When it comes to fan preferences, what one saw first can very often be what they’d like the best.
In previous Doctor Who DVD reviews, I mentioned my fondness for the Jon Pertwee era of Doctor Who. The first story I ever saw was “Spearhead From Space” and my best friend and I went on from there.
Pertwee was the third Doctor, and after “Spearhead,” he had three good but very long stories. As he entered his second season with “Terror Of The Autons,” he began the series with a much shorter serial and several new characters who would mean a lot to the show as the Third Doctor’s era progressed.
The character introduced who had the much longer effect is The Master, played brilliantly here by Roger Delgado. I know there’s a generation now who is used to a sillier Master as played by John Simm. I don’t mean to discount his work but it doesn’t hold a candle to the brilliance of Delgado. Even the white stripes in his goatee made him seem satanic and Evil. The Master was the Moriarty to The Doctor’s Sherlock Holmes, and he had a certain suaveness that made you want to do what he says when he says “I am the Master, and you will obey me.”
The Master, here, employs all kinds of gadgets, and I really think that’s fun. He and Pertwee’s Doctor bounce off of each other marvelously. This story, like “Spearhead,” makes use of the villains, the Autons, leading to some creepy scenes like a chair that suffocates its owner and an evil teddy bear. While a lot of what they do is effective, I do miss the store-front mannequin Autons, who aren’t present.
Jo Grant, as played by the deliciously daffy Katy Manning, also makes her first appearance here. She recently made a return in an episode of The Sarah Jane Adventures, but in this 1971 serial you see her at her absolute youngest. (There’s no way she’d have 20-year-old grandkids by 2010, but still, it was wonderful to see her again) Jo was one of the longest running Doctor Who companions and possibly one that grew the most as a character during her time on the show. Here she’s clumsy, and the Doctor is a little short with her, but you can tell he cares about her a lot. In addition to Jo, the Earth-based “UNIT family” grows a bit with the introduction of Mike Yates (Richard Franklin) and the re-introduction of John Levene as Sgt. Benton.
“Terror Of The Autons” is a historic Doctor Who story and possibly one of my favorites to be released on DVD. It’s one of the best representations of the Pertwee era on DVD and it’s surprising it didn’t hit DVD before.
Audio commentary for the episode comes from Katy Manning (Jo) as well as the late Nicholas Courtney (Brigadier) and producer Barry Letts (who has also since passed on). Beyond that, there’s a fantastic 33-minute Making Of and a 19-minute feature about the Master. These features are great although there’s some repetition in some of the stories being told. I know we are blessed to have people like Terrance Dicks and Barry Letts who could tell stories of Who gone by but I can’t help but wonder how many times they’ve told the same stories over and over again. There are many other features in addition to what was already mentioned, including a feature about using plastic to scare viewers and the usual production notes.
The other recent Doctor Who DVD release, “Planet Of The Spiders,” also happens to be – spoiler warning! – Jon Pertwee’s last. By this time, Sarah Jane Smith is the companion, Mike Yates has turned traitor (well, not really), the opening credits were updated, and everyone’s hair got a lot bigger. This one is six chapters, and because of that, this DVD is a 2-disc set. There’s a lot of Buddhist influence on the story, as Barry Letts was really into Buddhism at the time, and it’s also the first time the concept of regeneration is really explored on the series.
There are some parts of “Spiders” that some disliked but I actually love – including a chase that covers land, sea, and air that happens to involve the Whomobile. It may look dated but it’s kind of awesome. There are also some really dodgy effects that made one of my friends laugh – with barely moving talking spiders on top of pedestals. Hey, not everything is perfect. It’s still a very interesting story. Not as good as it would have been if Roger Delgado had lived and the story had instead been a battle to the finish between the Doctor and the Master, but it still will do, and the final moments of the story are, again, among the most historic of the series. There are rare nods to continuity here as well (well, rare for the time), with foes from The Third Doctor’s past, Metebelis-3, and even Jo Grant getting mentions.
Commentary on the episode is a bit sad as three of the five participants have passed away within the past five years – the lovely Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith), Nick Courtney (Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart), and Barry Letts (producer/writer/director) have all gone to that big police box in the sky. They’re joined by Terrance Dicks and Richard Franklin here. There’s a 37-minute Making Of that includes archival interviews with Jon Pertwee among its many subjects. There’s a 106-minute “omnibus edition” that I have yet to watch but I’ll take a look soon, and that’s just scratching the surface of the DVD’s features.
If you want to see how the Third Doctor’s story ends, it’s recommended.
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