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Product Description
Doctor Who Mara Tales is a 2-disc boxed set featuring the following classic stories & special features:
Kinda - The TARDIS visits the planet Deva Loka, where Nyssa remains behind in the ship to recover from a mild mental disorientation while the Doctor, Tegan and Adric explore. Tegan falls asleep under some wind chimes and becomes possessed by an evil force, a Mara.
Snakedance - Tegan falls once more under the influence of the Mara and directs the TARDIS to the planet Manussa. There the Federator‘s son Lon and his mother Tanha are preparing for a ceremony to celebrate the banishment of the Mara five hundred years earlier. It’s up to the Doctor to defeat the evil Mara, in these two classic stories from Peter Davison’s era…
Special Features
Kinda - The TARDIS visits the planet Deva Loka, where Nyssa remains behind in the ship to recover from a mild mental disorientation while the Doctor, Tegan and Adric explore. Tegan falls asleep under some wind chimes and becomes possessed by an evil force, a Mara.
Snakedance - Tegan falls once more under the influence of the Mara and directs the TARDIS to the planet Manussa. There the Federator‘s son Lon and his mother Tanha are preparing for a ceremony to celebrate the banishment of the Mara five hundred years earlier. It’s up to the Doctor to defeat the evil Mara, in these two classic stories from Peter Davison’s era…
Special Features
- Commentary with cast and crew
- Documentaries and behind the scenes footage
- Photo Gallery
- Digitally re-mastered picture and sound quality
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By M. Evans
In my opinion, Kinda is the deepest, most imaginative and thought provoking story in the history of Dr Who. The Mara is certainly the scariest and most disturbing monster ever seen, and there is a wonderful exploration of madness and crumbling personalities in the characters of Hindle (an outstanding performance from Simon Rouse) and Sanders (veteran actor Richard Todd). Janet Fielding gives easily her best performace as the possessed Tegan, the scenes set inside her mind are eerie and haunting, the music and sound effects are very atmospheric and the dialogue is wonderful. Kinda is a real gem of a story, working on many levels and I believe one of the greatest Dr Who stories ever made.
The sequel Snakedance is almost as good, but tries to be a bit more "normal" so doesn't quite have the same depth as Kinda. The mythology of the Mara is explored well, the sets and effects are pretty good and the performances excellent (Janet Fielding again shines and young Martin Clunes makes a particularly good villain). It's still a very clever story but Kinda was so unusual and thought-provokingly imaginative that it's inevitable it's sequel would seem less impressive. I would still say it's the third best Davison story after Kinda and Caves of Androzani and one of the best of the 80's.
A superb double bill of Dr Who, and an essential purchase just for the wonderful Kinda.
The sequel Snakedance is almost as good, but tries to be a bit more "normal" so doesn't quite have the same depth as Kinda. The mythology of the Mara is explored well, the sets and effects are pretty good and the performances excellent (Janet Fielding again shines and young Martin Clunes makes a particularly good villain). It's still a very clever story but Kinda was so unusual and thought-provokingly imaginative that it's inevitable it's sequel would seem less impressive. I would still say it's the third best Davison story after Kinda and Caves of Androzani and one of the best of the 80's.
A superb double bill of Dr Who, and an essential purchase just for the wonderful Kinda.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Amazon Verified Purchase
Two Doctor Who stories from Peter Davison's time in the role come to dvd in one box set. There's a cardboard box cover to contain the two individual stories, each in their own individual containers [handy for those who want to put them on their shelves in story broadcast order, because these two are not sequential stories].
Kinda and Snakedance are both four parters, and both complete on single discs.
Kinda sees the TARDIS visit the planet Deva Loka, a jungle world with seemingly primitive tribal inhabitants and a colonial expedition most of whom tend to dress in a not dissimilar fashion to british colonialists of centuries gone by. The latter bunch are in turmoil because some of their number have vanished. And the former seemingly know more than they're telling.
