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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Hello Vicki Welcome To Rome, March 4, 2009
Season 2.
Now then what have we here, well in my opinion we have two neglected little gems, that's what. Two stories from the always ignored (In fan polls.) Hartnell era.
These two stories are from Season two, a season which had the highest "overall" viewing figures in the shows history.
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The Rescue.(Two Episodes.)
A succinct and competently written two parter, who's sole purpose is to introduce the Granddaughter replacement Vicki.
And by doing so quickly rebalances the demographics of the group after the departure of Susan.
It's main plotline hinges on a murder mystery with Sci-fi overtones, which the Doctor solves, with the help of some prior knowledge of the indigenous civilisation he'd gained from a previous visit.
Originally planned as the first story of the second season it was put back into third place because of extra work required on, "The Dalek Invasion of Earth".
Ep.1~ The Powerful Enemy.(2/1/65)
Ep.2~ Desperate Measures.(9/1/65)
Overall opinion:~a pleasing little diversion from some of Season two's more facetious offerings.
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The Romans.(Four Episodes.)
Forgetting about the historical inaccuracies in some of the main characters. This story was unique for many years afterwards, as been deliberately done in a farcical fashion.(Input by the great Dennis Spooner.)
The Tardis crew via many convoluted reasons end up in Rome, but neither party (Vicky and the Doctor)(Barbara and Ian.) is aware of the others presence. The Doctor is mistaken for lyre player Maximus Pettulian, and finds himself embroiled in intrigue and murder in Nero's court.
Many of the situations are terribly contrived, but some are amusing.
- The Doctor using the, "Emperors New Clothes" syndrome to fool the snobs in Nero's court, whilst pretending to play the Lyre.
(He can't play a note.)
- The Doctor gives Nero an Idea to rebuild Rome.(Involving fire.)
On a religious note one of the characters turns out to be one of Rome's early Christians.
Anyone who's seen, "Spartacus", "Ben Hur" and "Carry on Cleo" will see at least one scene inspired from those classic films.
Ep.1~ The Slave Traders.(16/1/65)
Ep.2~ All Roads Lead to Rome.(23/1/65)
Ep.3~ Conspiracy.(30/1/65)
Ep.4~ Inferno.(6/2/65)
Overall opinion:~It was nice to actually see The Doctor meeting a historical figure for once, instead of just name dropping, like he does a lot during the Pertwee years.
This story shows Nero not fiddling while Rome burns, instead he "Lyred", much more believable.
(The fiddle hadn't been invented.)
The Romans is still even now an amusing treat, don't let the fact it's in Black and White put you off.
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DVD Extras.
The Rescue.
Commentary with actor William Russell, director Christopher Barry and designer Raymond Cusick, moderated by Toby Hadoke.
Mounting The Rescue - cast and crew look back on the making of the story in this feature from Steve Broster. With actors William Russell, Maureen O'Brien and Ray Barrett, director Christopher Barry, designer Raymond Cusick and 1960's viewer Ian McLachlan.
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The Romans.
Commentary with actors William Russell, Nick Evans and Barry Jackson, designer Raymond Cusick (episode four only) and director Christopher Barry, moderated by Toby Hadoke.
What Has `The Romans' Ever Done For Us? - actors, crew and historians look at both the reality and fantasy behind the story of `The Romans' in this fascinating feature from Steve Broster. With actors William Russell, Kay Patrick, Barry Jackson, Anthony Andrews and Christopher Biggins, director Christopher Barry, designer Raymond Cusick, historian Dr. Mark Bradley, writer James Moran, Doctor Who Magazine editor Tom Spilsbury and 1960's viewer Ian McLachlan. Narrated by John Bowe.
Roma Parva - (Latin: 'Little Rome') Director Christopher Barry demonstrates the use of a model of the studio set in the planning of camera positions and moves during recording in this short feature from John Kelly.
Dennis Spooner - Wanna Write a Television Series? - Robert Fairclough's first feature for the range looks at writer Dennis Spooner's work on Doctor Who. With actors William Russell and Peter Purves, script editor Donald Tosh, writers Brian Clemens and Rob Shearman, and Spooner's friend Jane Clemens. Narrated by Anna Hope.
Blue Peter - The Blue Peter team hold a Roman banquet in the studio.
Girls! Girls! Girls! - The 1960's - an affectionate look back at the sixties Who-Girls from producer Robert Fairclough. With actors Carole Ann Ford, William Russell, Peter Purves, Anneke Wills, Deborah Watling, Frazer Hines, Jean Marsh and Honor Blackman, script editor Donald Tosh and director Christopher Barry. Narrated by Dona Croll.
