Customer Reviews

Doctor Who: Resurrection of Daleks [VHS]

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"Resurrection of the Daleks" is the first of the stories available on DVD that I saw as a fan. I was only eleven years old and had only been watching the show (aired nightly on PBS) for a month. It made a huge impact on me and led, indirectly, to my sitting here on a perfectly pleasant September evening 19 years later, writing this review.

A lot of "Resurrection" is still effective today. I saw this story first the year that it debuted -- 1984 -- and, of course, a lot of the acting and special effects seem woefully dated today. What I like is the air of actual *menace* around these Daleks, as opposed to a string of predictable, less-than-memorable 1970s outings. These Daleks actually instill horror in their victims. They shoot on sight and play fast and loose with biological weapons. "Resurrection" is a violent, gruesome story whose impact is only slightly dulled by the two dozen badly-acted death scenes of random extras. One of the extras, referred to on the commentary track only as "the Geek", looks a lot like David Letterman. For what it's worth.

The DVD extras make this package the better of the two "DW" stories released in the US this summer. The obligatory text commentary, full of location filming dates and guest actor credits, also describes in detail the evolution of the story's script over the three years it took to get to screen. We learn how actor Terry Molloy (the third and final "Davros") spent hours practicing the voice, to make the character sound like Michael Wisher, the original (and best) Davros. Molloy truly is excellent playing a ranting wheelchair-bound villain in a latex mask (which, we learn, caused "lakes of sweat" to pool inside the oversized rubber chin), and would go on to play the role right up through the end of "Doctor Who" as a series.

The audio track is also a winner. Peter Davison (the Doctor) is back for his third DVD and is, as always, hilarious. Janet Fielding (Tegan, who makes her emotional departure at the end of "Resurrection") puts in her first DVD performance. She's done her homework, giving a lot of convincing detail, and still finds time to count the many furtive glances that co-star Mark Strickson (Turlough) shot to the camera as he strived to get more face time. Story director Matthew Robinson seems to remember the setup for every camera angle and every shot in the story, and lets us know it. Still, it's the level of detail and humor that puts this in the "above average" range of DW audio commentaries, after a rather dull recent run by actors and directors with distressingly porous memories.

Another good extra is the lengthy "on location" segment, which returns to the narrow, dank Thames waterfront alleys where the story was filmed. It's all gone upscale now. Robinson re-enacts old scenes by lurking in alcoves that have since become pastry shop windows. Also interspersed here is an interview with producer John Nathan-Turner, evidently the last interview he gave before his death last year. Also in the "deleted scenes" is the alternative cliffhanger to Part Two... which was actually the cliffhanger used when I first saw this story in the US in 1984. I like this "alternate" version better than the "official" one, as it ends a couple of menacing beats later.

The ultimate goal, I think, is to get as much of Davison's Season 21 output on DVD as possible. We have two of his six stories out now, and that's just not enough.

Another two adventures featuring the intrepid Time Lord are released on DVD, again showcasing different eras from the long running BBC adventure series. "Carnival of Monsters" dates from 1973 and the tenth season of the show, with the companion release "Resurrection of the Daleks" hailing from season twenty-one broadcast in 1984.

As with all the previous DVD releases of Doctor Who, the archive material has been painstakingly restored, with spectacular results. Each of the two stories looks as impressive as when the adventures were first broadcast all those years ago. In addition to the restoration, a number of very interesting extras has been added to both releases which are almost worth the price of the discs alone.

Starting with the earlier adventure, starring Jon Pertwee as the third incarnation of The Doctor, there are a lot of goodies included along with the four-part adventure. The story itself marked something of a watershed in the Pertwee era, since it was the first to feature the Doctor traveling freely in time and space since the black and white Troughton era which ended in 1969. The intervening seasons had become somewhat tedious with endless earth bound adventures, albeit with occasional escapes for the Doctor, so it was refreshing to have the Doctor once more freely roaming the universe. "Carnival of Monsters" was the first story to be recorded for season ten, actually being completed as part of the production block for season nine in 1972. It was held over and transmitted second in the tenth anniversary season. It was also the second Pertwee story to be directed by the show's producer, Barry Letts. Letts provides a genuinely interesting commentary along with the other star of the show, Katy Manning, the actress who played the enormously popular Jo Grant. Although a fairly one-dimensional character, Manning certainly brought a great deal of energy and warmth to her portrayal of Grant, and that enthusiasm hasn't been lost in the thirty plus years since the story was made. Manning and Letts are clearly delighted to be reunited again for this DVD, and their commentary is entertaining, informative and indeed delightful. There are also on screen captions to fill in the gaps in their memories.

