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The Web of Fear DVD – Reviewed!

Elton Townend Jones is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.

If you read my review of the DVD release of The Enemy of the World, then you’ll perhaps understand why this is yet another tough release to cover.

To summarise briefly, The Web of Fear has long been acknowledged as a ‘classic’; as, perhaps, Patrick Troughton’s best ever story (once Tomb of the Cybermen ruined all our previous illusions by having the Telosian temerity be re-discovered in 1992). That only its first episode remained in the BBC archive added to its power and mystique. The opening instalment was, all told, pretty atmospheric and solid – if the other five were as good, then it was bound to be a ‘classic’ through and through, wasn’t it? Douglas Camfield directing, Nicholas Courtney making his debut as Lethbridge-Stewart, Yeti with web guns, and so on: bound to be brilliant.

Well, at the end of last year, four of its ‘lost’ episodes came back in from the cold. In a flurry of insane activity, this most desirable carrot was dangled over we ‘missing episode’-hungry fans and was quickly and hurriedly consumed as we all went and downloaded it. By now, it’s probably the most watched Troughton story in all fandom. But is it any good?

Well, yes. It is.

Having seen The Enemy of the World, one is able to make much more sense of the opening sequences of characters sliding about the TARDIS floor in the desperate hope of giving us the impression they’re about to be sucked out into space. Quite why this superfluous sequence is tagged on to the beginning of the story (rather than the end of the last one) seems to be a throwback to Enemy writer David Whitaker’s tenure as script editor on the show, but it’s oddly out of place. It would doubtless have been a heck of a lot more spooky to open with Travers in Silverstein’s ‘museum’ for that creepy film sequence in which the Yeti (and the Intelligence, presumably) are once more reanimated.

In case you don’t know, the bulk of the story takes place some months later when the Intelligence has forced an evacuation of London by filling it with thick fog, a creeping, curiously foam-like fungus and scraggy-looking Yeti robots with guns that shoot cobwebs (and we old-school fans accept this, but do ideas get much battier than that?). The army are tasked with trying to control this menace, which is lurking in the London Underground, and it is into this web of fear (get it?) that the Doctor and co rock up.

The Web of Fear is one of Season Five’s ‘base under siege’ stories, but it is probably so well remembered because it’s the best of its kind. Ultimately, the story is about the soldiers trapped beneath the city, and because these soldiers are portrayed as ‘real people’, it’s an incredibly effective piece of work that stands head and shoulders over tedious dross like season-mate The Ice Warriors because the characters are imbued with real opinions and real motivations rather than ‘space/sci-fi’ ones.

As monsters go, the Yeti are reasonable opponents; they are mobile and threatening in size, although, somewhat strangely, Camfield elects to chuck them straight into the limelight. No hiding in the shadows for these creatures, which makes them, in visceral terms, not especially scary. Perhaps this is a deliberate decision, a warning to the viewer that the enemy does not need to creep about to bring you death – death is there, up front and coming at you with violence in mind. The creeping about is given to the fungus – which, as it passes through the tunnels in both film and studio sequences or even in model shots (as at the end of Episode 5), always looks amazing – and the sinister menace comes from the hissing sibilance of that disembodied possessor of human bodies (dead or alive), the Great Intelligence.

Another reason The Web of Fear’s reputation has endured since it was broadcast, might simply boil down to one thing: Episode 4. Whatever you might think of it as a whole, Episode 4 is an astonishing and quintessential bit of Doctor Who. The filmed shoot-out in Covent Garden is a piece of sustained action unlike any seen in the series before (even if you want to quote The War Machines or The Gunfighters), and in studio, the claustrophobic attack on the electrical shop is brutally effective. Throughout the story, Troughton gives his usual sufficient yet elusive performance, but in Episode 4, he gets some incredible close-ups when telling his companions what the Intelligence is – all of which serves to make him look quite alien.

Many will note, of course, that this is, in effect, the first UNIT story. When Lethbridge-Stewart turns up in Episode 3 it comforts the modern viewer with 45 years’ hindsight. But at the time, the Doctor’s future ally was portrayed as a mysterious, conspicuous figure whose sudden arrival and subsequent actions were as questionable as those of Harold Chorley (played by second Avengers ‘girl’ and Ian Hendry surrogate Jon Rollason), Professor Travers (Jack Watling, reprising his role from The Abominable Snowmen earlier in the season), Driver Evans (the story’s most outstanding and multi-layered character, brilliantly played by Derek Pollitt) and Staff Sgt. Arnold (played with great texture by John Lydon lookalike, Jack Woolgar). Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart is credulous, pragmatic and often cold, and although these qualities would remain in his later stories (even after his transformation into Pertwee’s sidekick buffoon), here they are used to crank up the paranoia that there is a traitor in the Doctor’s midst.

If you can suspend your knowledge of the Colonel’s future life when you watch this, you will see what viewers saw in 1968 and that will add to the suspense. Once you have, however, and the Intelligence has trundled off into who-knows-where, it’s worth re-remembering that Lethbridge-Stewart would go on to found UNIT: the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce. Now read that again. Lethbridge-Stewart, as a consequence his involvement in these events, goes on to found the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce. Just sayin’.

