Doctor Who: The Green Death (UK)

The final story in which companion Jo Grant travels with the Doctor, The Green Death has always had a high reputation amongst fans of the show. Its release on DVD is thus a chanceto re-evaluate its appeal. An eco-thriller, The Green Death involves many cliches associated with this genre - capitalist conspiracies, the noble hippy, waste and mutations. If we were just to look at the plot we could quite easily pidgeonhole the story as an extended cliche, but where this story comes into its own is with regards to the subtext of Jo Grant growing away from the Doctor and then "leaving home". If this story is to be commended, it has to be with regards to the tender and true way the actors play this part of the script, and the beautiful closing scenes with the Doctor slipping away from the party to ride home alone.

There are however some aspects of the production that leaves it wanting. The treatment of the Welsh characters is highly stereotypical and are largely under-developed. The writer sets up BOSS with an element of mystery but ultimately expect the expected. The discussion of environmental problems also is a little over-symplistic, even for a family-drama, and we might also question the effectiveness of the "iconic" maggot and fly special effects.

It may seem by now that I`m finding more negative to say about the story than positive, yet the charm of the Doctor and Jo subplot really is a huge strength of the feature. There are some good lines here and even if BOSS is exactly what we might expect him to be, he is written and performed with charisma and panache. At six episodes, this story is also long enough to represent good value for money and is a key story that has remained in the public consciousness more than most Who stories have. But the chief reason for splurging on this release, particularly if you owned the video, is because of the extra features.

There is an audio commentary with producer Barry Letts, script editor Terrence Dicks and actress Katy Manning. Letts` dry analysis prevents the commentary from wandering too much in flights of fancy and there are some good anecdotes here, with the last episode proving very emotional for Manning who reminisces on the joy of working alongside Jon Pertwee. Letts imparts some of the most-interesting information about the production difficulties faced by the makers of the story. This commentary runs for all six episodes and there is a second production subtitles option in which interesting tidbits of information pop up at the bottom of the screen as the story plays out. This is particularly excellent and remains one of the DVD range`s best features.

Global Conspiracy, a fun documentary that parodies 1970s television reporting will be a love-or-hate affair dependent on your tastes in comedy. Written and starring The League of Gentlemen`s Mark Gatiss, it looks reasonably expensive and matches the tone of the story well. Perhaps most charmingly of all however, it features many of the original cast members reprising their roles. A true gem and easily the best comedy feature to date.

There are also three reasonably-substantial interview featurettes with people associated with the production. Writer Robert Sloman discusses what his inspiration for the story was, whilst Stewart Bevan (who plays Dr Jones) talks about how he was cast, his relationship with Katy Manning and the Welsh aspect of the story. He imparticular proves to be enthusiastic, informed and intelligent and is a delight to hear from. Finally special effects designer Colin Mapson shows us how to make a Maggot like the ones in the story. Hardly essential but a bit of fun. And of course there is the photo gallery that is a fixture on these discs.

All-in-all not an essential Who release but one that does breathe new life into a story that is far from being one of my favourites. If you already own it on video, the restoration and the extras provide a good reason to make the upgrade, and if you don`t then it is worth considering. Finally for the first-time viewer, if you like your science fiction kitsch and light-hearted you could do worse than start here (although the release "Pyramids of Mars" has dated less badly and holds a comparable status amongst Doctor Who fans).

As a footnote to this review, I have given this DVD a features rating of seven out of ten. I would just like to stress that whilst this may seem relatively low, it is relative to other releases in the BBC Doctor Who range as opposed to genre television in general. In short, there are more extra features on this disc in terms of runtime than there are in a boxset of Star Trek: The Next Generation to take but one example. It is also important to consider that the quality of features attained here are impressive, particularly considering the age of the material (around thirty years old now).