UK Classic DVD release update

Friday, 25 March 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Details of the forthcoming classic Doctor Who DVD releases due out over the next couple of months in the United Kingdom have now been made available by 2|Entertain. April sees the final Pertwee tale Planet of the Spiders released as a two disc edition, whilst May goes back to the beginning of his era as the Doctor with a new edition of Spearhead from Space, coupled with sequel tale Terror of the Autons as part of the Mannequin Mania boxed set; also in May comes the penultimate Davison story to be released on DVD, Frontios (the final release of this era, The Awakening, is due later in the year). See our separate article on next week's Revisitations 2 release.

The company has also been keeping readers appraised via their twitter feed, which has included the following tidbits:

12 14:16 Frontios test disc in! http://t.co/Px8HoJU
14 08:58 Frontios looks & sounds beautiful on test disc. Well done Peter Crocker and Mark Ayres
15 16:04 Watching Ed Stradling rough-cut of Android Invasion doc. http://t.co/CbqFw92
16 23:29 Frontios test discs all signed off.
         Also updated production subtitles delivered for Robots of Death.
17 18:44 Watching Ed Stradling rough cuts I'd forgotten "Nightmare of Eden" was so edgy in parts.
19 08:33 Watching test disc for Mannequin Mania. Restoration beautiful.
         Well done Peter Crocker and Mark Ayres! http://t.co/hmxo6Ox
24 03:31 Viewed Clayton Hickman rough box artwork for EarthStory. Lovely!

Planet of the Spiders
Release Date: 18th April 2011 (available for pre-order)

Starring Jon Pertwee as Doctor Who, with Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith
Written by Robert Sloman/Barry Letts
Directed by Barry Letts

Broadcast: 4th May - 8th June 1974

What begins as innocuous research into ESP turns into a deadly mind battle, with the terrifying spiders from the planet Metebelis Three pitted against The Doctor, his friends and Time Lord K'Anpo.

At a Tibetan-style spiritual retreat deep in rural England, a clandestine circle of chanting brethren unknowingly call upon the evil powers of the Metebelis Spiders, whose quest for the perfect blue crystal leads them straight to the Doctor. He must travel to the alien planet to meet the Great One, merciless ruler of her spiders and human slaves, who plans to take over Earth.

The future of the entire universe is in the Doctor's hands, but if he is to face the fear the Great One sees in his mind, then he must face the certainty of total destruction. Could this be the Time Lord's final death?

Special Features

Disc One:

6 x 25 mins approx colour episodes with mono audio.
Commentary - stereo. With actors Elisabeth Sladen, Nicholas Courtney and Richard Franklin, producer / director Barry Letts and script editor Terrance Dicks
Coming Soon - a trailer for a forthcoming DVD release
Programme subtitles
Subtitle Production Notes

Disc Two:

The Final Curtain – five years after its re-invention in colour and its rise to massive popularity, it was time for Doctor Who’s charismatic lead actor Jon Pertwee to move on… and with him the production team that had guided the show throughout that period. This documentary looks at the background to the Third Doctor’s swansong. With actors Jon Pertwee and Richard Franklin, producer / director Barry Letts, script editor Terrance Dicks, designer Rochelle Selwyn, visual effects assistant Mat Irvine and actor and author Mark Gatiss. Narrated by Glen Allen
John Kane Remembers… – actor John Kane memorably played the gentle, slow-witted Tommy, reborn through the power of the Metebelis crystal. An accomplished writer and series creator, Kane now lives in France, from where he looks back on his memories of the story
Directing Who with Barry Letts – Barry Letts is perhaps most famous as producer of Doctor Who, but he was also responsible for directing some of the show’s best-loved stories. Barry looks back on his career as a director in this documentary
Now & Then – the latest instalment in our ongoing series takes a trip back to some of the locations used during production of the story
Planet of the Spiders Omnibus Edition – the full-length omnibus edit of the story, presented here totally unrestored
Omnibus Trailer
Photo Gallery - production, design and publicity photos from the story
Radio Times Listings in Adobe PDF format

Mannequin Mania
Release Date: 9th May 2011 (available for pre-order)

Spearhead from Space

Starring Jon Pertwee as Doctor Who, with Caroline John as Liz Shaw
Written by Robert Holmes
Directed by Derek Martinus

Broadcast: 3rd-24th January 1970

The Doctor is exiled to Earth in the late 20th Century by his own people - the Time Lords. The newly regenerated Doctor finds himself in Oxley Woods alongside a shower of mysterious meteorites.

Investigating these unusual occurrences is the newly-formed United Nations Intelligence Taskfoce led by Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart. UNIT are soon called into action when people and meteorites start going missing but puzzling of all is the attempted kidnapping of a strange hospital patient - a man with two hearts, who insists that he knows the Brigadier... The new Doctor soon joins forces with his old friends, UNIT and the recently recruited Dr Liz Shaw, but time is running out.

