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38 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"Entropy increases.", 4 Feb 2007
Depending on how you approach the 3 serials in this box set, they're either tawdry relics of a cheaper, slower age of television; or they're pure gold. There are so many reasons to enjoy the release of NEW BEGINNINGS, but even fan boys like me can see that not everyone is going to be bowled over. So let's get the criticisms out of the way first.
Generally, there are a number of problems that beset all of the productions. Firstly of course: the effects, though not ALL of them fall flat. For instance, after the poorly staged struggle between the Doctor and the Master on the Pharos project gantry, the sequence at the climax of LOGOPOLIS where Tom Baker's Doctor regenerates into Peter Davison's version works extremely well. However, this is one of the few exceptions. The fake eyes painted on Kassia's lids when she's possessed in THE KEEPER OF TRAKEN, the risible model work in LOGOPOLIS and the cheesy visual representations of the recursive trap in the citadel in CASTROVALVA aren't exactly high points.
Secondly, despite what I'm going to say about the acting later, it has to be said not everyone deserves a BAFTA. For example, Sheila Ruskin is well cast as the zealous, obsessive Kassia in THE KEEPER OF TRAKEN. But for my money she overplays certain moments. Witness her stagey collapse after the murder of Seron in episode 2.
This though is nothing compared to Anthony Ainley's Master in CASTROVALVA. Either he or the director seemed to think that his commendable underplaying in the previous tales was a bad idea, and he often relishes his part just a little too much. Take a look at the moment in episode four when he cries out: "My web! MY WEB!" All seriousness instantly evaporates. OK granted, it's a dreadful line to which an Oscar winner might have difficulty supplying credibility. Certainly his earlier, well-judged performance as Tremas suggests that he was capable of better.
Matthew Waterhouse's Adric too is a liability. In the huge shadow of Tom Baker's stellar performances, we don't notice him so much and he's less irritating. But he has this odd bouncy walk that suggests he's not comfortable in front of a camera. Called on to have a big emotional moment he makes an absolute pig's ear of it. In CASTROVALVA, he and Ainley in the Master's TARDIS have a competition to see who can be the most appallingly OTT. It's hard to say who wins.
Despite all this, I confess I love these stories. TRAKEN's pace, fairy-tale and mythological resonances, its detailed, opulent set designs, Shakespearean characters (not to mention dialogue) and sting-in-the-tail ending make it the best of the set. Spellbinding.
LOGOPOLIS might look cheap, but there's no denying the grandeur of the ideas and the emotional power of the 4th Doctor's swansong. Ainley's Satanic Master is genuinely creepy here and he would only be this good again 8 years later in his final story, SURVIVAL. Tom Baker's moody, brooding performance is a haunting thing of beauty. Paddy Kingsland, my favourite of all the 1980's DR WHO composers provides a rich, funereal and melancholic score.
Peter Davison gives a likeable, well-acted debut in CASTROVALVA, though his Doctor is so fragile and unstable for much of the time, it's anyone's guess at this stage how he's going to turn out. Luckily, this allows Sarah Sutton and Janet Fielding's companions to shine. Tegan is rarely more sympathetic than here, and one can see the unused potential of the practical Nyssa. The large multi-levelled sets of the citadel are effective, and there is much to admire in the production and script.
As usual, the extras on the discs are excellent and a massive selling point. Photo galleries, commentaries, contemporary trailers, interviews and news items are all present. Most fans will want to see BEING DOCTOR WHO in which a mostly enthusiastic Peter Davison discusses his approach to the role. But best of all are the moments in the documentary A NEW BODY AT LAST where Tom Baker is surprisingly candid about how difficult he had become to work with and how this led to his leaving the show. A lot of the studio footage from the time would seem to bear this out. Far from ruining one's image of the man, one has to admire his honesty and self-awareness! 26 years later, the man is still a hero.
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30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
From One Era To Another, 22 Mar 2007
These three stories form what the fans term 'The Master Trilogy' and is noticable for the goodbye of Tom Baker and hello from Peter Davison.
The use of the Master was an old technique used by previous production teams in surrounding the new Doctor with familiar things to allow him to find his feet.
