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Amazon.co.uk Review
It's hardly surprising that the Beeb take so long releasing DVDs in the Doctor Who series when they're as highly polished and as carefully selected as The Leisure Hive. Particularly significant in terms of the series' history, this sequence marked an end to Who's descent into vaudeville, and heralded the entrance of hotshot, new-broom Series Producer, John Nathan-Turner.
The opening long, slow pan across a wintry beach, on which an autumnal Doctor sits slumped, immediately declares the show's serious intentions. The narrative itself is an erudite discussion on fascism and racism taking in regeneration, megalomania, cloning and a series of Agatha Christie-esque murders. It's the style, rather than the story, however, that's foregrounded in The Leisure Hive: along with his new sober approach, Nathan-Turner brought a new theme tune, a new logo, a new striking red costume and a new title sequence--one that, tellingly, moved away from the enclosed time tunnel to show the vastness of space opening up. Productions values are similarly high: the Quantel effects are impressive even now, and the performances are quite stunning, particularly Baker's as the prematurely aged, infirm Doctor.
By dispensing with the clowning and with what he termed "Douglas Adams' undergrad humour", Nathan-Turner reinvigorated a show that was becoming stale. The diegetic rebirth brought about by the Regeneration Drive at the show's denouement is an apposite motif, emblematic of the rebirth of the show itself--The Leisure Hive truly represented a new beginning for Who.
On the DVD: the images, colours and new 5.1 sound are all impressive, as are the abundance of extras. "A New Beginning" features a rare interview with Baker himself, and "From Avalon to Argolis" indulges in some very satisfying back-biting. There's also a nostalgia-inducing contemporaneous clip of an impossibly young Blue Peter presenter looking genuinely frightened by the exhibits of the then-great Longleat Doctor Who Exhibition. --Paul Eisinger
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Well. I should really despise this, but I don't.
For a start, it is my favourite Doctor - Tom Baker. And Lalla Ward is wonderful as Romana nr 2. There are some strong supporting roles too.
Even the new theme music is quite catchy.
That's the good stuff. And the performances mentioned above are strong enough for me to get over the following....
John Nathan-Turner has arrived and there is a new effects gadget at hand. The problem is that every opportunity possible is taken to play with the new toy.
Unfortunately, the theme music has proved so popular that for some reason the entire story has almost turned into a musical, with mood music permeating almost every moment, suffocating some of the nuanced perfomances of the actors.
Poor Dudley Simpson, with Blake's 7 ending at roughly the same time, he would have every right to have felt rejected by the shiny new generation of BBC producers.
The whole story has a totally different feel. This transition in producers, for me has a bigger impact than some of the transitions in the leading part. The ever present synth chords remind me of the Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Ok. But too much of a good thing can make you sick.
Fortunately, throughout the rest of the season, these issues subside a bit. Maybe they got it out of their systems.
Finally on to the story. (at last you may say, but if you buy this, you will see why I have gone on so much about the production).
Well, it is OK. It has plenty of fake science which doesn't stand up, but there again that has never stopped Doctor Who in the past. There are some iffy costumes and some wobbly dialogue, and the generation of the new race of Argolins is every bit as dubious as the cloned Doctor and Leela in "The Invisible Enemy". But, it is an acceptable story, and yes, I do like it, on the strength of the robust performances of Tom Baker/Lalla Ward in particular.
It is an average story strengthened by the performances, and hopefully you can overlook the experimentation by the JNT intake. By all means buy it, but not ahead of the classics. If you want something from the tail end of Tom Baker's era, get the E-Space trilogy box set first.
For a start, it is my favourite Doctor - Tom Baker. And Lalla Ward is wonderful as Romana nr 2. There are some strong supporting roles too.
Even the new theme music is quite catchy.
That's the good stuff. And the performances mentioned above are strong enough for me to get over the following....
John Nathan-Turner has arrived and there is a new effects gadget at hand. The problem is that every opportunity possible is taken to play with the new toy.
Unfortunately, the theme music has proved so popular that for some reason the entire story has almost turned into a musical, with mood music permeating almost every moment, suffocating some of the nuanced perfomances of the actors.
Poor Dudley Simpson, with Blake's 7 ending at roughly the same time, he would have every right to have felt rejected by the shiny new generation of BBC producers.
The whole story has a totally different feel. This transition in producers, for me has a bigger impact than some of the transitions in the leading part. The ever present synth chords remind me of the Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Ok. But too much of a good thing can make you sick.
Fortunately, throughout the rest of the season, these issues subside a bit. Maybe they got it out of their systems.
Finally on to the story. (at last you may say, but if you buy this, you will see why I have gone on so much about the production).
Well, it is OK. It has plenty of fake science which doesn't stand up, but there again that has never stopped Doctor Who in the past. There are some iffy costumes and some wobbly dialogue, and the generation of the new race of Argolins is every bit as dubious as the cloned Doctor and Leela in "The Invisible Enemy". But, it is an acceptable story, and yes, I do like it, on the strength of the robust performances of Tom Baker/Lalla Ward in particular.
It is an average story strengthened by the performances, and hopefully you can overlook the experimentation by the JNT intake. By all means buy it, but not ahead of the classics. If you want something from the tail end of Tom Baker's era, get the E-Space trilogy box set first.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
A fun if occasionally slow story. Author David Fisher once levelled at Douglas Adams the criticism of being too in love with ideas at the expense of story. Here he's a bit guilty of the same because despite the solid premise of Argolin race running a leisure complex and turning to science to save their dying race amidst some mafia style inter-racial politics, once it gets onto tachyons it gets bogged down in concepts. Nice to see some use of real science though.
The Argolins are a good June Hudson design, art deco with pods that fall off as they near death. Sadly the Foamasi are not so successful. Okay in long shot, but like giant sock puppets in close up.
Good stylish direction even if Lovett Bickford gets a bit too arty in places-witness the epic tracking shot on Brighton Beach and the overuse of quantel effects. Quantel effects are used for an awful episode climax in part 1.
Good rather than great performances from the guest cast, solid work from Who rep actor Laurence Payne, Adrienne Corri (reportedly an authority on tachyons!) and David Haig- but no standouts.
As with all of his last season, Uncle Tom is on autopilot sometimes but once engaged (e.g. on hearing his scarf was wrapped round a murder victim, he suggests "Arrest the scarf then!" gleefully) he is the Doctor of old. He also gets a chance to play a much older Doctor too. Lalla Ward is a lovely bubbly Romana and produces a look of horrified astonishment on seeing the Doctor transformed by an experiment.
In all, it does look as if production values shot up a notch since the previous year and made a good start for JNT as producer.
"A New Begining" is a showpiece documentary on the start of JNT's tenure as producer. Why K9 had to go, why new titles, a difficult relationship between Tom and JNT are among the many topics covered in this excellent piece. The many interviewees include Tom, John Leeson, Christopher H Bidmead & Jnt himself (via archive footage) among others. No one stressing good points is sycophantic, no one stressing the negative is back biting.
There are also features on the writing, the new title sequence and music and costumes-all well done.
The fun commentary has Lalla Ward, Lovett Bickford and script editor Christopher H Bidmead remembering the making of the story and in particular Tom's difficult behaviour at this time e.g. propensity for blocking co-stars in doorways and as Lalla Ward says he would understood sotto voce meant to deliver lines quietly, he just would have refused to do it!
There's an easter egg of a comtemporary plug for Dr Who picture packs.
A great package for a good rather than great story-more for disciples of the cult of Tom than other fans.
The Argolins are a good June Hudson design, art deco with pods that fall off as they near death. Sadly the Foamasi are not so successful. Okay in long shot, but like giant sock puppets in close up.
Good stylish direction even if Lovett Bickford gets a bit too arty in places-witness the epic tracking shot on Brighton Beach and the overuse of quantel effects. Quantel effects are used for an awful episode climax in part 1.
Good rather than great performances from the guest cast, solid work from Who rep actor Laurence Payne, Adrienne Corri (reportedly an authority on tachyons!) and David Haig- but no standouts.
As with all of his last season, Uncle Tom is on autopilot sometimes but once engaged (e.g. on hearing his scarf was wrapped round a murder victim, he suggests "Arrest the scarf then!" gleefully) he is the Doctor of old. He also gets a chance to play a much older Doctor too. Lalla Ward is a lovely bubbly Romana and produces a look of horrified astonishment on seeing the Doctor transformed by an experiment.
In all, it does look as if production values shot up a notch since the previous year and made a good start for JNT as producer.
"A New Begining" is a showpiece documentary on the start of JNT's tenure as producer. Why K9 had to go, why new titles, a difficult relationship between Tom and JNT are among the many topics covered in this excellent piece. The many interviewees include Tom, John Leeson, Christopher H Bidmead & Jnt himself (via archive footage) among others. No one stressing good points is sycophantic, no one stressing the negative is back biting.