This release differs from the earlier VHS release considerably. The four episodes have been re-mastered from the original broadcast tapes. All the additional footage and indeed edits from the VHS release have been included as extras rather than in the body of the programme. There is also a fascinating, but short, behind-the-scenes look at the making of the programme, plus an abandoned reworking of the theme tune, some model work, a photo gallery, the trailer from a 1981 TV repeat and an Easter egg to find.

The story itself is witty and refreshing, being penned by the programmes most prolific and popular writer, Robert Holmes, and acted well by the assembled cast. Sadly, I would say the production is let down by some gaudy design and costuming, particularly the scenes on the alien planet, but that was often the case with the Pertwee stories. The sister release, "Resurrection of the Daleks" is quite different and much darker in tone and appearance. Heralding the return of the Doctor's oldest and most popular enemies after a five year absence from the show, this story is from the end of Peter Davison's rather brief reign as the fifth incarnation of the Time Lord and indeed marks the end of an era as it includes the departure of the long running companion Tegan Jovanka, played by Janet Fielding.

One of the things I was dreading for this release was the commentary featuring Davison, Fielding and director Matthew Robinson. Davison has not exactly been enthralling with the earlier releases he has contributed to, and as most hard-core fans of the show know, Fielding has been extremely critical of the show; particularly it's portrayal of female characters in the years since she relinquished her role. However, I am delighted to report that their commentary is wonderful! Definitely the highlight of the release. Obviously Fielding has rediscovered her sense of humor, and doesn't even seem to mind when Davison and Robinson make endless sexist remarks about her costume and legs! Although it's a bit mean, their sending up of fellow actor Mark Strickson (Turlough) is genuinely funny. Robinson is actually the weak link in the commentary team, since unfortunately he is almost impossible to silence, and constantly talks over the other two. But it's a minor quibble.

Another surprise is the inclusion of BOTH John Nathan-Turner; the shows much-maligned long running producer, and his script editor Eric Saward who also penned the script. The two fell out while producing the ill-fated twenty-third season of the show resulting in Saward stalking out of the programme mid-way through production and a great deal of public mud-slinging. Although they are not actually seen together, they've both filmed new sequences with Director Robinson at the locations used for the filming of the story. The on-screen production notes are a little tedious on this release, and there are also two features from the BBC's "Breakfast Time" which actually have precious little to do with the story itself. But they're fun to see again.

It's a taught story, with a stellar guest cast, although like most of the Davison era, it's all a little too complex, and doesn't stand up to a great deal of scrutiny. Some of the plot holes are pretty large, but it still works as a very entertaining piece. The episodes are included as produced, in four 25-minute episodes, even though they were actually transmitted as two 45-minute episodes at the time, thanks to the BBC's coverage of the 1984 Winter Olympics.

They're both great releases, and a welcome addition to the growing Doctor Who DVD library. I'd recommend both discs even if you're not a die-hard fan of the show.

