Doctor Who - Peladon Tales Box Set [DVD]

After a fairly long absence, there's a sudden burst of Jon Pertwee stories getting released on DVD. After last year's rather excellent DALEK WAR set comes this collection of two stories set on the world of Peladon, separated by two years in production terms and fifty years in plot terms. THE CURSE OF PELADON is the second story of the 1972 series and finds the Doctor, (whilst still exiled to Earth) managing to get his TARDIS working just long enough to drag Jo Grant (Katy Manning) away from the prospect of a night out with Mike Yates and land her halfway up a mountain in a thunderstorm on an alien planet. Four episodes of political intrigue ensue on the rather feudal planet Peladon which still worships the furry terror that is Aggedor whilst being in negotiation for entry into the Galactic Federation, a situation that doesn't make certain members of the population very happy and is in absolutely no way reflecting a certain small nation's issues about entry into the "common market" that were happening at the same time. Ahem!

A range of alien ambassadors of various types (and successfulness) from the frankly disturbing face in a box called Arcturus to the rather endearing Alpha Centauri (who has to be seen to be believed) also have their own agendas, and a familiar set of foes from the Patrick Troughton era, the Ice Warriors are also along for the ride and this time around add a great deal of depth to a race of creatures raising their status to the realm of rather "classic" monsters. They are all given strong support by a fine set of character actors including Geoffrey Orme as the zealous High Priest Hepesh and a very young David Troughton as the naïve young King Peladon of Peladon who takes a bit of a shine to Jo (and why not?). Along the way, Jon Pertwee gets to sing and have a big fight and play up to his role as an intergalactic gentleman, all part of the charm that he adds to his very special and fondly remembered portrayal of the Doctor.

We are returned to Peladon some fifty years later in Jon Pertwee's penultimate story, made in 1974 and called THE MONSTER OF PELADON which, happily, is also in this set. Six episodes this time around revolving around the battle over a source of valuable minerals and unrest amongst the workers in the mines. This does of course in absolutely no way reflect a certain small nation's issues about miner's strikes that were happening around the same time. Ahem!! The expanded episode count does make the story a bit slower this time around, but Alpha Centauri and the Ice Warriors both return, as does Aggedor and this time we get to see more of the "ordinary people" of Peladon, although there's nothing ordinary about their hair. Nina Thomas plays the Queen - the daughter of King Peladon - who is still having trouble with her latest High Priest (the excellent Frank Gatliff). Some chats about "women's lib" from Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen - here in her first series playing the part) soon put her right about a few things. Another fine set of character actors including Rex Robinson and Donald Gee give convincing performances again and Jon Pertwee's Doctor gets a right old kicking before heading off to his fateful visit to THE PLANET OF THE SPIDERS.

The commentary on the first story is interesting enough, with the production team of Barry Letts, Terrance Dicks and Chris D'Oyly-John alongside actress Katy Manning (and her numerous alternative voices...Hmmm...) being moderated by Toby Hadoke. Sadly two of these contributors have died since they made the recordings which makes their comments seem just a little bit more poignant. Half the world - including a group of enthusiastic professional fans in part four - seems to turn up for commentary duties on the second story, but that's a good thing as it keeps the chat rattling along without going over old ground too much.

The usual range of extras like photo galleries, pdf material and loosely related clips from other shows are included alongside a solid set of documentaries including a two part "making of", a brief look at the history of the Ice Warriors, a short piece called "Jon and Katy" - which rather decribes itself - and a rather excellent piece on the writings of Terrance Dicks which will hopefully go some way in raising his profile as one of the best writers of children's fiction that there has ever been.

Neither of the stories in this set are highlights of Jon Pertwee's tenure as the Doctor, but both are unusually political ones drawing on the UK's uncertain state in the early 70s. The Curse of Peladon sees the Doctor finally released from his exile on Earth and getting the TARDIS working again only to find himself in the forbidding fortress palace of Peladon on a dark and stormy night, where there's much debate among alien delegates as to whether the planet should be allowed to join the Galactic Federation. If this is not a million light-years away from the debate over whether the UK should join the Common Market, at least Ted Heath didn't have to deal with homicidal saboteurs and the not-so mythical royal beast of Peladon, Agador...

In many ways it's The Old Dark House with aliens, a gothic number with the Ice Warriors now on the side of the angels, former Doctor Patrick Troughton's son David Troughton on the throne and Pertwee displaying both his pitfighting skills and his ability to sooth the savage beast with a Venusian lullaby. It's a good story but a surprising one to generate a direct sequel, even if it does move the story ahead a generation.

Six-parter The Monster of Peladon is interesting for the even more political (and often overtly Socialist) slant the script takes. Whereas social revolutions have been a staple of science fiction even before H.G. Wells wrote The Time Machine, it's rare for a film or television entry in the genre to focus on labour relations and class warfare so explicitly. Just as Frank Herbert's Dune saga was an allegory for the Middle East's political tensions during the oil boom, The Monster of Peladon is an allegory of its own time and place. 70s Britain is now almost ancient history, so many of the references will be lost on a new generation of viewers, but for those who lived through it, watching this show again brings it all back.

