Product Details

• Format: Color, Original recording reissued, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: BBC Warner
• VHS Release Date: July 19, 2000
• Run Time: 99 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00004WG7N
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #355,971 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Black Guardian's back... but so's the Brigadier, February 3, 2002

By 

Daniel J. Hamlow (Narita, Japan) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Doctor Who - Mawdryn Undead [VHS] (VHS Tape)

A story where the action takes place in two closely related time zones is a first, and this forms the crux of Mawdryn Undead. A weaselly red-haired schoolboy, Turlough, is recruited by the Black Guardian (q.v. The Armageddon Factor) to kill the Doctor in exchange for a return to his home planet.

The Doctor and his companions materialize inside a spaceship set in a warp ellipse around Earth. Someone aboard the ship transmatted to Earth six years before. The Doctor, who meets Turlough aboard the ship, goes to the present, 1983, to fix the transmat equipment on Earth, planning for Nyssa and Tegan to follow him on the TARDIS. However, they get diverted to 1977. The transmat appears, where they encounter who they think is a horribly burned Doctor. Tegan runs to Brendon School for help, where she meets the Brigadier.

The reappearance of the Brigadier for the first time since Terror Of The Zygons is welcome. However, when the Brigadier tells the schoolboy Ibbetson, "Take it from me, boy. A solid object just can't dematerialize," we know something's going on. Evidence of that is proved further when he doesn't remember who the Doctor or the TARDIS is. And when he says fondly, "How could I forget?" The Doctor says "Exactly." So should the viewer. How could one of the Doctor's closest associates forget? We learn that the Brigadier suffered a nervous breakdown in 1977, and that he did meet Tegan. The Doctor tries to get him to remember, and as we learn later, what happened to the Brigadier is indeed the cause of his breakdown. The Brigadier has a good line in this: "After all, if I was to suffer from amnesia, I'd be the first to know."

The setting of Mawdryn's ship is impressive with its red and gold ornate decor. One of Mawdryn's associates sees the 1977 Brigadier and refers to him as a deviant, meaning that he shouldn't be aboard the ship, as his 1983 self is also there. Deviant... now there's a double meaning.

Nyssa and Tegan's personalities are easily discernible here. Nyssa is more logical, trusting, while Tegan is more tough-minded, less trusting, and values security and familiarity. One exchange between them regarding Turlough is good. Tegan: "Nobody from Earth is just going to walk into a transmat capsule." Nyssa: "As you did in the TARDIS on the Barnett Bypass?" Game, set, and match to Nyssa, I think.

The late Valentine Dyall provides a strong menacing presence as the Black Guardian, as evidenced by his effectively harsh demonic voice. And Nicholas Courtney plays the Brig as if he never took a hiatus from the character.

Links to the show's past are shown when the Brigadier regains his memory, via black-and-white clips of various adventures, Doctors, and companions. The homing device from Full Circle makes another appearance here, as does the Fourth Doctor's red coat, worn by Mawdryn. There is a subtle clue that the Doctor knows about the Black Guardian's involvement. He finds Turlough's crystal, which the BG gave him. Presumably, it's made from the same material as the Key To Time.

This is yet another of producer John Nathan-Turner's trilogies, presenting a villain out to get the Doctor and phasing out one companion for another. In this case, Nyssa leaves the TARDIS crew in the next story, Terminus, while Turlough joins the crew.
Mawdryn Undead shows that it's possible to have a story that's fascinating without having sensational alien monsters.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Ever!, December 4, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Doctor Who - Mawdryn Undead [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This episode has always been my personal favorite,as well as being the one I've seen the most times. It contains probably the least padding out of any episode ever, making it enjoyable from beginning to end. The plotline is also the best ever, the aspect of two Brigadiers from different times is truly thought-provoking. Unlike many fans, I've always loved the stories that delve into the series' past, I think the Tom Baker era could have used a few more of these. This episode also seems to be the most British out of the entire series, due to the public school setting and the talk of the Queens Silver Jubilee. Even the so-called villian of the story, Mawdryn, who is very well realized and very sympathetic, seems like a very British character. This story deals with the aspect of time travel better than any in the history of the program, which is what this show is supposed to be about in the first place. Also, the return of the Black Guardian and the introduction of Turlough are added bonuses, but the story is so great it would have been just as good without them. The real highlight of the story is the long awaited return of the Brigadier(s). The flashback scene where the Doctor reminds him of his adventures is the best in the show's history, right up there with Earthshock's flashback sequences. At first, the Brigadier looks much older than we would expect, but then we realize why when we see his 1977 couterpart.(When we see him again in The Five Doctors, he looks more like this version.) Also, the explanation of why he lost his memory at the end, when he meets his future self, is brilliant. This episode, along with Earthshock, The Five Doctors, and Resurrection of the Daleks, makes it easy to see why the Davison era is a fan's dream come true. However, if you're new to the series, it is advisable to first watch older episodes of the series, especially ones including the Brigadier, to fully appreciate this story.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Playable even to a Star Trek fan., June 17, 2001

By 

MasterOfWho "MasterOfWho" (oklahoma, ok USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Doctor Who - Mawdryn Undead [VHS] (VHS Tape)

On a list of Doctor Who's most playable shows at a party or with friends who are unfamilar with The Doctor or Sci-fi buddies that have succombed to a Star Trek one sighted vision this is the best. The story is has elements to carry seamlessly into this decade. The story is fun, has excellent thought stimuli in the plot and is as good as any modern sci-movie that comes out today. (forgiving a little old computer graphics in dream sequences and some cheesy music in the begining)