Resurrection of the Daleks marked the return of the Doctor's oldest enemies for the first time in four years. This story is set on two opposing ends of a time corridor generated by the Daleks. One end is in 1984 London, where the Daleks are keeping samples of the deadly Movellan virus that has wiped out untold numbers of Daleks. The other end is aboard the Daleks' command ship several centuries into the future where their creator Davros has been imprisoned aboard a space station for the last 90 years. The Daleks' plan is to rescue Davros and free him from his cyogenic chamber, then force him to develop a cure for the Movellan virus. The Doctor's TARDIS gets caught in the time corridor and is dragged to London, where the Doctor begins to seek out what's being guarded in the warehouse nearby, and why it is so important. We see some great performances from several supporting cast members in this story, including Rula Lenska (as Styles) and Rodney Bewes (Stein), Lesley Grantham (Kiston) and, of course Terry Molloy as Davros. Resurrection is one of the stronger Dalek stories during the latter years of the classic Doctor Who series, and one of the best DW stories of the 80's. It also represents the beginning in the turnover in DW's cast which took place during the show's twenty-first season as Tegan Jovanka (played by Janet Fielding) leaves the series at the end of this story. The following story Planet of Fire included the introduction of Nicola Bryant as Perpugilliam "Peri" Brown as well as the departure of Mark Strickson as Turlough. And then of course, The Caves of Androzani sees the departure of Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor and the introduction of Colin Baker as Doctor Number Six. Resurrection of the Daleks was one of the strongest stories of what was arguably the best season of Peter Davison's run as the Doctor.

I must congratulate the BBC's DVD department. They just cram these Doctor Who discs full of features.

This is a pretty good story anyway, continuing the story of the Davros character from a previous story, but it stands alone as well, so you will not be lost if you have not seen the other story. The Doctor's party arrives at Shad Thames in London (Some particularly good filming of a historic dockyard, shortly before 1980s redevelopment into trendy restaurants and flats) where the Daleks are operating a time corridor into the future with the assistance of a mercenary called Lytton, robot duplicates and fake policemen. The Daleks' plan is to rescue their creator Davros from imprisonment, and er... well probably take over the Earth or something. The plot's not that important sadly, but the dialogue and performances more than make up for this.

The regulars turn in good performances, particularly Peter Davison, whose Doctor goes through the mill in this adventure, showing great sadness at the end of the story as one of his companions departs. There are perhaps too many guest stars (the story is a little cluttered with characters) but the calibre of actor is very high, with Rodney Bewes and Maurice Colbourne particularly worthy of note. Terry Molloy is also pretty good as chief villain Davros, having a difficult job to take over the role from another actor at short notice.

The DVD has an informed and interesting commentary by Peter Davison, Janet Fielding, and director Matthew Robinson. They treat their work on the programme with both a great seriousness and also an irreverent humour, which is just right for the subject matter.

The isolated music score is a little curious. I can't really see anyone watching the DVD with just the music and no dialogue/effects noises. I tried this and it looked curiously like a silent movie. Perhaps this is more for fans of the music, which is a pretty good score by Malcolm Clarke.

The TARDIS-Cam No. 4 features a small underwater scene and is nothing spectacular.

The Breakfast Time interviews are interesting and good to have on this DVD as they help put the programme into the context of its time.

The on-location documentary is a little short and is hampered by the fact that producer John Nathan-Turner was interviewed separately from the director and writer.

The subtitled production notes are informative but there's so much information it's difficult to follow these at the same time as the commentary.

The extended and deleted scenes are nothing special, but it's nice to have them, and the same goes for the BBC1 trailer. There was supposed to be something called 'Whose Who' (it's listed on the back) but I couldn't find it! The Photo gallery is well-presented as usual, and much more watchable than most DVD galleries.

One point must be made, that the DVD transfer is very clear, the sound quality is superb, in particular the stereo re-mastering of the score and soundtrack. All in all, an excellent product.

Resurrection of the Daleks is the beginning of a phasing out trilogy. In May 1983, Peter Davison (The Doctor) decided that the upcoming season would be his last one, so scripts were rewritten to phase out Tegan, Turlough, and the Doctor. When it happened, it took place in the last Peter Davison stories.

In 1984, a series of mysterious cylinders have been found in a London warehouse and are under investigation by Colonel Archer of the Bomb Disposal Squad. This was also the same scene where a pair of policemen gun down all but two of a group of escaping fugitives. The survivor, the cowardly and wounded Stien, meets the Doctor, Tegan, and Turlough, who have been dragged down to Earth by a time corridor.

In space, a group of commandos led by Lytton and some Daleks lead an attack on a space station holding Davros prisoner. It's not too difficult, as the low morale and a lackadaisical attitude observed by recently-arrived Lieutenant Mercer lead to nearly all the crew being killed.