Whilst the Doctor strives to find what's going on here, and deal with a dangerously deranged member of the expedition, Tegan falls prey to the Mara. An evil creature that dwells in the mind. And wants to manifest.
By this time the production team were quickly realising that three companions was a bit restricting, and thus Nyssa gets rather perfunctorily written out for the duration of the story. But even so Kinda contains much to delight. The three actors playing the expedition members all offer excellent performances, particularly Simon Rouse as the deranged Mr Hindle, and the natives have a wise woman played superbly by veteran actress Mary Morris. Also watch out for Mr. Hankin from Grange Hill. Not that you'll recognise him. All the cast do remember that this kind of things work best when you play it straight and believable.... Read more ›
Kinda and Snakedance are both four parters, and both complete on single discs.
Kinda sees the TARDIS visit the planet Deva Loka, a jungle world with seemingly primitive tribal inhabitants and a colonial expedition most of whom tend to dress in a not dissimilar fashion to british colonialists of centuries gone by. The latter bunch are in turmoil because some of their number have vanished. And the former seemingly know more than they're telling.
Whilst the Doctor strives to find what's going on here, and deal with a dangerously deranged member of the expedition, Tegan falls prey to the Mara. An evil creature that dwells in the mind. And wants to manifest.
By this time the production team were quickly realising that three companions was a bit restricting, and thus Nyssa gets rather perfunctorily written out for the duration of the story. But even so Kinda contains much to delight. The three actors playing the expedition members all offer excellent performances, particularly Simon Rouse as the deranged Mr Hindle, and the natives have a wise woman played superbly by veteran actress Mary Morris. Also watch out for Mr. Hankin from Grange Hill. Not that you'll recognise him. All the cast do remember that this kind of things work best when you play it straight and believable.... Read more ›
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
With most of the reviews on here:
Remembering Kinda from my early adulthood I found it as dull now as I did back then with poor performances/directing almost completely obliterating an interesting story idea.
Snakedance however I found to be a terrifically written and paced gem of Who. Excellent acting, the story just felt more fleshed out and the denouement was nicely played.
So: 5stars for Snakedance, 2.5 for Kinda giving a 4 star experience
Remembering Kinda from my early adulthood I found it as dull now as I did back then with poor performances/directing almost completely obliterating an interesting story idea.
Snakedance however I found to be a terrifically written and paced gem of Who. Excellent acting, the story just felt more fleshed out and the denouement was nicely played.
So: 5stars for Snakedance, 2.5 for Kinda giving a 4 star experience
10 of 12 people found the following review helpful
By P. Sanders
VINE™ VOICE
Finally, in 2011, we get the long-awaited "Mara Tales" box-set, featuring two of Peter Davison's strongest stories, ones I remember from my childhood. These stories by Christopher Bailey feature an enigmatic entity (race? civilisation? gestalt?) known as the Mara, symbolised by a snake and representing the darker corners of the mind.
Both stories feature striking imagery, and there are a few cracking cliffhangers along the way (opening the box in "Kinda"; the exploding crystal ball in "Snakedance"), and both provide Janet Fielding with plenty to do as the possessed Tegan, who falls under the Mara's influence. We also get two fascinating and believable alien planets (a welcome sight, given that new-Who seems so heavily Earthbound these days).
"Kinda" is a puzzle-box of a story, and like "Warrior's Gate" and "Ghost Light", it rewards multiple viewings. The TARDIS lands on the planet Deva Loka, an apparent paradise. The peaceful Kinda tribe share the planet with a survey team from Earth, but some of the humans have vanished mysteriously. When Tegan falls asleep beneath the mysterious chime-bars, she is lost in a nightmare that threatens everyone...
