly because lots of people would import the US set for half the UK's price - we all have multi-region players and thanks to the exchange rate, US DVDs are dirt cheap!)

[Escapay]

Obviously most Who Fans would agree with me, as evidenced by Escapay's limited search results of favorable reviews.

Not necessarily limited, just a quick "find a review that's positive" search. And usually OG has reviews for both sides of an argument, which is why I just went to it without really searching any further.

*ahem*

http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Doctor-Series-4/10188

Thanks, iccy!

Glad to have a confirmed date, and while I know I shouldn't worry, I'm a bit surprised that the press release didn't mention some features that are known to exist and are likely to be included (the BBFC-passed Tennant's video diaries, and standards like trailers and commentaries).

Albert

[ichabod]

Cover art:
http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Doctor ... -Art/10199

which is a bit blah

And on a seperate but related note I broke a dalek today.

[2099net]

Did you aim for the eyepiece?

[Prince Charming 12]

Revenge is just awful in every respect because it has no ambition or aspiration, and it feels like its just been knocked up in a painted-by-numbers fashion. Whatever you think of The Happiness Patrol, you can't accuse it of that!

That was my point, I thought it was just a complete disaster. Revenge is no masterpiece, but I would rank it ahead of The Happiness Patrol. Not to pick on that one episode, because Seasons 24-26 have plenty more stories that rank right up there with this one. Enough on that and thanks for your comments on this topic.

26 (apart from Battlefield) was a dramatic improvement on seasons 24-25.

I could partially agree with you on that statement, because the only story that I liked from the Slyvester McCoy era was 'The Curse of Fenric'. The reason that I would not fully agree with you is because of Ghost Light and Survival, which reminded me of 24-25 again. I could never understand what the heck was going on in Ghost Light! I do not believe the actors did either.


Thanks for the Series #4 release date Ichabod.

[ichabod]

Did you aim for the eyepiece?

Well no me being Mr naughty decided that the rope surrounding it wasnt there for any reason in particular and I leant over and prodded the head, which wasn't attached and fell off.

[2099net]

Wahoo! Today I got my copy of Torchwood S1 on HD DVD! For only £12.99! The war may be over, but some of us can enjoy picking up the casualties. I wasn't even aware that it was ever put out on HD DVD – I'm sure I read it was dropped and only released on Blu-ray.

I'm also a little confused as reviewers on Amazon.co.uk (not where I bought it from) say it is a HD DVD/DVD combo release, but my set is HD DVD only.

Torchwood S1 isn't brilliant – out of the 13 episodes, perhaps only 5 or 6 are worthy of a 7/10 or greater, and the worst episode is so bad, it's probably a 0/10! However, for £12.99 I'm just happy to get "They Keep Killing Suzie" in HD which I rate as exceptionally good.

It will help to cheer me up after the Trialgate scandal. The Trial of a Time Lord boxset (with some amazing extras on) has been pushed back a month at the last minute.

[2099net]

Well "Trialgate" (as I've dubbed it) still persists and it appears that the differential between "Standard Editions" and "Special Editions" no longer exists (at least not price wise, but at least in the UK we get 2 disc sets without a price rise) but the BBC Doctor Who DVD still continue to be released.

Today I got the War Machines. While it's not that long since the last Hartnell (The Time Meddler) its still refreshing to see another B/W Classic Who release (I'm surprised it's not The Sensorites to be honest thanks to the Sense Sphere being mentioned in Planet of the Ood this year on TV).

The War Machines is an odd story really. For the time, its totally against the programme's formula (such as it has a formula). Not only is it set in the (then) present, but it embraces the period. This means that today, its as much of an "historical" as stories like "The Reign of Terror" or "The Meddling Monk" are. There's something incredibly wrong, but also so right about seeing Hartnell's Doctor interact with London in the swinging sixties. Talking of Hartnell, while his far from my favourite Doctor, he puts on one of his best performances, and is totally believable, despite some of his usual "Billyfluffs" (alas, he was not a well man by this point).

The restoration work is superb. Not so much the picture (but I'm pretty sure it’s the best the Restoration Team boffins could do) but the amount of time and effort that has been taken to present the story as complete as possible. The excellent Wotan Assembly restoration featurette explains why such effort was needed, and how the many challenges were overcome or worked around well, and its fascinating viewing.