The seeds for the Dalek schism that would plague both remaining Dalek stories are set here, as Davros, who has been freed to help the Daleks develop an antidote to a virus that led to their defeat in a war against their foes the Movellans (q.v. Destiny Of The Daleks), has decided to create some new Daleks obedient to him and not to the Supreme Dalek. He gains followers in his circle, including human troops, whom he conditions. Yet, he rants and raves throughout most of this story, and at times, his dialogue is unintelligible, maybe because of microphone troubles beneath the mask or it being drowned by the music.

Interesting effects in this story is a scary scene of someone's whose face is rotting away, and the way the Daleks succumb to the virus.

Maurice Colbourne (Lytton) and his two bodyguards would reappear in Attack of the Cybermen where they would be killed off. The character of Lytton, the ruthless and no-nonsense mercenary unafraid to tell the Daleks off, is one of the few interesting ones. Same with Stien, a cowardly, uncertain, and later on, divided personality, and Rodney Bewes does a good portrayal to that effect. All the other characters seem unimportant, as many are unnamed or unidentified until later episodes.

As this is Tegan's departure story, Janet Fielding has a good emotional leaving scene, where her character is sickened by the carnage that has taken place. Indeed, only three humanoid characters survive in this extremely high body count story.

This story has been compared to Earthshock, which was also written by Eric Saward and featured the Cybermen, and has been criticized for being all gloss and no substance. While the action sequences and regular characters are good, the lack of strong characters, and maybe too many characters who just fill up the story and get killed off.

Death everywhere. That's all that can be said about Resurrection of the Daleks, and it's no wonder Tegan left. The emotional scene at the end is truly remarkable, and well acted by Peter Davison, Janet Fielding, and Mark Strickson. Janet's tears were real, and for some big Tegan fans such as myself, it's hard to say goodbye to such a good companion who has been on the show since the last Tom Baker show, Logopolis. Throughout the seasons we have seen her go through some changes, she was a very tempermental stewardess in the beginning but the next two seasons she certainly mellowed out. The commentary is excellent, and Janet is wonderful and seems happy to be back into the Who world. I recommend this story, although it is rather dark and boring at times...but the commentary with Janet is well worth it... for she hasn't done any Doctor Who in over ten years!

Decent "Dr. Who" story with the fifth incarnation of The Doctor (Peter Davidson), has The Doctor, once again, battling the show's most popular enemy, Davros & The Daleks.

The Doctor, with his companions Tegan & Turlough time travel, in the TARDIS, to the year 1984 & land in the abandoned docks of London, England, after narrowly escaping being trapped in a time corridor. After some investigating The Doctor discovers that the time corridor stint wasn't an isolated incident.

In the far future, a starship is under sudden attack by an unknown alien vessel and is taking on serious casualties. The wounded ship is boarded and the alien attackers reveal themselves to be The Daleks. The Daleks have come to retrieve their former scientist/leader, Davros, being held in a cryogenic style prison cell aboard the starship. The time corridor was produced by The Daleks in an attempt, not only to trap The Doctor, but also to retrieve a possible cure, hidden on Earth, for The Daleks & their deadly plague. Its up to The Doctor, his companions, & the survivors of the prison ship to stop The Dalek horde and Davros.

After the successful run with the fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) I lost interest with "Doctor Who" way back in 1981, & never really caught any of the fifth Doctor adventures (or any others for that matter). I took a leap of faith when I saw this on "Amazon". The problem that I had was trying to find a definitive list of the best serials of "Doctor Who", but, I couldn't find any. "Resurrection Of The Daleks" got quite a few thumbs up, so I gave it try.

With all "Doctor Who" shows its the stories that drive the show not the effects (still BBC cheesy) or costumes (these were really weird, & kinky, even for this show!).

Peter Davidson does a decent turn as the Doctor, but I wasn't to impressed with Tegan & especially Turlough (I was hoping he would "TERMEENATED" by The Daleks).

