Product Details

• Actors: Tom Baker, Elisabeth Sladen
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• VHS Release Date: June 1, 1995
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6302993636
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #73,900 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Whether you're a fan of Dr. Who or just curious, "The Sontaran Experiment" and "The Genesis of the Daleks" are great fun. The best-known and beloved Doctor (Tom Baker) romps through the past, along with his companions Harry and Sarah Jane, in two complete shows from the long-running British series. The first, and shorter, show pits them against a Sontaran warrior in the Earth's past who is testing humans in preparation for an invasion, and shows off the location shooting that made Dr. Who so great. The classic "Daleks" episode puts the doctor on assignment to keep the evil creator Davros from ever building the robots of death. Baker's alternating serious and whimsical moods are priceless, and the tension between the characters mounts until the very end. Will the Daleks return? Only time will tell. --Rob Lightner

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific time travel tales!!!, August 16, 2005

By 

Beekums "The best kept secret in suburbia!" (Maryland, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Doctor Who - The Sontaran Experiment / The Genesis of the Daleks [VHS] (VHS Tape)

These may be two of the best Dr. Who eps of all time. Baker really had begun hitting his stride, moving outside the script from time to time. Elisabeth Sladen was one of the few companions who could actually keep up with him in these deviations, although ultimately all companions are "screamers." If you're looking for their best work together, you might want to find a copy of Pyramid of Mars, but back to the topics at hand...

Genesis is classic BBC story telling at its best, written and performed at a time when many broadcast writers had done (and continued) to write for radio. However, 'Who' was benefitting from some excellent set work, with directors who understood that tight settings with the right props could create a huge image in the viewer's mind when budgets and technology did not allow for the kind of FX we now are used to.

Our heros are forced to challenge their views of right and wrong, and over how far one may have to go to deal with great evil. Secondary characters provide stories of craven collaboration and heroic challenges to authority.

This story also is a good example of why the Daleks became such a fascinating topic over and over again for Doctor Who. Ultimately, they (like evil) never are completely defeated. They have no mercy, only their goal of creating a perfect, Dalek society.

The Sontaran Experiment is a little more of a straight forward adventure yarn, again populated by interesting sub characters. The Sontarans, despite their technology and vast numbers, inevitably succumb to their own rigidity. A much better Sontaran episode emerges down the road, when the Doctor becomes president of Galifry, only to turn the whole plant over to the Sontarans!

These two tales should make almost anyone a fan of Doctor Who, and the whole Tom Baker era represents much of the best of what that show ever offered.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best bakers of all time!, June 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Doctor Who - The Sontaran Experiment/The Genesis of the Daleks [VHS] (VHS Tape)

The first story here is The Sontaran Experiment. Sadly, it's rather pointless, and Kevin Lindsay - no matter what Sarah Jane says - looks decidedly different to Linx (his colour, for instance - and his extra finger!!!). The human cast are rathe weak, and Styre's robot looks silly and gets little to do. The fact that story was shot entirely on location is great after the studio-bound Ark In Space. Tom Baker manages well to hide his apparent neck brace (after braking his collar bone somehow, so I'm told) and his performance is brilliant. I suppose it's just an interlude between Ark In Space and the next story, better in every way... Genesis Of The Daleks was a good comeback for the Daleks, after the rather shaky Death To The Daleks. The first Tom Baker story which really caught my attention, it is well written, and Michael Wisher does an outstanding performance as the insane, yet evil Davros. Harry Sullivan is irritating as usual, and Sarah Jane just walks off and befriends the "Mutos" (a rather silly name, like "Norm." Well, I think so....). Tom Baker was really dramatic as the Doctor - a clear sign that he has long since settled into the role of the now superb Fourth Doctor. On the whole, superb.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "We are entombed, but we live on...!", May 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Doctor Who - The Sontaran Experiment/The Genesis of the Daleks [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Can this really be a Terry Nation script?!? Every so often, there is one Who story that has such impact on the series that one has to call it revisionist continuity. "Genesis" happens to be one those stories. A total rewriting of Dalek history is carried out with style. And one of the great things in this story is the Daleks' creator, Davros, who might equal his villiany and popularity with the Master. Michael Wisher's performance as Davros is asstounding and unforgettable. The Daleks themselves aren't involved in a whole lot, but remember, this really is a Davros story. A MUST for all Who fans.