They interviewed a butcher. And not even a fan butcher. With all the professional expertise available in fandom now, they interviewed a butcher.

Will it be any surprise when the villagers storm the laboratory with flaming torches and 2entertain has to flee to the abandoned mill before they fire it?

Thanks for tipping me off abut this; there's a fair bit of bloodshed over it online. And even more about the recon of Galaxy 4 which was left off the Time Meddler release.

THE RESCUE

After Susan's departure in Dalek Invasion of Earth, the series had a chance at renewing itself.  Sticking with the tried format of 3 companions and the Doctor, the new companion - Vicki - would give the show some new life.

Although primarily a vehicle to introduce Vicki, The Rescue does have much going for it.  Tightly scripted within 2 episodes and finely paced, the viewer sees Vicki run the gamut of emotions as she deals with the new strangers in her life.

Ray Barrett's additional support as Bennett brings a suitable degree of menace and his scenes with William Hartnell are great to watch.

It must be said that Hartnell continues to impress me - as one who only saw a handful of his eps as a lad - with the dvd releases showing what a fine actor he was.  At this point of the series' juncture, Hartnell was exactly what it needed with a comforting role masking his eagerness in discovery and combating great evil. 

The 'unmasking' of Koquillion is no surprise - although even this is ok as it brings plenty of suspence in the story's short time. 

The only things lettings proceedings down are the rather kitsch special effects - but as this was 1965 BBC on a shoe-string budget - I think this time we can forgive this lapse.

The dvd is quite good with a nice commentary and great making of documentary.

I must warn people that the documentary features some insight from 'avid viewer' Ian McLachlan.......don't tell me 2Entertain are so desperate for guests that they are now scanning the old 1960's fan files????  Whilst Mr McLachlan's contribution is ok - one assumes his appearance means that any fan can now be involved in future dvd documentaries??????  After the 'chatting to the local butcher' debacle in the State of Decay dvd I can hear the bottom of the barrel being scrapped this very moment!!!!

Apart from that, this is a very fine presentation with good picture quality - so good you can see the joins in Hartnell's wig!!

The Rescue is a very nice little tale and perhaps one of the best 2 parters the show ever produced.

Next - The Romans

THE ROMANS

Mixing drama with high farce, Dennis Spooner's latest contribution to the show saw a mixed reaction amongst its fans.

Deemed 'too silly' by some or 'dull' by others, in my mind The Romans is one of the best stories of the Hartnell era.

Put simply, Spooner's writing was at its peak here and brilliantly mixes the best of the talents at his disposal with Hartnell and co. rising to the occassion admirably.

The clever thing the script does is to seperate its characters with their own plots interwoven to form a whole story.  Where Ian does most of the 'heavy lifting' in the drama stakes, the rest are given a good chance at playing some rare comedy.

Rome's many intrigues and back-stabbing are great to watch with the Nero character both deadly and bufoonish at the same time.  Every single scene perfectly compliments the next maintaining a momentum rarely seen at this point.

Although still a visibly cheap production, the art design and costuming are still pleasing with only a few special effects shots spoiling certain moments.

Of the Hartnell stories I've seen thus far, I could tell he had a great time playing opposite actors just as keen in playing the very arch plot.  Ian and Barbara are given plenty to do with Vicki making a valuable contribution to events.  The rest of the cast do a great job as well - in fact I would go so far to say this is a rare story that could easily have had another episode given to it - such was the strength of the plot and the performances.

The dvd extras are of excellent quality with a making of doco exploring the story and the background to Roman culture.

A doco on Dennis Spooner's contribution to Dr. Who is fantastic giving an insight into this era.  Another doco about the girls of the show during the 60's is amusing - hopefully an idea repeated for the 70s/80s.  Even the obligatory Blue Peter segment is fascinating in how they describe a Roman banquet - well at least it was to me!!!

The only point I should make is that once again 'avid tv viewer' Ian McLachlan makes an appearance - again are 2Entertain that desperate for interviewees????

The Romans is a great story - certainly one of the best of the Hartnell years - given a decent dvd release.

Sadly it appears there will be no Pertwee release for awhile - the mooted Planet of the Daleks/Colony in Space set has been given the boot for several months to make way for more Hartnell/Troughton/Baker offerings.

Do 2Entertain have something against the Pertwee era?? - As someone would say 'please explain'!!!

