Doctor Who - U.N.I.T Files (Invasion of the Dinosaurs and the Android Invasion) [DVD]

Another box set containing two old Doctor Who stories on DVD with a somewhat tenuous linking connection.

Invasion of the Dinsoaurs runs for six parts and was the second story in Jon Pertwee's final season as the Doctor.

The Android Invasion runs for four parts and was the fourth story in Tom Baker's second year in the role.

Both feature appearances from U.N.I.T. Although they don't play much of a part in the Android Invasion.

Invasion of the Dinosaurs sees the Doctor and Sarah return from a trip to the past to present day [as it was then London] only to find the place evacuated of civilians and under marshal law as the military act to stop looters. The reason for the evacuation comes in the first cliffhanger. London has been invaded by Dinosaurs. The Doctor's investigations uncover radical science and fanatical humans, who are convinced they can save the human race. Whether people want it or not.

Best remembered for the very poor visual effects used for the Dinosaurs. But also quite a popular story because there's a lot of meat to it. Various social and political issues of the time are discussed in a thought provoking manner. And unlike many six parters, it never really drags.

The first episode only survived for many years in black and white, but now it has been colourised. This hasn't succeeded quite as well as with other recent colourisations, thus you can choose whether you want to watch it in black and white or colour. The latter isn't perfect but it's still perfectly watchable.

The Android Invasion sees the Fourth Doctor and Sarah find themselves in a seemingly deserted village. Where sinister figures in white spacesuits with deadly fingers lurk in the trees. When they meet the locals they find they're acting strangely. And alien eyes are watching....

Written by Dalek creator Terry Nation, but only his second story for the show not to feature his most famous creation, the story features excellent location work and creates a strange village setting in a manner not unlike an episode of the Avengers. There are good surprise moments on the way. But the aliens of the piece aren't quite as well realised as they could be. And it doesn't use U.N.I.T. as well as it could. This was the final appearance of Mister Benton and Harry Sullivan, but neither get a proper exit. And Nicholas Courtney wasn't available to return as the Brigadier thus he's replaced by a totally new character.

One key plot point remains unexplained, which may leave you wondering about something at the end.

It comes from a time in the show's run when the production team and all involved were at the top of their game though, and thus it's a very good story in a great era. It doesn't quite measure up to what surrounded it, but it's still very good nonetheless.

Both dvds have the following language and subtitle options:

Languages: English.

Subtitles: English.

And both are English audio captioned.

They have the usual:

Radio times listings as PDF files.

Production information subtitles [the Invasion of the Dinosaurs one giving one fact about about the show that you will not previouly have been aware of....]

A trailer for the next release in this dvd range.

And photo galleries of the production of both stories and stills from them.

Both have easter eggs. Which can be found by watching the discs on a computer and moving the pointer over the screen till a hidden logo lights up. On Invasion of the Dinosaurs this can be found on the main screen of disc two. It's a one minute long shot of a clapperboard. Several of the easter eggs in this range have been like this, but do watch this one and listen carefully to the sound for an interesting vocal exchange.

On Android Invasion it's on the special features screen, and is eight minutes of sound rushes from the location filming. Worth listening to if you want to hear Elisabeth Sladen say 'so the androids have taken over' several times in relatively quick succession.

Both stories have a commentary from various members of cast and crew. Dinosaurs also has an extra ten minutes of solo commentary on one part from John Levene, who played Sgt. Benton.

Other extras:

Dinosaurs has a thirty minute long [approx] making of feature, which considers the issues that the story raises, and is a very absorbing watch.

Doctor Who stories part one: Is thirteen minutes worth of an interview with Elisabeth Sladen [originally recorded for a 2003 documentary] about her time on the show. As with these usually it covers her stories and time with a short bit about each. And it's very good.

Billy Smart's circus: one minute worth of footage of Jon Pertwee appearing at the circus in car and character back in 1974.

Deleted scenes: six minutes of so of scenes cut from the story. Including the original opening to part one.

Now and then: thirteen minutes showing some of the London locations for the story as they were then and as they are now. Some have changed a fair bit.

The Android Invasion has:

A thirty minute long making of feature. Another very good and watchable one.

