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40 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
As usual, a solid release, brimming with extras... and a very welcomed surprise., February 10, 2007
It was a shock to see an incomplete story... made complete via animation?!
The highlight of this story is the background history and what transpired to make this 'missing' story into a released DVD set.
The sixth season of the show (1968-1969) had a lot of scripts falling through. As a result, commissioned stories had to be stretched out longer. "The Invasion" is one such story. The good news is, the gravitas of the character and performance of the actor (Kevin Stoney) playing Tobias Vaughn helps elevate this story and keeps it moving. The story is essentially him vs the Doctor, with Tobias attempting to use the Cybermen to his benefit while the Doctor enlists the help of a newly formed secret paramilitary organization that battles alien invaders; UNIT (United Nations Intelligence Taskforce).
I would say episodes 6 and 7 do drag on a bit, but there are plenty of set pieces that re-awaken you at the right times.
As usual, sound and video for a program made in this time are sensational. And the extras and commentaries made by still-living cast and crew alone pay for this story; and then we get the story itself...
Here's the rundown: In the 1970s, the BBC junked many programs from its archives. The Patrick Troughton era of "Doctor Who" was badly hit. As a result, most of his stories have been destroyed.
Fortunately, over the years, episodes are found in warehouses, returned to the BBC by countries who bought licenses to air the old episodes during the 1960s and never junked the films themselves, or returned by collectors - who are far more philanthropic than many we'd otherwise give the title to.
Additionally, during the 1960s, home video recorders didn't exist. (Another 12 years would pass before the technology became feasible... or popular.) So people recorded them onto audio tape, often by dangling a microphone in front of the TV set.
As part of the restoration process (and having seen many VHS copies, some work had to be done), the end result of episodes 2, 3, and 5-8 are marvelous. And this is the first professionally released version of the story where all the Cybermens' dialogue can be heard distinctly, with full clarity. The previous releases I've seen just didn't have the cleanup applied and the difference is PHENOMENAL.
But the icing is on the cake: Episodes 1 and 4 have been re-created via cleaning and amalgamating numerous audio tape sources, with animation applied. And the animation is spectacular. It doesn't steal any opportunities to go "over the top", there is a genuine sense of the animators trying to be true to the original footage as possible (though some embellishments are inevitable; the master tapes and films nonexisting). It's very clever, grabs your attention, doesn't seem at all shoehorned in, and the audio quality is spectacular. The extras go into the history of program junking, how audiotracks were recovered, and a well made piece on how they were cleaned - I don't want to spoil it here, but as with the main story, there is not one piece of extra that does NOT entertain or edify!
HIGHLY recommended.
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15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
New Animated Episodes, New Era for the Greatest Doctor!, December 2, 2006
I had the good fortune this week to view the newly released DVD set from BBC of the great Doctor Who adventure, The Invasion, with the two "missing" episodes animated by Cosgrove Hall - amd I'm delighted to report, it is fantastic! As many Who fans will have seen the (rather poor quality) VHS of some years ago for this riveting story, I'll turn right to the restored Episodes 1 and 4. How good a job did the animators at Cosgrove Hall do? A very good job indeed. Turning to the animated versions of the characters themselves, the portrayal of Zoe is amazingly faithful to Wendy Padbury's original, with all of her subtle facial expressions and visual personality intact. And what a fine actress she is! The Jamie recreation, while certainly recognizable, is not quite as successful - he must have a more difficult face to render. As for the great Patrick Troughton himself, well, for the most part the animated version is a near-perfect recreation of my favorite of all the Doctors (or perhaps it's a tie with Tom Baker); at some angles, though, particularly when the Doctor is looking upward, the animated character looks a bit like George Washington coping painfully with his wooden dentures. It's true. Minor quibbles aside, though, quite a glorious reconstruction of these missing episodes. Also excellent are the animated alter egos of the supporting characters, including the villain Tobias Vaughn (but for some reason, without his lazy right eye in the animated version, a physical trait that adds to the character's menace). The animated action sequences are always excellent, with a particularly convincing cow in Episode 1, staring in through the TARDIS window. Giving nothing away, the first few moments of Episode 1 involve a missle being fired at the just-reassembled TARDIS (Invasion followed Mind Robber in sequence), and this and the other special effects probably look considerably better, less budget-constrained, than in the lost originals. As for monsters, there aren't any in Episodes 1 and 4, until the last few moments of Episode 4, where they make a most dramatic appearance, not to be missed by any Who fan. What a perfectly wonderful way to recreate this masterpiece. I enjoy the telesnap-based recons a great deal, but clearly animation is the way to go with these missing episodes. A triumph! And if we're very very lucky, this might be the harbinger of things to come from BBC/Cosgrove Hall. The bulk of the Second Doctor's episodes are "missing from the BBC archives," and likely to remain so, barring the opening of some Middle Eastern film library or mad collector's shelves. These include some of the very finest, most well plotted and superbly acted stories in the entire series: Fury from the Deep, Macra Terror, Power of the Daleks, Evil of the Daleks, the two Yeti stories, and much more. Obvious follow up projects would include the Tenth Planet, Ice Warriors, and Moonbase, which are reasonably close to being complete in the archives. Some of these stories, and particularly the monsters and other special effects, may actually benefit from being animated - given the budgetary constraints imposed on Doctor Who in this early time period, the monsters aren't always as convincing as they might be (part of the charm of the series, I recognize).
