STORY PLOTLINE

An approaching Alien spaceship is detected on monitoring equipment at UNIT HQ, where the Brigadier is entertaining two visitors - Chinn, a civil servant making a security inspection, and Bill Filer, an American agent sent to discuss the theeat of the Master. The Ship lands in England and the UNIT team, joined by Hardiman and Winser from the nearby Nuton power station, meet its occupants: beautiful golden-skinned humanoids called Axons.

SPECIAL EDITION RELEASE (2012) DVD EXTRAS (new content only)

• AXON STATIONS! THE MAKING OF THE CLAWS OF AXOS
• LIVING WITH LEVENE

SPECIAL EDITION RELEASE (2012) COMMENT

Opening with an impressive CGI segment (“the axon spacecraft unfurls its main portal and from within a gravity-defying organic tentacle wheels through the mist-laden air of the beach, eventually identifying its pray it careers towards it with barbed incisors flaring…"), in AXON STATIONS – THE MAKING OF THE CLAWS OF AXOS the cast and crew recall a plethora of incidents, challenges and anecdotes that will both inform and entertain in equal measure with a tightly edited format that leaves you either (1) feeling short-changed and wanting more or (2) sated.

Alongside the ‘elder statesman of DOCTOR WHO’, Terrance Dicks, we are treated to the recollections of the garrulous & wide-eyed (and mouthed) Katy Manning, guest actors, Bernard Holley (Axon creature) and Paul Grist (Filer), Derek Ware (the iconic free-wheeling tramp, Pigbin Josh), and the story’s director, Michael Ferguson.

In the mind of Terrance Dicks’ commissioning two novice television writer (Bob Baker and Dave Martin) to germinate and structure a DOCTOR WHO story was a risk that he would not undertake if he had the time over again, and this was due to the pair’s inability to comprehend the basis upon which the series was founded upon at the time. Outlandish and unrealistic plotting devices and scenarios were delivered to (Script Editor) Dicks, only to be effectively ‘red-lined’ (read: deleted) and returned for re-evaluation.

On Bob Baker & Dave Martin contribution in the early days of the script, Terrance Dicks: These lads still have got potential but I think they’ll need a lot of work. Why did I help (Baker & Martin) I don’t know; I must have been mad.

As Director, Michael Ferguson, discusses the creative process in bring THE CLAWS OF AXOS to an unsuspecting 1971 audience, utilising the available new technology in crafting a ‘psychedelic’ tone to the power of the Axon race whilst having to wrestle with a weather-hostile location filming session in the middle of winter.

On the variable weather conditions, Michael Ferguson: We couldn’t have had it worse.

Interesting, he expressed credit to stunt actor, Derek Ware, in his portrayal of the hapless tramp (or, maybe more accurately, ‘rag and bone man’?), Pigbin Josh. Comparing Ware’s performance with that of legendary silent American comedian, Buster Keaton, Ferguson surmised that the character could have had his own spin-off TV series.

The ever-enthused, Katy Manning recalls that the extreme atmospheric conditions caused both concern (“Most of my lines had to be cut as my teeth were chattering due to the cold”) and hilarity during the shooting in and around Dungeness (Kent, UK), and expressed concerns that the design of the embedded Axon spacecraft entrance was slightly dubious (“It looked like a part of the female anatomy”). However, it is her comments relating to Lycra-suited, gold-painted Bernard Holley that may have you choking on fish fingers & custard supper if you are not forewarned. Manning hints that she suspects that in order for the Axon ‘male’ not to be too masculine that the actor may have had to “…tuck his bits & pieces - his dangly bits - between his legs…” like “…a drag queen…” Incorrigible Manning but that’s why she’s adored within the WHO fan family.

Katy Manning: I was crying with laughter.

And as for her account of being ensnared by the Axon spacecraft’s tentacles;

Katy Manning: They managed to grab my boobs so many times. Very exciting in a strange way.

And on seeing the design of the fully-tentacle Axon monsters invading the Nuton Nuclear Reactor;

Katy Manning: “…like something that the dog could have 'gobbed-up’.

Oh, Katy, never change.

Overall, the impression from the documentary is that even through the extremes of filming in the dead of winter, the technical challenges of realising the tone of the script and a potentially a ‘mincing’ leotard-clad monster the production of THE CLAWS OF AXOS was a professional affair that drew from the production team the best of their abilities and cemented their resilience as a whole.

Now, LIVING WITH LEVENE. I don’t know how much I should say about this feature as it represents the equivalent of a Christmas Day gift for DOCTOR WHO fans. Think about it? The genially approachable Toby Hadoke in the company of a much-maligned and misunderstood DOCTOR Who favourite, John Levene (RSM Benton) for two days, exploring the actor’s roots, life outside the drama series and a breakfasting in the company of his dearest Mother.

