As the 40th Anniversary of Doctor Who rolls merrily along, so do the celebratory DVD releases, and this latest one is a cracker and sure to please fans. It is an early Doctor Who, 1964 to be precise, a six episode adventure which is the second story from the second season, and marks the second appearance of the psycho pepper pots otherwise known as the Daleks. The difference this time is that the Daleks have come to invade Earth.
The Doctor (William Hartnell), his granddaughter Susan (Carole Ann Ford), Ian (William Russell) and Barbara (Jacqueline Hill), arrive in London, but in what year? There are some unusual signs indicating that it is not the London they know. There are no birds singing and very few people about. With the TARDIS buried under a pile of rubble, again, the Doctor and Ian set off to see if they can find some tools to dislodge the rubble and get back into the TARDIS. Barbara and Susan, who has fallen and twisted her ankle, naturally, remain behind but it is soon apparent that they are not alone.
The Doctor and Ian find a calendar dated 2164 indicating that this is indeed the future. Almost immediately, they stumble across a body that is wearing strange headgear and decide to get back to the girls - who have gone!
Barbara and Susan have been 'rescued' by freedom fighters before they can fall into unfriendly hands. The Doctor and Ian do not have long to ponder where they have gone before they are cornered by more humans wearing those strange helmets. Attempting to flee, they turn and almost stumble into a Dalek that is slowly emerging from the Thames. Falling into the hands (suckers? plungers?) of the Daleks, the Doctor and Ian are taken aboard the Dalek ship to be turned into the same helmeted servants that captured them - the 'robomen'.
The girls become members of the resistance movement that has sworn to get rid of the Daleks. The boys have their own troubles trying to escape from the Dalek ship, and the Daleks are still rolling around asserting their authority.
The Doctor and Ian learn from their fellow prisoners that the Daleks have a huge mine site outside of London but no one, not even the Doctor, is prepared to guess as to what it is the Daleks are digging for. Just as the Doctor is being turned into a 'roboman', the rebels attack the Dalek space ship and he is rescued. However, in the ensuing confusion, the four time travelers are separated. The Doctor and Susan decide to head for the Daleks’ mine site, and Ian and Barbara, with their respective parties, decide to head to the mine site also, knowing that this is what the Doctor would do.
As the travelers’ paths converge, the Dalek plan is unraveled. They are going to extract the Earth's magnetic core, replace it with a huge engine, and use the Earth like a giant passenger ship in an attempt to rule more of the universe. The Doctor, with help from Ian, finally unmasks the plan, and must call on every ounce of his knowledge and skill, and some luck, to thwart the Daleks and save the earth once more.
The return of the Daleks was given masses of publicity for their return and the viewing figures were as strong as they had ever been. It was also learned that more and more adults were tuning in. Although it was still primarily a children's show, there was plenty for adults to appreciate.
This adventure marked the first departure of a regular character in Doctor Who, something that would become a regular event over its record run. This is partly what kept the show so fresh. The departure is given quite some screen time, and marked the first of many turning points in the show's history. It was also the first time that extensive location filming was used.
Like all of Doctor Who, the budget was small, although it did increase, and it shows. The acting is generally good, and some of the sets look fantastic, but look closely and you'll find ample evidence of all the things that give Doctor Who its charm. The special effects are dodgy at best, the props are mostly inventive but cheap and flimsy, and the stunt work looks like amateur dramatics at best. Fans know this, and they love it. When you throw in the extensive restoration work and wonderfully bulky extras, you have, yep I'm saying it again, the best Doctor Who DVD yet.
The BBC's voluntary Resoration Team have worked very hard to bring this aging Doctor Who up to DVD standard. The original source material, like much of the early Doctor Who stuff, was barely holding together in many places, and the result is a credit to the Restoration Team's dedication.
The black and white full frame picture is not without its flaws of course, but it still looks particularly good. The black levels are the most noticeable problem in that they are generally quite grey, but whites scrub up well. The image is generally on the soft and grainy side, but this is 40 years old and was probably never intended to have such longevity and enduring popularity and to bitch too loudly is just pointless. If you read the Restoration Team's website, you will gain a greater appreciation for the improvement that has been made to this piece of television history.
There are a few artefacts, but not as many as you might expect. Straight lines tend to be a bit wobbly, but this is attributable to the source material. There is some noticeable shimmer, mostly in Susan's striped top that gets a little distracting in long shots, but these are thankfully few. The layer change is tucked away between episodes.
This could have been, and probably was, a good deal worse. There are a few issues with the Dolby Digital 2.0 mono audio, but not with the basics such as volume, clarity or synchronisation. There are a few muffled lines, but these are a result of the limitations in recording techniques and not as a result of the transfer.
Naturally, being mono, there is no separation or panning of sounds, and no signal for anything but the front left and right speakers. Low-level sounds are decidedly average, but again this is attributable to the source material. There is some very mild hiss that can be heard occasionally, but there are no crackles or pops. It seems quite pointless to really badger on as the audio has been lovingly restored, is quite acceptable and enjoyable and will pose no issues.