Reserve your advance copy of this lost masterpiece today! Support this glorious and thoroughly successful breakthrough. And join in the hope that The Invasion will signal a new era for Patrick Troughton, the greatest Doctor of all! (Now how about the First Doctor's Marco Polo, or Dalek Master Plan . . .?)
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"PACKER" The Invasion gets a Glorious Reconstruction., August 16, 2006
Season 6.
UPDATE (Nov.5/06):~I watched the restored version of this story yesterday and all I can say is; "Well worth a purchase", the animated episodes add to the story with their moody stylized artwork.
Cartoon, not computer generated.
The likenesses of the characters are spot on.
The vidfired picture quality is much improved over the VHS version.
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This great eight episode story is out now in the UK with the two missing episodes getting a full length animated reconstruction with the original soundtrack spliced in.
The eight episodes are split across two disc's.
It's getting animated by Manchester based Cosgrove Hall.
(They did Dangermouse in the 80's.)
Gets a US release March 6,07.
Perhaps the BBC are going to reconstruct other episodes, If this sells well?
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Okay animated reconstruction may not be as good as having the actual episodes as originally filmed, but it's a heck of a lot better then Nick Courtney taking Three minutes to talk about a twenty five minute episode.
(Like on my VHS release.)
We have to thank 60's Doctor Who fans who audio taped all the stories, that the soundtrack to the missing episodes still exist at all.
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I've always felt Tobias Vaughn to be one of Who's best; "Human" villains.
A particularly good scene that shows Vaughn at his vicious best, is when the captive Professor Watkins says he will kill Vaughn if he gets the chance, so Vaughn gives him a gun and taunts and then wallops Watkins into shooting (Vaughn) in the chest. With no effect on Vaughn as his body has been Cybernized. (If there is such a word?)
This story has that; "classic" scene of the Cybermen coming down the steps near St Pauls Cathedral.
The name Packer (Vaughn's nasty but not too bright security chief) is said many times and in many different inflections by Tobias Vaughn. (Just try and count them.)
Troughton has always been my favourite Doctor, and I can't wait to see this story get the; "Vidfire" treatment. The picture quality on the VHS release was pretty ropey.
The best Doctor & the best enemies, (Tobias Vaughn & 60's Cybermen) the silly but loyal Jamie, and the gorgeous Zoe !!!
A GLORIOUS COMBINATION.
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DVD Special Features:~
Eight episodes.
Disc 1:~
Ep.1~animated
Ep.2
Ep.3
Ep.4 ~animated
Extras:~
Commentary by:~ cast,production staff,animators.
Love off Air:~ History of fan audio recording.
Doctor Who confidential:~ interviews with the animation team.
Character design:~ featurette.
2 animated trailers.
Disc 2:~
Episodes:~5,6,7,8.
Extras:~
Commentary:~ cast,production staff.
Evolution of The Invasion:~ a 50 minute look at the story.
Photo gallery.
Original links:~ Nicholas Courtneys links to the missing episodes on the original 1993 VHS release.
Originally broadcast BBC 1:~2/11/68-21/12/68
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