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Product details
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Tom Baker's second outing as the renegade Time Lord is a solid entry in the Doctor Who saga. Fan favourite Robert Holmes penned "The Ark in Space", which places the Doctor and his companions Sarah (Elisabeth Sladen) and Harry (Ian Marter) on a seemingly deserted space station many years in the future. Station Nerva is not as empty as it appears, though, since on board are the cryogenically preserved survivors of Earth's destruction, as well as an insect-like alien race, the Wirrin, determined to use the humans--and the Doctor--as hosts to grow their monstrous larvae. Holmes' well-paced script (which, like Alien, bears a resemblance to the AE van Vogt story "Black Destroyer") allows Baker to flesh out his well-loved take on the Doctor, as well as considerable suspense.
On the DVD: "The Ark in Space" DVD's obvious highlight is an audio commentary track featuring Tom Baker, Elisabeth Sladen, and producer Phillip Hinchcliffe. Though Baker's contributions to the track are sporadic, his participation is valuable nonetheless, considering that his involvement with the series since his 1981 departure has been infrequent at best. The full-frame mono presentation also includes two interviews, one with Baker on the set of another episode in 1975 and the other with designer Roger Murray Leach, who discusses his long involvement with the series. Also included is the episode's BBC1 trailer, an unused title sequence, new CGI special effects produced by the BBC's visual effects department and an optional information track, which provides running background information and trivia that should prove valuable for series completists. A trio of Easter eggs reveal Baker's typically eclectic promotions for the Doctor Who exhibition in Blackpool. --Paul Gaita, Amazon.com
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Story: 4/5 - Extras: 3/5
Tom Baker's second story in the role (although The Sontaran Experiment was filmed first) is vintage Who. Scripted by prolific Who writer Robert Holmes, The Ark in Space is one of those entirely studio-bound stories with shonky model work and a rubber monster. As such, the futuristic setting looks pretty dated, but as the story relies as much on character work as it does on conventional sci-fi conceits, it doesn't really matter.
Even at this early stage, the Fourth Doctor's character is becoming well-established, complete with Tom Baker's trademark toothy grins and effective put-downs, and Ian Marter is very proper and British as over-his-head Naval medic Harry Sullivan. Only Elisabeth Sladen's Sarah Jane Smith gets a poor treatment here, made to act even more terrified and hopeless than usual (not to mention spending half of the first two episodes in cryogenic sleep).
The small guest cast is well performed, particularly Wendy Williams' Vira, whose certainty of and adherance to the established rules gradually unravels as the story continues. Kenton Moore as Noah and Richardson Morgan as Rogin are decent if more forgettable characters, with Noah's struggle against possession by the Wirrn being reasonably well-played.
Despite the obvious use of bubble wrap in the construction of the Wirrn larvae, The Ark in Space holds together well as a story. I always prefer my Who when it goes on location, but with a decent script a limited set budget can be overcome; maybe, however, the lighting could have been more moody. The model footage is looking old, but as a feature of the DVD one can enable a series of replacement CGI footage that looks pretty good.
In terms of special features, the leading feature is a moderately entertaining commentary by Tom Baker, Elisabeth Sladen and producer Philip Hinchcliffe. As well as the traditional photo gallery, there are a couple of interviews; some unused title sequence footage and model shots; a couple of related cuttings from the BBC archives; and of course the usual informative on-screen production notes. Not a bad package overall.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This was Tom Baker's second outing as the Doctor and he'd clearly got up to speed.
The Doctor, Sarah Jane Smith and Harry Sullivan find themselves on an apparently deserted space station. While the Doctor and Harry are trying to outwit the station's defence systems, Sarah Jane is teleported away to be prepared for deep freeze. The Doctor and Harry search the station looking for the missing Sarah and stumble upon its true purpose; a cryogenic storage place for the remnants of humanity after earth had been destroyed by solar flare activity. This gave the Doctor one of his best ever speeches in extolling the virtues of Homo Sapiens. but there's a bug in the system, and it's a damned big one. Here the designers verged on the borders of disbelief as infected humans are woken only to start transforming into insects with the aid of green painted bubble wrap. Rather surprisingly, it isn't that bad, though, as the horror of the transformation overcomes that initial disbelief - largely down to the ability of the actors involved of course.
The Space Station is a bit ropey by today's standards, but as one of the DVD options, you can have an updated version, though it's not much of an improvement.The fully transformed wirrn are also a bit iffy, especially when making their way through space.
The Doctor, Sarah Jane Smith and Harry Sullivan find themselves on an apparently deserted space station. While the Doctor and Harry are trying to outwit the station's defence systems, Sarah Jane is teleported away to be prepared for deep freeze. The Doctor and Harry search the station looking for the missing Sarah and stumble upon its true purpose; a cryogenic storage place for the remnants of humanity after earth had been destroyed by solar flare activity. This gave the Doctor one of his best ever speeches in extolling the virtues of Homo Sapiens. but there's a bug in the system, and it's a damned big one. Here the designers verged on the borders of disbelief as infected humans are woken only to start transforming into insects with the aid of green painted bubble wrap. Rather surprisingly, it isn't that bad, though, as the horror of the transformation overcomes that initial disbelief - largely down to the ability of the actors involved of course.
The Space Station is a bit ropey by today's standards, but as one of the DVD options, you can have an updated version, though it's not much of an improvement.The fully transformed wirrn are also a bit iffy, especially when making their way through space.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
This serial was one of the first Tom Baker serials I saw and believe me I was on the edge of my seat! The Wirrn were visualized well and they really worked well.Again you have to hand it to Stuart Fell and the gang for a great job on making this unique race very realistic...As for Tom Baker one word can sum his performance up and that's simply "Classic"Of course Elisabeth Sladen and the late Ian Marter were excellent.The story and the actors make this a great serial..Also the PAL Format here in the UK has the unedited & uncut version which is not available in the USA. You will enjoy The Ark In Space.....
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