Life after Who; The show's producer of the time, Philip Hinchcliffe, interviewed about his work after he left the show. An excellent interviewee and an excellent interviewer produce a fascinating thirty minute journey through lots of tv that you may have forgotten but which should bring back many memories and demands for dvd releases. This is an excellent watch.

A one minute long 1977 advert for Weetabix, which was giving away Doctor Who material at the time.

Said material is on the dvd as a PDF file.

These are not the greatest stories ever, but they're both very good, and that makes for a very good box set.

Unlike most of the other boxed sets - 'Beneath the Surface', 'Peladon Tales' etc - the link between these two DVDs is more tenuous. Yes, both stories feature U.N.I.T, but whilst they play a central role in the Jon Pertwee story, their contribution seems marginal, almost superfluous in 'The Android Invasion' (this is a pity, as the latter story effectively marked the end of the U.N.I.T years and it would've been nice to see them go with a bang rather than a whimper).

The one thing that both stories have in common is that they have been unjustly underrated.

'Invasion of the Dinosaurs' has been berated for its ropey special effects and whilst it's no 'Jurassic Park', I've seen worse. It's a shame that this issue has been allowed to obscure the merits of what is, in many ways, a very effective story.

The story begins with the Doctor and his new assistant Sarah Jane Smith returning to present day Britain after their first encounter with the Sontarans, only to find that London is deserted. It transpires that the city has been plagued by dinosaurs and that the Government have evacuated the city, declaring martial law. The majority of Londoners have willingly left, but some looters remain and the army have the authority to shoot anyone on sight.

This is a very dark, dystopian tale with echoes of 'Inferno'. Like many stories from the Pertwee era, the Doctor finds himself up against corrupt politicians and mad scientists, but the atmosphere here is far more paranoid and even U.N.I.T no longer seems a completely safe haven. When the Doctor discovers that one of his most trusted associates has betrayed him, it comes as a real shock.

The dinosaurs are almost incidental. The real threat comes from human beings, whether they're trigger-happy soldiers, desperate looters or psychopathic scientists. Watching the story today, it's easy to see how the grim political and economic conditions in Britain during 1973 inspired this tale.

Like many six-parters, 'Invasion of the Dinosaurs' flags a little in the middle, with too many captures, escapes and recaptures, but overall it is a very watchable story, crammed full of ideas, that gives a fascinating glimpse of British society during the Heath era.

'The Android Invasion', written by Terry Nation, is ultimately a disappointing story that never lives up to the promise of its exciting, fast-paced first episode, but it is still very enjoyable. The story begins with the fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane arriving at what appears to be an idyllic English village. Of course it isn't, and the counterpoint between this traditional setting and the growing sense of unease is reminiscent of 'The Avengers'.

Unlike many Doctor Who stories, where the illusion of rural tranquility would be gradually undermined during the course of the first episode, the action begins almost immediately. The result is gripping, but it is hard to sustain that level of tension for four whole episodes and the story loses its momentum at times. Also, as Philip Hinchcliffe acknowledges in the special features documentary, the Kraals fail to impress.

Like 'Invasion of the Dinosaurs', the atmosphere becomes increasingly paranoid and the Doctor finds himself more and more isolated, unsure of who he can trust. Unlike the Pertwee story, the narrative hits a peak too early and the remaining episodes fail to fulfill the promise of the beginning.

I was also disappointed that a story which is effectively U.N.I.T's swansong (for many years, at least) doesn't really seem to know what to do with them. There are no goodbyes and after 'The Android Invasion', U.N.I.T just seem to vanish into thin air (two months later, when the Doctor is fighting to stop the Krynoids taking over 1970s Britain, he is assisted by the regular army and there is no mention of U.N.I.T).

However, for all its faults, 'The Android Invasion' is still highly enjoyable. The chemistry between Tom Baker's Doctor and Elisabeth Sladen's Sarah Jane works really well and I also enjoyed the novelty (for those days, at least) of seeing a story shot during the summer, in the beautiful village of East Hagbourne.

In the past, 'Invasion of the Dinosaurs' has been derided whilst 'The Android Invasion' has been largely ignored. Neither story deserves derision or neglect and I welcome the opportunity to watch them again.

