For the next in my Dr Who DVD reviews I am jumping way back in time (which seems somehow appropriate for a review about a series that features time travel) to a story made in the 1960s. This six part adventure features the original and first Doctor Who, as played by the wonderful William Hartnell. My copy of Dalek Invasion of Earth came (as do most of my DVDs) from www.sendit.com and came at the bargain price of £7.99 ~ excellent for a two disc release and a saving of twelve quid on the cover price!

As usual I will be giving you a plot outline so look away for the next two paragraphs and join me later.

~~~THE PLOT.

This is a classic story and sees the Doctor and his current companions, Susan (played by Carole Ann Ford), Ian (William Russell) and Barbara (Jacqueline Hill), in their second encounter with the wonderfully evil Daleks. The action is set in the latter half of the 22nd Century and the location is London ~ a London very different from the one the travelers left behind. The Daleks have invaded and are turning the remaining humans into very UN-human Robomen. We learn that the Daleks are planning to destroy the planet altogether.

An action packed, and rather dark, adventure follows. Our time travelers join a resistance group who are hiding underground in the city and the action moves onto to Bedfordshire and the Dalek mine. Despite the limited special effects, and the constraints this puts on such an ambitious project, Dalek Invasion of Earth is a deep, well acted and still very watchable story!

Dalek Invasion of Earth was originally broadcast on TV from the 21st November to the 26th December 1964 and was released on DVD on 9th June 2003.

~~~SPECIAL FEATURES.

***Disc One***

Disc one of the DVD contains the remastered copy of the story, along with a couple of additional Special Features. We are given the option to watch the effects as they were made or to choose to see a new lot of CGI model effects. I watched the story both ways and, although the new effects were loads better, it was still nice to see the authentic version ~ the new effects are worth a look, but not really in keeping with the look and feel of the original 60's adventure. I would recommend opting to watch the new effects separately, rather than overlaid on the story.

This disc also contains the commentary. This time it is by William Russell (Ian), Carole Ann Ford (Susan), Richard Martin (the Director) and Verity Lambert (the Producer). I actually rather enjoyed the commentary this time and found it interesting and pretty informative. It is quite sad to note that they were a little limited in people to choose to do the commentary because a lot of those involved are no longer with us. I'm not normally a big fan of commentaries, but I found this one made me smile and the commentators spoke with real warmth and affection for the show.

There are also two BBC1 trailers that were originally seen in 1964, when the story was broadcast. These are quite interesting and show us a little piece of television history!

The final Special Feature on the first (feature) disc are the on-screen production Subtitles (or Infotext). As usual this is a really worthwhile extra for the Doctor Who fan and gives a really good insight into the script development, cast information, location details and any other snippet of trivia the compilers could find. I especially like the location info ~ it is nice to know where in London (or other places) certain scenes were filmed.

***Disc Two**

The second disc contains the majority of the Special Features ~ the ones that are not directly linked to the story or need to be seen alongside the main adventure.

FUTURE MEMORIES~~~

This is a well made 45 minute documentary which sees people involved in making the programme reliving their memories of the production. I felt that it was slightly too long and I ended up fast forwarding through large sections of it.

FUTURE VISIONS~~~

This is another documentary; this one concentrating on Spencer Chapman, the designer of the story. This one is better because it is shorter (at nearly 18 minutes) and also doesn't try to deal with too many people. Some of the clips and drawings are interesting and I found it was well made and not too tedious.

TALKING DALEKS~~~

Any feature dealing with Dalek voices has got to be a winner in my book! This documentary lasts for around 10 minutes and gives an informative insight into how the voices of the scary pepper pot monsters were created. I enjoyed the convention footage and there were interviews and info I hadn't seen before.

NOW & THEN~~~

I think this is one of the most interesting things for me, as a big fan of Doctor Who. Now and Then lasts for a little less than 7 minutes and compares the 1964 locations with how they look now ~ excellent stuff and really fascinating!

SCRIPT TO SCREEN~~~

This wasn't at all what I was expecting. I thought this would be a documentary about the progression of the show from the script to the final product. Instead it was a really fresh approach, done using animation and gave a good view of how the programme was produced ~ including camera angles, floor plans, scripts, etc. Not something I was expecting to enjoy and actually a real surprise.

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO…SUSAN?~~~

This was actually a spoof radio show from 1993 and starred Jane Asher as Susan (the Doctor's granddaughter). It lasted for about half an hour and features interviews and reconstructions ~ it deals with Susan's original disappearance in the first episode of Doctor Who as if it was a real event. A very well made, witty feature and well worth a listen.

REHEARSAL FILM~~~

Short and to the point! A silent film showing the rehearsal of a scene from Dalek Invasion of Earth ~ it's not very good quality but is worth a look, yet not earth shattering.

DALEK CAKES~~~

I loved this and had an overwhelming desire to make the Dalek Cakes afterwards. In true Blue Peter style, we see Valerie Singleton making edible Daleks! Has to be seen to be believed…Excellent!

PHOTO GALLERY~~~

The now stock feature on Doctor Who DVDs! I don't usually bother looking at the stills and publicity photos anymore or just give them a cursory glance, but I did actually find this selection more interesting than usual. This is probably because the photos were from an era I don't normally get to see and there were some really great Dalek images.

~~~FINAL THOUGHTS.

I was impressed with the way the Restoration Team had managed to clean up the sound and pictures on this very old adventure, giving it a whole new lease of life. There are still some blurry scenes (a bit grainy from the poor quality of the material they had to work with), but it is a lot clearer and much easier to watch than the video footage I have seen. The sound is only done in mono, but they have managed to make it as crisp and clear as it is ever going to get. The black and white actually adds to the air of mystery too ~ there is nothing scarier to me than the image of the Daleks coming through London.

As always, the BBC have come up with a good and varied selection of Special Features. The highlights for me this time are the Infotext, the Now & Then feature and Dalek Cakes. I actually enjoyed most of the extras though and was glad they spilt the release up into two discs so they didn't have to leave anything out.

Once again a really good addition to any Doctor Who DVD collection and a recommended purchase!

~~~TECHNICAL INFO.
Certification: PG
Duration: 150 mins
Format: DVD
Single Sided/Dual Layer
Region: 2
Aspect Ratio: 4:3
Sound: Mono
Cat. No: BBCDVD1156(BBC)