The Keeper of Traken is usually the forgotten story in this trilogy being overshadowed by the huge events of the next two but is in many ways the best of the three, I'm not going to go into plot details but will attempt to review to discs themselves. 'Keeper' has one wonderful thing going for it, an absolutely first rate audio commentary, by actors Matthew Waterhouse, Sarah Sutton, the late Anthony Ainley and writer Johnny Byrne.
This is such a refreshing change to hear Matthew voice his opinions without being constantly insulted and treated in a dismissive way by his fellow contributers as has happened on previous releases. Anthony Ainley gives his only contribution to a DVD in this commentary, recorded shortly before his death and has many points of interest to say.
There is also a 'making of' style documentary and Sarah Sutton's apperance on Swop Shop and a nice featurette on the return of the Master plus the usual PDF documents that appear on all three discs. It isn't often that I think that the audio commentary is so good as to be the best feature on the disc but it is here.
Logopolis is of course Tom Baker's final story and Doctor Who has never been as dark but again no plot reviews just the disc. The main feature, the episodes aside is the documentary 'A New Body At Last' which is not only a making of but also an overview of the events surronding the departure of Baker and the arrival of Davison, this was critical to get Tom Baker to participate and he does, now it is very rare for Baker to open up and actually talk about Doctor Who with it being tongue in cheek but here he does, he tells it like it is and there is genuine anger at effectively being removed from the part, some of his revelations are shocking and I watched in a sombre silence. A riveting documentary. The audio commentary is a little generic with only Tom Baker really having anthing interesting to say.
There are news items and appearances on Pebble Mill At One for Davison and quite extensive repairs to the episodes themselves in both picture and sound. Another great disc.
Castrovalva is Peter Davison's first story and is very nostalgic through the sense that this was a new beginning and direction for the show after the seven years of Baker's reign.
The extras are not quite as extensive as on the other two discs, with most of the important aspects being discussed on the Logopolis DVD these are more relaxed and easy going and are just there to fill space.
The main feature is a mini documentary by the director Fiona Cumming and is basically a behind the scenes type feature. The Crowded TARDIS is a look at the crew of the ship and is the most redundant feature in the set, it serves no function at all and just repeats facts mentioned in other features and commentaries. This commentary here is basically the same as Logopolis but with Davison replacing Baker and is nothing to shout about.
The most interesting feature is two deleted scenes, Peter Davison being interviewed on Blue Peter and Swop Shop and a music video put together featuring the title sequence. The whole disc is rounded off by a lovely little easter egg that features some really rare footage and is a delight.
So there we are three hugely important stories that took Doctor Who from one era to another and brought it firmly into the 1980's. Well worth a look.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Eminently watchable, 15 Dec 2007
I sat down to watch a couple of episodes from this boxset at 10.30 one evening before bed. I just kept watching. I know people complain about Doctor Who under John Nathan Turner, about how it was so designed, about how it "destroyed" the classic series, but it worked a lot of the time.
Three stories: Keeper of Traken, Logopolis, Castrovalva. In the first Tom Baker travels to the the paradise of Traken, only to discover that an old foe is waiting for him. In Logopolis, it's Tom's swansong, the introduction of the iconic Tegan Jovanka, and a threat to the whole universe using mathematical equations. Castrovalva is Peter Davison's first (though the fourth he filmed) story and it involves a space/time trap and an unstable regeneration.
And it's all a lot of fun. Tom is subdued, but it means he gives a more measured performance rather than hamming it up, and there is a sense of predestination when he regenerates into Pete. Pete's performance doesn't coalesce into his Doctor's personality until the final scenes of Castrovalva, meaning that the companions carry his story, but he does some impressions of previous Doctors along the way that are a lot of fun.
While Keeper of Traken is more of a fantasy tale about ossifying evil, Logopolis and Castrovalva are built on solid science, and although the special effects budget can't quite visualise the grand ideas, they are fascinating. Logopolis particularly prefigures the new series' School Reunion.
The extras are great too, Tom and Peter have never been afraid of sharing their opinions on Who, so there are some real insights here. And the commentaries are chucklesome.
This is delightful stuff.
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