Next - Attack of the Cybermen (This gets a release ahead of a Pertwee? - the mind boggles!)

ATTACK OF THE CYBERMEN

Borrowing from the Barry Letts school of thought in having a 'big season opening story', Attack of the Cybermen's Season 22 starter was a poor beginning to Colin Baker's first full season.

Long held up as being evidence of the excessive reliance on the series mythology, it's not difficult to disagree with this notion as these past threads tie together a pretty lacklustre story.

With a garbled plot featuring Cybermen attempting to steal the Tardis, a diamond heist by rogue agent Lytton, an attempted escape by prisoners and a long fought battle between the Cryons and Cybermen - a lot is packed into the 90 minutes available.

It's this point that is perhaps the story's biggest weakness.  Due to being the first script in the new 45 minutes format, the many ideas fail to gel coherently with thought for logic and pacing not really bearing fruit until near the end of the season. 

Disappointingly below par, it's unfortunate the story never works as there are a few good sequences within.  The scenes in the tunnels are very effective and the acting is generally of a high standard.

Even at this early stage you could see where Baker wanted to take his role and his rapport with Nicola Bryant as Peri feels natural.

The Cybermen themselves reasonably exude menace although the casting of the original Cyber Leader from Tomb of the Cybermen falls rather short. 

Overall 'Attack' was a pretty wasted effort and a good example of JNT's over-indulgence of former glories.  Sadly he appeared to ignore the maxim of original stories with returning villains shoe-horned into bad scripts. 

If anything, JNT's major mistake was to have the 6th Doctor make his debut at the end of Season 21 - a season renowned from some great stories, in particular The Caves of Androzani.  By having the awful The Twin Dilemma as the closing story of this season, the viewer was left with the bad first impression of Baker's debut...with 9 months to stew over this fact until the next season began.  Perhaps had The Twin Dilemma been ditched in favour of Attack of the Cybermen being the first 6th Doctor's story, the backlash against him may have been less harsh?

As for the violence in this story - I didn't mind it and indeed appreciated the generally bleak atmosphere that embraced some mature adult concepts.  Unfortunately as the show had moved back to its traditional Saturday slot from its more 'adult' time of 7.30 weeknights, the ensuing moral outrage at the violence worked against the production team's efforts in this regard.

The dvd itself is fair, with an enlightening making of doco featuring Eric Saward and Ian Levine engage in a catfight over its authorship - as if anyone would want to be held responsible for writing this mess??

The other extras aren't anything to write home about, with one featuring the input of Professor Kevin Warwick talking about Cybernetics dull in the extreme.

Now that the Colin Baker era is almost complete on dvd - with only the dreaded Twin Dilemma to come - maybe 2Entertain can FINALLY release some much better quality Pertwee stories??  Plus I'm asuming the occassional Striped for Action feature documenting the Doctor in the comics will feature the 6th Doctor's animated actions on the Twin Dilemma dvd?

Next: Image of the Fendhal

Giving creedance to your theory, I've been told by those not in the know that this *is* Colin's first story, and they seemed enthusiastic about it. Unlike pretty much anyone who saw the slug story, featuring the self sacrifice of the Doctor's old friend who we've never heard of before and consequently don't really care about. Ho hum.

Be nice to have the collected Striped for Action. Even being the occasional DWM reader I was in the '80s, I can tell the Colin strips picked up from the Davison ones.

Well using sensible logic - since the rest of the 6th Doctor dvd don't have the Stripped for Action feature on it, one would assume that it will appear on his last remaining story to be released onto dvd The Twin Dilemma.

The ones for the First and Fifth Doctor have been very interesting and certainly a worthy feature for sure.

Now that season 22 has been released in its entirety I'd have to say that Vengeance on Varos and Revelation of the Daleks were the best stories of the season.  Both were more balanced and seemed to easily fit into the new format - with the bleak and humorous elements working well together.

As for the rest....Timelash and Attack of the Cybermen would be the worst stories with Mark of the Rani and The Two Doctors falling somewhere in between.

Using logic I fear would be an unfair criteria in this case. Vengeance always stood out of the season, shame about Mindwarp. Timelash ranks up there with Kings Demons as "things you don't show someone who hasn't seen the show before".

IMAGE OF THE FENDAHL

Robert Holmes' last story as script editor was one to be savoured. 

