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FOURTH DOCTOR | THE SEEDS OF DOOM

"...If we don't find that pod before it germinates,
it'll be the end of everything. Everything, you understand?

Even your pension..!"

STORY PLOTLINE

Two alien seed pods are found buried in the Antarctic permafrost and the Doctor realises that they are from a Krynoid, a form of plant life that infects and transforms all animal life on planets upon which it becomes established.

DVD extras for THE SEEDS OF DOOM:

  • DVD COMMENTARY from TOM BAKER, JOHN CHALLIS, KENNETH GILBERT, MICHAEL McSTAY, PHILIP HINCHCLIFFE, ROBERT BANKS STEWART, ROGER MURAY-LEACH and JOGGS CAMFIELD (Son of director, Douglas Camfield).
  • ISOLATED MUSIC SCORE
  • PRODUCTIONS NOTES
  • PODSHOCK - THE MAKING OF THE SEEDS OF DOOM
  • NOW AND THEN
  • PLAYING THE GREEN CATHEDRAL - A rare interview with composer, Geoffrey Burgon
  • SO WHAT DO YOU DO EXACTLY - The job of the "Production Manager" explained.
  • STRIPPED FOR ACTION - THE FOURTH DOCTOR in comics
  • TRAILS AND CONTINUITY
  • PHOTO GALLERY + RADIO TIMES LISTSINGS + THE DIRECTOR'S PAPER EDIT FOR THE STORY
  • TWO EASTER EGGS (A blooper with John Challis and Lis Sladen, and a mini interview with John Challis)

COMMENT - SPOILERS AHEAD

DOCTOR WHO - THE SEEDS OF DOOM has a standard to maintain - a standard of captivation and instructiveness that is built in throughout Robert Banks Stewart's excellent script and Douglas Camfield's quintessential direction - for it to be on par with, say, the perfection level set by BBC DVD's DOCTOR WHO - THE TALONS OF WENG-CHIANG.

And it does not disappoint.

I could finish the review there as there little more to add in order for you to be persuaded or cagouled into parting with your hard earned cash.

Disc one is impeccably entertaining (a classic "Tommentary" - is that in the O.E.D. yet? - with Tom Baker, John Challis, Philip Hinchcliffe amongst others), informative on-screen text service that is essential viewing, and a dusted & polished clean print of the Robert Banks Stewart/ Douglas Camfield collaboration.

The studio commentary for some younger viewers may be tedious but any contribution from Baker is not to be missed and here it is funnier & as insightful as I have ever heard. The Queen's Birthday Honours citation must read: "For services to being simply Tom Baker - a National Treasure".

The commentary highlights:

Tom Baker on the Krynoid pod splitting open: That's excellent. That's a Christmas Pudding?

On seeing Hubert Rees' fake beard, Tom Baker: Is that a BBC beard?

Tom Baker: A lot of people don't know what they are talking about. Look at our Politicians.

On Robert Holmes' influence of "conversational speech" on the script, Tom Baker said that the Script Editor use to call it "gabbleflab".

On the Harrison Chase character crafted by Tony Beckley, Tom Baker: A fastidious quality.

On his co-star, Elisabeth Sladen, Tom Baker: I saw her legs once. Only once. And I still think of them forty years later.

Tom Baker: I think I can be sincere about anything I don't completely believe in.

On Douglas Camfield, Tom Baker: I likened recording DOCTOR WHO as "Elizabeth The First's little wars".
Joss Camfield: He referred to the Team as the "Troops".
Michael McStay: He always came in with the "master plan" everyday.
Robert Banks Stewart: He shot everything, even the video, as a film. "Filmic Television".

On the Fourth Doctor played by Baker, Philip Hinchcliffe: You're rather good in this?
Tom Baker: I thought I was a bit too serious.
Philip Hinchcliffe: It's good to be serious at times.

On actor, Kenneth Gilbert, Tom Baker: Is Kenneth Gilbert alive?
John Challis: I hope so. He's coming in to do one of these episodes (commentary).
Everyone: Laughing.

On the climax of episode two, Tom Baker: That is terrific.
Philip Hinchcliffe: It was James Bond on tuppence with sequences like that.

On welcoming Kenneth Gilbert, Tom Baker: Kenneth Gilbert is with us. Kenneth Gilbert: And still alive.

