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Special Features
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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
An excellent script, top-notch supporting performances, and a vivid villain make The Seeds of Death an above-average Doctor Who story from the 1960s. The Second Doctor (Patrick Troughton) and his companions, the headstrong Jamie (Frazer Hines) and the intrepid Zoe (Wendy Padbury), arrive in a future Earth where all travel is done by teleportation, a system called T-Mat--but the Ice Warriors have taken over the T-Mat station on the Moon and threaten to conquer Earth. Over the course of six episodes, the Doctor infiltrates the moon base, is nearly killed by toxic bubble bath (as usual, the special effects are fairly primitive), and saves the day. The first two episodes of The Seeds of Death really zip along; the crisp writing (by Brian Hayles) lays out the plot skillfully and the characters actually behave like intelligent human beings. After that, when long-time script editor Terrance Dicks rewrote the story (as discussed in one of the extras), the material takes a turn for the generic and the pace grows sluggish, but there's still fun to be had. While most of the Ice Warriors are a bit laughable, Ice Lord Slaar (Alan Bennion), with his sibilant whisper of a voice, is marvelously creepy. Not only does this story feature the hyper-intelligent Zoe, one of the leading T-Mat managers is the highly competent Gia Kelly (the excellent Louise Pajo), whose skill and authority are treated with respect throughout. A second disk of extra features includes a solid making-of doc and several featurettes about the monsters of Doctor Who, from the Daleks to the Weeping Angels. All in all, good fare from the early years of this classic science fiction series. --Bret Fetzer
Product Description
By the late 21st century, mankind has become totally dependent on T-Mat to transport people, food and medicines around the world. When the system breaks down, Earth is soon crippled by global shortages. Traveling to the relay station on the moon, the Doctor and his companions discover the horrific truth: the Ice Warriors have hijacked T-Mat, and intend to claim the planet for themselves. Can the Doctor defeat the Martians before Earth is smothered in deadly fungus, and the human race is condemned to extinction?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
29 of 29 people found the following review helpful
As I am writing this in mid May, 2012, I have to state that this one almost got by me, thinking this "Special Edition" was an older product. But then I realized that this has not yet been released in the US. I got this last year as part of the U.K. Revisitations Box Set - Volume 2, which became available in March 2011. So this is a genuine review, unlike many of the other phonies who post "reviews" before the product is made available to them simply for the sake of making them.
As always, I'm not gong to give a synopsis of the story itself. If you don't know the story by now, there are plenty of other reviewers who will tell you all about it ad nauseam. Rather, I'm going to focus on what I believe will help you decide if this product is worthy of your hard earned wages by reviewing the extras which, in my opinion, can make or break a purchase.
DVD Audio Commentary - With Wendy Padburry, Frazer Hines, director Michael Ferguson, and Terrance Dicks. I actually listen to each and every one of these, and usually enjoy them, especially when Toby Hadoke is not a part of it, and fortunately he did not take part of this one.
Text Commentary - This is different from the 2003 version. It irritates me that on occasion when a story is re-released with a new audio commentary, the old one is usually included. So why didn't they do that with the old text version as well?
Lords of the Red Planet - Is a documentary on the making of "The Seeds of Death. It covers the history of the creation of the Ice Warriors and their creator, Brian Hayes. Frazer Hines, Wendy Padburry, and costume designer Bobbi Bartlet are just a few contributors to this piece. I found this to be interesting and entertaining.
Sssowing the Ssseedsss - Interviews actors Alan Bennion / Slaar, Sonny Caldinez / Ice Warrior, and Make-up supervisor Sylvia James. A previously recorded interview with actor Bernard Bresslaw / Varga is used as well. All four discuss their roles in the program and insight into its production. Not exactly entertaining, but interesting to me none the less.
Monster Masterclass - This is a short interview with director Michael Ferguson who talks about Doctor Who monsters, what makes them credible, and why the fans love them. Not very insightful in my opinion.
Monsters Who Came Back For More! - Nick Briggs and Doctor Who Magazine's assistant editor Peter Ware go over some of their favorite returning monsters as well as those that were only used once on the program. Personally, there's enough similarity between this feature and "Monster Masterclass" that I see no reason they couldn't have been combined into one single feature. This one with Nick and Peter was more enjoyable for me to watch than the previous one with Michael Ferguson.