Plus- Photo Galleries, Coming Soon trailer, Radio Times Billings PDF, Programme subtitles and Subtitle Production Notes.
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Trivia~ According to research Nero died in his thirties. A lot younger then the middle aged Derek Francis, who plays him here.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Doctor Who Two-fer, July 16, 2009
The previous reviews have already offered summaries of the stories, so I won't bother.
The Rescue is a pleasant, if unenthralling 2 parter, serving mostly to introduce a new companion, the charming and sweet faced Vicki.
The Romans is the series' first excursion into comedy. And, unlike some later attempts (can you say Season 17...) it works very well. A nice mix of humor and drama and, as an historical, no dodgy special effects to worry about. I've always been a fan of the historicals .. now I'm just waiting for them to release "Reign of Terror," and I'll be a happy fan.
Some pleasant extras as well, detailed 'making of' documentaries about each episode, commentary tracks, and some fun stuff like the Roman Banquet. (Anyone know when that dates from? Being in color, it obviously wasnt' contemporary with the Dr. Who story.)
My one complaint with the set is that disc one is over half empty. There is barely an hour's worth of material on it! (One 20 minute documentary and a 2 part, 45 minute story.) By contrast, disc two has almost 3 hours. Couldn't they have found something to fill the space? Like... maybe "Planet of Giants"? (A 3 parter that comes from the same season ... would have been a perfect fit.)
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"That, Your Excellency, would be an impossibissity!", August 2, 2009
This double-pack is occasioned only by the fact that these two stories were made back-to-back. However, it's a neat little window on "Doctor Who"'s radical early days -- a two-episode outer-space character piece set 500 years in the future, followed by a 4-episode romp through Ancient Rome. "Doctor Who"'s genius then and now is its willingness to try absolutely any form of drama, making it up as it goes along and succeeding most of the time.
"The Rescue" is basically a filler episode designed to introduce a replacement character for original companion Susan. Vicki (Maureen O'Brien) is a teenage orphan from the 25th Century. Marooned on the planet Dido, Vicki finds herself menaced by a reptilian biped with the unlikely name of Koquilion. There's a mystery in the middle of all this, which the Doctor solves without breaking a sweat. It helps that he's been to Dido before... The script hasn't held up very well, but director Christopher Barry (previously seen helming "The Daleks") adds some inventive directorial flourishes.
This is one of the restoration team's "lite" releases so there's not a whole lot going on in the extra features. Maureen O'Brien, who played Vicki for parts of two seasons (before the character went off to help found the city of Rome) pops up very briefly in the making-of documentary, but not in the commentary track.
Speaking of Rome, the other episode in the case has held up shockingly well. "The Romans" was "Doctor Who"'s first foray into farce. William Hartnell's Doctor gets to play comedy for the first time, and kicks into overdrive -- palling around with Caesar Nero, unsuccessfuly learning how to play the lyre, and demonstrating the fine art of fisticuffs (which, we learn, he once taught to the Mountain Mauler of Montana). He gets to deliver some comedic zingers, and even his line-readin fluffs add to the charm. The main guest character, Nero, also gets a slew of terrific lines ("I'll have you killed over and over again!") and plenty of wonderful character moments (not the least of which is his creative disposal of an overzealous cup-bearer).
The story itself has a huge scope; each individual half-hour seems to have its own mini-plot and unique settings. From the rural marketplace to the slave galley to gladiators in the arena to the burning of Rome, "The Romans" moves along at a breakneck pace more befitting the 2005 revival of "Doctor Who" than something from 45 years ago.
The extras on the "Romans" disk are of the deluxe variety. The making-of featurette is over half an hour long and puts the story in its historical context. "Doctor Who" in its first two years was an extremely radical program, and if it all looks slow and dull and black-&-white today, this documentary will quickly disabuse you of that viewpoint. Also charming is a featurette on Dennis Spooner, the writer of the story and "Doctor Who"'s second script editor; the MVP of this extra is current "Who" writer Rob Shearman, who makes a far-reaching but convincing argument that the show wouldn't have survived this long without Spooner's creativity and risk-taking. There's also an overview on "Who"'s female companions throughout the 1960s decade (demonstrated in this story by the strong-willed schoolteacher Barbara, and the sweet but innocent future-girl Vicki). Finally there's a crowded commentary booth, moderated by British comedian Toby Hadoke, who's much more lively that previous Hartnell-episode-commentary-track moderators.
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