Doctor Who - Seventh Doctor Volume 1 - DVD

Movie: Today the Doctor comes! At this sentence, most children, but also many adults, are known to get scared. Not so in the UK, where this has been accompanied by great anticipation for 51 years now. For here it is usually not some white coat with a syringe that is meant, but the Time Lord travelling through time and space, whose adventures have been followed with constant enthusiasm for generations. In Germany or America, on the other hand, the Doctor was completely unknown until a few years ago. This slowly changed with the revival of the series in 2005 after a break of almost 16 years. With the mixture of old charm, modern effects, a lot of humour, suspense and speed, the series also became a cult abroad with the appearance of David Tennant as the tenth Doctor. The series is still far from the success it enjoyed in its home country or in the USA. But here, too, there has long been a loyal fan base that looks forward to each new adventure of the Doctor.

So it's a good time to take a look into Doctor Who's past in this country as well. And this is now possible with the first DVD box set with the adventures of the Seventh Doctor (1987 - 1989). This is embodied by Sylvester McCoy, who was just seen as Radagast in the Hobbit films. However, these episodes don't really lend themselves to launching into the world of Doctor Who. After all, it's not without reason that Terror on Lakertia in particular ranks as one of the worst stories in the entire series in fan circles. So if you've never seen a Doctor Who episode before, you might want to stick to the newer adventures first. But if you've become a fan through Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi, you might also enjoy this very trashy '80s incarnation of the Time Lord.

No question, the four stories, told in a total of 14 episodes, are typical Doctor Who stories at their core. Sylvester McCoy cuts a fine figure as the Doctor, and the mix of humor and science fiction adventure is just right, too. But not only the trashy effects, the nasty 80s look, which is primarily reflected in terrible hairstyles, as well as the really hard to bear synthesizer soundtrack makes this 24th season of the series extremely accustomed. The rather mixed scripts also tarnish the enjoyment a bit. No question, all four stories have very good moments, amusing scenes and convincing acting performances. Even rubber monsters or cheap-looking props don't bother much here, as they add to the very special charm of the series.

However, especially Terror on Lakertia and Delta and the Bannermen only manage to entertain to a limited extent over their entire runtime. The Curse of the Kroagnon, on the other hand, has very high entertainment potential, especially in its early stages, and finally, with The Fire of the Dragon, the Seventh Doctor finally finds the strength that made its predecessors so popular. The first season with Sylvester McCoy is very mixed, but is often better than its reputation. And to see how the series has evolved to this day makes even the slightly weaker episodes well worth watching. And the DVD box set is worth getting anyway (see extras). And therefore there is altogether for fans also a neat: Recommendable!

Picture + Sound: With a 27-year-old TV production should not be expected with an audiovisual revelation. The picture, which is in the classic 4:3 TV format, shows a coherent colour scheme, but also reveals some blurring and slight picture noise. The sound is in a rather unspectacular stereo mix, but at least the dialogue is very powerful and well understandable from the speakers. The sound effects, on the other hand, seem a bit powerless and too centrally mixed. Nevertheless: for a rather aged TV series, the end result is still absolutely satisfactory.

Extras: Even if the episodes contained in this box are not among the best that the cult series has produced, the extensive bonus material makes the purchase indispensable for fans. It starts off with very entertaining audio commentaries on all the episodes. Particularly worth listening to are the commentaries on the first disc for the four-part adventure Terror on Lakertia, voiced by cast members Sylvester McCoy and Bonnie Langford along with writers Pip and Jane Baker. They are nostalgic, but also self-deprecating and interesting commentaries that are absolutely worth listening to, especially for fans. However, this also applies to the other commentaries, which are all without German subtitles. So a good knowledge of English is a must here. You should also have them for the really good info-subtitle track, where all sorts of interesting and hidden details about the respective episodes are revealed.

Next to the commentaries and the subtitle track, there are still numerous video extras. Starting things off here on the first DVD is the retrospective documentary On the Brink, in which the show's team takes a look back at the series during one of its most difficult periods. In 7D FX, the special effects are scrutinized, and Rollercoaster is all about the first computer-generated opening credits in the history of the cult series. After that there are two featurettes with the scriptwriters and with actress Kate O`Mara reflecting on her work on Terror on Lakertia. An interview with the BBC programme Breakfast Time, an appearance by Sylvester McCoy on a children`s programme, an image gallery and three Easter Eggs round off the extra features on Disc 1.

The second disc is no less extensive. Here, the crew and cast first take an entertaining look back at the making of The Curse of the Kroagnon. After that, there are some cut and extended scenes from the first cut version of the episode. Program announcements from the original English broadcast, an alternate soundtrack, an image gallery, and a featurette on the casting of Sylvester McCoy are also on the program here. And finally, there's a documentary about the Doctor Who girls of the Eighties that's well worth watching.

Continue on to Disc 3, where viewers can join a British children's show as they visit the set of Delta and the Bannermen. After that, there's a BBC Wales report on the making of the episode, as well as the original cut of the first episode of the three-parter. The DVD then features additional interviews from the children's show with Sylvester McCoy, Bonnie Langford and Ken Dodd, as well as an in-depth interview with Goronwy actor Hugh Lloyd. Program announcements, outtakes, an image gallery, and a featurette on the comics for the series are also on the program here.

Finally, the fourth DVD has a retrospective on the episode The Dragon's Fire, cut and extended scenes from the three-parter, a look at the special effects, and an analysis of the episode from a fan's perspective. The usual image gallery and an isolated soundtrack track are also still on the program. For fans, therefore, a bulging bonus package, which makes up for many weak points of the episodes loose!

Conclusion: Doctor Who is cult - and not only since the successful revival in 2005. Already since 1963, the Doctor in various incarnations thrilled his fans. In the wake of the success of the new episodes, some older adventures of the Time Lord are now finally coming to Germany. The first adventures of the seventh Doctor Sylvester McCoy do not belong to the best of the series. But the extensive bonus material and the high nostalgia factor make this box set an absolute must for fans!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp