DOCTOR WHO - THE CHASE has been consummately cleaned & enhanced by The Restoration Team but I am continually bemused (nothing new there.) that the VidFIRE process is not applied to all "black & white" prints. Financial restraints?

Nevertheless, this three-disc set release (THE SPACE MUSEUM and THE CHASE) is essential viewing for NEW SERIES fans as it demonstrates the breadth of storytelling (presented within the production constraints of 1960s television), powerful acting (the final scenes with the Doctor fondly remembering Ian & Barbara is wonderfully heartwarming) and the legacy of the daleks.

The eyeofhorus.org.uk rating for this DVD release may seem remarkable (9/10) but, whilst the print could have garnered more attention, it is DVD EXTRA package (including a range of exciting short CGI clips created by Rob Semonoff for the featurette, DALEKS BEYOND THE SCREEN) that is so creatively and professionally produced that it necessitates such high praise.

The commentary team is, once again, superbly "moderated" by Peter Purves, guiding listeners through a myriad of disparate episodes collated under the umbrella title of THE CHASE. Purves is manages William Russell, Maureen O'Brien and director Richard Martin.

Peter Purves on DOCTOR WHO - THE CHASE: A spectacular serial.

Richard Martin: I became the "Dalek Director" and I was desperate to get my hands on all this motorised dustbin rubbish.

William Russell on seeing the dalek design for the first time: I thought they were extraordinary. The first time I saw them I laughed what with this lavatory plunger.

Richard Martin details the limitation of "editing" & "filming" in the early days of DOCTOR WHO. Physically "editing" 2-inch tape was forbidden except for a maximum of five cuts, and that camera angles tilting were limited to no more than 30-degree as the camera lenses would drop out if too excessive.

William Russell on Ian Chesteron: What a heartthrob.

On the cliffhanger to episode one and the revealing of a dalek from the sand, Maureen O'Brien confesses: Oh, it's a model. I had no idea.

Peter Purves on the daleks: I cannot understand the fear of the daleks by children. I wanted to fear the Aridians.

Peter Purves on Hartnell: Bill was remarkably wonderful.
Maureen O'Brien: He had a kind of moral sense he brought to it. He was dangerous. The irascibility and a snarl he could bring at times.
Peter Purves: Bill was very generous.
William Russell: Polite but not friendly.

On co-star, Jacqueline Hill as Barbara Wright, William Russell recalls: Jackie was remarkable. A very delicate performer. Absolutely terrific.
Maureen O'Brien: She was a rock. Dependable. Very modern. So kind to me.
Peter Purves: A sad loss.

Peter Purves recounts the moment during DOCTOR WHO - THE MYTH MAKERS that Bill Hartnell fluffed a key line (The Doctor: I'm not a dog. God!)

William Russell on the poor catering facilities at Riverside Studios in 1964: I organised this thing with Verity Lambert and we'd bring in a hamper. Bill trumped us all with a Fortnum & Mason Hamper and Champagne.

Peter Purves revealed that he audition for the part of a Menoptra in DOCTOR WHO - THE WEB PLANET but didn't get the part.

For episode 4, Richard Martin discusses the change of location to a "horror" setting: We were pretty stumped about where THE CHASE should go. I suggested we go into the "inner-man". But it is rubbish. It looks as if it put together in a hurry.
Maureen O'Brien: DOCTOR WHO - THE HORROR MOVIE.

Richard Martin on his directing ambitions: "I want to do fantasy", I told the BBC. I want to extend the boundaries of reality both psychological and physically. They (the BBC) said, "My God! Stick him on DR WHO".

Maureen O'Brien on his time in DOCTOR WHO: I was very unnerved about being known in DOCTOR WHO. I was out of my element. I think was having a nervous breakdown.

Peter Purves scolds the NEW SERIES (BBC WALES) for having lost the premise that the TARDIS is un-steerable.
Maureen O'Brien: Oh, how sad!

On seeing the tawdry forest set for episode 5, Peter Purves: This one looks like a lack of money.
Richard Martin: You're right. We were skint.

Peter Purves reveals that both Maureen O'Brien and William Hartnell had put in a good word for him to return to DOCTOR WHO as Steven Taylor. Peter Purves: I was thrilled to be cast.
Maureen O'Brien: I wasn't sorry to be out.

William Russell on his career: It helped my career, I enjoyed DOCTOR WHO enormously. A combination of a Reparatory (Theatre) situation but on television.

Peter Purves on a classic William Hartnell fluff from the final episode: It would not be DOCTOR WHO without Bill's fluff - "Lost in..Spain!"

The additional EXTRAS on Disc One are, as you'd expect on with an included second disc, scant but are heart-warming.

CUSICK IN CARDIFF is a joyously momentous as the original dalek designer, Raymond Cusick visiting the BBC WALES studios under the guiding hand of NEW SERIES designers Edward Thomas and Peter McKinstry. Cusick's verbal thesis on the visualisation of Terry Nation's creations is absorbing and truly entertaining. This re-worked "Now and Then" featurette should be revisited for future CLASSIC SERIES DVD releases focussing on Directing, Set Design, Special Visual Effects, Special Sound Effects, Costume Design, etc.

Probably for the first time in many a DVD release, DOCTOR WHO - THE CHASE Disc Two's EXTRAS are thoughtful, professionally produced and entertaining, with a rightful focus on DOCTOR WHO's most iconic of aliens - daleks.

SHAWCRAFT - THE ORIGINAL MONSTERS MAKERS feature details the dedicated professionalism of a team of former engineers based in a "lock-up" in Uxbridge (London) creating extraterrestrial designs with little money and little time. Remarkable for its time. FOLLOW THAT DALEK could be regarded as "part two" as it continues to go behind-the-scenes at SHAWCRAFT with recently restored colour 8mm cine (Cine? Like a camcorder but without any digital hard-drive) film from 1967.

DALEKS BEYOND THE SCREEN examines the merchandise opportunities that the BBC exploited from the sixties to the present day. And who must have the best DOCTOR WHO job? BBC Worldwide's Dave Turbitt.

Its been a long time in coming (and the wait has been worthwhile) but DALEKS CONQUER AND DESTROY is the ultimate dalek documentary, detailing the rise and rise of the alien's influence not only within the drama series but within the psyche of the nation. A fascinating and honest dissertation.

William Russell reads from the novelisation of DOCTOR WHO - THE CHASE as an introduction of LAST STOP WHITE CITY with glowing contributions from a very dapper director Richard Martin, CLASSIC SERIES vision mixer Clive Doig and a youthful writer Simon Guerrier. This featurette is sleight in content but nonetheless reverential.

I have to admit I do have a life outside DOCTOR WHO so I have not been able to find time to sit through the DOCTOR WHO "GIVE-A-SHOW" SLIDES. When I acquire influenza in the winter I will endeavour to view them.