The DVD doesn't dissapoint. There are 4 different audio options. 5.1 Dolby Digital, 2.0 Dolby Stereo, Commentary w/ cast, and an isolated music score in 2.0 stereo. A look back at the making of the show & a look at the London docks today where the show was originally shot back in 1983. TARDIS Cam no. 4, is also included. Worth a rental.

This was the 4th story of the 1984 Season 21 and the action continues on directly from "Frontios" where the 5th Doctor (Peter Davidson) and his companions Tegan (Janet Fielding) and Turlough (Mark Strickson) are desperately trying to free the TARDIS from a "Time Corridor". Meanwhile, in London in the 1980's, a tramp is horrified to witness a strange group of men burst out of an abandoned warehouse and get machine-gunned down by a couple of police officers. Somewhere in the future a prison space station holding the evil Davros, creator of the Daleks, comes under attack from a battle cruiser.

Materializing on Earth, the Doctor discovers that one end of the time corridor is located in the warehouse and the other end is on the space cruiser which belongs to the Daleks and is being used in an attempt to free Davros so that he can work on an antidote to a virus which is killing them off. As the episode progresses the Doctor is horrified to find out that he has walked into a trap and that the Daleks intend to replicate him and his companions so that their doubles can travel to Galifrey and assassinate the High Council of the Timelords. A frantic battle for survival takes place with the surviving space station crew fighting for their lives while the Daleks and their evil replicant soldiers attempt to complete their dastardly plan. By the time the smoke clears only the Doctor and his companions are left alive with the exception of the leader of the Dalek's replicant troops who manages to slip quietly away with two of his men (later to return in Attack of the Cybermen). Disgusted by the slaughter, Tegan decides to leave the TARDIS and runs from the warehouse in tears...

As Dalek stories go, this is one of the best and considering the budget it comes across as an extremely enjoyable and polished piece of classic science fiction. The acting is excellent despite the use of certain actors in roles you would never expect to see them in (Rodney Bewes as Stien is particularly worthy of note as he was known as a comedy actor but managed to play the part of the Dalek double agent remarkably well). Also worth mentioning is the wonderful commentary track with Peter Davidson (Doctor), Janet Fielding (Tegan) and Mat Robinson (Director) who enjoy themselves throughout and give us a real insight into the making of the story. The ending where Tegan makes her tearful goodbyes lingers in the mind for long after the final credits have rolled...

Another two adventures featuring the intrepid Time Lord are released on DVD, again showcasing different eras from the long running BBC adventure series. "Carnival of Monsters" dates from 1973 and the tenth season of the show, with the companion release "Resurrection of the Daleks" hailing from season twenty-one broadcast in 1984.

As with all the previous DVD releases of Doctor Who, the archive material has been painstakingly restored, with spectacular results. Each of the two stories looks as impressive as when the adventures were first broadcast all those years ago. In addition to the restoration, a number of very interesting extras has been added to both releases which are almost worth the price of the discs alone.

Starting with the earlier adventure, starring Jon Pertwee as the third incarnation The Doctor, there are a lot of goodies included along with the four-part adventure. The story itself marked something of a watershed in the Pertwee era, since it was the first to feature the Doctor traveling freely in time and space since the black and white Troughton era which ended in 1969. The intervening seasons had become somewhat tedious with endless earth bound adventures, albeit with occasional escapes for the Doctor, so it was refreshing to have the Doctor once more freely roaming the universe. "Carnival of Monsters" was the first story to be recorded for season ten, actually being completed as part of the production block for season nine in 1972. It was held over and transmitted second in the tenth anniversary season. It was also the second Pertwee story to be directed by the show's producer, Barry Letts. Letts provides a genuinely interesting commentary along with the other star of the show, Katy Manning, the actress who played the enormously popular Jo Grant. Although a fairly one-dimensional character, Manning certainly brought a great deal of energy and warmth to her portrayal of Grant, and that enthusiasm hasn't been lost in the thirty plus years since the story was made. Manning and Letts are clearly delighted to be reunited again for this DVD, and their commentary is entertaining, informative and indeed delightful. There are also on screen captions to fill in the gaps in their memories.

