or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
More Buying Choices
Leisurezone Ltd Add to Cart
£8.50
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Sorry, this item is not available in
Image not available for
Colour:
Image not available

 

Doctor Who - The Hand of Fear [DVD] [1976]

Tom Baker , Elisabeth Sladen    Parental Guidance   DVD
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
Price: £8.50 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
Only 5 left in stock (more on the way).
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon. Gift-wrap available.
Want delivery by Friday, 24 May? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
Doctor Who - Series 7
Order Doctor Who - Series 7 on Blu-ray or DVD, or visit the Doctor Who Store to discover a universe of Doctor Who DVDs, Blu-ray, toys, homeware and more
Learn about LOVEFiLM
Amazon’s film and TV subscription service with unlimited access to thousands of titles to watch instantly, many in HD at no extra cost. Go to LOVEFiLM for title availability. Enjoy a 30-day free trial and watch across many devices including the Kindle Fire. Learn more at LOVEFiLM.com

Special Offers and Product Promotions

  • Find all the best television shows from the other side of the pond in our US TV store and catch the latest shows in our 2013's Hottest TV page.

  • doctor who 4
    Time and Relative Deals in Space Our Doctor Who Store truly is bigger on the inside. We've got all the DVDs, audiobooks, toys and everything else the Doctor's put his name to.


Frequently Bought Together

Doctor Who - The Hand of Fear [DVD] [1976] + Doctor Who - The Deadly Assassin [DVD] [1976] + Doctor Who - The Masque Of Mandragora [DVD] [1976]
Price For All Three: £23.70

Buy the selected items together


Product details

  • Actors: Tom Baker, Elisabeth Sladen
  • Format: PAL
  • Language: English
  • Subtitles: English
  • Subtitles For The Hearing Impaired: English
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 4:3 - 1.33:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Classification: PG
  • Studio: 2 Entertain Video
  • DVD Release Date: 24 July 2006
  • Run Time: 100 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B000FPV8KG
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 15,026 in Film & TV (See Top 100 in Film & TV)

Reviews

From Amazon.co.uk

Doctor Who fans must take the bittersweet with the suspenseful in this four-part story arc from 1976, which pits the Doctor (Tom Baker) and companion Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen) against the fossilized hand of an alien criminal which possesses a hideous will to live again. Discovered by the Doctor and Sarah during a trip to Earth that puts them in the middle of a mining blast, the hand belongs to Eldrad, a fugitive criminal from the planet Kastria who desires to regain his bodily form and return to his home. To do so, he possesses Sarah and the staff of a nearby nuclear reactor in order to use its power to regenerate, which leads to several eerie scenes with the reanimated hand that nicely evoke British horror features from the '60s and '70s. Well-liked by Baker-era fans, The Hand of Fear is best remembered as Sladen's final turn as Sarah (though she has frequently returned to the role on both radio and TV), and her final scenes with Baker (largely written by the two actors) have an endearing sort of wistfulness.

As with all Doctor Who DVD releases, The Hand of Fear features a number of well-produced extras that flesh out the production history of the episodes. The commentary by Baker, Sladen, co-star Judith Paris (who plays the reconfigured Eldrad in an early female form), co-author Bob Baker, and producer Phillip Hinchcliffe is an excellent place to start for first-time viewers and longtime fans; all except Paris are also featured in an informative 50-minute featurette titled "Changing Time," which illuminates the warm working relationship between Baker and Sladen, as well as her reasons for departing the series. An 11-minute videotape clip from the U.K. children's show Swap Shop featuring Baker and Sladen before the broadcast of The Hand of Fear is also included, as well as the now-standard photo gallery, text-only commentary, and PDF of the 1977 Doctor Who Annual and Radio Times. --Paul Gaita

Product Description

The TARDIS materialises in an English quarry where Sarah is involved in a rock fall. When she is rescued, she is clutching a stone hand, which takes control of her and forces her to take it into the core of a nuclear reactor. The Doctor (Tom Baker) arrives too late to stop the hand from regenerating into an alien lifeform known as Eldrad, who demands to be returned to her home planet of Kastria. The Doctor obliges, but all is not as it seems with Eldrad. This was Sarh Jane Smith's last adventure with the Doctor, although she later returned in 'K-9 and Company', 'The Five Doctors' and 'Downtime'.


Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
25 of 26 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Eldrad MUST live! 20 Mar 2007
Back in the mid 1970's when I was just a nipper, I would skip gaily home from the newsagents in my little shorts with some penny chews and a lurid red string of liquorice packed with E numbers to watch Saturday's instalment of Doctor Who. I count myself lucky to have experienced the Baker/Sladen partnership first time round. It is the best ensemble acting the show has ever produced. Week in week out, I would be enthralled by the brave, kind and just a little bit unsettling Doctor and the pretty, spunky Sarah-Jane as they battled Daleks, Sontarans, Cybermen and Zygons in a crazed-out monsterfest which was compulsory viewing for any child in Great Britain who grew up in that magical era. Then it all came to an end with the Hand of Fear and I wrote a rude letter to the BBC (which my Mum helped me to write), which they never replied to.

The story is not outstanding, but contains a popular template still retained by the series, namely setting the initial story on Earth in recognisable surroundings (yes, it's THAT quarry again), before shifting the action to outer space. One interesting fact is that Sarah is given a chance to be mean as she is possessed by the power of Eldrad's ring. The highlight is of course her leaving scene, made all the more poignant by being underplayed by both actors.

Elisabeth Sladen is the best actor or actress ever to have played the Doctor's companion, and struck just the right degree of balance between vulnerability and independence, while all the while creating a likeable and entirely believable character. There has not been a companion like her since (although I have to say I was very impressed with Billie Piper). This was her swansong.

Happy days.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Goodbye Sarah-Jane 12 April 2011
The Hand of Fear is a classic slice of Doctor Who from the show's so-called 'Golden era'. Tom Baker is at his best; alternately whimsical and filled with supressed rage at the injustice he sees. The story is also particularly noteworthy for being the swansong of Elisabeth Sladen as feisty journo Sarah-Jane Smith.
The Doctor and Sarah find themselves in a quarry in timeless 'Who' tradition; Sarah is subsequently buried as an explosion rips through the rocks. When he unearths her, The Doctor finds she is clutching a fossilised hand; this leads the time-travellers to the planet Kastria where they encounter the reborn Eldrad, a monstrous dictator put to death by his own people...
What makes this serial so special is the chemistry between The Doctor and his 'best friend'. There is real pathos in their parting and her hideous Andy-Pandy outfit aside, Sarah is fantastic. The other plus is the set design, particularly the planet Kastria and the manipulative Eldrad, all booming voice and figure-hugging shimmery lycra.
If you only ever watch one 'classic' Doctor Who story then make it this one!
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
For a long time this stood to be Sarah Jane Smith's last stand, but thankfully she has been back many times since.

Caught in a quarry explosion Sarah clutches a fossilized hand which then takes her over as an alien influence grows. An alien regenerates its form and then the real problems start.

A fun story that could have served as Sarah's last hurrah since she gets a bit more to do here as Sarah plays both companion and alien monster while she is possessed. It's her story more than Tom's and she carries it well right up to a reluctant farewell scene.

Uncle Tom is in charge as ever even though a little sidelined in Sarah's favour. Here he is playing Earth's defender against the agressive tendencies of Eldrad. It's good that until he is certain it's evil, he is ready to help Eldrad.

Eldrad in an interesting alien who (bar a small prologue) we 1st experience through Sarah Jane. Next we have Eldrad's interpretation of a female form as played by Judith Paris and then finally the proper male form as lovely shouty Dr Who Repetory actor Stephen Thorne takes over.The costume in both main forms, is a good one with joins not too obvious.

The supporting cast are also good and a very fine moment allows Glynn Houston who beleives a nuclear accident is imminent, a moment to ring his family.

