Reviews by Craig Byrne
As covered here on KSiteTV recently, BBC Video released several classic Doctor Who stories in one big swoop on July 10, and we’re finally around time to review the last two of them. As per usual with these reviews, it’s great to have these classic stories and it amazes me how many extras are included, etc. etc.
Now to get to the good stuff….
Starring Jon Pertwee as The Doctor and Katy Manning as Jo Grant, with Roger Delgado as The Master
6 episodes on 1 disc
The Time Monster is a Doctor Who episode from the Third Doctor’s era, coming from a season where Jo Grant was The Doctor’s companion and Roger Delgado was the fantastic first actor to play the Master. Being a six parter in the Pertwee era, that also means a lot of padding to get all the way through, taking 6 episodes to tell a 3 or 4 episode story. On the bright side, though, in addition to Jo and The Master, the Brigadier (Nicholas Courtney) also appears as do more of the UNIT crew.
You might get a little tired of seeing the same laboratory in this one, but it’s still an interesting representation of the era. Not my favorite Pertwee story by far, but you could do a lot worse. And… I just dare you not to laugh every time someone says “TOMTIT.” Yes, I am twelve.
Because the episode is so long, there aren’t as many extras with this episode as usual. There are production notes, and commentary comes from John Levene (Sgt. Benton), Susan Penhallgon (Lakis), the late Barry Letts, and a wealth of writers. There’s also a 24 minute behind-the-scenes look at “The Time Monster” and a restoration comparison. This story would probably work best as part of a season set, but it’s still worth getting, especially for a completist.
Starring Tom Baker as The Doctor and Lalla Ward as Romana
4 episodes on 1 disc
Now, this one I love. It’s cheesy as all get-out, I warn you. Soldeed (Graham Crowden) is the biggest scenery-chewer you ever did see, and has inspired years of “Lord Niiiimon? It is I, Soldeed” between myself and my best friend. The creature effects are rubbish, but at least we have real backgrounds, unlike Underworld. There are spaceships. K9’s voice is all wrong. But it’s a lot of fun.
I can only imagine this episode is even better with the help of some alcohol, and now that I have this DVD, I’m going to have to try just that.
Soldeed himself, the previously mentioned Mr. Crowden, provides DVD commentary, as do actors Lalla Ward (Romana), Janet Ellis (Teka), and writer Anthony Read. There’s a really interesting DVD extra looking at connections between Doctor Who and Blue Peter, made even more interesting to me because I’ve never actually seen Blue Peter, being an American and all. There’s a six minute Anthony Read interview and music demos of tracks by Peter Howell that I assume later got him the job.
The Horns of Nimon isn’t brilliant but it’s fun, and that’s what makes it brilliant. Probably some of the most fun I’ve had with classic Doctor Who. Of the two, this one would get my recommendation.
Order these DVD’s through Amazon.com and support KSiteTV! The Horns of Nimon – The Time Monster