The special features are up to their usual high standard. Disc 2 of the 'Invasion of the Dinosaurs' includes a first-rate documentary which reassesses the merits of this story and addresses the problem of the "dodgy dinosaurs". However, my favourite was the first of a two-part interview with Elisabeth Sladen, in which she candidly discusses her working relationship with Jon Pertwee and his reluctant departure from the show. She also mentions a moment when she and Tom Baker sneaked off to spy on a rehearsal for 'The Brothers'. Watching the actors, Baker turned to her and said "Look. All they can do is lift a glass of whisky and put it down. We get to save the universe!"

The special features of 'The Android Invasion' include another excellent documentary, filmed in original locations, plus a very touching interview with Philip Hinchcliffe by his daughter Celina, which looks at his career after Doctor Who. Although Hinchcliffe diplomatically describes Doctor Who as the highlight of his career, this interview reminds us that his CV also includes Shoestring, The Charmer, Private Schultz and many other television highlights of the 80s and 90s.

PS - Thanks to the person who corrected me. The Seeds of Doom actually DOES feature U.N.I.T, but none of the regulars are like the Brigadier and Benton are present.

I remember reading the Target novel "Dr Who and The Dinosaur Invasion" as a child and being hooked. When I saw the original TV version of the story some years later I had mixed feelings about it. The first episode of "Invasion of the Dinosaurs" is great. It has a moody deserted London and the sinister prospect of military law. In fact the story as a whole is mostly quite entertaining, if often for the wrong reasons. On the plus side, UNIT feels more like the real UNIT again and there are strong performances from the guest cast (excluding of course the Cockney medieval peasant, but he thankfully only appears briefly).

The real problem are the dinosaurs themselves. Dr Who seemed to have resorted to crowd-pleasing gimmicks in using dinosaurs as its "monsters", and the same season also resorted to the use of spiders (another over-abused horror/sci-fi icon). The production team were apparently approached by a freelance animator who claimed he could provide realistic dinosaurs, although how anyone really thought they could achieve anything remotely resembling Harryhausen-like effects on a BBC budget and with only a few months grace is perplexing. The dinosaurs are not only stiff and awkward, they are quite obviously incapable of moving fast. This is especially problematic when cliffhangers revolve around the Doctor being "cornered" by a T-Rex. You find yourself feeling he could escape by just walking leisurely away. Maybe the creatures would have been more effective if they had simply looked more believable, but they just resemble crudely-designed rubber toys. The less said about the T-Rex/Apatosaurus battle the better.

There are some good ideas, such as Sarah being trapped by a T-Rex, and she has the opportunity to use her journalistic skills. Also, her waking up on a spaceship three months out from Earth is a great cliffhanger. But episode five could have been lost without affecting the story. And we also have the Whomobile. I won't pretend I've ever been a fan of this. It just looks gimmicky and tacky. If the Doctor had to have a flying machine then something like the Skimmer in "Supergran" would be far more in keeping with his character.

Overall then a fairly entertaining story. You'll probably appreciate it more if you're a fan of rubber monster movies.

The second story on this set sees Tom Baker finding what appears to be Earth but what is in fact a duplicate created by a race of android-building rhino people. I will confess to being confused by this story's inclusion in a "UNIT" DVD set. as the Brigadier (surely the backbone of UNIT) doesn't appear, not even in android form. Something like "Terror of the Zygons", which has a similar "dulpicate" theme would have been a safer bet. "The Android Invasion" is not a great story. To be honest by this point in the series Terry Nation's "plague as weapon" ideas were becoming a bit predictable. The story doesn't make a lot of sense - why bother going to the trouble of building all those androids if you can just wipe everyone out with a virus? Especially seeing as the androids' faces fall off so easily, as demonstrated by Sarah's duplicate. Other things which come across as silly involve a man who doesn't realise he still has two good eyes (does he wear that patch in the shower and in bed?). And a man walks off a cliff for no apparent reason (other than to provide us with a mystery). But overall this four-parter entertains and never lapses into the silliness of certain later Tom Baker stories.