A few weeks ago, the two classic Doctor Who DVD releases came from the First and Fifth Doctors’ eras. And, thankfully, they are two-for-two in enjoyability.
The older one of the two, The Gunfighters, gets a bit of a raw deal. Maybe because it was missing for a while and then found, and not as good as people expected, but I think it’s fun. It’s one of the only stories of the original series that I remember taking place in the United States – even though, of course, it wasn’t really the United States. The story takes place in Tombstone, Arizona and has Doc Holliday vs. the Clanton brothers, and more. Companions in this story are Steven and Dodo alongside the aging First Doctor.
If you watch this with a completely serious tone you’ll be disappointed. As I said, it’s silly, and may not even be historically accurate. Episodes have silly puns in the titles. And again, there’s the musical narration. But for me, of the Hartnell era, this is probably one of my top three stories. I enjoy it.
Extras on the DVD include a fantastic documentary about the third year of Doctor Who, featuring interviews and trivia I never knew… oddly, I had never really been exposed to information about this era, maybe because so many episodes are missing. The name Donald Tosh, for example, was one I had never heard associated with the series. The story of Tosh and his team coming in, inheriting certain stories, and leaving some behind them, was fascinating. It’s a 43 minute documentary and it’s really fantastic. Other extras, in addition to the production notes that are on most Who DVD releases, include a commentary with Peter Purves (Steven), Richard Beale (Bat Masterson), and others. Some great stuff here.
The next DVD release, The Awakening, is one of the series’ shortest stories, clocking in at just two chapters – essentially, the length of an average hour-long episode these days. It’s kind of fun sometimes to see a classic Who story that goes by so quickly. Tegan is one of the few characters to have their families explored on the original series, so there are some references there, and there’s a creature in the wall that you just have to see for yourself.
There’s a “Making Of” where they go back to the town where The Awakening was filmed, and to be honest, it wasn’t one of the better features. Maybe 5 minutes of it would be fine, but I don’t think we needed *that* much. There are also deleted scenes, an awards ceremony with Peter David, production notes, and commentary on the DVD. Sadly, none of the main actors are on the commentary, but then-script editor Eric Saward is present.
Going back to “if you could choose just one,” The Gunfighters would surely be my pick, mostly because it’s historic, twice the length, and has better DVD extras. But both are fun examples of their respective eras…. and hey, The Awakening is appropriately listed at a much lower price.
Order your DVD’s from Amazon.com and support KSiteTV! The Gunfighters – The Awakening