Ultimately, The Web of Fear’s failings are few: it sags a bit in the middle because there’s too much repetition (I confess I didn’t even realise I’d not skipped Episode 4 when I bought the download) and some of the storytelling is not particularly clear – I still have no idea who is sabotaging what and when – but this might all be to the advantage of the suspense the story is aiming for.

But Hitchcock it’s not. This lack of clarity or satisfactory explanation may fall at the feet of Camfield or writers Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln (though, given the great and awkward pains the dialogue goes to in explaining to the viewers stuff we’ve already been able to work out thanks to direction and performance, I suspect the latter). Camfield’s direction is, in fact, incredibly accomplished. Here, he proves himself not only to be the master of stylish film work, but also the king of the electronic studio; I note in particular some excellent and highly unusual camera set-ups and cross-fades in Episode 6. He is also backed up by some top-notch set design from David Myerscough-Jones whose tube tunnels and platforms could easily be the real thing and whose Intelligence ‘centre’ in Episode 6 even features a ceiling (it’s the details, folks). The real atmosphere of this story, however, comes from Clive Leighton’s realistic and yet often expressionistic lighting, probably unrivalled in any other Doctor Who story since Season One.

Those of you who’ve seen the download, though, will probably agree with me that the most amusing moment comes when we see a chocolate bar emblazoned with the words ‘Camfield’s Dairy Milk’ and that the most frightening things in the whole six episodes are actually Victoria’s disturbingly weird legs.

Writing a review of The Web of Fear seems an odd thing to be doing so long after we all downloaded it and realised with astonishment and joy that it was great but nowhere near as good as The Enemy of the World – but, hey, the BBC are releasing it on DVD this month.

I seem to remember you all took it on the chin when they put out the Enemy DVD with no Extras, other than a trailer for this release. You stoic lot, you. I seem to recall the hope was that, as The Web of Fear would be released several months hence, there’d be time to record a commentary track, or maybe sling together a little documentary. And, oh how exciting if the BBC were holding back the real Episode 3 for the DVD release as a treat for all our dedication and love and pie-in-the-sky daydreaming.

Nah.

As I wrote on my review for The Enemy of the World:

Extras

A single shiny disc with a picture on it and words that tell you what it is you’re putting into your player.
A plastic case in which to keep your shiny disc safe.
A cover with words and pictures on it telling you all about the shiny disc you’re putting into your player.
An insert with words and pictures on it telling you all about the, yeah, you get the picture…
So, there you go.
No Production Subtitles, no Commentary track.
No ‘real’ Episode 3 – just John Cura’s telesnaps (I say ‘just’, at least we’ve been spared another poorly-executed cartoon…).

And, yeah, for the wag that asked me last time, it looks like it’s been VID-Fired.

But, if you don’t already have The Web of Fear (unlikely!) then this is a great story and well worth owning. If you have the download, though, I’d advise you against conning yourself again.

The Web of Fear can be ordered now from Amazon, where the £20.42 RRP is reduced to just £13.97, ahead of its release on February 24th .

The post The Web of Fear DVD – Reviewed! appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Two Stunning Doctor Who T-Shirts Available Today Only

Christian Cawley is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.

It’s t-shirt time again, and those awesome RIPT Apparel chaps are offering another pair of Doctor Who themed tops for one day only.

Available for just $11 (plus postage) Professor Whotonium 11 and Lords from nikholmes and Bigplanet Designs will be for sale today, February 12, 2014 only! These designs are available in several dark colours for men, women and children, as well as on hoodies, headphones and as decals for phones and laptops.

Don’t miss this great offer – head to RIPT Apparel and place your order now! 

Note that this offer ends at midnight on Wednesday 12th February.

The post Two Stunning Doctor Who T-Shirts Available Today Only appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Lalla Ward to Share Memories of Douglas Adams

Alex Skerratt is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.

Former companion Lalla Ward and her husband Richard Dawkins will be sharing memories of the former Doctor Who script editor Douglas Adams at an upcoming memorial.

Entitled Douglas Adams: A Conversation at the End of the Universe, the event will take place at London’s Highgate Cemetery on 11th March 2014, on what would have been Adams’ 62nd birthday.

Lalla Ward, of course, knew the writer through working on Doctor Who, and was introduced to her now-husband Richard Dawkins after meeting him at Adams’ 40th birthday party in 1992. They married later the same year.

Wine will be served at the event and tickets cost a very respectable £7, although we don’t recommend that you just turn up. Because it’s sold out! If you’ve been lucky enough to secure tickets, however, we hope you have a fascinating and enjoyable evening celebrating the life of one of the genre’s most iconic writers.

And most importantly – Don’t Panic.

(Via Highgate Cemetery.)

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Paterson Joseph’s Glad He’s Not The Doctor!

Philip Bates is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.

Bad Wolf star, Paterson Joseph says he’s glad he’s not the Doctor!

