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The Black Guardian Trilogy encompasses three stories in which a new companion joins, one leaves and the Black Guardian causes havoc for The Doctor. They are three stories with very different styles and tone with one umbrella theme, an idea which works quite well within Doctor Who if it isn’t overdone.
Mawdryn Undead is an episode that everyone has eidetic memories of from the first time around. Mawdrwyn and his strange immortal friends and the scene where the Brigadier meets himself are extremely vivid. Of course, it is Turlough’s first story. Not the most popular companion, but perhaps underrated. 10/10
Commentary Commentary is by Peter Davison, Mark Strickson, Nicholas Courtney and Eric Saward, script editor. Slightly two many people, and a chance of them falling over each other. Nicholas Courtney is quite a strong personality so overwhelms the others at times. Mark Strickson is a very clever man who went on to big things after Doctor Who as a TV producer. He holds himself up well. They enjoy talking about the episode in context with the new series without putting either down, which is refreshing. 10/10
Extras Who Wants To Live Forever is the making of/retrospective on Mawdryn Undead. Cast and crew including the late Peter Moffatt talk about their respective roles in making the episode which replaced a failed script about a space whale. It is narrated, improbably, by Floella Benjamin from Play School. Her voice is strangely disruptive. It might have been better without it. But it is a pretty good documentary and with Moffatt having passed away, impossible to repeat. Mark Strickson carries himself well, so does Eric Saward who is very enthusiastic about his work while being honest about its shortcomings.
8/10 Liberty Hall is a spoof interview with the Brigadier, which might have been more convincing if the credits hadn’t given away the fictional aspect of it. Obviously nobody would believe it WAS real, but the pretence would have been interesting. There is rather a good real life pun in the idea of Yates going into politics. Richard Franklyn did found a small political party which more or less consists of him. And it does fill in some lovely blanks about how The Brigadier and Doris got together. 8/10
7/10 Film trims is a series of raw footage from location shooting accompanied by a really annoying soundtrack. Purely for fans and people with an interest in how TV is made. 7/10 Outtakes are rare from classic Doctor Who. These are mostly forgotten lines and stalled cars, and the occasional pratfall. 9/10
6/10 Coming Soon introduces Colin Baker’s first story, The Twin Dilemma. 6/10 PDF include the ubiquitous Radio Times listings and also studio floor plans and CGI storyboards, making for more interesting material than usual for looking at on DVD Rom. 8/10 Photo gallery includes stills from the episode and publicity photos as well as some set design shots on a separate reel. 7/10 Easter Egg – a very short trivia section. I knew most of the facts already but that’s just me. Other viewers might be surprised. 9/10 Overall, a good package of extras with a bit of thought gone into them.
9 out of 10
Terminus is a complicated story which contains some very adult themes such as the drug-dependent slave guards, the Lazar victims, the Big Bang theory and much more. It also has Nyssa losing most of her clothing, which is what most people probably remember rather than those huge themes. 9/10
Commentary Commentary is by Peter Davison, Mark Strickson, Sarah Sutton, and writer, Stephen Gallagher. It is both entertaining and informative. One interesting feature of this commentary is the way they several times step out of the box and talk about other programmes in context with Doctor Who, such as Mark’s experiences producing Steve Irwin’s nature programmes which call for very different camera work, or the comparison of modern Doctor Who production with Russell T. Davies as head writer and producer and The West Wing under the guidance of Aaron Sorkin in comparison with the less organised writing/producing teams of classic Who. Usually commentaries that get too far away from the show on screen are irritating, but they hit the right blend to keep the listener’s interest. They also have a laugh, particularly at the poor Garm’s expense. The whole commentary is well worth sitting through. That can’t always be said 10/10.
Extras Breaking Point is the making of/retrospective on Terminus, with all the usual suspects, including all those who already did a 98 minute commentary. As a result, some stories get repeated again. This really can’t be helped, of course. There was a very good tribute paid to director, Mary Ridge, who died in 2000 and was a redeeming feature of the documentary.
