DOCTOR WHO - THE SPACE MUSEUM is a two-parter in the guise of the four-parter. The core conceit is fascinating and probably copied by numerous episodes of STAR TREK over the decades, but it is the pedestrian direction, staid acting by the "guests" that distracts from appropriate appreciation.

This DVD release (yes, it could have been a single release) offers an opportunity to look beyond Pinfield's theatrical "four-shot" direction and Denis Spooner's "hack-and-hack-more" script editing approach. I would suggest watch the first and fourth episodes without the DVD EXTRA Studio Commentary and then watch the remaining two in the company of Purves et al. In doing so it will be bearable, and you may enjoy it more.

Sadly, whilst the "print" is more acceptable than the VHS release the "clean-up" leaves a lot to be desired. It is littered with "blotches" and "spotting" that, as we're paying £29.99, you would have thought could have been painted out. A minor issue.

An affable Peter Purves ( far better than previous "hosts ") facilitates the commentary for DOCTOR WHO - THE SPACE MUSEUM in a balanced entertaining & absorbing fashion, drawing together the disparate (and distant) memory threads of William Russell, Maureen O'Brien and the drama's writer, Glyn Jones. The latter being the most revealing as he discusses the inconsistent changes that Script Editor, Denis Spooner applied to his time divergent script.

The DVD Studio Commentary highlights:

Peter Purves on DOCTOR WHO - THE SPACE MUSEUM: A bit of an oddity. Such a cheap production but it has (episode one) has a really good episode. Gripping. A great cliffhanger.
William Russell: I though the beginning of the story was brilliant.

Glyn Jones on the finished product and working with Denis Spooner: I don't know where the idea came from. I wasn't a great fan of space travel. I wasn't pleased with him. (He) cut the reason why the time dimensions "jump" from episode four for some reason.

Maureen O'Brien on her dowdy costume: It looked like nothing on Earth or something created by The Society of Cruelty To Actors.

Maureen O'Brien on Barbara Wright's hair: Jackie's hair! Looks like it was moulded around a football.

Glyn Jones on the Director, Mervyn Pinfield: His direction was very slow.

Maureen O'Brien continues the discussion revealing that during the rehearsal process Pinfield would place a cardboard box on his head (with holes punched through for his lens to poke through) and then walk around lining up camera shots & directing the actors.

Peter Purves on the Morok actor's acting: The performances were so ropey.

Maureen O'Brien on the second-in-command Morok acting: An actor in real trouble. You're watching an actor walking around aimlessly.

Glyn Jones on his second DOCTOR WHO script that was refused: It was called THE LIGHTBENDERS but it was rejected by Spooner, and I another script for the Davies' NEW SERIES in which the TARDIS lands on a runway and gets destroyed by an airplane.

Glyn Jones on his script commission: I had to write out the Doctor in episode three right from the start.

Peter Purves on the image conjured from the Doctor's mind during his interrogation: Looks like Sylvester McCoy. I thought Sylvester was the nearest to Bill (Hartnell) as the character (of the Doctor).

Maureen O'Brien: I think Christopher Eccleston is nearest to Bill. A dangerous character and a love to explore.

In a very sparse contribution to the commentary, William Russell concedes that it was: .long time ago. When I watch them again bits come back to me. Only bits.

Maureen O'Brien challenges the all-male planet inhabitants: No females!

Glyn Jones: I did regret that I didn't have any female revolutionaries.

Peter Purves reveals that DOCTOR WHO - THE SPACE MUSEUM was the only Hartnell story to be recorded at BBC TV Centre and not the usual Riverside Studios or Lime Grove location.

Maureen O'Brien on William Hartnell: (He) was very modest.

Peter Purves: I felt that he felt was vulnerable. He was angry with himself for forgetting his lines.

Glyn Jones rounds-up the thoroughly absorbing commentary with a "alternative ending" for DOCTOR WHO - THE SPACE MUSEUM.

The other DVD EXTRAS are, for the most part, average with the most outstanding being a non-nonsense "thesis" by NEW SERIES writer, Robert Shearman.

In DEFENDING THE MUSEUM, Shearman sympathetically - and quite rightly so, in my opinion - muses on the scientific concepts presented by Glyn Jones' script. "Poor old SPACE MUSEUM. I quite like DOCTOR WHO - THE SPACE MUSEUM. It's actually full of ideas and deserves a lot more attention." "A comedy but not directed as such". It's about "decadence" and "inaction". You can take his comments with a grain or sugar or a fist full of salt but when his equates Jones' plotline with Moffat's BLINK you do really start to think. This short "thesis" is a wonderful DVD EXTRA and should/must be repeated on future CLASSIC SERIES releases instead of the spoof (alleged) comedy interlude such as A HOLIDAY FOR THE DOCTOR.

A HOLIDAY FOR THE DOCTOR is. oh, do I have discuss it as I've just eaten and, well, you can guess. This, like the "spoof" as part of the DVD release of THE MASQUE OF MANDRAGORA, is terrible. The quality of DOCTOR WHO releases is being reduced exponentially every time such drivel is added to a DVD. BBC DVD, please, don't spend fees on such crass material. It's padding.

MY GRANDFATHER, THE DOCTOR was creatively presented (nice graphics) but far too short to be rewarding. Jessica Carney recalls her frequently "long-distance" relationship with her Grandfather, her single visit to the recording of DOCTOR WHO during THE WEB PLANET and his career. To do justice to such a worthy actor the documentary could have been twice the length, with more insightful events discussed and additional photographs (see her publication about Hartnell for additional material) used throughout. Shame, it could have been better.