Customer Reviews

Doctor Who - The End of the Universe Collection [VHS]

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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

This collection features all existing Doctor Who material currently not yet released on video. Episodes are: From the First Doctor era; The Sensorites, The Reign of Terror (Special Edition), The Time Meddler, The Gunfighters -- from the Third Doctor Era; The Ambassadors of Death, The Mutants, The Invasion of the Dinosaurs -- from the Fourth Doctor Era; The Invisible Enemy, The Creature from the Pit, The Horns of Nimon, Meglos. In addition, several Second Doctor episodes from incomplete serials will appear with the Reign of Terror set. Great stuff throughout. It will certainly hold you until the DVD release, sometime late next decade.

Here is Whats in the box set...

AMBASSADORS OF DEATH
CREATURE FROM THE PIT
The Invisible Enemy
The Sensorites
The Time Meddler
The Gunfighters
The Mutants
Meglos
The Horns of Nimon
Invasion of the Dinosaurs
The Reign of Terror Collectors Set

I give this collection 5 stars because the BBC finally figured out that sales decrease exponentially year by year of the unreleased videos (especially since now they are releasing the DVDs as piecemeal as the videos).

I wondered if the powers at be thought that these were the worst stories of Dr. Who. Certainly THE HORNS OF NIMON (and unfortunately on some levels even INVASION OF THE DINOSAURS) qualifies. But THE MUTANTS is actually one of the best Pertwee stories (another allegory with pollution, tampering with lives of others, illegal hunting etal), and I look forward to finally seeing MEGLOS in episodic form (Tom Baker in his second, more excellent, doppelganger role after THE ANDROID INVASION). And I really really look forward to THE TIME MEDDLER.

Too bad that the BBC can't learn from the DVD releases of such popular series as THE X FILES, BUFFY, and even ABFAB. Releasing a complete season is infinitely easier and makes far more sense. They did it once with DR WHO - THE KEY TO TIME series.

I am so glad that the BBC decided to release the final VHS' this way and not drag it out. I have been a Dr. Who fan since the mid-80's and began collecting the videos sometime in the 90's. I became worried when DVD began to take over, but that, and the fact that this year is Doctor Who's 40th Anniversary is why we have such a large set here. And just like my other friends here, I went absolutly nuts when i read the news that Dr. Who will be returning in a few years.

For those concerned with the price, buying them separatly over time is a good option, and unlike a previous reviewer said you do not have to return them all if one doesn't work they're the same!!!! I would recoomened tho that you test each video before you start to watch them..i got a terrible fright when " The Horns of Nimon" was only fuzz, but then I discovered it wasn't rewound.

I'm gonna have so much Dr. Who to watch, so i won't review all the tapes here. The one I watched first was the Reign of Terror Boxed set, which was almost like watching new DR. Who because these episodes from the stories that had episodes distroyed had never been seen before. The Riegn of Terror was absolutly wonderful, but then again I tend to like the early historical stories more than most Whovians, and the three 2nd Doctor episodes were equally good but had no linking narration (there are some clips after the web of fear episode one so don't turn the stop the tape until you see that).

I cannot wait to dig into the other tapes....the old black and white stories were only shown once on one of my local PBS Stations and it has also been a long time since I have seen the 3rd and 4th Doctor stories in the collection.

What a great way to celebrate the best and longest running sci-fi series ever!!!! and it's coming back!!!!!!!!!!

Brilliant set of videos, must have for your collection especially if you are a Lalla Ward fan (lots more of her here) and the remaining Hartnell stories (Meddling Monk in action!).

Of course with the usual timing inevitable in this universe the collection is not the end - the 2nd episode of the Daleks Master Plan has just been found (jan 2004) in excellent condition!! So with this excellent collection there is still that one episode out there that no-one has seen except for that Yorkshire TV guy who nicked it so many years ago (pity he didn't nick more!!!

British Doctor Who fans are delirious with delight that the Doctor is coming back in a new series. Meanwhile we have to watch our favourite videos from the past, and as someone who has been a passionate Whovian ever since the very first series in 1963 (when I was 8 years old), I am thrilled that videos are coming out like this that are introducing new generations to the great Doctor Who. We want the new series to start to international acclaim - so buy this for all your sci-fi friends and they will soon be as enthusiastic as you about the new series. Christopher Catherwood, Dr Who Fan since 1963

Some fans might want to call this The Turkey Boxset, as most titles in this collection are not highly rated. "Sure-cure-for-insomnia" serials like "The Sensorites", "The Mutants", "The Invisible Enemy", "The Horns of Nimon" and "Meglos" don't help discourage this nickname. But, even those titles do have something to offer. One doesn't have to look far for the much anticipated "The Reign of Terror" and the Troughton orphan episodes, all Vidfired. "The Time Meddler", the partially restored "The Ambassadors of Death", the rarely seen b/w episode of "Invasion of the Dinosaurs". Even "The Creature From the Pit" has some laughs to add to the enjoyment. Many stories might not be fan favorites or classics, but they do bring a smile to the face and a feeling of being entertained. Even the ridiculous western, "The Gunfighters", is good for unintentional knee-slapping.

I'm 26 from the states and have found that Doctor Who releases are hard to get. I've looked for this collection to hit my local stores in my area but they didn't. They weren't even in the computers then they showed up on special order. $156.00...
I didn't have the money but then I bought it used on Amazon.
I thought as Americans we'd be jipped. But we got the special 2nd Doctor video and we recieved teh Reign of Terror which was believed we wouldn't as well...
We were cheated the Fox tv movie on video and a few other documentries... It's nice to finally have the box set on the way. I'm a hardcore fan and haven't even recieved it yet and I just know it's going to rock! Finally the BBC treated the American fans right...