Doctor Who: The Visitation (Special Edition)

A simple story with a few special effects. The fifth Doctor can be very hit or miss for me. I think this one is enjoyable enough.

Ask any Doctor Who fan to pick their favorite era of the show and they will each pick a different Doctor as their favorite, and likely decry the others as being nowhere near as good. It all seems to depend on your age and when you first became interested in the show. For me, who started watching in the Patrick Troughton tenure as the Doctor and became riveted to the show in the Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker eras, I find it hard not to be disappointed with what came later. The BBC have again released two stories on DVD from opposing eras of the show and certainly nothing here is likely to change my mind about what I like most.First up is the Jon Pertwee story ending his fourth season as the intrepid Time Lord - The Green Death. For many, this is one of the most evocative and best-remembered stories from his five-year stint in the role. With a remarkable eye on future events, this story has once again led the way from being science fiction to many science facts. The storyline of a mega-corporation polluting the planet and sinisterly controlling our behavior is hardly stuff of fantasy anymore, alas. But thirty years ago, it was only a nightmare of a possibly frightening future.The problems with many of the Pertwee stories were of length and budget. Six part stories tended to be heavily padded to make the money go further and often sagged badly in the middle. I'm glad to say The Green Death is not one of those. Of course, it might have been tighter had it only stretched to four episodes and undoubtedly if it was made today it would be trimmed to one fifty minute romp, but it works very well in it's longer format. There are flaws of course, but all these can be washed away by the very, very poignant and indeed tear-jerking ending that sets the show apart from much of what had gone before. Losing one of the show's regular characters was often hard on viewers but somehow the departure of Jo Grant, the third Doctor's long standing second assistant, had a very big impact on the audience, possibly more so than the exit of any previous leading lady in the show. By far one of the most successful partnerships ever created for the show, even now, viewers can tell that the acting by the two leads as they parted ways was heightened by very real sadness. Indeed, Katy Manning, the lovely actress who played Jo for three years, becomes very emotional in her commentary for this release as she relives the parting scene all these years later.It's the commentary and the extras that always make these releases so special and Katy, together with Script Editor Terrance Dicks and Producer Barry Letts, provide a genuinely interesting narrative, which is hugely enjoyable. Clearly a close team, they all lament the absence of the Doctor himself, the late Jon Pertwee. There could have been a certain amount of discomfort in the commentary, since Jo Grant leaves the Doctor when she falls in love and intends to marry Professor Jones. In reality, Katy Manning was indeed engaged to the actor playing Jones, Stewart Bevan, and their subsequent marriage only lasted a few months. Tactfully, none of this is mentioned in the commentary or by Bevan's own contribution to the disc. In addition, a terrifically funny documentary on what happened after the show is worth purchasing the disc alone.I can't say the same for The Visitation, the second of the new releases, pulled from the first season to feature Peter Davison in the Time Lord's shoes. It's certainly not a bad four part romp and there's a lot to commend it in terms of production values and a fine guest cast, but it's symptomatic of the era that the squabbling and frankly badly acted regular cast get in the way of a good story. Interestingly, in this story, Davison's Doctor loses his temper with all three of his companions and as a viewer, you really can't blame him. Individually they may have all worked as characters, but there were just too many of them to make scenes work effectively. But it's another twist on the Doctor explaining Earth history via science fiction and a clever idea in itself and well executed.Recorded second, but transmitted fourth, Davison was still finding his way in the part but he was hampered by the inexperience of the cast he was expected to carry and alas the story fails as a result. Things certainly did improve later, but these were still very early days. Thankfully, the on screen bickering of the four main leads clearly didn't translate into `real life' and their commentary is genuinely funny and entertaining, particularly as they gleefully point out each other's rather limited acting ability.The extras on this disc are slightly less impressive and almost became tedious, but they're still worthy of inclusion and hardcore fans will certainly be pleased to have them.All in all, another great pair of releases showcasing different approaches to the long running classic adventure serial. Well worth the investment and a must for any collector.

