Review of Doctor Who: Spearhead From Space

Introduction

The third Doctor Who story finally gets out onto DVD, after delays due to licensing issues, and then getting bounced around the schedules briefly. And the third disc is the first disc to feature the third Doctor, Jon Pertwee. Spearhead from Space was his first story in the role.

As regeneration stories (where the Doctor`s identity changes) go, it`s one of the better ones. Traditionally the regeneration stories aren`t among the best, due to the change in the lead, and often other changes in writers, producers and directors.

As well as being the opening story in the reign of the third doctor, it was the first story to be filmed entirely in colour.

And there`s something else that sets this story apart. It`s the only story to be shot entirely on location (no studio shots at all), and to be shot entirely on 16mm film. The reason for this was the threat of strike action by BBC studio technicians whilst the story was being shot.

So do all these ingredients add up to a good disc?

Video

As I`ve already mentioned, Spearhead from Space was shot entirely on 16mm film. This means that it doesn`t really look like a 30 year old TV transmission. In fact it`s probably the best that you`ll see Doctor Who looking on DVD. It`s undoubtedly better now than when first broadcast, something remarked upon during the commentary track.

An excellent transfer.

Audio

The original mono soundtrack is reproduced over 2 channels here, and whilst it`s not going to give your system a workout, it`s certainly good enough for the job, with all dialogue clear and audible.

I mentioned in the introduction about licensing problems - during the original broadcast (and subsequent repeats) of episode two, a portion of a Fleetwood Mac track was used. This could not be cleared for the DVD, and so has been removed. Apart from this omission, the sound is probably better now than when first broadcast.

Features

Another excellent, feature-packed Doctor Who DVD.

The biggest and best extra is the commentary track. In contrast to the writer and producer commentary from the previous release "Robots of Death", the commentary track here features Caroline John and Nicholas Courtney, who play Liz Shaw and Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart respectively.

This gives a different perspective on a Doctor Who story, but still one that is worth listening to if you are a fan. They both have plenty to say, and sometimes get carried away and jump ahead of themselves. They also discuss other stories briefly, and recall memories of locations and other cast members. A very interesting commentary.

There`s also another commentary track, although this is not an audio commentary. As well as subtitles for the main feature and the audio commentary track, there is a third subtitle option, which brings up production notes at various points in each episode. Plenty of useful information is contained here, with some brief repetition from the audio commentary track.

And there`s more. The "UNIT Recruitment Film", originally put together for the 30th Anniversary in 1993, is included - this is basically clips featuring UNIT`s involvement with Doctor Who over the years, and is an interesting diversion.

There are also trailers from 1999, for the repeat of Spearhead from Space on BBC 2 in a tea-time slot. This repeat season was very sadly short lived.

Add to that a photo gallery, featuring various stills, including plenty of Pertwee pulling a bizarre series of faces in a bizarre series of poses. And finally an unused title sequence, which is hidden as an easy to find "Easter Egg" from one of the menus.

Conclusion

An excellent disc. Picture and sound are as good as they possibly could be, and there are quality extras in the form of the audio commentary, and the production notes subtitles.

As I mentioned earlier, the story itself is one of the better regeneration stories. Some time is spent setting up the story, and there are some good suspense-filled moments. A good start to the third Doctor`s reign.

So, a good story presented on an excellent disc. Another must buy for fans, and something to offer the casual Doctor Who viewer too. If they keep releasing quality discs like this, the BBC might just creep back into my good books.