For Peladon, standing on the brink of great wealth or even greater disaster, read Britain, for its coveted rare minerals, read North Sea Oil. Joining the Federation (read the Common Market) has not improved the lot of the workers, only the rich; the miners striking for improved wages and conditions (read any of the militant trade unions of the early 70s) are dismissed as bolshie rebels by rulers who would rather confront them than negotiate; while outside enemies manipulate their divisions not so much for conquest as for profit (read the growing trade deficit that saw Britain hover on the verge of bankruptcy). Add a subplot where the Doctor's assistant urges the figurehead Queen of Peladon to seize power by explaining something they have on Earth called Women's Lib, and you've got a perfect reflection for the concerns and paranoias facing 70s Britain - that dark, depressing time of strikes, power cuts, IRA bombing campaigns, the three-day week and inept government.

As drama, it works well enough, but as social history, it's positively fascinating, and the documentaries on the decent extras package go into the parallels with 70s Britain in some depth. It's a shame that the Doctor Who restoration team aren't fond of the Jon Pertwee era despite it being every bit as much a part of the series' golden age as Tom Baker's: the Pertwee episodes tend to need more restoration work than most but always seem to be something of a low priority, and consequently The Monster of Peladon certainly doesn't have as good picture quality as the presumably better stored Curse.

Two stories from jon pertwee's time as the doctor come to dvd in one box set. Each gets it's own box.

The curse of peladon was shown in 1972 and the monster of peladon comes from two years later. Jo grant was companion in the first story and sarah jane smith in the second.

The curse of peladon is a four part tale that sees the doctor - at that time in the show still exiled on earth - sent to gallifrey on a mission for the time lords. a feudal planet with a monarchy, and a castle on the side of a mountain, the planet is considering entering the galactic federation. alien delegates are visiting. the young king is troubled by doubt. The high priest is meddling. and an ancient monster has apparently killed someone.

Can the doctor find what's really going on?

An entirely studio bound story this uses a fair few aliens, and presents the doctor's old enemies the ice warriors in an interestingly different way. Alien alpha centauri, a hermaphrodite hexapod with a high pitched voice is a quite wonderfully appealing character, and the production does manage to create the image of an alien world with lots of alien visitors without ever leaving the studio.

It's not the most spectacular story ever, being more talk than action, but it's good solid doctor who all in all. There are parallels with the plans for britain to enter the common market that were being discussed when the story was shown, but they don't get in the way of the storytelling.

the monster of peladon is set a fair few years later for the people on the planet, and a bit has changed. there's a new monarch but they're equally unsure of themselves. and the local miners are unhappy. the planet is the only source of a rare mineral needed for a galactic war effort. but something is killing the miners.

again with the parallels, this time of the miners strike of the early 70's, and presenting some pretty good villainy in the shape of both alien and humans foes, this story also brings back alpha centauri. but it's a six parter and like many of those it does take a while to get going as a result. It does also rather revisit old glories. but like it's predecessor, it's not the most exciting tale ever, but it's solid and entertaining enough. if perhaps a little too long.

The monster of peladon has two discs, with the episodes on disc one and the extras on disc two.

Both stories have subtitles and a language track in english and audio captioning.

both contain commentaries from cast and crew, both of which are moderated by an actor who once performed his own doctor who stage show.

both also have a trailer for the forthcoming next release in the doctor who dvd range, a photo gallery of stills from the stories and their production, the radio times billings for each available as pdf files accessible by accessing the disc via computer, and production information subtitles that give you further information about the stories whilst watching them.

there's a two part making of documentary, each part running twenty two minutes, one to each story. these are good and well up to the usual standard of the making ofs on this range but by focusing on the two stories together rather than individally they can be slightly unfocused at points.

on the curse of peladon there's also:

warriors of mars: a fifteen minute long feature about the ice warriors. covering their continuity and apperances - and the one that never happened - and also featuring interviews with actors who played them this packs a lot into fifteen minutes and is really very good.

Jon and katy is a short six minute feature about the on screen relationship between the doctor and jo, both in the forms of the characters and the actors. initially a little unfocused by virtue of concentrating on just the curse of peladon, it then comes good by virtue of excellent contributions from katy manning [jo] and producer barry letts.

storyboard comparison shows the first two minutes of episode one as they were on screen and as they were storyboarded. Which is only mildly interesting but the feature is short so doesn't outstay it's welcome.

on the monster of peladon:

a fan commentary for episode four. done by some fans of the show including writer rob shearman who wrote for the ninth doctor on tv.

deleted scene: a minute long recreation of a deleted scene using stills and the soundtrack. it's a short character moment of no great consequence but it's short so it's worth watching.

where are they now? a two minute long clip from a bbc show from 1980 where actress ysanne churchman, who voiced alpha centauri, was interviewed.

On target - terrance dicks. a twenty minute long feature about the work of terrance dicks, script editor of the pertwee years, on how he wrote novels based on the show for many years. these are beloved of many fans who grew up on them, and it's a nice tribute to a very good writer.

the pdf files on this one also include a studio floor plan and bbc enterprises sales literature.

See the comment on this review as to where to find easter eggs.

but all in all a good release for a pair of good stories