There are also features on the writing, the new title sequence and music and costumes-all well done.
The fun commentary has Lalla Ward, Lovett Bickford and script editor Christopher H Bidmead remembering the making of the story and in particular Tom's difficult behaviour at this time e.g. propensity for blocking co-stars in doorways and as Lalla Ward says he would understood sotto voce meant to deliver lines quietly, he just would have refused to do it!
There's an easter egg of a comtemporary plug for Dr Who picture packs.
A great package for a good rather than great story-more for disciples of the cult of Tom than other fans.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
When on 30th August 1980 episode 1 of the The Leisure Hive went out, regular viewers of Doctor Who were in for a shock. The iconic "journey through the time vortex" title sequence by Bernard Lodge had been replaced with a more formulaic journey through space, seen in countless other sci-fi shows. The haunting theme music by Delia Derbyshire had been replaced by a more twinkly "disco" version by Peter Howell. Then the opening scene on Brighton Beach (the new producer - John Nathan Turner's - town) which pans across a windswept beach of empty deck chairs for nearly 5 minutes with no dialogue. Then we see our eponymous hero- now in a burgundy version of his costume - snoring away in a deck chair. Art imitating reality, this was to set the mood for the whole show.
Worse to come. K9, much loved by younger viewers, is sent off to trundle after a beach ball by Romana (to a horrendously tiny version of "Oh I do like to be Beside the Seaside") and explodes in the English Channel. When Romana retrieves him from the sea, he is a wreck: covered in seaweed and no longer operational.
In just five minutes all of JNT's changes to the production are introduced and the imagery of a snoring Doctor and broken K9 ,in JNT's back yard, provide an ironic metaphor for what the show had now become: a boring, broken snoozathon.
I've struggled to find anything nice to say about this story because it typifies JNT's approach to Doctor Who: it's just terribly dull and boring. Tom looks bored; K9 (and the humour he provided) is absent; and I can't for the life of me make out the "superior production" that people refer to:
- the lighting is terrible throughout this serial, save for a few short scenes
- the costumes of the Fomasi and just as unconvincing as anything seen in the previous season
- the whole production takes place against a backdrop of white sprayed garage doors!
- horrible incidental music that as another review notes: "like an Ultravox B-side". The whole thing screams 1980s, when Doctor Who was meant to be timeless.
Yes there is some beautiful photography in this - the opening panning shot on Brighton Beach is superb, but this really belongs in an art-house movie, not Doctor Who, when you consider there was no dialogue for nearly 5 minutes into the show. There is also a beautiful scene where the Doctor, Romana and Madame Chairman are looking out into the radioactive wasteland that is Argolis and it's beautifully framed and lit.
Tom Baker is fantastic as a much older version of the 4th Doctor - both in his performance and movements but also the make-up which is superb. Again though, an ironic metaphor- he looks like the audience feels - tired and bored.
Changes are not necessarily a bad thing though - the problem here is that JNT misunderstood the show. When he says he "wanted to bring the show into the 1980s" did he really understand the show? He wasn't making a period piece of contemporary television, more a sci-fiction series not of this world. By rooting the music, production techniques and so on so firmly in that era, he rooted the show firmly of that era. Thus later in the season in "State of Decay" set in a quasi-medieval setting - we get the same twinkly synth music and not suitable medieval music for the piece.
JNT removed all the mystery from the series. We no longer have a journey through time for the titles; now a journey in space. We've seen it before in Star Trek, Star Wars and countless other sci-fi shows. The Doctor now wears '?' on his lapels. This didn't make the lead character mysterious; it just made him look like a comic-strip hero. The US shows are always fond of unsubtly identifying their heroes: "look kiddies - can you make out Superman? He's the one with 'S' on his shirt! Can you make out Batman? He's the one with the bat on his shirt!" So we now have "can you make out the Doctor? He's the one with '?' on his shirt!"
JNT also appears to be patronising the younger audience with the use of bright colours throughout this show - a hallmark of his era. Russell T. Davies once said you should never patronise children when making TV for them. JNT misunderstood them, by removing an element they adored (K9 - there was such an outcry that he came back in a pilot for his own show), whilst at the same time making Doctor Who sets look like the Playschool studio.
The restoration of this serial is superb however. A Dolby Digital 5.1 surround mix - the only Tom Baker story to get this treatment -is great in places. The theme music particularly is good as the titles fly out of the screen and the accompanying audio wushes over your head. The scene also of weightless squash is good, as the ball bounces off various walls and reverberates across the surround speakers. Some dialogue is not crystal clear though, as they didn't always have clean audio available.