9/10 Origins of The Universe is a look at the science behind the Big Bang with Sir Patrick Moore and Dr John Mason, both of whom certainly know their stuff, but I’m not sure this documentary entirely works. It is obviously meant to tie in with the Big Bang element of the Terminus plot, but an accidental explosion of unstable fuel ends up making more sense than the theories these two scientists put forward. Patrick Moore’s rather patronising ‘I know more than you’ style of presentation is pretty annoying, anyway. 7/10
8/10 Unused Model Shots is also interesting since model shots were so important to this space-borne story, but as with the storyboard, somebody doing a bit of commentating would have been useful. 8/10 Continuity, again demonstrates the use of BBC English in the 1980s and that’s about all. 5/10
0/10 Photo Gallery is a combination of screen shots and publicity photos with some images of the set design. 7/10 Overall, Terminus is a reasonably good package. The commentary is excellent. The retrospective documentary is good apart from the annoying narrator. The smaller sections could have had more thought.
8 out of 10
Enlightenment is a surreal story in which the Eternals play with the lives of ‘ephemerals’ – humans – in their race to Enlightenment on amazing space-born racing yachts. It is a stylish and beautifully filmed story, if slightly puzzling at times. This disc includes two versions of the story – the original four part serial and a ninety minute feature film version with new CGI effects. 10/10
Commentary Commentary is by Peter Davison, Mark Strickson, Barbara Clegg, writer, and Fiona Cumming, director – unusually, two women in senior crew positions. All four hold their own well. Peter Davison is the one who introduces new questions every time the discussion does flag – as it inevitably will over four twenty-five minute episodes. Mark is excellent as ever, humorous and informative. Barbara is sometimes hesitant and unsure, but comes through with help from the men. Fiona Cumming is proud of her work on Doctor Who and it shows. 10/10
Extras Disc One Winner Takes It All is the last of the three documentaries narrated by Floella Benjamin. Thank God! The retrospectives on the making of the Guardian Trilogy are all spoiled by her annoying Play School story time tone. Her warning at the end that ‘the black guardian is still out there, somewhere’ was rather reassuring - because there was a chance it might come for her! Seriously, she was that annoying. 7/10
10/10 Single Write Female is a retrospective on the career of Barbara Clegg, writer of Enlightenment, who had a long career as a radio scriptwriter. She talks about her life from childhood onwards in a linear way, which might seem boring, but she comes across as rather charming and nice in an old fashioned way. 9/10
8/10 Easter Egg – a funny story told by Janet Fielding and Peter Davison about a costume disaster during production. 8/10
10/10 Photo Gallery is a mixture of colour and black and white stills from production, screen shots and publicity photos. There is also the design collection and some behind the scenes images of the model work. 6/10 Disc Two The feature length version of the episode is introduced by Director, Fiona Cumming, who explains how much of the special effects have been updated with modern CGI effects. It makes for an interesting alternative to the pure, unadulterated original. 10/10 Re-Enlightenment is a film of Fiona Cumming and two of the young men responsible for the new version of Englightenment, on video conference with a third as they discuss what will be done. I am puzzled about whether this is ‘real’ or reconstructed. It seems real. In which case, filming it was an imaginative idea. The discussion does get a little tedious, especially as we can’t see what they’re looking at, but it is a useful insight into the production process. 9/10