On seeing a close-up of Lis Sladen, Tom Baker: Those lips were made for kissing.
Robert Bank Stewart: She's amazing.
Philip Hinchcliffe: Very photogenic.

On the DOCTOR WHO spin-off show, THE SARAH JANE ADVENTURES, John Challis asks Tom Baker: Have you seen the show?
Tom Baker: No, I'm in bed well before that.

Tom Baker: I keep a sharp eye on the Obituary column. It's the only place I have on a bad day.

Tom Baker on Michael Barrington: Is he still with us?

On actress, Sylvia Coleridge, Tom Baker: My God. Sylvia Coleridge. She'd been a great beauty in her day. I used to cart her about a bit. She adored me. She cornered "dottiness" completely. I used to squeeze her leg. "Oh, do", she'd say and then the next day she'll call-up and say, "Did I pounce on you in the cab?"

On Scripted Editor, Robert Holmes, Robert Banks Stewart: He was quite the master of invention.
Tom Baker: He had a sardonic view of humanity.

Tom Baker: I always wanted to be Widow Twanky.

On the incidental music, Philip Hinchcliffe: Geoffrey Burgon does a very good job on this. Ethereal quality.

On the destruction of the Chase mansion, Tom Baker: Of course it was a model!

On his on-screen relationship performance with Sarah Jane Smith, Tome Baker: No hanky panky.

Tom Baker: This is Tom Baker saying "goodbye" and if we don't meet again I quite understand. Bye bye.

Disc two is wonderfully rich, balanced in its features and has overcome the curse of DVD "value added material" (VAM) - repetition (where a commentary anecdote is endlessly trotted out in a "Behind the scenes." feature and then again in an "Easter Eggs" or, heavens forefend, iterated as part of the "Information Text"). The features are, and I cannot understate this enough, professionally creative (and not doubt done so on a budget of "thrupenny bit"), visually relating to the story contents (for example CGI Krynoid branches flailing across the screen, a blizzard all consuming Philip Hinchcliffe, and CGI matte illustrations of the locations used back in 1975). It's all very clever, and as BBC DVD is coming to the end of the CLASSIC SERIES releases it demonstrates that the commissioning editor/s have not become complacent and continue to aim for the highest of quality of presentation. And THE SEEDS OF DOOMS deserved as much (as does "yet to be DVD released" Camfield's 1975 DOCTOR WHO - THE TERROR OF THE ZYGONS).

The "remembering the making of." feature here is PODSHOCK, and, complete with the stylised graphics & all-new CGI images, is a detailed thesis of the story's genesis. Contributions from writer, Banks Stewart ("In no way did we go out to copy the [THE DAY OF THE] TRIFFIDS") and of Tom Baker's performance throughout as being "superb"; Producer, Philip Hinchcliffe (in asserting that the production was a success as he aimed "to get the most strongest creative team as much as I could" (Banks Stewart and Camfield); actor, John Challis who, in developing his "henchman" character, Scobie, found that acting/showbiz equates successfully with the "shadowy side of life" (i.e. criminality).

In his contribution, DOCTOR WHO "treasure", Graham Harper seems to as enthusiastic about the 1975 story as he does about his 2006/7 NEW SERIES contributions, at times he's more animated that the Fourth Doctor's uncontrollable curly hair buffeted in a force ten gale. He recalls the mutual admiration of Camfield (even though the dispute about "military ranking" between the two was never resolved), the process of location scouting and filming ("Dougie [Camfield] brought real film techniques to television", citing the rescue by the Doctor of Sarah Jane Smith from the hands of Harrison Chase & the tentacles of an splitting pod as a prime example of Camfield's clinical approach to staging an action sequence).

Contributions from the story's original set designer, Jeremy Bear (he fell ill after the first two episodes, with Roger Murray Leach assigned for the remaining four), composer, Geoffrey Burgon and visual effects designer, Richard Conway are, regrettably brief but nonetheless informative. However, Burgon's unique contribution to the series is expanded upon in a separate feature (PLAYING IN THE GREEN CATHEDRAL).

I think that Hinchcliffe is accurately succinct in his single word annotation of THE SEEDS OF DOOM; "Ambitious". It was, and I may add another; Impeccable.