A refreshing script filled with engaging, well written and well acted characters, with a simple and straightforward plot that's refreshingly novel in its use of aliens attempting to conquer Earth and commit genocide in the process. And the production is top-rate, rushing nothing and being properly paced. There are even some nice period pieces that, in their own arcane way, are educational. What more could one ask for?What's not to like? Even the story's most glaring oversight is EASILY forgiven, given the weight and credibility this story otherwise carries. Eric Saward's first script is stellar (and his subsequent "Earthshock" is also very effective). (that oversight? Nyssa suggests historians will be baffled if they discover any strewn power packs (which are smaller than the size of a pill bottle). Yet the Tereleptils' escape pod never got dealt with and is rather easier to find, thanks to its size. But, again, the story makes it easy to overlook that.)Best of all are the one-liners and jibes each character makes at apropos moments during the story; it's the quality and quantity of dialogue that sets this story (nevermind the series "Doctor Who") from any given sci-fi drivel produced today, let alone back then.As usual, the restoration work never ceases to impress and, indeed, for a single layer disc the transfer looks very good indeed. (UK customers are treated with dual-layer discs and, as such, get much better looking copies, but the US releases have generally been quite passable too.)And the sound is, as usual, superlative.And there's a slew of extras: An isolated soundtrack of the music score, which only made me happy. The style of music used in this era could never be matched, and it's great to have the music separated so it can be enjoyed on its own. Also included, much to my surprise and delight, was a decent documentary of the scoring of the story that includes composer Paddy Kingsland. A fanboy's dream! Or the dream of anybody who'd want to know about how a story is composed, or anyone who likes to know how shows and movies are put together. It's informative and Paddy's musical style is easily one of the best the series has ever had... But yet this doco wasn't as good as others. That's not to say I didn't welcome this extra! Very few series get this sort of treatment and I must say many more series deserve this sort of treatment! It's still B+.I've not yet watched the other documentaries and extras, but I'd easily guess they'd be of the usual quality. But I can say the audio commentaries from the main cast is, as with Earthshock, wonderful to listen to. Great to have the four of them back together for reminiscing, even if they rib their performances or how it was filmed. :-) (Heck, it's entertaining and the chemistry between them is wonderful, though I won't reveal any spoilers there... heh. )

