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DVD REVIEW

MAGAZINE/BOOK REVIEW

Sci-fi and fantasy Modeller

231980

I came across this gem of a magazine some time ago, while working in Blackwell’s science fiction specialist bookshop, based in Reading, which has now sadly closed.
If you like your Science fiction hardware, enjoy model making, then this magazine is for you! The editor of this beautifully produced magazine (of which this is number 7) is Mike Reccia, who was the guiding force behind the much missed newsstand magazine Sci-fi & Fantasy FX, and the Gerry Anderson subscription only fanzine Century 21.
So, what’s it all about I hear you ask?
Well, this issue contains a wealth of information on all aspects of the Science Fiction modelling genre. Scratch building a mammoth 2001: A space odyssey Discovery, the beautiful space station from the same film, and other miniatures from Kubrick’s seminal film are included here.
Captain Scarlet’s (1960s version) helicopter, an interview with the head of Moebius models, who will soon be releasing (hopefully!) a Seaview model from Voyage to the bottom of the sea all appear within the pages of this tome.
Like Doctor Who? Again, both aspects of the programmes history is included here. An article penned by Neil Gorton, head of Millennium effects, the company behind the amazing alien creatures the new Doctor Who gives you a behind the scenes tour of the creation of the last season’s aliens, including the Judoon and Dalek Sec human hybrid. The McCoy era of the programme is featured with an informative article by Mike Tucker, who worked in the BBC’s Special effects workshop during that era.
Other goodies included in this issue are building a Star Wars snowspeeder, a look at Iconic Replica’s huge Thunderbird 2 studio scale replica.
If you have good modelling skills, or a friendly bank account to pay for some of the items covered in this magazine, then track it down, along with the back issues. This is the sort of publication I’ve been praying for for years. I really can’t recommend this one enough!

AREA 51 RATING:

DOCTOR WHO: “Destiny of the Daleks”

122

Well, call me an on cynic again, but I feel that the BBC are again milking the die hard Doctor Who” fans. This DVD is also part of a “Davros” box set, but with some sense, the BBC have also released this as a single disc. For once, the BBC have not made this edition as part of the mammoth box set, which retails at a whacking £99.
So, to the story. This is, in my mind, the weakest of the Terry Nation scripted Dalek stories. The main selling point here, is that the “Davros” saga is now complete, and on watching, its easy to see why this is the last story in this arc to be issued. Simply put, it’s “Classic Who” at its worst! Shoddy production values (just watch the Dalek to the right of Davros in one scene, where it is apparent it is a non-working BBC prop, with an off screen stage-hand shaking the casing to imply movement. ) And the new enemies, The Movellans in their kitsch 1970s disco gear… and, “Hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy” fans will enjoy one or two in jokes placed in the story by the new script editor, Douglas Adams, who, it is reported heavily rewrote the script after it was handed in by Terry Nation…
And the plot: The Daleks have been in an impasse with the Movellans for years, and have now come back to Skaro to find their creator, Davros, to get his assistance in breaking the stalemate. The Doctor (played by Tom Baker in his now scenery chewing style) and a newly regenerated Romana (Lalla Ward) arrive on Skaro after the fitting of the randomiser to the TARDIS after the battle with the black Guardian at the end of the previous “key to time” season. The rest of the story is predicable, even by late 1970 “Who” standards.
So, is the release worth the asking price? In my mind, no. If the story had been released as part of the cut price range, which “The Sontaran Experiment” started, then yes. The only redeeming feature of this release are, surprise, surprise the extras.
These include a feature on Dalek creator Terry Nation, a featurette with director Ken Grieve, Radio Times listings, and a chance to see the story with upgraded special effects. One extra is worth watching on each release: the new idea of a “coming soon trailer”. These are edited in a feature film, fast cutting way, and this one makes the January release of the “Beneath the surface” collection a must buy. But the stories are “The Silurians, Sea Devils and Warriors of the deep”…make your own mind up on those, as for me, roll on January!