The same can also be said for the One Foot in the Past featurette with ex-Postmaster General and later Member of Parliament Tony Benn revisiting the Post Office/Telecom Tower. I'd always assumed that this was filmed especially for the DVD but the sleeve notes say its taken from a BBC2 programme. But upon seeing it, my disappointment disappeared. As you may expect from Tony Benn, there is a little bit of politics in the piece, but mostly it’s a respectful look back not only to the construction of the tower, but also to a time in Britain's history were everything looked brighter and the nation was more optimistic, and while it has nothing to do with Doctor Who itself, its good viewing.

I've never really had much attraction to the Now and Then featurettes, they all seem a little too dry to me, and frankly some choices for Now and Then's in the past seem a little illogical (such as the one on Black Orchid – surely a location selected because it looked like the 1920's, will look more or less similar today – especially stately homes and period railways?) and I feel the same about the one on The War Machines. The London skyline has changed dramatically in the thirty plus years, but the featurette mainly shows locations that look more or less the same.

I'm also not that fussed over the Blue Peter clips either to be honest, but its nice to have them.

It’s a shame nothing is there looking at the decision to make a present day Doctor Who story, which I would assume was to do mainly with the recruitment of Kit Pedler and a desire to save some money. It's also a shame that there's nothing on Ben and Polly too, being as this is their only complete story in the BBC archives.

It's still to view the disc with the commentary track and/or production subtitles.

[2099net]

As well as getting Four to Doomsday today, I also got Series 4 Vol 4 Vanilla release (to encode and put on my portable media player and stream to my Xbox).

It has an advert in for this November's boxset which lists the following:

* All 13 episodes of Series 4
* 2007 Christmas Special: Voyage of the Damned
* 14 Episodes of Doctor Who Confidential (Edited)
* 14 Commentaries
* 14 Audio Descriptions
* David Tennant's Video Diaries
* Kylie Minogue's Video Diary
* Children In Need Special: Time Crash
* Out-takes and Deleted Scenes

So its basically the same as last year's box. Kylie takes over from Freema's tour of the studio, so I guess no hints or clues about any of the 2009 specials this year. Also last year's set had the full 1 hour Christmas confidential, but to make up for getting the "cutdown" version this year, we get the Children In Need mini-episode intact.

Oh, the same insert also promotes lots of other Doctor Who merchandise including a 12" radio controlled Supreme Dalek and a 12" radio controlled Davros and... a 10" Plush Adipose baby! Genius!

[Escapay]

Will the Tennant Diaries be on each disc again for each episode or is it edited down to a single featurette? The BBFC passed one of the diaries for about a half-hour (and doesn't say anything like "part one"), making me worry it's a half-hour that covers the entire series and not just a half-hour covering a few episodes...

And no trailers? I loved the cinema trailer they had for the beginning of the season!

Picked up Invasion of Time a week and a half ago. The story is still a bit iffy for me (maybe because the Sontaran stuff wasn't as exciting as I thought it'd be), and for now I'd give it a 6/10. I wish the DVD was a bit more "packed" as other discs. "Out of Time" was great, but felt like it run out of steam earlier than it should. And not enough people were interviewed for it, IMO. They couldn't get Hilary Ryan or Derek Deadman to talk about it? And it was a bit odd to read Mat Irvine on the commentary but he didn't do an interview for the DVD. (Then again, it seemed that early Who DVDs would have people either in a commentary or in a featurette, but rarely in both.).

Albert

[2099net]

Re: Boxset Special Features

I don't know Escapay! I've not been following the BBFC, but I'm sure I read somewhere about Catherine Tate video diaries, and doesn't the Journey's End special DWM I sent you say that Noel Clarke was filming a video diary for the DVD set too? I read that somewhere recently. I think it could be a case of the almost standard "And More" being missed out from the DVD flyer.

If all these video diaries are going to end up in the set, it probably does mean Tennant's have been scaled down though.

I would say I can't see the BBC releasing a worse set for what is undoubtably not only their flagship show, but flagship DVD release. But then I remember this year's Torchwood with no commentaries and only on featurette.