This release differs from the earlier VHS release considerably. The four episodes have been re-mastered from the original broadcast tapes. All the additional footage and indeed edits from the VHS release have been included as extras rather than in the body of the programme. There is also a fascinating, but short, behind-the-scenes look at the making of the programme, plus an abandoned reworking of the theme tune, some model work, a photo gallery, the trailer from a 1981 TV repeat and an Easter egg to find.

The story itself is witty and refreshing, being penned by the programmes most prolific and popular writer, Robert Holmes, and acted well by the assembled cast. Sadly, I would say the production is let down by some gaudy design and costuming, particularly the scenes on the alien planet, but that was often the case with the Pertwee stories. The sister release, "Resurrection of the Daleks" is quite different and much darker in tone and appearance. Heralding the return of the Doctor's oldest and most popular enemies after a five year absence from the show, this story is from the end of Peter Davison's rather brief reign as the fifth incarnation of the Time Lord and indeed marks the end of an era as it includes the departure of the long running companion Tegan Jovanka, played by Janet Fielding.

One of the things I was dreading for this release was the commentary featuring Davison, Fielding and director Matthew Robinson. Davison has not exactly been enthralling with the earlier releases he has contributed to, and as most hard-core fans of the show know, Fielding has been extremely critical of the show; particularly it's portrayal of female characters in the years since she relinquished her role. However, I am delighted to report that their commentary is wonderful! Definitely the highlight of the release. Obviously Fielding has rediscovered her sense of humor, and doesn't even seem to mind when Davison and Robinson make endless sexist remarks about her costume and legs! Although it's a bit mean, their sending up of fellow actor Mark Strickson (Turlough) is genuinely funny. Robinson is actually the weak link in the commentary team, since unfortunately he is almost impossible to silence, and constantly talks over the other two. But it's a minor quibble.

Another surprise is the inclusion of BOTH John Nathan-Turner; the shows much-maligned long running producer, and his script editor Eric Saward who also penned the script. The two fell out while producing the ill-fated twenty-third season of the show resulting in Saward stalking out of the programme mid-way through production and a great deal of public mud-slinging. Although they are not actually seen together, they've both filmed new sequences with Director Robinson at the locations used for the filming of the story. The on-screen production notes are a little tedious on this release, and there are also two features from the BBC's "Breakfast Time" which actually have precious little to do with the story itself. But they're fun to see again.

It's a taught story, with a stellar guest cast, although like most of the Davison era, it's all a little too complex, and doesn't stand up to a great deal of scrutiny. Some of the plot holes are pretty large, but it still works as a very entertaining piece. The episodes are included as produced, in four 25-minute episodes, even though they were actually transmitted as two 45-minute episodes at the time, thanks to the BBC's coverage of the 1984 Winter Olympics.

They're both great releases, and a welcome addition to the growing Doctor Who DVD library. I'd recommend both discs even if you're not a die-hard fan of the show.

Throughout all of the travels of our beloved (beleagured, bewildered) Doctor, the companions seem to come and go. Each one bearing their own special trademarks and carrying with them pieces of the single (and sometimes double or triple) Doctor that they knew. Each chance meeting with peril or death slowly altering all of them for good. In "Resurrection" the DALEKS, Davros, Doctor, Turlough & Teegan as well as many of the the supportive cast seem to mirror in their acting the surrounding bleakness of the London Southern Warehousing district. At points,a bit over the top with the melodrama RESURRECTION has many wonderful pieces to offer up for value in the continuity of Doctor Who. Peter Davison as the 5th Doctor truly shines as the man with too much to do and not enough time or help. Much of the plot becomes murky due to the interweaving of many sublots being worked all at once and not being clarified. The relationship between the Doctor and Teegan seems quite tenuous and when she has had "enough of all the murder & mayhem" you truly believe the sadness & frustration that she expresses. Overall, the shoddy special effects & the underacting work together and produce a darker 5th Doctor than you would expect. IT IS GOOD! If you are a fan of the companion introductions and goodbyes, the scenes of Teegans goddbye are reminscent of the feeling I got of Sarah. Truly worth your time spent!!