AREA 51 RATING:

DOCTOR WHO: “The Time Warrior”

ice warrior

ice w review

Ah, now BBC, that’s more like it! You can normally tell the age of a Doctor Who fan when they wistfully talk about their favourite Doctor. So, I put my hands up and admit that the Pertwee era was mine. Although I do actually remember hiding underneath my parent’s dining room table during the Hartnell era “Mythmakers” story. So there, now I am showing my age!
I remember awaiting the transmission of this first story of the new season with much anticipation, due to the fact that Katy Manning, who played Jo Grant had left at the end of the previous season, and her character’s departure seemed to have hit the Doctor quite hard. So who would be the new “Who” girl? Elizabeth Sladen makes an impressive debut as Sarah Jane Smith, and an added bonus is the introduction of a new, but classic foe, the Sontarans. There is a nice bit of future continuity in this story, when the 3rd Doctor admits he has met the race before. Little did we know at the time that it was the 2nd Doctor who met these aliens, and it would take over ten years for us to learn this fact in the 6th Doctor story, “The Two Doctors”.
This was the first historical story the team had attempted in quite some time, and the science fiction overtones were a deliberate attempt to keep the viewing figures up, as a lesson had been learned some years ago that purely historically based stories were not popular with the viewers. There is a strong supporting cast, with the late David Daker giving his all as the War Lord, Irongron. Watch out too, for old Dot Cotton from “Eastenders”! (and not a fag in sight!)
The period detail is as good as you would expect from the BBC, and the whole story for me, at least is a real nostalgia fest. I still remember reading my copy of the “Tenth Anniversary Special” magazine, published by the BBC, while eagerly awaiting for the new series to begin.
Only one gripe though. Call me an old cynic, but isn’t it strange the BBC choose to release this first Sarah Jane Smith story in the same month the Sarah Jane Smith Adventures starts on CBBC? Now, why do you think “Destiny of the Daleks” (the last Davros story to be released) is coming out in November? Answers on a postcard please…
On second thoughts, don’t bother, it’
I can sum this release up in two words : Buy it!
AREA 51 RATING:

DVD REVIEW

DVD REVIEW

DOCTOR WHO: “Time flight/Arc of infinity”

review for timefight

Oh dear…regular readers of this page will have realised that this reviewer doesn’t have much time for the John Nathan-Turner era of the programme. Well, again the BBC have released two stories, loosely linked by the character Tegan Jovanka, played by Janet Fielding.
Time flight was the last story of Peter Davidson’s first season as the Doctor, and to be honest, is a real nadir moment in the series history. The plot, if you can call it one concerns the loss of two Concorde planes en route to Heathrow. The planes have been transported through time to prehistoric Earth, by the Master. The reasoning behind all this is a trifle confusing, as with this era of “Who”, The special effects, although at the time were state of the art, now look cheap and dated. Again, the redeeming factor with this story are the extras, and the re-mastered (pardon the pun!) quality. Extras include commentaries by Davidson, Fielding and Sarah Sutton, a feature on the making of the programme, production subtitles, photo gallery and more.
Arc of infinity, the opener for season twenty is for me, at least, better fare. This season would feature returning foes and characters from the programme’s rich history. Arc of infinity sees the return of Omega, last seen in the tenth anniversary special, “The three Doctors”. An interesting sub-plot here is the realisation that Gallifrey is not the utopia that the view assumed it was. As with the “Deadly assassin” a few years before, Gallifrey is shown to be as corrupt as anywhere else. The location of Amsterdam is used mainly for as to quote Monty Python and the Holy Grail “silly running about behaviour”. A wasted opportunity to repeat the success of “City of death”, featuring Tom Baker. All in all, I enjoyed this story more than its predecessor. Again, the extras make up for a poor story. Next time, I’ll get my teeth into the “key to time” series, so the review, dear reader, will be a bit later than this one…
*Breaking news: The BBFC have cleared “Destiny of the Daleks” for release as part of a “Davros” boxset, probably in January next year. Any bets on who returns in series 4 anyone? Ooops, sorry!!!
AREA 51 RATING:

DOCTOR WHO: “Timelash”

who images

When I saw that this title was to be released by 2Entertain, my heart sank. With a wealth of classic “Who” titles to choose from, why release this one? As a long term “Doctor Who” fan, I have always classed this story as a real clunker.
Time, if you’ll pardon the pun, has mellowed me slightly and I approached this review with an open mind.
It is only now, with the benefit of the documentary that accompanies this release that I fully understand the problems this story had during its production. The script was heavily rewritten during the pre-production phase, and indeed, episode two under ran drastically forcing the crew to add a padding scene set aboard the Tardis, some six weeks after principle recording had finished. Such was the state of the script, that Eric Seward, the script editor was still rewriting portions of the script of episode two during the rehearsal stage.
The main guest star, Paul Darrow, who is best know as the self centred Kerr Avon in “Blake’s 7 appears as Maylin Tekker. Darrow hams it up with great style, bring in an over the top performance. He wanted to play the character in the style of Richard the third, complete with hunchback! Producer John Nathan-Turner put his foot down and some how reigned in Darrow’s performance. I dread to think how it would have tuned out if the actor have had his own way.
Another reason why this story is best remembered as one of the poorest in the series long and distinguished history is the minuscule budget the production had.
Extra included on this release are: commentaries by Colin Baker [ the Doctor], Nicola Bryant [Peri], and Paul Darrow [Tekker]. A documentary about the making of the story, subtitle production notes, photo gallery, Easter egg, and Radio Times listings.
Sadly, this release is for collectors and completists only. Roll on September, with the release of the entire “Key to time” box set.
AREA 51 RATING:

DVD REVIEW

DOCTOR WHO: “Robot”

Tom Baker as Who

Tom B Who

Robot was made during a time of transition at the Doctor Who production office. Jon Pertwee had announced his resignation as the 3rd incarnation of the BBC’s perennial favourite time traveller, and the search for his replacement had just finished. Actors like Fulton Mackay, Bernard Cribbins, David Warner, Michael Bentine and Ron Moody had all been considered for the role. A relative unknown, Tom Baker had been suggested by the head of drama, and the outgoing producer and Script editor, Barry Letts and Terrance Dicks had chosen Baker for the role after seeing him in the 7th voyage of Sinbad, which was playing in cinemas at the time.
The serial was written by Dicks, as his swansong for the series. It had elements from the classic 1930s film, “King Kong”. Homage’s to classic films such as “Frankenstein” (The brain of Morbius) would be utilised in late stories during the tenure of Philip Hinchcliffe, the incoming new producer.
As with a lot of the stories produced in the 1970s, the use of Colour Separation Overlay (CSO) or Chromokey is it is more commonly known in the television and film industry let the story down due to the shoddy effects work. Older “Who” fans will remember with shuddering dread the infamous scene in this series featuring a model “Action man” tank!
The regular cast, including Elizabeth Sladen and Nicholas Courtney slip into their personas with ease, and Tom Baker makes an impressive debut as the 4th Doctor. A new companion, Harry Sullivan, played by Ian Marter was created by the production team before Tom Baker was cast in case the lead actor was older, and not up to the planned action scenes.
The extras included in this release include an audio commentary by Baker, Dicks and Sladen, a documentary examining Baker’s debut story, featuring actors and production crew involved in the making of the story; a 14 minute feature on the making of the title sequence, a “Blue Peter” clip,; photo gallery, PDF files of “Radio Times” listings and production subtitles.

AREA 51 RATING:

Classic Doctor Who out now on DVD -WE REVIEW

Classic Doctor who inferno

The Doctor is humming a tune as he happily drives Bessie his vintage car. As he drives across the countryside his thoughts are far away. He has a little project. This secret scheme means everything to the time lord.

Meanwhile a government project set up to look for new energy sources is drilling through the planet to the Earth's core. Personal at the drilling base become infected with green slime which oozes from the earth’s core. Once it touches the victims bodies they become primitive and hazardous.