Re: Classic Who

I do sometimes feel guilty about new fans buying some of the Classic Who releases. Invasion of Time is average (which actually surprised me, because before revisiting it, I would have said it was below average - so watching it again did pull it up in my estimation). To me, the supplements are more important than the actual stories, and I have most of them (all but 3) on VHS, and let's face it, if an unknown story was recovered tomorrow which just had Ian and Barbara exploring the TARDIS and using the Food Machine, having the Fault Locator explained to them etc, I'd be in heaven, even though it would be the most boring thing to a non-fan in existance (although, perhaps not as boring as Revenge of the Cybermen! ) Because to me, all the little details are important too.

re: Four to Doomsday

I'm not a big fan of B-Roll footage. Only the Five Doctors studio recordings have enthralled me, mainly because of the interplay between the Doctors. So Four To Doomsday is perhaps the most disappointing DVD release to date, as extras wise it has the usual plus a 14 minute interview with Davison from 1980 (in which he makes a milkshake believe it or not!) and B-Roll footage. The story isn't bad, but its not great either. How they could release Davison's first recorded story without a behind the scenes documentary is beyond me!

I know this was a "standard edition" but it appears standard and special editions are the same price now in the UK (at least our two disc sets are still the same price unlike over in the US).

[Escapay]

Re: Boxset Special Features

I don't know Escapay! I've not been following the BBFC, but I'm sure I read somewhere about Catherine Tate video diaries, and doesn't the Journey's End special DWM I sent you say that Noel Clarke was filming a video diary for the DVD set too? I read that somewhere recently. I think it could be a case of the almost standard "And More" being missed out from the DVD flyer.

If all these video diaries are going to end up in the set, it probably does mean Tennant's have been scaled down though.

I would say I can't see the BBC releasing a worse set for what is undoubtably not only their flagship show, but flagship DVD release. But then I remember this year's Torchwood with no commentaries and only on featurette.

I vaguely remember reading about the Noel Clarke diary, but that's the first I heard about a Catherine Tate video diary (which I'd LOVE to see). I also remember watching some cast member video diaries for "Midnight" on youtube and hoping they'd show up on the DVD. If this is the DVD set that includes video diaries aplenty by more than just Minogue and Tennant, I'll be a happy camper, even if it comes at the expense of less of Tennant's.

I'm hoping that the insert from your DVD was just a partial listing, or just a general listing that didn't go into more details (like how Disney press releases always and annoyingly include "and more!").

Still, I do miss having some of the featurettes that were in the Series 1 DVD. Doctor Who Confidential just doesn't cut it anymore when it comes to making-of material. I want more stuff like "Mike Tucker's Mock of Balloons" and "Designing Doctor Who".

Re: Classic Who

I do sometimes feel guilty about new fans buying some of the Classic Who releases. Invasion of Time is average (which actually surprised me, because before revisiting it, I would have said it was below average - so watching it again did pull it up in my estimation). To me, the supplements are more important than the actual stories, and I have most of them (all but 3) on VHS, and let's face it, if an unknown story was recovered tomorrow which just had Ian and Barbara exploring the TARDIS and using the Food Machine, having the Fault Locator explained to them etc, I'd be in heaven, even though it would be the most boring thing to a non-fan in existance (although, perhaps not as boring as Revenge of the Cybermen! ) Because to me, all the little details are important too.

As a new fan, the only way for me to access Classic Who is through DVDs (or through downloading episodes online from a site my sister found that originally dealt with "General Hospital" but has since expanded to a great many things, among them a complete archive of all the Doctor Who episodes and reconstructions). At the same time, though, I know my expectations have to be lowered and I try not to compare it to new shows. I guess that's why I've hypocritically opted to always use the CGI effects on a story that has it, so that at least there's some semblance of "newness" to it, even if it's meant to still look period. I don't think I've ever watched "The Time Warrior" yet with the original effects.

Regarding Invasion of Time, I think I was more disappointed at how little the Sontarans actually featured in the story (2 episodes and the tag of one). I'd have rather it been a full-fledged Sontaran story (nothing against the Vardans, their story was good, but not really engaging). It's too bad that the majority of Sontaran stories aren't well-done (though I'm probably one of the few who rank Sontaran Stratagem/Poison Sky as one of their favorite stories in Series 4).

re: Four to Doomsday

I'm not a big fan of B-Roll footage. Only the Five Doctors studio recordings have enthralled me, mainly because of the interplay between the Doctors. So Four To Doomsday is perhaps the most disappointing DVD release to date, as extras wise it has the usual plus a 14 minute interview with Davison from 1980 (in which he makes a milkshake believe it or not!) and B-Roll footage. The story isn't bad, but its not great either. How they could release Davison's first recorded story without a behind the scenes documentary is beyond me!

I know this was a "standard edition" but it appears standard and special editions are the same price now in the UK (at least our two disc sets are still the same price unlike over in the US).

