Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Still, it's a Pertwee!, February 28, 2003
This review is from: Doctor Who - Colony in Space [VHS] (VHS Tape)
Whether you agree or disagree with the overall story being good or bad, this is still a good way to get your Jon Pertwee/Katy Manning fix. I first saw this on PBS, luckily one episode each Saturday, in 1976. This is probably the weakest story of this particular season, although it promised a lot by being the first Pertwee adventure away from Earth. I think that too many elements were added for this story (Master, colonists, mining company, natives, Doomsday Weapon...eliminating something from it actually would have created more interest). The ending of Episode 2 is actually a fun cliffhanger.
It was fun to note that Jo Grant's reaction in the TARDIS was no different than most of the other companions before her (bigger inside than out, NOT ON EARTH, OH MY!).
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Pretty good!, January 18, 2003
This review is from: Doctor Who - Colony in Space [VHS] (VHS Tape)
Jo Grant (the Doctor's assistant) is taken on a trip in the TARDIS for the first time (in a wonderful sequence that encourages the viewer feel her excitement). The planet they arrive on is seriously drab though, and once they've arrived, the story begins to ramble a little over the course of three hours. (Amazon.com has already provided a tidy plot summary, so I won't detail it here.) Even by DOCTOR WHO standards, the effects and sets are amazingly cheap. It's reccomended only to the serious enthusiast of that peculiar genre of "British Telefantasy". But the story is solid, the characters are easy to get attached to, and it won't insult your intelligence. It's a diverting three hours or so, even if it doesn't wind up being DOCTOR WHO at its best.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
The Doctor returns to space, November 1, 2002
This review is from: Doctor Who - Colony in Space [VHS] (VHS Tape)
The Time Lords use the Doctor to investigate the barren planet Uxarieus, where the powerful Interplanetary Mining Corporation is pressuring a group of colonists to vacate the mineral-rich planet. Intrigue, murder, and deception abound while the Doctor and Jo uncover an awesome power buried deep within an ancient city... Spoilers follow. This Jon Pertwee story is not remembered for much beyond it being the first Third Doctor story where the character leaves Earth. As a change of pace, 'Colony In Space' may have been refreshing when it first aired, but in comparison to other Doctor Who stories (most of them set on other worlds), there is not too much in this padded 6-parter that stands out. The plot involving scheming mining officers and the bland colonists is insufficient to fill out over 2 hours of story, but a few actors, particularly those playing the chief miners, gamely put their all into their limited roles. The plot gets more interesting once the ever-reliable Roger Delgado again shows up as the Master (posing as an Adjudicator), but only slightly. The final storyline about the struggle to control an ancient doomsday weapon is cliched but necessary to give this story an extra bit of kick. Jon Pertwee, Katy Manning and Delgado are as delightful as usual and obviously the foremost reasons to purchase this video, one of the last Pertwees not yet released commercially. For all the roundabout storytelling with characters escaping from capture only to wind up imprisoned again to kill time, and the campy aliens and robots, fans of this show and these actors will probably enjoying seeing 'Colony In Space' again for the first time in a long while.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
