Dicks, Louise Jameson and guest cast member John Abbott. Unlike the “Talons” commentary, those involved here spare no criticism of Baker, who was becoming increasingly difficult to work with. Ms. Jameson points out that when produc- tion began on this serial, her relationship with Baker was quite tense, although this is not apparent on screen. Baker would miss cues, take lines written for other actors, and complain constantly about the scripts. It should be no surprise that Dicks, being the writer, calls Baker a pain in the neck “who needed very firm handling.”
Whereas “Fang Rock” gets only one disc, “The Talons of Weng-Chiang” gets two. The second “Talons” disc is packed with extras, some only peripherally related and of varying interest. Howard Da Silva provided voice-over links for the Ameri- can syndication package back in the Seventies, and while hearing his familiar voice introducing each episode may awake nostalgia in some view- ers, this extra runs over 20m, which includes need- lessly replaying the closing credits of five episodes in their entirety. There are also BBC trails and con- tinuity (2m 24s), a pointless animated short show- ing the TARDIS flying through space via 3-D imaging (1m 42s, which may have been a test run for the new series), lengthy portions of BLUE PE- TER (25m 58s) in which children are shown how to make their own Doctor Who theater, a photo gallery set to ambient sound effects (3m 23s), a 40th Anniversary music video with clips of all the TV Doctors to that point (even Paul McGann, the George Lazenby of Doctors) set to a catchy dance remix of the theme music (3m), cast bios, and promising but disappointing “Behind the Scenes” footage, which turns out to be 23m 58s of blurry B&W raw video footage from the studio shoots for the final two parts of this serial. Some interac- tion and direction is captured between takes, and it is instructive seeing how little material was actually shot. The original series was not something creatively assembled in the editing room, but something virtu- ally edited in camera on a tight schedule, which accounts for the occasional clumsiness. The most substantial extras on this second “Talons” disc are a 1977 BBC interview with the surprisingly young Hinchcliffe (11m 29s), during which he defends the show and its impact on chil- dren, and a 1977 BBC documentary called WHOSE DOCTOR WHO (58m 38s), featuring some great clips of the first four Doctors in action and several glimpses into the making of “Talons.” It’s fun see- ing Tom Baker rehearsing with the diminutive Deep Roy before taking a break to play some table soc- cer, but it’s even more valuable to have Baker
speaking on camera about the series, especially as he does not participate in any of the new supplements made for these particular releases. Common to both DVDs, the English subtitles
for the deaf and hearing impaired are simplified, with some indistinct lines not transcribed. The mono sound and picture quality for all three Baker releases under review are fine, consider- ing the source materials. Viewing 16mm film and videotape cut together can take a bit of getting used to, but should not discourage anyone from watching. Be warned, the “Fang Rock” menus fool- ishly contain several major spoilers. If you haven’t seen the show before, don’t look.
These are quality releases assembled with care, but by giving consumers a choice between an en- tire season of state-of-the-art DOCTOR WHO (14 episodes) for less than $70 and single releases of these low-budget serials (the equivalent of only two or three current episodes) priced around $30, the BBC is likely finding that the Doctor’s biggest com- petition is himself. In response to this, BBC Video is now reserving the 2-disc treatment for worthier serials and releasing more stories in standard, less- expensive editions. It has been announced that they will be filling in the gaps for seasons that are mostly complete on DVD with an eye to releasing season-long box sets in the future, something which has already been done with the “Key to Time” saga from the 16th season.
But the question remains: Does the classic DOCTOR WHO hold up today? Certainly, it cannot compare with the new series on the level of spec- tacle, nor on an emotional level; in retrospect, however, one of the original’s commonly cited flaws may have become something of a strength when held up to the current version. In order to maxi- mize the budgets, serials were padded by adding time-consuming character bits and plot detours that often led right back to where the characters started from. This did, however, give the stories and characters time and space in which to breathe, and serials could run two, four, six, or even ten episodes, as required. In the current series, planet- wide invasions, though more spectacular, generally begin and end within the space of a TV hour, and the often frenetic pacing gives supporting charac- ters less opportunity to reveal their dimension. For long-time fans, the serials reviewed here won’t disappoint; as for disciples of the new Doc- tor wanting to test the waters of what came be- fore, it doesn’t get better than “The Talons of Weng-Chiang.” If that one passes muster, then you’ll only have another 131 stories to choose from.
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