Effects are of the time but there not being too many they do not distract.

There is a documentary "Changing Time" about both the story and Sarah's journey in The Police Box Show. It's highly enjoyable with Liz, Tom and various others. Tom has a few tall stories especialy 1 about Mr. Pertwee and Liz highlights some of the differences between the 2. The only sour note is the need to tell us how supporting cast members Rex Robinson & Glynn Houston broke into acting!

There is a Tommentary with both Tom and Liz on great form although Liz gets a little lost as Tom effects to fancy Judith Paris, you almost think he's plucking up the courage to ask her out!

We also get a vintage interview with Liz and Tom on the 1st edition of Swap Shop chatting with viewers and Noel Edmonds.

With a package of this quality, if you're happy with the price the question you must ask is "Deal or No Deal"?

Sorry I couldn't resist.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Terrifying, and yet poignant.
One of the most iconic episodes of Doctor Who, this episode still holds its head high. Using the time-honoured horror trope of dismembered hand that possesses others, this movie... Read more
Published 9 months ago by RIJU GANGULY
4.0 out of 5 stars You've Got To Hand It To Lis
The first two episodes are brilliant, making you realise among other things just how much of a contribution the incidental music makes to the quality of the show. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Guy Blythman
5.0 out of 5 stars Dr Who - The Hand of Fear (1976) - When Dr Who said goodbye to Sarah...
The Hand of Fear was one of the classic Dr Who adventures. It was a changing time for the Tom Baker era of Doctor Who. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Mr G Turner
1.0 out of 5 stars Utter Drivel
This story in my opinion is the worst story ever. Tom Baker isn't good at all and neither is Eldrad. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Mr. D. P. Metcalfe
5.0 out of 5 stars Solid story
The last of Sarah Jane... until Sarah Jane. Tom Baker and Lis Sladen's last appearance in Doc Who. Good solid story. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Mr Pippin
5.0 out of 5 stars THE LAST STORY WITH SARAH JANE
This if the last story with Tom Baker and Sarah , it's a great dr. who story and most of the earth people doing they best the they need the dr. around. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Mr. Robert Lismore
5.0 out of 5 stars Sarah Janes last adventure with Tom Baker
I love this set of episodes, set in one of the UK's Magnox reactors so it does have more than just a bit a wobbly set and a quarry, but yes there are lots of those bits too... Read more
Published on 16 May 2011 by SteveINtheUKok
5.0 out of 5 stars The Possession Of Andy Pandy
!WARNING. MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!

The story starts with a botched execution on Kastria of one of its subjects, Eldrad. Read more
Published on 13 Jan 2011 by Mr. Jonathon T. Beckett
5.0 out of 5 stars Great film and well acted
One of the best of the Dr Who series and a good Sarah Jane Smith story. Oh and silicon based lifeforms too.
Published on 22 Aug 2010 by Kian2002
5.0 out of 5 stars The End of Sarah-Jane Smith ..................................For a...
Hand of Fear comes from the era in which Doctor Who was described as, 'coming of age'. And rightly so, some of the best serials came from the Hinchcliffe/Holmes era of the... Read more
Published on 19 Aug 2007 by Calculus
Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Discussion Replies Latest Post
TV Shows That You Wish Hadn't Been Axed Or Canceled 649 6 hours ago
can anyone confirm if bionic woman complete collection includes english subtitles? 1 7 hours ago
Scrap the T.V. licence. Yes or no 314 10 hours ago
The syfy channel 1 11 hours ago
Is there a complete collection? 19 1 day ago
Why are the classic series DVD's so expensive ? 4 1 day ago
BBC series you'd like on disc 296 2 days ago
Book (Did these stories really happen?) shows the Lusitania brought the US into WW1 and was more important than the Titanic--BBC should make a Lusitania documentary 15 18 days ago
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   
Related forums


Listmania!


Look for similar items by category


Feedback


Amazon.co.uk Privacy Statement Amazon.co.uk Delivery Information Amazon.co.uk Returns & Exchanges