9/10 Film Trims is a collection of film sequences not used in the final edit. Some of them look rough. There is floor manager dialoque and ‘take’ announcements over it. Again, an insight into programme making, but perhaps what it mostly shows is how bloody tedious programme making is. 8/10 Finding Mark Strickson is a documentary about Mark Strickson and his career. Mark has a very colourful and interesting life in entertainment. He began as a musician and then became a theatre actor. He studied at RADA and got several small jobs and then Doctor Who. He later moved to Australia and then New Zealand and worked as a documentary producer. Among other projects he helped bring Steve Irwin’s nature programmes to a British audience. He talks very well and is cheerful and enthusiastic and he is a joy to listen to. 10/10 Finding Sarah Sutton is a documentary about Sarah Sutton’s career from ballet and stage school to adulthood. She was a child star who missed out a lot of ordinary teenage life, but has no regrets about the different life she had. She talks about her enjoyment of being on Doctor Who, and later doing the Big Finish Audio productions. 9/10 Russell Harty’s Christmas Party – Russell Harty is a really irritating man. His chat show is something I would gladly have forgotten long ago. Sandra Dickinson as a pantomime fairy and Peter Davison as Buttons in a singing and dancing number is something that shouldn’t have been left in the archives, either. It’s a bit of 1980s kitsch that we seriously don’t need. 5/10 Continuities still really don’t prove anything except that BBC English was still the vogue in 1982 and that the Longleat Doctor Who Easter weekend was imminent. 3/10 PDF materials on this disc contain, as well as the Radio Times Doctor Who 20th Anniversary Special, the Doctor Who office ‘production bible’ circulated to production staff at the time. This is a very interesting insight into the thinking of the senior production staff. But I hate PDF files! 8/10 Apart from Floella Benjamin and the ridiculous Harty pantomime piece, this was a nicely packaged disc. The revamped feature length episode of Doctor Who is an excellent bonus.
9 out of 10
9 out of 10 |
The
oddest part of the documentary is the attempt to bring real science
into it by talking to Dr Simon Withey, a plastic surgeon, about the
real possibilities of eternal life. I am not sure it really has a
place in a sci fi documentary, really. And Flo Benjamin’s Play
School enthusiasm in her presentation was even less appropriate in
contrast to the real life science.
Deleted
and Extended scenes would benefit from a little bit of explanation
of where they fit into the final cut. Few of them seem to add much
to the storyline and were probably just as well left on the cutting
room floor.
Continuity
only serves to remind us that BBC English is still in vogue in the
early 1980s continuity announcements and that you could buy a vinyl
record of the Doctor Who theme tune. 
The
worst aspect of it, was the narration by Floella Benjamin. As with
the same feature on Mawdryn Undead, she speaks with a Play School
story telling tone which is quite inappropriate.
Original
Storyboards is a short feature that matches the storyboards for the
spaceship sequences with the actual realisation on screen. It is interesting
in its way, showing the transition from idea to film footage, but
some commentary or explanation would have improved it. CGI storyboards
are also included in the PDF materials.
Easter
Egg is a set of different coloured time cards marking each episode.
I don’t get why anyone thought they were worth including even
as a hidden extra.
Casting
Off is far more enjoyable because there is no Floella Benjamin in
it. Instead the actors were allowed to talk freely about the fun they
had making a programme as rich and inventive as Doctor Who. Mark Strickson
especially talks well about his experiences. 
The
Story of the Guardians attempts to explain these odd pair of characters
the black and white guardians, who appear to be above and beyond the
Time Lords. It begins with eulogies for Cyril Luckham, the White Guardian,
by his son, Robert Luckham, and Valentine Dyall, the Black Guardian,
by his daughter, Sarah Leppard. After that, we do get down to a discussion
about what the Guardians are. Disappointingly, perhaps, it really
doesn’t answer the question. That’s probably because the
Guardians never were fully explained, and maybe there isn’t
a need for one. It would seem like a pointless exercise, but it serves
as a recap of all the Guardian stories, including the Key To Time
under the Fourth Doctor. 
Storyboards,
narrated by visual effects supervisor, Mike Kelt, shows original storyboards
and final shots side by side in a very interesting way. A must for
anyone remotely interested in how TV is made. Mike’s voice is
a little monotonous, but he knows his stuff. There are also sequences
of the model shots of the boats in full frame. The ships are especially
impressive.
Original
Edit comparison looks at the opening of part three which was changed
before the actual transmission. The two versions are shown side by
side so that the subtle changes can be seen in context. 
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