TARDIS CAM #6 - A short computer generated scene of the TARDIS in a snowy wasteland which in my opinion was not interesting in the slightest.
Photo gallery - Self explanatory.
Some may wonder what makes this different from the 2003 version. This "Special Edition" has an improved picture. Besides that, the following extras on the 2003 version are not included for the 2012 release.
New Zealand Censor Clips
The Last Dalek
These first two have nothing to do with the actual story in any way, so by not including them, you're not missing out on anything relevant to the story.
Text Commentary - As stated, is different from the 2012 version.
The TARDIS Cam 5 in the 2003 version is the same thing as the TARDIS Cam 6 in the 2012 release. So no real difference, just a typo.
Putting my disdain for 2|enterain's recent releases aside, I would rate this re-release at 4 Ssstarsss." MY BOTTOM LINE is that this is A MUST HAVE to anyone of the classic Doctor Who series, and since there are only six Patrick Troughton stories that are complete, it would be a shame not to own all of the ones which are whole.
I hope that this review was helpful to you, and please feel free to express your opinion(s) on my review so that I can hopefully improve upon my future ones. Thank you for taking the time to read this, and hopefully, consider my humble opinion(s).
As always, I'm not gong to give a synopsis of the story itself. If you don't know the story by now, there are plenty of other reviewers who will tell you all about it ad nauseam. Rather, I'm going to focus on what I believe will help you decide if this product is worthy of your hard earned wages by reviewing the extras which, in my opinion, can make or break a purchase.
DVD Audio Commentary - With Wendy Padburry, Frazer Hines, director Michael Ferguson, and Terrance Dicks. I actually listen to each and every one of these, and usually enjoy them, especially when Toby Hadoke is not a part of it, and fortunately he did not take part of this one.
Text Commentary - This is different from the 2003 version. It irritates me that on occasion when a story is re-released with a new audio commentary, the old one is usually included. So why didn't they do that with the old text version as well?
Lords of the Red Planet - Is a documentary on the making of "The Seeds of Death. It covers the history of the creation of the Ice Warriors and their creator, Brian Hayes. Frazer Hines, Wendy Padburry, and costume designer Bobbi Bartlet are just a few contributors to this piece. I found this to be interesting and entertaining.
Sssowing the Ssseedsss - Interviews actors Alan Bennion / Slaar, Sonny Caldinez / Ice Warrior, and Make-up supervisor Sylvia James. A previously recorded interview with actor Bernard Bresslaw / Varga is used as well. All four discuss their roles in the program and insight into its production. Not exactly entertaining, but interesting to me none the less.
Monster Masterclass - This is a short interview with director Michael Ferguson who talks about Doctor Who monsters, what makes them credible, and why the fans love them. Not very insightful in my opinion.
Monsters Who Came Back For More! - Nick Briggs and Doctor Who Magazine's assistant editor Peter Ware go over some of their favorite returning monsters as well as those that were only used once on the program. Personally, there's enough similarity between this feature and "Monster Masterclass" that I see no reason they couldn't have been combined into one single feature. This one with Nick and Peter was more enjoyable for me to watch than the previous one with Michael Ferguson.
TARDIS CAM #6 - A short computer generated scene of the TARDIS in a snowy wasteland which in my opinion was not interesting in the slightest.
Photo gallery - Self explanatory.
Some may wonder what makes this different from the 2003 version. This "Special Edition" has an improved picture. Besides that, the following extras on the 2003 version are not included for the 2012 release.
New Zealand Censor Clips
The Last Dalek
These first two have nothing to do with the actual story in any way, so by not including them, you're not missing out on anything relevant to the story.
Text Commentary - As stated, is different from the 2012 version.
The TARDIS Cam 5 in the 2003 version is the same thing as the TARDIS Cam 6 in the 2012 release. So no real difference, just a typo.
Putting my disdain for 2|enterain's recent releases aside, I would rate this re-release at 4 Ssstarsss." MY BOTTOM LINE is that this is A MUST HAVE to anyone of the classic Doctor Who series, and since there are only six Patrick Troughton stories that are complete, it would be a shame not to own all of the ones which are whole.
I hope that this review was helpful to you, and please feel free to express your opinion(s) on my review so that I can hopefully improve upon my future ones. Thank you for taking the time to read this, and hopefully, consider my humble opinion(s).
