DOCTOR WHO
Booed camp
Season 24 is here on Blu-ray.
RELEASED OUT NOW! 1987 | 12 | Blu-ray
Producer John Nathan-turner
Cast Sylvester Mccoy,
Bonnie Langford, Sophie Aldred, Kate O’mara
Sylvester Mccoy’s first year in the TARDIS finds ’80s Doctor Who at its most pantomime. For many, these four stories mark the nadir of the classic series, a cheap and campy selection, complete with a Ken Dodd cameo, Bonnie Langford’s Mel screaming at the drop of a hat and Mccoy playing the spoons on Kate O’mara’s breasts.
And yet… it’s also a season of transition. “Time And The Rani” is the worst regeneration story ever, but the other three at least have their moments. “Paradise Towers” is entertaining fluff – JG Ballard’s High-rise as reimagined by Children’s BBC. “Delta And The Bannerman” is cheesier than a bag of Wotsits, but also sweetly romantic – a new register for Doctor Who. And while “Dragonfire” is in part a messy Alien rip-off, it also sees off Mel and introduces Sophie Aldred’s far more promising Ace, just in time for the show’s much improved final years.
Extras An exhaustive selection, with fine headline features and masses of ephemera (over seven hours of studio and location material from “Paradise Towers”? Sure, why not) added to the extras ported over from the DVDS.
“Here’s To The Future” (69 minutes) documents the casting of Mccoy and the making of this troubled season. It accentuates the positives, but doesn’t shy away from the fact that the show was hampered by a lack of budget and BBC apathy. It’s backed up by Matthew Sweet’s interview with Mccoy (75 minutes), a charming, engaging chat covering his life and work. Mccoy is always great value, and Sweet knows how to tease personal insights from him as well as the well-worn anecdotes.
A new instalment of “The Doctor’s Table” (40 minutes) sees Mccoy and companions answer questions over dinner at The Ivy, while four editions of Behind The Sofa – Who’s Gogglebox – find Mccoy, Langford and Aldred joined by Colin Baker, Peter Davison, Sarah Sutton, Janet Fielding and Michael Jayston to watch the episodes. “An Audience With Lady Stephens” (27 minutes) is a new chat with “Dragonfire”’s Patricia Quinn, who seems as quirky as you’d expect from a Rocky Horror cast member.
Another big draw is extended editions of every story, with the deleted/extended scenes also available to watch separately. Of particular interest to Who historians will be Mccoy’s audition tapes, as well as Dermot Crowley and David Fielder’s. And if you already thought “Delta And The Bannermen” was camp, wait until you see the wrap party video.
Plus: excerpts from shows like Blue Peter and Saturday Superstore; convention footage; isolated scores; galleries; a PDF archive with a staggering 4,068 pages of production documents, and loads more. Will Salmon
Wanda Ventham’s 10-year-old son – that’s Benedict Cumberbatch to you and me – visited the set of “Time And The Rani”.