46 of 48 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
11 Tapes at a better value., September 29, 2003
This review is from: Doctor Who - The End of the Universe Collection [VHS] (VHS Tape)
This set includes the last ten complete Dr. Who Stories to be released on video; The Reign of Terror, The Sensorites, The Time Meddler, The Gunfighters, The Ambassadors of Death, The Mutants, Invasion of the Dinosaurs, Creature From The Pit, Horns of Nimon, The Invisible Enemy, The Creature from the Pit, The Horns of Nimon, Meglos. PLUS you get the Web of Fear/Faceless ones missing episode bonus tape. Looking strictly at the prices, it does not appear that this bonus tape will be included in the American release of the Reign of Terror like it will be England. At the time of my writing this, these tapes are individually priced at $19.50 for a total of 195.00 and it won't even include the Missing Episodes tape. This is a better value. Here are some other facts about this set.
The Sensorites, The Gunfighters, the Reign of terror and Missing Episodes from Web of Fear and The Faceless Ones have been treated with a process called Vidfire to get the studio scenes to look more like their original video broadcast pictures (which I personally think makes the show look like it's on a lower budget but oh well, we've got to be purists about this).
The Ambassadors of Death is a composite of color and black and white footage due to the fact that some of the color footage has been lost. %70 of it is in color and I didnt even notice some of the color/black and white transitions. Also, the first episode of Invasion of The Dinosaurs is Missing in color form. They may have colorized it for this release but I don't know.
I wrote this reveiw to concentrate more on some of the facts of behind the video releases. Not to give episdoe synopsis. Please say it was helpful.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The final 11 stories--and that's the end of the Whoniverse, November 7, 2003
This review is from: Doctor Who - The End of the Universe Collection [VHS] (VHS Tape)
OK, I've already individually reviewed the final eleven extant stories in the Doctor Who canon that have finally been released on video, but not as a whole. Key, [#]=rating
The Sensorites (1964)--The Doctor and companions have to help Earthmen under mental thrall of the Sensorites, and the latter, a telepathic race who fear the Earthmen exploiting their mineral wealth and who think an encounter with the Earthmen is the cause of a plague from which their race is dying. A good story on trust between different races--[4].
The Reign Of Terror (1964)--In the next story, the Doctor and friends are separated in the France of July 1794. Ian, Barbara, and Susan are captured and sent to prison, where they await a fate with Madame Guillotine. The Doctor tries to rescue them. Episodes 4 and 5 are missing, but are linked by narration from Carole Ann Ford (Susan). This historical drama features Robespierre and Paul Barras, who led a coup against the latter, but the appearance of Napoleon is a historical inaccuracy. This also has Episodes 1 and 3 of the incomplete The Faceless Ones(1967), and Episode 1 of the 6-parter The Web Of Fear (1967)--[4].
The Time Meddler (1965)--The Doctor, Vicki, and Steven land in Northumbria, in 1066, where they encounter Saxon villagers, Viking invaders, and a mysterious monk who seems to recognize the TARDIS. Not purely historical, but interesting nevertheless, with Peter Butterworth scoring as the Monk--[4].
The Gunfighters (1965)--The Doctor, Dodo, and Steven play cowboys in Tombstone, Arizona, where the local authorities happen to be a certain Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson, and the dentist Doc John Holliday. Mostly played for laughs and a novelty in the show's history, with Dodo clearly enjoying herself on the saloon piano. And love "The Ballad of the Last Chance Saloon," sung by Lynda Barron throughout the story--[5].
The Ambassadors Of Death (1970)--This seven-parter is half done in colour, half black and white because some of the original colour segments were unwisely junked by the BBC. A Mars probe is rescued after seven months' absence, but have the astronauts returned safely? And what did they bring back from space? The Doctor's attempts to discover the truth is met with sabotage, delays, and murder. A take on alien invasion on Earth, the space race, and xenophobia--[4].
The Mutants--An underrated six-parter on the evils of empire, apartheid, and administrators who hold out against giving a state independence, the Mutants has the Doctor and Jo helping out the native Solonians under Ky break away from the sadistic Marshal. Also inspired by Gibbons' The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire--[5].
Invasion Of The Dinosaurs--Dinosaurs have invaded London and the Doctor and UNIT have to find out how and where the gigantic reptiles are coming from. Has some mad scientist secretly bred them and they've gotten loose, or is there a more sinister explanation? The bad realization of certain dinosaurs, and the bad bluescreen effects sinks what could have been a very effective allegory on what post-industrial pollution can do to the world--[3].
The Invisible Enemy--K9, the robot dog, is introduced in this story of a virus whose nucleus finds the Doctor, due to his intelligence, as a perfect host to rule the galaxy. "The age of man has ended. The age of the virus has begun." Or so the nucleus wishes. Highlight scene is the trip through the Doctor's brain by clones of the Doctor and Leela--[4].
The Creature From The Pit (1979)--The Doctor and Romana fall afoul of the dictatorial Lady Adrasta, ruler of the verdant jungle world of Chloris and owner of the sole ore mines, who throw those who displease her into a pit, where a monster lives. The Doctor finds out about the monster and gets involved in the politics of the planet--[4].
The Horns Of Nimon (1979/80)--In this twist on the Theseus versus the Minotaur legend, the Doctor and Romana help out the Anethans from being made sacrifices to the Nimon, the benefactors of the Skonnons, a warlike militaristic race on the skids, who want a Second Skonnon Empire--[4].
Meglos (1980)--the Doctor and Romana, en route to Tigella, is intercepted by the shape-shifting cactus-like alien Meglos, who puts the TARDIS in a time loop, while he impersonates the Doctor and goes out to steal the Dodecahedron, the Tigellans' unstable power supply, aided by some rough and tough space mercenaries--[3], due to a lack of desirable characters.
In some cases, it is justifiable to say that the least popular stories were saved for last, e.g. The Gunfighters, The Mutants, Invasion Of The Dinosaurs, The Creature From The Pit, The Horns Of Nimon, and Meglos. However, the first two are severely underrated, and for those like me whose favourite Doctor is Jon Pertwee, it's a relief to finally have the last two stories of his era available.
And that's it, Who fans. Unless some miracle occurs, like some missing episodes from the William Hartnell or Patrick Troughton eras showing up that merit the release of a previously incomplete story, it is indeed, the End Of The Universe. Sad, isn't it? Overall rating: 4
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