I'm really disappointed in this release, and it's not even scheduled for release here yet! I'm assuming it'll be our March 2009 release (perhaps together with Key to Time 2.0, I've been waiting forever for that, even if it's just for the extras.). But still, I'm upset at the missed opportunity here. Even if it's not that well-regarded, it's a vital part of Season 19 that merits both a making-of doc, and perhaps even a documentary that looks at the intentions of Season 19 as a whole (it's really only hinted at in other docs like "A New Body at Last" and "The Crowded Tardis"). The only hope now is for a "Season 19" overview documentary on a forthcoming release of Kinda, but I doubt that'll happen.

I'm still annoyed at how our two-disc sets are $10 more than a single-disc. They do get price reductions after a couple years, though. I asked Steven Manfred about it, and he said that the SRP is determined by the number of episodes (so a two-parter like Black Orchid would have always been $14.99 regardless if it was Standard or Special Edition, and I'd have preferred if it was Special Edition), and the number of discs (City of Death, even at 4 episodes, would still have been $34.99 because of the second disc). It still doesn't explain why 6-episode single-discs like The Web Planet and The Green Death streeted at $24.99, but I'm not complaining (plus, I got those on sale). With the Season 22 stories, because they were 45 minutes, it was treated as 4x25 episodes. So unfortunately, Timelash was still $24.99 even if it had less than any of the other stories. Varos aside, of course. And I'm still impatiently waiting for a new SE of that, but I have a feeling it will be the last Sixth Doctor release, or a boxset exclusive when Attack of the Cybermen completes Season 22.

albert

[2099net]

Well all[?] the trailers have been submitted to the BBFC, so I assume these will be on the discs.

DOCTOR WHO SERIES 4 - DVD EXTRAS - BROADCAST PROMOS
Run Time 11m 34s

00:01:29:02 DOCTOR WHO - VOYAGE OF THE DAMNED
00:00:39:17 DOCTOR WHO - VOYAGE OF THE DAMNED
00:00:19:22 DOCTOR WHO - VOYAGE OF THE DAMNED
00:00:09:22 (DOCTOR WHO - VOYAGE OF THE DAMNED)
00:00:40:10 DOCTOR WHO - VOYAGE OF THE DAMNED
00:01:28:16 DOCTOR WHO
00:00:09:23 DOCTOR WHO
00:00:09:24 DOCTOR WHO
00:00:09:23 DOCTOR WHO
00:00:39:23 DOCTOR WHO
00:00:19:03 DOCTOR WHO
00:00:22:09 DOCTOR WHO
00:00:22:10 DOCTOR WHO
00:00:32:10 DOCTOR WHO
00:00:22:10 DOCTOR WHO
00:00:22:10 DOCTOR WHO
00:00:59:21 DOCTOR WHO
00:00:22:10 DOCTOR WHO
00:00:22:10 DOCTOR WHO
00:00:22:10 DOCTOR WHO
00:00:09:23 DOCTOR WHO
00:00:29:11 DOCTOR WHO
00:00:29:17 DOCTOR WHO

http://www.bbfc.co.uk/website/Classifie ... enDocument

[Escapay]

MORE CLASSIC WHO ON JANUARY 6!!!!!!!

The War Machines

Four to Doomsday

Unremarkable cover for 42D, but I'm too excited at being one step closer to Season 19's completion!

albert

[2099net]

A post about the Series 4 DVD set from The Doctor Who Forum (I reproduce the post in full)

DWM has revealed that the S4 set has a feature called "The Journey So Far" - a retrospective of the last four years. Hopefully this'll be exactly what I've been waiting for, a proper, meaty, talking-heads-and-clips feature and not just a three-minute montage or something.

Escapay get those Dancin' Elephants out (but get them ready for a quick recall back to their enclosure should the feature be somewhat lacking)

[2099net]

I've got Doctor Who Magazine 400 now (amazingly the magazine is now almost 29 years old!) and it says this about the boxset

"The Series Four set has the most stunning package of extras to date. The extras include The Journey So Far, a wonderful retrospective of the last for series, and David's Video Diary features him turning on Blackpool lights which is absolutely hilarious!"

so a little more info, and it appears we may get more specially comissioned for the DVD extras, much like the 1st series boxset.

[Escapay]

so a little more info, and it appears we may get more specially comissioned for the DVD extras, much like the 1st series boxset.

Yay!



I hope, however, that the "Journey So Far" documentary is something that actually analyzes the making of the first four seasons. If it's just some extended recap piece of "in this episode, we went here, in this episode, they did that!", I'll be annoyed.

albert