The Doctor has been imprisoned on the earth by the time lords as a punishment for deeds not to their liking. His Tardis has been made immobile by them. The Doc’s project is a spot of time travel. He enjoys exploring new planets and therefore wants to leave the Earth. So he taps into nuclear energy being produced by the drilling work in an attempt to make repairs to the Tardis consol.

The Doctor’s meddling propellers him into a parallel universe. Here good guy Brigade Left Lethbridge-Stewart has an evil double, a sinister man with an eye patch who has one aim. Shoot the Doctor. Events are turning from bad to worse on both the earth and the alternative universe. Can the Doctor get back to his own earth where they getting closer to the core of the earth. Once the drill hits the centre of the earth even the Doctor will be powerless to save the planet, but before he can get back he must face evil solders and the men being turned into monsters by something inside the earth. The Doctor has a mammoth task on his hands to make things right and it will come at a cost.

This seven part series comes with great extras. These include two documentaries and a promotional film put together by the BBC’s visual effects department of the day.

Stars	Jon Pertwee, Caroline Smith, Nicolas Courtney
Distributor	2entertain
First out	1970
Director	Barry Letts, Douglas Camfield

The Doctor become an action man

Jon Pertwee as the Doctor

Hey aliens you lookin’ for trouble?

The first two Doctor’s never physical engaged their opponents. The first two had been more like professor’s who knew the dangers poised by their foes but relied on their assistants to step in physically. Jon Pertwee’s Doctor changed that, with a determined look on his face he took a step towards his enemies and engaged in physically confrontation. He had learnt nifty moves from cultures he had visited.

In the third incarnation the Doctor had got on the wrong side of his fellow time lords. They banished him to Earth by making sure the Tardis could never leave the planet. The Doctor helps the establishment sometimes grudgingly; this is in the form of UNIT. This group is led by the excellent Brigade Left Lethbridge-Stewart. The interchanges between the Doc and the Brig are always a high point. The Brigade sometimes resembles a headmaster trying to keep a mischievous pupil in order. Subordinate Benton is always having to explain to the Brigade why the Doctor is missing, yet again.

This Doctor has a whole range of gadgets. There is the now famous sonic screwdriver (still used by current Doc, David Tennet). There was the vintage yellow car Bessie. The Doctor would be perched up in the car hammering down the road towards his enemies.

His most consistent danger during this period was the Master. His adversary was played by Roger Delgado who wore a devilish beard. The Master and the Doctor are similar. Both are time lords, they are also renegades escape the confines of the time lords home world. Sometimes the Master will use this argument to persuade the Doctor to help him. There may be similarities but unlike the Doctor the Master is evil. He strives for power and if people get hurt in his attempts to achieve it, well never mind.

It is the same as Batman. You cannot have Batman without Robin. The Doctor would be only half the man without his assistant. For most of Jon’s run she came in the form of bubbly blonde Jo Grant, played by Kate Manning. Jo is a civilian working for UNIT. She is assigned to work with the Doctor and you get the feeling the Brigade would like her to watch the Doctor because he feels the time lord might sneak off at any moment.

Jo is no mere prop for the Doctor. She comes to Unit as buddy youth, but as her adventures with the time lord continue she grows more confident and matures. The moment comes when she stands up to the Doctor.

Dalek in the house or should I say hotel !

dalek in the house !

So what's a Dalek doing in a bar? Having a quiet pint between invasions maybe or just unblocking the sink with his plunger !. Sorry but it's neither. This Dalek, called Derek by the way, is having a holiday and has pride of place in the bar at the Ashleigh Hotel in Bournemouth ( http://www.ashleighhotel.co.uk) and belongs to Ray and Julie. There are other items of Doctor Who memorabilia but why not pay them a visit (and Derek) and see for yourself. While your there give them a big "Hi" from all of us at Area51radiostation.com.

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ON THIS PAGE;

Old Who now on DVD Stars Tom Baker

Classic Who starring Jon Pertwee

Exterminate, there's a Dalek in the Hotel!