Special Features

2|Entertain/ClassicDW, via yfrog

Original Commentary – actors Caroline John and Nicholas Courtney
New Commentary – producer Derrick Sherwin and script editor Terrance Dicks
Down to Earth – cast and crew look back at the making of this story and how a strike at the BBC studios inadvertently created the only classic series story to be made entirely on film. With actor Jon Pertwee, producers Derrick Sherwin and Barry Letts, script editor Terrance Dicks, costume designer Christine Rawlins and assistant script editor (and inadvertent Auton actor) Robin Squire. Narrated by Carl Kennedy
Regenerations - From Black and White to Colour – Spearhead from Space marked not only the arrival of a new Doctor but also the transition from black and white to colour. This documentary looks at the challenges faced by programme makers during this period. With actors Frazer Hines and Wendy Padbury, producer Derrick Sherwin, and script editor Terrance Dicks, directors Timothy Combe, Christopher Barry and Michael Ferguson, designer Roger Cheveley and graphic designer Bernard Lodge
UNIT Recruitment Film (dur. 4’ 48”) – a spoof army recruitment film put together for BBC transmission during Doctor Who’s 30th anniversary celebrations in 1993
Trailers – two trailers for the 1999 BBC2 transmission of the story and for ‘Doctor Who Night’from the same year
Photo Gallery - production, design and publicity photos from the story
Coming Soon - a trailer for a forthcoming DVD release
Radio Times Listings in Adobe PDF format

Terror of the Autons

Starring Jon Pertwee as Doctor Who, with Katy Manning as Jo Grant
Written by Robert Holmes
Directed by Barry Letts

Broadcast: 2nd-23rd January 1971

Earth is in terrible danger. The Master has arrived with an evil scheme to destroy humanity and silence the Doctor forever by awakening the awesome power of the Nestene - a ruthlessly aggressive alien life form. With their control over all types of plastic, they form into faceless automatons, a willing army of destruction easily controlled by the evil Time Lord himself.

Aided by the Brigadier and his enthusiastic new assistant, Jo Grant, only the Doctor can combat their evil power, but this is easier said than done when every plastic doll, phone flex, or chair can be turned against him. First, however, he must defeat the Master.

Special Features

Commentary - with actors Katy Manning and Nicolas Courtney, producer Barry Letts
Life on Earth – in this documentary, cast and crew look back at the making of the story and the differences in the way Doctor Who was made in the seventies compared to now. With actors Jon Pertwee, Katy Manning and Richard Franklin, producer Barry Letts, script editor Terrance Dicks and new series producer Phil Collinson
The Doctor’s Moriarty – with the introduction of the Master, the Doctor now had his very own Moriarty, who would be the dark figure behind every story in season eight, and many more beyond that. This featurette discusses the enduring appeal of the character. With actor Katy Manning, producer Barry Letts, script editors Terrance Dicks and Christopher H Bidmead and writers Robert Shearman and Joe Lidster
Plastic Fantastic – how did the writers of Doctor Who and other programmes take something as everyday as plastic and turn it against us? With writers Francesca Gavin, Robert Shearman and new series designer Matthew Savage
Photo Gallery - production, design and publicity photos from the story
Coming Soon - a trailer for a forthcoming DVD release
Radio Times Listings and promotional material for Sugar Smacks and Nestle products in Adobe PDF format

Frontios
Release Date: 30th May 2011 (available for pre-order)

Starring Peter Davison as The Doctor, with Janet Fielding as Tegan and Mark Strickson as Turlough
Written by Christopher H. Bidmead
Directed by Ron Jones

Broadcast: 26th January - 3rd February 1984

As a strange force takes hold of the TARDIS, the Doctor and his friends find themselves grounded on the inhospitable planet of Frontios, where the last survivors of the human race scratch out a desperate existence far away from their long dead home planet.

The colonists are gripped by fear and paranoia as the planet is battered by attacks from space and they watch as the bodies of their dead are sucked into the ground. But the Doctor only appreciates the true gravity of the situation when he finds that the TARDIS has been destroyed...

Special Features

Commentary - with actors Peter Davison, Jeff Rawle and John Gillett, script editor Eric Saward and special sounds designer Dick Mills
Driven to Distractation – cast and crew look back at the making of Frontios. With actors Peter Davison, Mark Strickson, Jeff Rawle and John Gillett, script editors Christopher H. Bidmead and Eric Saward, and designer David Buckingham. Narrated by Paul Jones
Deleted and Extended Scenes – a chance to see scenes that were cut during editing, many of which are presented before post-production effects had been added
Photo Gallery - production, design and publicity photos from the story
Isolated Music – option to watch the episodes with the isolated music score
Coming Soon - a trailer for a forthcoming DVD release
Radio Times Listings in Adobe PDF format
Programme subtitles
Subtitle Production Notes

FILTER: - Jon Pertwee - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD - Peter Davison

UK Classic DVD release update

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