This is so due to the later reliance on comedy by Producer Graham Williams on future stories with his indulgence of Tom Baker's more outlandish ideas reaching a crescendo.

Still, Fendahl offered a host of gothic horror themes for which Holmes was renowned - full of sinister happenings in a priory and dark agents. 

Making the story work is its characters who are more fleshed out than usual with a script refusing to talk down to its audience.  The issues of science and technology are very well mixed giving an intelligent thesis into a show that would suffer from this intellectual absence in future years.

The story itself is a fairly simple one - with an invasion of alien creatures benefiting from a scientist's misguided attempts to gain power - and its this simplicity that allows the characters to fully develop.  The characters of Jean and Adam in particular are well realised and elicit sympathy from their plight.

Thankfully the story's pacing is excellent with each scene swiftly flowing into the next in a logical manner.  The tension gradually builds quite nicely coupled with Dudley Simpson's very effective score.

The acting in general is of a high standard and bring a realism amongst the supernatural mayhem which is crucial for genuine audience involvement.

Baker and Jameson make for good leads and develop the Doctor/Companion relationship to a believable level.

The actual Fendahl monster itself is a bit laughable by today's standards....although I admit to being terrified of the transformed Jean into the 'golden goddess' when I was a youngster - even now the painted eyes give me the creeps!

I think it goes without saying - from me at least - that Graham Williams' first season was his best in terms of balancing humour and horror effectively.  Without the support of Holmes after this story the series would never be the same again......

As for the dvd - hands down this would have to be the worst dvd produced since the first release of the Five Doctors in 2000 in terms of extras.

The scarcity of any genuine extra is very noticeable.  A Making Of is quite interesting, some B & W deleted scenes appear and then 1 trailer for the show - and that's it!  There is of course the audio commentary....but I would have preferred some more meaty extras than this - especially considering the story is one of the better ones from the Williams era.

I must admit to being surprised seeing Baker and Jameson on the same commentary track given their friction during the time on the show  - maybe time has healed old wounds?

2Entertain have really dropped the ball on this one in terms of dvd presentation  - has the global financial crisis hit the group??

Anyway the story is the main thing and it happens to be a good one - just a pity about the dvd....

I notice the next release is another Tom Baker story - twice in a row  - and yet there hasn't been a Jon Pertwee release for a year now - 2Entertain aren't Pertwee fans then.....

Next: The Deadly Assassin (I hope one of the extras is of the complaints the story received - especially from Mary Whitehouse).

Indeed; there's a thesis or two waiting to be written on Mary. Anyone see the telemovie Filth: The Mary Whitehouse Story? Most of it was straight out of her books, the most substantial source on her work, with the exceptions of that strange painting in Hugh Green's office and her yelling at the hippies. Mediawatch UK (formerly the Viewers and Listeners Association) say her opposition to Who has been exaggerated, however Martin Wiggins has seen files of her letters of complaint while doing research for the DVD information text.

yes I saw that Filth telemovie - which is why I mentioned her.

Was a good one too - Julie Walters was fantastic as usual.

I think there's a good mini documentary to be made about her arguments against Doctor Who - maybe with clips of the offending stories?

Although I must admit my abiding memory of Ms Whitehouse is of the parody from The Goodies in their ep 'Gender Education' with Beryl Reid giving a very frightening impersonation...

THE DEADLY ASSASSIN

In the annuls of Doctor Who there seem to be stories beyond criticism and regarded by most fans to be classics.

The Deadly Assassin is one of those.  Famed for completely re-inventing the show's mythology and further adding true horror to the format, the story works due to Robert Holmes' perceptive writing.

Obviously working from The Manchurian Candidate as a base, the script should be seen in the context of the era it was written.

Produced shortly after Watergate forever changed America's political landscape, this insidiuous devaluation of our political representatives can be seen in the various machinations of Gallifrey's appointed officials.

From Borusa's eagerness to cover up the mis-demenours to Goth's shady politking, this is perhaps as 'real' as the show got during the Hinchcliffe era.  Making this element the more interesting is the non-absence of traditional aliens with the generally human-like group of characters believably delving into the many societal indulgences some partake in.

All of this is just a good thread in which to hang a very fast paced story revelling in its horror and fantasy scenes.