England's green and pleasant land, spoiled only by rats, plague, the Grim Reaper and a giant alien fish lizard with attitude problems. Welcome to 1666!`Heathrow airport' never looked better. So what if the Doctor did arrive 300 years early, you can't please some people! Attractively filmed around leafy parkland and a manor house west of London, `The Visitation' is a good-looking `history meets the alien' outing for Peter Davison's Doctor in his second story (in filming order), he brought a welcome freshness and energy to the series. The interior sets and effects set a high standard and the animatronic `monster' design is unforgettable. Michael Melia performs a convincing alien even under several inches of latex.For once this is not a deliberate invasion; the three fugitive Terraleptils have crashed on Earth and have nowhere else to go. So, naturally, they decide to wipe out humanity and take the planet. No Terraleptil is going to win a galactic beauty contest but they do have a love of art (so the Doctor tells us), which must explain why their android looks like a glam-rock / disco art installation on legs! Like all the design work, it conveys high quality and adds to the very distinctive, glossy look of the story.`The Visitation' gives the Doctor more companions than you can waggle a gill-flap at (if you're a Terraleptil), no less than four. The fourth `companion' is the wonderful creation of Richard Mace, out of work 17th century "ac-tor" and part time highwayman, played with zest, flamboyance and a rich, rolling delivery by Michael Robbins. Mace has obviously spent so long treading the boards of Restoration England's temples of theatrical tradition (as he might say) that for him, "All the world's a stage" is literally true. Even when he's up a tree or faced with a bad-tempered extraterrestrial, the curtain never falls. ("You jest, Sir!") Brilliant, and an example of how comedy in `Doctor Who' can add to a story when it appears to come naturally from the character's own life.Three companions plus one does sometimes feel like too many roles with not enough action to go round, but the different characters play off each other well and Nyssa (Sarah Sutton) has a good story with something properly scientific to do and gets the result. Attractive as the woods and country settings are, a longer section in plague-ridden London would have added to the story, the sets are excellent and deserved more time on screen.`The Visitation' is a very enjoyable history plus monsters story with a memorable final twist and well worth a visitation of your own, I'll visit four stars upon it, plus a bonus star for the quality of the special edition extras. The special edition picture quality is sharp and colourful, displaying the fine location filming and sets.Best of the many extra features on the two special edition DVDs:The commentary is very entertaining, full of cheerful memories and anecdotes and a good deal of fun at their own characters' expense.`Grim Tales' where Peter Davison, Janet Fielding and Sarah Sutton go for a light-hearted celebratory trip (pun alert) in the woods. Mark Strickson guides them round the locations and leads them to find the site of The Chemical Toilet (I'm not making this up) then it's off to the manor for tea. It's obvious that all concerned enjoyed the experience then and now and this sense of enjoyment comes across for us to share.`The Television Centre of the Universe - Part One' is a similarly jolly stroll through a day in the life of classic `Doctor Who' at the now deserted TV Centre.`The Apocalypse Element' - the story of `Doctor Who' on audio.NOTE: The DVD menu shows clips from the programme as background, so if you don't know the story already, press `Play' ASAP. And leave the PDF materials for later unless you want to know the whole plot!

At the end of the review is a note on the special edition. A good debut for Eric Saward as writer. This is his most traditional Who tale with its aliens land on Earth and the Tardis crew arrive to sort it out story but without a mega body count.The Doctor offers to help the stranded aliens al la' Russell T. Davies giving Peter Davison a good scene as he says "What does it matter if you've been in prison?" In particular Davison is great in scenes with Michael Robbins' marvellous actor cum highwayman Richard Mace.There are too many companions and Nyssa is stuck in the Tardis doing tech stuff but at least she gets a nice moment reacting sadly to the destruction of an impressive creation that the Terilpetils were using against them.Adric and Tegan get most of the companion action and for once the tension is there for a reason, Tegan's frustration at the Doctor's failure to return her to home. Janet Fielding is great as she vents "call yourself a Timelord? A broken clock keeps better time than you!"The Terileptils are interesting but lack development. A hit & miss mask some animatronics E.G. the gills, still stand up but the mouth does not move properly with speech and the body suit is woeful. Michael Melia as the leader still gives a great performance though. Good andriod design.The remaining guest cast do great work with small roles, esp John Savident as the Squire.Direction is good but never quite great.Nice to see it tied into a specific timeline, between the Great Plague and Fire of London.The extras are quite good, had they been slightly better I would have given a 4 for the whole package. There's no making of but in "Writing a Final Visitation" Eric Saward talks us through the script's development and shares some intriguing lost concepts for the Terileptils."Scoring the Visitation" sees Paddy Kingsland discussing the story's musical requirements, a little dry unless you're very interested in that area.There's an extended scene, some continuity announcement stuff as an easter egg and in "Directing Who" Peter Moffat charmingly discusses his work on the show and shares with us how difficult Tom could be at the end of his time, his thoughts on working for JNT who he had been senior to on other shows amongst other things.The Commentary is like the Earthshock one with Jan, Pete, Sarah and Matthew Waterhouse on funny form. There's less mickey taking for Matthew and he makes the funniest comment about how rich it was to hear Michael Robbins complain about the show after he spent years in On the Buses! Peter Moffat doesn't really fit into it, coming across like an old boy who popped in with the tea and wouldn't leave.A good package but really more for fans of this era than generally.The special edition which has sharply dropped in price recently offers a more satisfying package. Grim Tales tells us the making of this story. Davison, Miss Fielding and Miss Sutton are taken on a tour of locations from the original shoot by Mark Strickson and clearly have a great time. They have plenty of anecdotes e.g. frequent stops for planes as they were on a flight path and insights e.g. Janet Fielding points outy the moving gill etc on the terileptil mask were early animatronics. ther are also interjections from writer Eric Award ("I was more than happy to ditch Invasion of the Plague Men as a title", the make up lady who remembers "Michael Robbins had a party going on his head" and Michael Melia who seems delighted to have done a who monster.Who Forever looks at audio Who nodding at such fare as Pescatons but concentrating on Big Finish. Interviews with Colin Baker, Gary Russell and Rob Sherman tell a story of success but make a plea not to pirate their stories. There's no word about the 60's radio pilot that Peter Cushing recorded but what could they have said beyond "shame no one has a copy "? An enjoyable bow for the 2nd makers of current new Who.There's also a look at the making of Who as it was in their time at TV centre "the Television Centre of the Universe" where the same gang are led round by Blue Peter girl and Ghost hunter Yvette Feilding. Anecdotal in nature some of these are well known e.g Janet Fielding's boob tube accident for which Yvette jokes she let down the name of Fielding. quite fun and it ends with a promise of a part 2 which now may never happen. I have warmed to the special editions lately. It's not like other companies don't do this. And it is a shame some other stories might not get the special treatment e.g. imagine the Two doctors with an all new making of doc!Great features and this is worth 4 stars.