The picture restoration is superb too - looking probably better now than on transmission. One of the aspects the restoration has allowed the restoration team to revisit is the colour grading, so that the presentation looks more colourful - in line with current production values, rather than the "washed out" colour we were used to in the 1970s/ early 1980s. Of particular note is the new titles sequence, where you can see the stars in all their refracted rainbow glory; the blacks deep black, and the closing white-out explosion, now devoid of any film dirt or noise (something never possible on 1st transmission). 5* for the restoration.
The extras are the best you will ever see for a JNT story I think. With so many new initiatives at once, you have documentaries on the story, costume, music and title sequence. I used to think the titles were done on an early form of super-computer as CGI- not so. Something stunningly simple but effective: a star filter on a camera, travelling towards black card with back-lit pin-holes.
Of particular note is the excellent "A New Beginning" documentary which outlines both the making of this story and the new changes JNT introduced, with interviews with both Tom Baker and JNT included. So many interviewees tread a fine line between saying what they thought of JNT and not wanting to speak ill of the dead:
"John thought that he knew how to put stories together, and actually he didn't. John liked stories that essentially didn't work and had to be worked very hard on to make them work and he didn't like stories that I think would have been quite marvellous, something was lost as a result of that." - Christopher H. Bidmead
"The dog yes... I wanted shot of that" -JNT
"The character of K9... was a great success with the children" - Tom Baker
"John had asked for the new theme to have a 'discotheque' theme" -Peter Howell
"John was unusual as a producer, he was very young, he had not produced before, but his attitude was different from most producers" - June Hudson
The Leisure Hive was the Leisure Dive, and would sadly set the tone for the classic show's last decade.
Worse to come. K9, much loved by younger viewers, is sent off to trundle after a beach ball by Romana (to a horrendously tiny version of "Oh I do like to be Beside the Seaside") and explodes in the English Channel. When Romana retrieves him from the sea, he is a wreck: covered in seaweed and no longer operational.
In just five minutes all of JNT's changes to the production are introduced and the imagery of a snoring Doctor and broken K9 ,in JNT's back yard, provide an ironic metaphor for what the show had now become: a boring, broken snoozathon.
I've struggled to find anything nice to say about this story because it typifies JNT's approach to Doctor Who: it's just terribly dull and boring. Tom looks bored; K9 (and the humour he provided) is absent; and I can't for the life of me make out the "superior production" that people refer to:
- the lighting is terrible throughout this serial, save for a few short scenes
- the costumes of the Fomasi and just as unconvincing as anything seen in the previous season
- the whole production takes place against a backdrop of white sprayed garage doors!
- horrible incidental music that as another review notes: "like an Ultravox B-side". The whole thing screams 1980s, when Doctor Who was meant to be timeless.
Yes there is some beautiful photography in this - the opening panning shot on Brighton Beach is superb, but this really belongs in an art-house movie, not Doctor Who, when you consider there was no dialogue for nearly 5 minutes into the show. There is also a beautiful scene where the Doctor, Romana and Madame Chairman are looking out into the radioactive wasteland that is Argolis and it's beautifully framed and lit.
Tom Baker is fantastic as a much older version of the 4th Doctor - both in his performance and movements but also the make-up which is superb. Again though, an ironic metaphor- he looks like the audience feels - tired and bored.
Changes are not necessarily a bad thing though - the problem here is that JNT misunderstood the show. When he says he "wanted to bring the show into the 1980s" did he really understand the show? He wasn't making a period piece of contemporary television, more a sci-fiction series not of this world. By rooting the music, production techniques and so on so firmly in that era, he rooted the show firmly of that era. Thus later in the season in "State of Decay" set in a quasi-medieval setting - we get the same twinkly synth music and not suitable medieval music for the piece.
JNT removed all the mystery from the series. We no longer have a journey through time for the titles; now a journey in space. We've seen it before in Star Trek, Star Wars and countless other sci-fi shows. The Doctor now wears '?' on his lapels. This didn't make the lead character mysterious; it just made him look like a comic-strip hero. The US shows are always fond of unsubtly identifying their heroes: "look kiddies - can you make out Superman? He's the one with 'S' on his shirt! Can you make out Batman? He's the one with the bat on his shirt!" So we now have "can you make out the Doctor? He's the one with '?' on his shirt!"