The matrix sequences are rightly remembered for their terrifying imagery and certainly gave Mary Whitehouse an excuse to rattle her dubious moral sabre.

But what makes the Matrix idea work is that, for the first time in ages, the Doctor has to fend for himself in order to escape this nightmare world.  With no help, his wits have to used to their maxim for survival to be possible. 

Baker's acting and those of the cast are generally of a high standard, with Peter Pratt's portrayal of a deranged Master a classic.

In fact it's this re-imagining of The Master which shows the bravery by all concerned to really go out on a limb and produce a memorable story.  Riddled with decaying flesh and a fractured mind, Pratt's Master is perhaps the first villain in a long while where you think he could possibly have a chance in destroying his arch-enemy.

I could go on about the story, except to say that it's one of the best of the era with strong characters and a narrative charting an uncompromisingly adult course until a fitting conclusion.

The dvd itself contains an interesting making of, an exploration on the influences on the story and a featurette on what makes the show frightening.  Once again though 2Entertain ropes in some odd people to interview with a local vicar and a psychologist putting their 2 cents worth.

I must admit I was rather shocked at Barry Lett's rather haggard appearance during one of the features......time is certainly marching on for this fine producer sadly - please 2Entertain get some Pertwee stories going!!

Anyway The Deadly Assassin is a ripping yarn worthy of re-appraisal.

Next: Delta and the Bannermen.  Wow a Sylvester McCoy from the worst season of the show's history - aren't we lucky????

DELTA & THE BANNERMEN

What can one say about this serial?  Third in broadcast order in Sylvester McCoy's first 1987 season, this story is a prime example of how patronising the show was at this point.

The story itself is clear enough - the evil Bannermen are after Chimeron princess Delta - but what gets me is how it talks down to its audience.

Every single character takes things at face value - the people at the holiday camp follow the Doctor without question - instantly believing his far fetched tales of space invaders.  This aspect alone destroys any shred of credibility the story may have had - done by a writer with zero experience on what makes a Who story work.

It's this fact that's particularly hard to take as JNT's and Andrew Cartmel's insistence on having new writers on the show worked against what should have been a season of stabilisation.  Had more experienced writers been in the frame it's possible better and more coherent stories would have eventuated with McCoy's first season enabling him to quickly establish his persona.  Instead we had writers who hadn't a clue on what made for good Who stories and we had to wait until Season 26 for McCoy to truly hit his stride - sadly by then it was all too late.

Another aspect that bugged me was the stunt casting.  I'm sure Ken Dodd and Stubby Kaye were nice gents, but can anyone honestly say they added something to this story?  Both men just seemed to be there just for the sake of it, with no thought to if their roles moved things along.  McCoy does his best to enliven the mayhem but even he is dragged down by Bonnie Langford's appalling performance as Mel.

Seriously this story has nothing going for it -it's rushed with plot holes galore and far too much is squeezed within the wretched 3 episode format.  I've never been a fan of Season 24 and after watching this story again, it has only firmed my view.

As for the dvd extras - there are a few interview featurettes that are reasonably interesting although the pick of the bunch is the 'Stripped for Action - the Seventh Doctor' doco which is a great look back at the 7th Dr. comic strip adventures.

I'm hopeful that somehow the 8th, 9th and 10th Doctors get the same 'Stripped for Action' treatment - maybe on a re-issue of the 1996 8th Doctor telemovie??

Sadly there isn't a making of doco on the story, but then again this may be a good thing as it would prevent Andrew Cartmel from saying yet again how the lighting could have improved the story more......

Delta and the Bannermen is a dvd one would expect to be in the bargain bin in the near future....

Next - The War Games.

Oh, good-oh, I like the Stripped For Action extras, and they seem to be seeking more thematic documentary subjects which they can get multiple features from (Girls! Girls! Girls! on The Romans, say).

We're putting out a Chameleon Factor, do you want to see your reviews in print before they go online?

No that's cool Martin, I'm sure it'll look good!

Yes the Stripped for Action feature is probably the best thing about the DVD - very interesting and again I'm hopeful they do one for the 8th, 9th and 10th Doctors somehow...would be good to see a complete overview.

The editor won't go sloppy seconds with stuff that's been online (unless he really, really wants to), and we have a generalist SF 'zine to fill as well.