Story: 4/5 - Extras: 4/5"The Visitation", by Eric Saward, is an old school "Doctor Who" story. Relatively sedately paced with lots of location filming in damp-looking woodlands, and conforming to the classic pseudo-historical formula of an alien force invading superstitious pre-industrial Earth, "The Visitation" hardly pushes the boundaries of 1980s television, but it does provide a relatively moody tale that takes advantage of the major event of the era (the Great Plague) in true historical style, and even offers a cheeky explanation for the Great Fire of London.For the four episodes that constitute "The Visitation", the regular crew of the Doctor, Tegan, Nyssa and Adric (as if the TARDIS wasn't crowded enough already) are joined by gentleman of the road and sometime thespian Richard Mace, played in true OTT style by actor Michael Robbins, and as a result the story is positively bloated with foreground characters. However, given this challenge, writer Eric Saward manages remarkably well to give them all something to do. Much as in "Earthshock", Nyssa spends a certain amount of time hanging around in the TARDIS towards the end of the story, but at least this time it's for a reason.The principal monsters of the piece - the reptilian Terileptils and their jewel-encrusted android - are pretty well realised given the era and the budget, there's a nice introductory sequence to set the scene, a distinctive score and a whimsical closing shot that doesn't quite make you cringe. Overall, "The Visitation" is an enjoyable little story.On the DVD, there's a raucous commentary with the full TARDIS crew plus director Peter Moffatt. It's fun, although they do get a little carried away from time to time in slagging off actor Michael Robbins. Beyond the commentary and the usual on-screen production notes, a few original featurettes are thrown in to make up a reasonable DVD package.

Yes this was the one with a highway robber in the 17th century played by Michael Robbins best known as Arthur in On the buses, he done the part so well it is worth watching for that.The show ends with the Great Fire of London.

Just truely fantastic, this is now one of my all time faviourtesPeter Davison is my faviourte doctor of all time and i personally love everyone of his stories and peter davison always give a truely fanastic performance, in this story we have the companions Adric, Nyssa and Tegan and also a character who used to be a star from on the buses his name is michael robbins, i personally thought he was great i think he would of made a great companion to travel around with the doctor but oh well,wish i could rate it more stars, the special dvd it self is great and has a lot of great extras 5 stars for them as wellBuy this today!!!!!!!!!!