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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
SPIT TAKE, September 9, 2006
Before VHS, before DVD, syndication was the only place to watch DOCTOR WHO and for years (decades even) INFERNO was in black and white. The color masters had either been wiped or lost, leaving us with a complete story - but sans the rainbow - and until a complete color copy had been found in Canada - it looked as if either the story would have to be colorized or remain forever in black and white.
When I picked up INFERNO on DVD I wasn't sure which version I was getting. I knew that a color version had been found, but wasn't positive what condition it would be in - so when I looked at the back of the box for more detail I was surprised to find that all the images from the story were in black and white, while the details listed it as being in color. Curious... but not to worry, INFERNO has been restored and returned to its original broadcast glory... better in fact. This new reworking of this "lost" color print snaps, crackles and pops on screen. The colors are vibrant, the image clean and clear - it looks fantastic, and yet I can't help but miss the old black and white version now.
INFERNO is a great story drawn out just a touch too long. But only just... the story is all countdown, beat the clock, capture and escape and battle against the monsters - add in a dash of romance, scientific hubris (both the Doctor and Professor Stahlman are guilty here - Stahlman with his quest for personal glory, and the Doctor in his quest to escape - both risk all at any cost and both pay a terrible price in the end), and order above reason and you have so much that even at seven episodes it never fits the format, yet leaves you wanting an eighth to complete some of the plots. It's a great story well told, packed with good characters and actors and everyone is having a ball.
As with all these releases they have gone the extra mile in packing it with extras - and again, they are all very good. It's a minor complaint that some of these extras are almost exact copies of other extras also on the disc - the difference between the commentary track and the CAN YOU HEAR THE EARTH SCREAM? MAKING OF... is very narrow. A lot of what you hear there is heard on the commentary track... save for Caroline John, who could make it for the MAKING OF..., but sadly, not for the commentary. Which is a crime, as this was her final full story with DOCTOR WHO (she would cameo in THE FIVE DOCTORS) and from the MAKING OF... it's clear that she still has a wealth of untold tales from her time on DOCTOR WHO (her comments about the quality of location shooting, toilets and rats is hands down one of the best behind the scenes lines from the series ever put to DVD).
Commentary is included - and like the Doctor, it switches between one reality to the other with somewhat more mixed results. WARP 1 contains Nick Courtney, Barry Letts and Terrance Dicks and is very good. Nice background on production, insights and memories - they are having a good time watching INFERNO and remember it fondly. WARP 2 features John Levene all alone - and, while he is vibrant, happy and excited to be talking about his time served on DOCTOR WHO he falls into the old trap of not wanting to talk about something until it appears on screen, name dropping (yes - it's true, he used to live right next door to Anthony Hopkins), and repeating what has already been said in WARP 1 - so, at times it becomes a grind. I'm not sure who or why decided this was the way to go with this commentary - but it must all come down to ego and politics. It should be clear which applies to which when you listen for yourself. Overall though - a better commentary than most. Both Courtney and Dicks shine here. Text commentary is tight and heavily detailed and worth your time.
In the end INFERNO was a groundbreaking piece of work on DOCTOR WHO. While the concept may have been getting old even back then of ANOTHER EARTH it was still fresh enough for DOCTOR WHO to have some fun with it - in fact, it's still fresh enough to be used even now in the new series (Rose - we miss you! We will not stop looking for a way to bring you home!), so we may just see it again... and in fact, we have... a sequel was written to INFERNO by David McIntee.
THE FACE OF THE ENEMY is a DOCTOR WHO story without the Doctor - but instead features The Master, UNIT and Ian and Barbara in a quest to stop some castaways from INFERNO Earth now living on ours. Danger... perils... The Master, a hero? The plot thickens.
I'm happy the color version has been found - it's keen to see it as it was meant to be seen - but at the same time I mourn the loss of the WARP 2 version of INFERNO. While in black and white failed to energize the main story (set in WARP 1), it packs a punch in WARP 2. It matches the hard edges, rough talk and black hearts found on the Brutal Earth - it's like looking into Orwell's 1984 set in the DOCTOR WHO universe - where you could easily see the Doctor as BIG BROTHER.
You won't go wrong in picking up INFERNO - it's top notch and full bore. A must have for any DOCTOR WHO fan.