You will be surprised that it is not an out-and-out comedy-fest, with Levene trolling out endless on-liners with Hadoke replying with cod-laughter. No, it much more than that, and, yes, the pair (I nearly called them a ‘couple’) engage in witty banter there is no attempt on either party to ‘out gag’ each other, and here lies the strength & depth of the documentary; With a measured proportion of silence, Hadoke give Levene time to expound on his life at his own pace. There’s no competition in this interview; it merely meanders, and meanders to a conclusion that truly forces you to re-think everything you may have read (or heard at Conventions) about John Levene.

Smart, intelligent, (yes) witty but not humorous, and thought provoking, LIVING WITH LEVENE is that shiny coin found in the toe of your Christmas Stocking after pulling out the predictable fare of Satsuma, chocolate and a lump of coal.

Next in the series could be MAUNDERING WITH MANNING?

Sadly, the remainder of the DVD EXTRAS are, as far as I can ascertain, identical to the 2005 ‘standard’ release. Therefore, it could be argued that a single-disc ‘special edition’ should have been considered (replacing the ‘old’ Extras with AXON STATIONS and LIVING WITH LEVENE) in order not to garner the financial frustration of fans in these (2012) challenging economic times.

Certainly, the clean-up (read: restoration) presentation of the four-parter is gloriously regal, eclipsing that of its predecessor but to re-issue it as a two-disc format with limited new content, I am sure, will be less than gratefully welcomed by fans. There is only so much goodwill that fans will muster especially if they think that they are being economically compromised (read: ‘being ripped-off’).

STANDARD RELEASE (2005) DVD EXTRAS

• STUDIO COMMENTARY Katy Manning, Richard Franklin and Barry Letts
• Photo gallery + Production subtitles
• Out takes/deleted scenes
• NOW AND THEN Featurette about the Dungeoness location Interview with Michael Ferguson (Director)
• Reverse Standards Conversion featurette

STANDARD RELEASE (2005) COMMENT

THE CLAWS OF AXOS is one of them.

A simple "alien invasion of earth" but the onion layers hide a challenging plot of greed, scientific supremacy and revenge.

And the Doctor gets to slap Jo Grant across her face.

The DVD Extras are varied as ever. All of which have an anorak factor of at least eight.

The commentary from Producer, Barry Letts and Actors, Katy Manning & Richard Franklin is clear and concise, adding to the visuals.

All of then concur that the story looks a fresh as it did in 1971, and, at times, was quite frightening (even the BBFC states that the story does contain "very mild horror").

• Katy Manning even remembers that the film, EDUCATING RITA , contains a DOCTOR WHO legacy (a line about her Professor telling Rita that she speaks like a Dalek).
• Barry Letts affirms that the special effects were "bloody good". Language, Barry.
• Richard Franklin, in his first commentary, boasts that all the military jargon was "second nature" to him.

The feature on the technical aspects of video restoration, REVERSE STANDARDS CONVERSION - THE AXON LEGACY , could be easily overlooked for being a geek-fest of gobble-de-gook. Is it a spoof, in the same vein as the Mark Gatiss documentary pastiche attached to THE GREEN DEATH release, or a serious explanation of the concepts and advancements behind video? With a scientist called Dr Axos, it is easy to question its validity.

Thankfully, it is bona fide. Sit back, have a cup of tea and a custard cream. A fascinating assessment of a technical development that we now take for granted.

Katy Manning's narrated view of NOW AND THEN , revisiting the locations for the story is an oddity, really.

Look, there's a ditch that a stunt man falls into.

Look, a pile of gravel.

Look, a power complex stairwell.

It is difficult to make the featurette sexy and more than it is (a mix of image between the 1971 and 2004), apart from taking the original actors back on location.

Director, Michael Ferguson discusses the perils and pleasures of filming DOCTOR WHO back in the days when new technology (including the introduction of colour television recoding) was as fresh as a new daisy.

Probably, THE CLAWS OF AXOS is the clearest example of "if-it-can-go-wrong-it-will". Across four days of location filming Ferguson had to contend with snow & freezing temperatures, dense fog, heavy rain and unbridled sunshine. And the nature of filming 'out of sequence' meant that all weather conditions could have appeared in one single episode. Thankfully, this is DOCTOR WHO and the climatic aberration were swiftly dismissed and integrated within the plotline ("freak weather conditions right across the south east coast").

Ferguson discusses the level of 'plug-and-play' in creating the special effects, including the limitations of CSO. In today's technological advancements of CGI, it seems bewildering that some of the 'psychedelic' effects were created by simply pointing the camera at a tray of coloured water being agitated. Very experimental, and the level of creativity can be seen theoughout episode four.

Another interesting fact is that DOCTOR WHO became one of the first BBC programmes to adopt 'rehearse and record' (as opposed to rehearsing in the morning and then filming theoughout the evening in one block).

If you are looking for an introduction into the true essence (pre-Christopher Eccleston) then THE CLAWS OF AXOS has everything. Wonderful monsters invading Earth, the adversarial confrontation between the Doctor and his arch enemy of the Master, an appearance of UNIT, and disturbing visual effects.

SPECIAL EDITION DVD Released 22.10.2012