THE WAR GAMES

Beginning and ending with the Doctor on trial, The War Games represents an end to an era.  Not just in the departure of Patrick Troughton after 3 years but also of the show itself.  From the closing moments of this story it would never be the same again with the literal and fictional colour of the Pertwee years just around the corner. Although it's been quoted that The War Games was 'nine parts of boredom followed by one part of brilliance', this seems an unfair criticism.

From its first frame you can tell this is going to be very different.  It's as if the Doctor has to continually fight for his life as soon as he steps outside the Tardis - little realising his present incarnation would indeed be lost by its end.  This plus the wonderful acting from all concerned make it a consistently enjoyable tale with few flat spots.  Whilst there are sequences with lots of evident padding there are others that are classic Who.  Credit should go to Terrance Dicks and Malcolm Hulke who infuse events with a varied mix of characters which maintains interest.  If there are few flat spots, these couldn't be blamed on the personalities within as each warring faction has plenty of fascinating people to see things through.  Their tactical planning and zeal for war becomes almost morbid as this anti-war tale spins a very dark web.

Among them are the War Chief and War Lord who are superbly rendered by two fine actors.  The War Chief especially is an intriguing character, as he almost feels like a template for the Master later on.  It was interesting to wonder if Dicks got the inspiration for his famous villain from him, as there are some remarkable similarities - not withstanding Edward Brayshaw's almost near likeness to Roger Delgado.  Philip Madoc also gives another great performance with his icy dictator a chilling creation.  As an aside, I found it interesting so few women were cast, with Deborah Watling being almost the lone female voice in the story.

But the main person stealing the show is Troughton who is given plenty to do in his swansong.  Almost every episode showed why he made a fine Doctor and why he'd be missed.  In hindsight he made the correct decision to leave at this point as the 6 year old series needed a new lease of life to continue into the new decade.  His interaction with Fraser Hines and Watling are wonderful to watch and they made for a great trio. 

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed The War Games, as I've usually found stories more than 6 episodes long a bit of a chore.  This wasn't the case here with the great writing and superb acting making for enjoyable viewing.  I'm probably in the minority for saying that but I don't think The War Games deserves its sometimes bad reputation.

As for the DVD itself  - what a revelation!  When 2Entertain pull their socks up they can really produce some great material as they do here.  There are literally hours of features to sift through with the highlights being:

Talking About Regeneration - a fascinating look into the Doctor's many lives, great stuff.

War Zone: Making of the War Games - an insightful doco on the story and logically structured.  My only complaint was that it wasn't long enough!

On Target: Malcolm Hulke profile - as an avid reader of Target books in the 70s/80s this bought back lots of memories with this tribute to a fine writer sublime in its presentation.

Stripped for Action: The 2nd Doctor - this ongoing feature still amazes with its detail and is an enjoyable addition to the series.

Overall I can't complain about this DVD - well worth buying and a very good addition to the library.

Next: The Black Guardian Trilogy (can't wait for this one!)

That sounds great. I particularly like the sound of the Hulke profile and Stripped for Action. The War Games novelization was one of the first I read, there was a copy at the school library. Now I look it up and see it was only released in 1979 it's apparent how fortunate I was since it would have been brand new.

The first episode was always struck me as particularly good. The juxtaposition of the TARDIS crew entering shot laughing with the horror of their destination works well, as does General Smythe's little secret. There's a lot to like.

Speaking of Target books, what always impressed me about them - apart from the writing of course - were the fantastic covers.

Some of them were almost works of art in themselves - and seeing the old cover for The War Games novel bought back fond memories.

Were any of these covers sold as posters?  I seem to recall some were but I'm not sure.

I know there was a book released a few years back all about Target books...I'd imagine they would have had a section about the covers - some of them were exceptional.

The primo site for Target facts:
http://www.personal.leeds.ac.uk/~ecl6nb/OnTarget/general/main.htm

My favourite Target artist was Chris Achilleos, who was working when they'd also include internal illustrations. My favourite by him was from Spearhead from Space/Doctor Who and the Auton Invasion: the scene (not in the tv version) when Jon-Doc totters out of the TARDIS in his Troughton costume, here watched by the poacher. That's on the site.

About posters, I'm less sure. A friend bought one from the Black Hole Bookstore which was (looking it up) based on the third edition Moonbase cover by Bill Donohoe. Other merchandising is more a David J Howe type of question. http://www.howeswho.co.uk/