"Kinda" is full of stunning imagery (eg the journey through Tegan's eye into her dream) and clever dialogue, borrowing concepts from both Buddhist and Christian mythologies. It's a shame that Nyssa is written out for this story ("Oh I need a rest"), but Nerys Hughes's scientist makes a great companion-substitute (and love interest?). The rest of the supporting cast are good too (even Adrian from "That's Life"!), but it's sad that the whole thing is nearly scuppered by a giant prop snake at the climax. Actually the snake isn't that bad really, but it is clearly fake.... Read more ›
Both stories feature striking imagery, and there are a few cracking cliffhangers along the way (opening the box in "Kinda"; the exploding crystal ball in "Snakedance"), and both provide Janet Fielding with plenty to do as the possessed Tegan, who falls under the Mara's influence. We also get two fascinating and believable alien planets (a welcome sight, given that new-Who seems so heavily Earthbound these days).
"Kinda" is a puzzle-box of a story, and like "Warrior's Gate" and "Ghost Light", it rewards multiple viewings. The TARDIS lands on the planet Deva Loka, an apparent paradise. The peaceful Kinda tribe share the planet with a survey team from Earth, but some of the humans have vanished mysteriously. When Tegan falls asleep beneath the mysterious chime-bars, she is lost in a nightmare that threatens everyone...
"Kinda" is full of stunning imagery (eg the journey through Tegan's eye into her dream) and clever dialogue, borrowing concepts from both Buddhist and Christian mythologies. It's a shame that Nyssa is written out for this story ("Oh I need a rest"), but Nerys Hughes's scientist makes a great companion-substitute (and love interest?). The rest of the supporting cast are good too (even Adrian from "That's Life"!), but it's sad that the whole thing is nearly scuppered by a giant prop snake at the climax. Actually the snake isn't that bad really, but it is clearly fake.... Read more ›
Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good Value
Kinda is one of the most 'adult' and 'interesting' Doctor Who stories of the 1980s. Snakedance, meanwhile, isn't as good -- even though it involves the same enemy. Read more
Published 1 month ago by R. C. Irwin
5.0 out of 5 stars
Doctor Who - Mara Tales (2 Disc Set)
On the planet Deva Loka a seemingly primitive tribe - the Kinda - hides a dark secret. The Mara, still hiding within Tegan's subconscious, wants to be reborn... Read more
Published 2 months ago by kk
5.0 out of 5 stars
arrived fast in good condition
very pleased that it arrived fast and in good condition, present for my son he loved it. doctor who is his favourite
Published 4 months ago by Janet Heasmer
4.0 out of 5 stars
Exellent
A great boxset featuring, Kinda and Snakedance. You really must watch this set.
Featuring,
Peter Davison - The Doctor
Janet Fielding - Tegan
Sarah Sutton... Read more
Featuring,
Peter Davison - The Doctor
Janet Fielding - Tegan
Sarah Sutton... Read more
Published 5 months ago by TARDIS Traveller
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dr Who - Mara Tales - Kinda & Snakedance - When Dr Who become...
This is one of the greatest adventure during the Peter Davison eras, the Mara episodes shows how people fears can turn people evil, and that what happens to Tegan (Yes, that is the... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Mr G Turner
3.0 out of 5 stars
Very slow paced
While the overall settings and plot weren't the worst in the world, neither tale is particularly awe inspiring. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Owzat
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Release
Hunt down the Easter egg on "Snakedance", it's well worth the effort! It runs to around 14 minutes, but it is a little tricky to find. Read more
Published 12 months ago by James Bland
5.0 out of 5 stars
well what can i say
hi got the mara tales on the 25th of april 2012 and watched kinda so this review is mostly about that story .... Read more
Published 13 months ago by doctor who dvd addict
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another solid boxset.
The linking theme between 'Kinda' and 'Snakedance' is the Mara, however both stories have quite a lot of differences. Read more
Published 17 months ago by genre mania
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ssssspectacular!
OK, enough with the snake jokesss. Sorry - anyway the review: the long and the short of it is, these are two Doctor Who classics. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Huw Davies
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