JNT also appears to be patronising the younger audience with the use of bright colours throughout this show - a hallmark of his era. Russell T. Davies once said you should never patronise children when making TV for them. JNT misunderstood them, by removing an element they adored (K9 - there was such an outcry that he came back in a pilot for his own show), whilst at the same time making Doctor Who sets look like the Playschool studio.
The restoration of this serial is superb however. A Dolby Digital 5.1 surround mix - the only Tom Baker story to get this treatment -is great in places. The theme music particularly is good as the titles fly out of the screen and the accompanying audio wushes over your head. The scene also of weightless squash is good, as the ball bounces off various walls and reverberates across the surround speakers. Some dialogue is not crystal clear though, as they didn't always have clean audio available.
The picture restoration is superb too - looking probably better now than on transmission. One of the aspects the restoration has allowed the restoration team to revisit is the colour grading, so that the presentation looks more colourful - in line with current production values, rather than the "washed out" colour we were used to in the 1970s/ early 1980s. Of particular note is the new titles sequence, where you can see the stars in all their refracted rainbow glory; the blacks deep black, and the closing white-out explosion, now devoid of any film dirt or noise (something never possible on 1st transmission). 5* for the restoration.
The extras are the best you will ever see for a JNT story I think. With so many new initiatives at once, you have documentaries on the story, costume, music and title sequence. I used to think the titles were done on an early form of super-computer as CGI- not so. Something stunningly simple but effective: a star filter on a camera, travelling towards black card with back-lit pin-holes.
Of particular note is the excellent "A New Beginning" documentary which outlines both the making of this story and the new changes JNT introduced, with interviews with both Tom Baker and JNT included. So many interviewees tread a fine line between saying what they thought of JNT and not wanting to speak ill of the dead:
"John thought that he knew how to put stories together, and actually he didn't. John liked stories that essentially didn't work and had to be worked very hard on to make them work and he didn't like stories that I think would have been quite marvellous, something was lost as a result of that." - Christopher H. Bidmead
"The dog yes... I wanted shot of that" -JNT
"The character of K9... was a great success with the children" - Tom Baker
"John had asked for the new theme to have a 'discotheque' theme" -Peter Howell
"John was unusual as a producer, he was very young, he had not produced before, but his attitude was different from most producers" - June Hudson
The Leisure Hive was the Leisure Dive, and would sadly set the tone for the classic show's last decade.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
The sotory goes on with the DALEKS crashing in
The sotory goes on with the DALEKS crashing in with Davros going against the Doctor again , but there is a twist to this story line.
Published 1 month ago by Mr. Robert Lismore
The Worst Story Ever
This has to be the WORST story ever in my opinion. Tom Baker is really really bad as is Lalla Ward and the whole aged doctor thing is pointless as is the alien. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Mr. D. P. Metcalfe
Audio visual greatness
The Leisure Hive is a significant landmark story; the dawn of the final era of the original Doctor Who, which all bar 2 episodes is the 1980s or the John Nathan-Turner era... Read more
Published 5 months ago by R. Le Quin
Exploding K9......and weird science!
This is Jonathan Nathan Turner's (JNT) first story as producer of Doctor Who, and things are looking different:
- A new outfit for Tom Baker
- A re-vamped theme tune... Read more
- A new outfit for Tom Baker
- A re-vamped theme tune... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Robert The Robot
Doctor Who - The Leisure Hive DVD
It brings back the memories of how the neww look glitzed up Doctor Who, complete with the newly formed music from the Radiophonic Workshop, ushered in the 80s.
Published 19 months ago by Mr. M. A. Hodges
Boldly Going Backwards
I can't stand The Leisure Hive. It's a boring, meandering tale with nothing much happening, poor costumes, poor lighting, poor scripts and extremely poor production standards. Read more
Published on 3 April 2010 by Richard Parkinson
It's OK, but...
In many ways "The Leisure Hive" is as enjoyable as any late-Tom Baker Dr Who. The story is solid, so is the script. Read more
Published on 26 Mar 2010 by Andrew Morton
Slow story with a few high spots, good documentary
At the beginning of the 1980s Dr Who went through significant changes, including a re-arranged title theme and new 'journey through space' title sequence. Read more
Published on 7 Feb 2010 by StormSworder
Flawed but fun
Yes, this serial has its flaws: Tom Baker was getting on, was clearly tired in the role, and needed to move on. Read more
Published on 11 May 2009 by Captain Pugwash
Education for Leisure
Yes, this serial has its flaws: Tom Baker was getting on, was clearly tired in the role, and needed to move on. Read more
Published on 11 May 2009 by Captain Pugwash
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