The DOCTOR WHO DVD features that revisit the locations used during the making of the series have always intrigued me, and how the world has either been kind to them or to see that the advancement of society has eradicated them forever. THE SEEDS OF DOOM - NOW AND THEN narrated feature re-discovers the Dorset Tudor mansion of a former MP (comparing the current locations with an "in-vision" insert - think "24" TV series' use of two set of video content on the screen at the same time - from the story), a Reigate sand quarry doubling up as Antarctica and, well, a sand quarry, and the BBC Television Centre car-park.

In a prophetic inclusion, PLAYING IN THE GREEN CATHEDRAL feature could not be more relevant as last month (21 September 2010), incidental music composer, Geoffrey Burgon died, and this could be a singular "auto-obituary" from himself. His contribution for the series was, unfortunately, episodically minimal (TERROR OF THE ZYGONS and THE SEEDS OF DOOM) but wholly unique, similarly as important as that the BBC Radiophonic Workshop's in 1963. "I suspect that they wanted something different - based upon medieval music. I'd watch it (the complete & edited DOCTOR WHO story) at the BBC, then go home & compose it, and then go back to the BBC to record it (the music). I was learning as I went". He describes his music as "an instinctive thing and you have to trust that".

In analysing how music relates to the emotions of the viewer & aim of the director, Burgon asserts that frequently incidental music is too pervading, intrusive on the narrative a opposed to supporting it. He cites the way he "stopped" the music at key points in THE SEEDS OF DOOM to allow the action or climax have greater impact. "Sometimes it is better to stop at the climax and let the image continue the drama. Stopping very suddenly and let the people (the viewer) react". This is demonstrated by clips from the story; the Doctor tackling an assailant, and the death of Harrison Chase.

Now, I am not too sure that this is a "filler" like a Satsuma crammed into the Christmas stocking's toe but SO WHAT DO YOU DO EXACTLY? feature seems out of place or takes advantage of the wonderfully garrulous Graeme Harper. I am trying to remember of BBC DVD CLASSIC SERIES DVDs have had previously a similar feature. Anyone? I don't think so. Nevertheless, it is both highly entertaining - he's a superb & honest raconteur - and informative.

Admittedly, I am not a comic or comic book reader so the continuing feature under the banner of STRIPPED FOR ACTION - THE HISTORY DOCTOR WHO IN COMICS does not appeal, however, in this instance, it does. Analysing the Fourth Doctor's contribution focuses on the development of the perennially (now iconic) important DOCTOR WHO WEEKLY/MAGAZINE developed by MARVEL (now PANINI) from 1979. The feature interviews it's first editor, Dez Skinn who offers a rare glimpse of the "dummy" issue of DOCTOR WHO WEEKLY with which he tempted BBC ENTERPRISE with back in 1978. Skinn recalls how important (and supportive) Tom Baker was in promoting the 12p comic-magazine (with only a 200,000 print run) across the UK. Yes, I was there in a York newsagent with my pocket money every Thursday, and I still have the original copies (with transfers). Happy times.

The remaining content is the usual suspects; original fan copied BBC continuity announcements and promotional trails, an extensive photo gallery, RADIO TIMES listing scans, and a special inclusion of Camfield's paper edit for a compilation version of the story.

The COMING SOON trailer is for a 2011 (January) release of Tome Baker's season 18, MEGLOS. Am I the only one looking forward to this? It's fantastic. Well, it was when I first saw it in 1980.

DOCTOR WHO - THE SEEDS OF DOOM DVD release epitomises what a DOCTOR WHO should be; thoroughly entertaining studio commentary content, professionally produced features (devoid of repetition) and cleaned print of the original broadcast. Never to gather dust on the shelf next to FOUR TO DOOMSDAY, SURVIVAL or THE TIME MONSTER, this release will be on your "pay again" list for years to come, not only for "fans of a certain age" but those who have discovered the fantastic magic of the Doctor since 2005.

It is essential viewing.

EOH CONTRIBUTOR
MATTHEW WALTER
EOH RATING

eyeofhorus DVD rating: THE SEEDS OF DOOM - 10/10

INFORMATION

DOCTOR WHO - TOM BAKER is the Doctor


DVD RELEASE - 25.10.2010

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