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19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
So, free will is not an illusion after all., October 20, 2001
The last story of the Doctor's seventh season is the 7-part Inferno, one the best in the show's history. At a research facility, the Doctor is observing the efforts of the arrogant and unpleasant Professor Stahlman as he attempts to penetrate the Earth's crust in order to gain alternative energy source known as Stahlman's gas. The problem is, his efforts might lead to the destruction of the Earth, but it's all about him and forget the others, including Sir Keith Gold, the administrator in charge. Then there's a greenish ooze that when touched, causes people to turn green and into murderous ape-like Primords, and radiate such intense heat that whatever they touch feels as if it came from a furnace. That is what the Brigadier and UNIT are here for. All this time, penetration zero is hours away from happening, and to make matters worse, Stahlman is infected with the ooze and also sabotages the computer so he cannot be opposed by the Doctor, UNIT, or Sir Keith.During an experiment, the Doctor is propelled into a parallel Earth where Britain is ruled by a bureaucratic and fascist dictatorship: "Proper bureaucrat, aren't you? Can't shoot me unless you fill in all the forms?" He is horrified to see his friends Liz, Benton, and the Brigadier in Nazi-type uniforms, and far from the pleasant people he knew on his Earth. The most striking effect is the Brigadier, here the Brigade Leader, sans mustache, with a black patch over his left eye, a scar running down his left cheek. The Stahlman of that world succeeds in penetrating the Earth's crust, which eventually causes the planet's destruction. It is up to the Doctor to return to his Earth to avert such a disaster from happening. As he tells the parallel Earthlings, "compared to the forces that you've unleashed, an atomic blast would be like a summer breeze." Episode 5 is the most sobering one. The facility starts blowing up, green stuff oozes from the output pipe like a sore, and the fully metamorphosed Primords appear. They are frightening at times, goofy-looking the next, but when they touch someone, that someone becomes one of them, like the parallel Benton The chaos near the end of Episode 6 are also sobering. The atmosphere is tinted red, people are fleeing in terror or are dazed. And the rivers of molten lava starts flowing. Inferno indeed! Some of the cliffhangers are effective here. The one for Episode 4 has Stahlman pointing a gun at the Doctor while the countdown voice goes "5, 4, 3, 2, 1..." and then, end credits. The music is eerie and weirdly space-like, and that gives the story its ominous and gripping edge. All the regulars are terrific here, but Nicholas Courtney gets extra applause for playing the level-headed Brigadier and the vicious and cowardly Brigade Leader. Derek Newark as the authority-flouting Aussie consultant Sutton is particularly splendid, and Olaf Pooley pulls an extra-effective effort at making Professor Stahlman so petty, crazed, and dangerous. Incidentally, Sheila Dunn, who plays Petra Williams, is the wife of Douglas Camfield, who directed this masterpiece. 7-part episodes were abandoned because of their overlength, but it works for Inferno, mainly because of the story. Inferno warns of the dangerously obsessive egomaniacs like Stahlman and also of the terror of nuclear power, of abusing Mother Earth itself. But the story brings hope. When the Doctor learns that Sir Keith survived an auto crash instead of being killed like he was in the fascist Earth, he realizes, "so not everything runs parallel. An infinity of universes, ergo an infinite number of choices. So, free will is not an illusion after all. The pattern can be changed." I'm hoping that's what Nostradamus' prophecies of World War III are-a prediction for a parallel Earth that foolishly and tragically destroyed itself. Well, I hope it's not the fate of this Earth. With our free will, we can prevent that from happening.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Free will is not an illusion after all!", January 13, 2000
This could possibly be the best Dr Who story ever made. It's a compelling, disturbing and very human tale that, although 7 episodes long, never drags (in fact, it seems very rushed). The performances are all topline, the direction by Douglas Camfield superb and the music and sound effects very jarring. The parallel Earth scenes, in which England is run by a fascist government (a "what if the Nazis won" scenario), have a depressing, sterile, Orwellian feel; all the central characters have two roles, their "normal" selves and their parallel personas give them all added depth. Top marks to the Nicholas Courtney as the Brigade Leader. Small touches, such as certain pieces of conversational dialogue played out twice, once in the normal Earth and once in the parallel world, make a substantial impact on the viewer. The Doctor being placed in a situation where he cannot save the Earth (or one Earth) is quite haunting when you consider that "saving the day" becomes predictable to the point of cliche. At the end of the story you can't help feeling emotionally drained; the deaths of well defined characters and their parallel selves surviving plays with your feelings, making you both mourn and rejoice. Like the case with much of Dr Who, the monsters are not often well realised. The Primords have their moments, but just try not to think of the Bee Gees when they start rampaging in the later episodes! Best moments - the cliff hanger to episode 4 and the "doomsday" sequences at the end of episode 6. This is must own Dr Who!
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