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By buckbooks
This is one of the most visually striking, compelling stories of Doctor Who's black-and-white era. After comparing the "Special Edition" with the original DVD release from 2004, I'm not sure the added features you get with the newer version warrant buying it again. (Amazon is, as of this writing, charging about the same for both versions, so if you're new to "The Seeds of Death," go for the new release by all means.)
As best as I can tell, the only thing new to the special edition are three good to middling new mini-documentaries that, respectively, trace the history of the Ice Warriors, look at the use of monsters on the show generally, and compare those iconic monsters that have made repeat appearances in the series. A fourth feature, which includes interviews with actors who played the Ice Warriors, is included with both versions.
In "The Seeds of Death," the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe land on a future Earth, which has given up traditional space travel with rocket ships and now relies on a matter-transmitting device centered on the Moon to ship freight and people all over the world. "T-Mat," as it is called, is hijacked by the Ice Warriors in a plot to alter Earth's climate. The Doctor must persuade Earth's foremost authority on rocket travel (now the curator of a space museum) to take one of Earth's rockets out of mothballs so that he and his companions can fly it to the Moon to sort out the trouble.
Louise Pajo is magnificent in the central female role of Gia Kelly, Commander Radnor's so-called "assistant" who singlehandedly keeps the global T-Mat system running smoothly. The use of lighting in this story is particularly effective, flashing numbers of a countdown, for instance, on Pajo's face to dramatize action that might otherwise be limited to model effects. "Seeds" recycles costumes from the earlier "Ice Warriors" but also introduces Slaar, an Ice Warrior commander with a goggled helmet and scaly skin design that allows him to speak his lines freely rather than have them voiced by another actor. Even Earth's "Security" forces wear cool, low-budget sci-fi costumes.
"The Seeds of Death" is the last story featuring the Second Doctor to survive intact before he, Jamie and Zoe would depart the series in "The War Games." It's a must-have for even the casual Doctor Who enthusiast.
As best as I can tell, the only thing new to the special edition are three good to middling new mini-documentaries that, respectively, trace the history of the Ice Warriors, look at the use of monsters on the show generally, and compare those iconic monsters that have made repeat appearances in the series. A fourth feature, which includes interviews with actors who played the Ice Warriors, is included with both versions.
In "The Seeds of Death," the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe land on a future Earth, which has given up traditional space travel with rocket ships and now relies on a matter-transmitting device centered on the Moon to ship freight and people all over the world. "T-Mat," as it is called, is hijacked by the Ice Warriors in a plot to alter Earth's climate. The Doctor must persuade Earth's foremost authority on rocket travel (now the curator of a space museum) to take one of Earth's rockets out of mothballs so that he and his companions can fly it to the Moon to sort out the trouble.
Louise Pajo is magnificent in the central female role of Gia Kelly, Commander Radnor's so-called "assistant" who singlehandedly keeps the global T-Mat system running smoothly. The use of lighting in this story is particularly effective, flashing numbers of a countdown, for instance, on Pajo's face to dramatize action that might otherwise be limited to model effects. "Seeds" recycles costumes from the earlier "Ice Warriors" but also introduces Slaar, an Ice Warrior commander with a goggled helmet and scaly skin design that allows him to speak his lines freely rather than have them voiced by another actor. Even Earth's "Security" forces wear cool, low-budget sci-fi costumes.
"The Seeds of Death" is the last story featuring the Second Doctor to survive intact before he, Jamie and Zoe would depart the series in "The War Games." It's a must-have for even the casual Doctor Who enthusiast.
By J. K. Wayner
Amazon Verified Purchase
One of his best series in the 1960s he and his team along with future humands and aliens trying to take over the moon and the earth showed that he could do complex roles especially staged by a cheap budget and the technology the BBC had in those days. A must see if you like sci fi with time lords in the the 1960s!!!!
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
IT'S THE DOCTOR! WHAT COULD BE BETTER?
IT'S THE DOCTOR! WHAT COULD BE BETTER? Another great addition to my Doctor Who collection! And a special eddition too!
Published 2 months ago by hondo101
4.0 out of 5 stars
Dun dun dun!
This story was a bit more involved,so it was good. Composed of episodes 6.23-6.28 (story 48). the Doctor saves human kind again.
Published 8 months ago by S. Molina
1.0 out of 5 stars
The Seeds of Greed
If you already own the "Ordinary Edition" of this DVD, then hang on to it and save your money on this "Special Edition". Read more
Published 11 months ago by JKO