The actor, who’s starred in Peep Show and Death in Paradise, was rumoured to have auditioned for the part of the Eleventh Doctor, a role which – of course – went to the wonderful Matt Smith. He says:

“I was in South Africa at the time, and I think if I’d been in England I probably would have suffered some sort of trauma. But I’ll be very honest with you. I was overjoyed. Not that I thought I had been considered, because I hadn’t been – they hadn’t approached my agent at that point – but I was overjoyed. I thought, ‘How interesting that nobody says how ridiculous this is’.”

Nonetheless, Joseph came to the UK and did, in fact, audition! He was skeptical, however:

“I think I pretty much knew that I hadn’t got it, and weirdly wasn’t disappointed… I walk down the street and no one knows me, but if I were the Doctor, that would certainly be the case. Even in France where I live, it would still be the case.”

He did play a horrible contestant on The Weakest Link before cowering in fear when the Daleks invaded in The Parting of the Ways, but playing the Doctor takes fame to another level! He concluded:

“It’s an accolade. Years later, I’m still being asked that question and I’m not embarrassed by it. It tickles me pink because I didn’t even have to do the job and yet I got a bit of kudos!”

You can read the full interview over at The Independent.

(Via Blogtor Who.)

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Day of the Doctor Storyboard Pages!

Rebecca Crockett is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.

The Day Of The Doctor was a historic achievement for Doctor Who, a show that has been breaking new ground for 50 years. So it’s no surprise that months later, there are still a few surprises in store.

Our friends at Blogtor Who have released some exclusive storyboard images from the episode, showing the Dalek invasion, drawn by artist Richard Shaun Williams. Check outan awesome exploding Dalek…

… And check out three more images over at Blogtor Who!

If you haven’t already purchased it, The Day Of The Doctor is available on DVD and Blu-ray from a number of retailers including Amazon US and Amazon UK for just £9.99!

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Matt Smith “Surprised” By His Doctor Who Ending

Christian Cawley is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.

An interesting panel with Matt Smith at last weekend’s New Orleans Comic Con revealed multiple versions of his final Doctor Who scenes were recorded…

The Time of the Doctor was notable for its aging of the Eleventh Doctor, as well as the return of Amy Pond )in the Time Lord’s first trippy regeneration sequence since 1984) and a quite sudden metamorphosis into his twelfth self (without getting into issues of numeracy!).

I thought that one the real moments – I was really pleased when Amy Pond came back into it, I thought that was really nice.

But for me, as an actor, being really honest with you, I did loads of really different takes. So I was quite surprised to see that was the take they used, cause I didn’t think – I thought that they might use something else, because we did a lot of different takes and we did a lot of different versions of that ending, and a lot of them were really troubling, and I quite liked them.

I’m going to get in trouble now from them, “Why are you talking about Doctor Who when you’ve left?” So, but you know, that’s what they went in [inaudible] and it’s sort of interesting, so yeah.

What is particularly interesting about this is that it chimes in with several things we’d previously heard:

That the Doctor would die as an old man, only for a “new man” to appear but not as a regeneration.
The Doctor would regenerate as an old man, on the clock tower. BOOM. Then Clara returns to the TARDIS, where Twelve is waiting.
Another rumour suggested that the explosion of regenerative energy would blast the Doctor off the clock tower, and when Clara find the body, up sat Twelve.

From what Matt said at the convention, it sounds as though a lot of endings were considered and recorded in different takes, but perhaps ultimately it was thought that without a proper regeneration it might not have been as memorable, or accepted by younger viewers.

(With thanks to Daren)

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Classic Director Christopher Barry Dies

James Lomond is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.

Christopher Barry, who put together some of Doctor Who‘s most wonderful moments, passed away last Friday 7th February at the age of 88 at his home in Oxfordshire. Barry was a television director who worked on some of the UK’s best loved dramas including Z Cars, Poldark and All Creatures Great and Small alongside some very fondly remembered Who.

Barry was one of the few directors to have worked with all four of the earliest Doctors. He directed the very first Dalek story in 1963-4 introducing the world to the pepper-pots that would keep on returning to menace the Doctor and thrill children behind sofas all over the world. He later directed Patrick Troughton in his debut story, again battling Skaro’s finest, and guided the show through the first regeneration and affirming format that would allow us to enjoy new Doctors and stories fifty years on.

He was also responsible for Third Doctor favourite, The Daemons (1971), loved by the crew as much as fans of the show – in fact a colleague at work has recently been introduced to the Classic series by her partner and was telling me how much she has been enjoying watching The Daemons and the obvious enjoyment of the UNIT “family” cast that comes through.

Having done such a good job with the first regeneration, he was asked back for the Fourth Doctor’s debut story. Notably Barry is one of the only directors who could also claim to have played the Doctor himself in a small way in The Brain of Morbius (1976); his is one of the mysterious faces that appears in the mind-bending battle between the Fourth Doctor and Morbius and an implied previous incarnation before Hartnell’s “First” Doctor.

 A full list of the stories he directed is below. What are your favourite memories of Barry’s work? Share them below.

Doctor Who stories directed by Christopher Barry:

The Daleks, Episodes 1, 2, 4 and 5 (1963-4)

The Rescue (1965)

The Romans (1965)

The Savages (1966)

The Power of the Daleks (1966)

The Daemons (1971)

The Mutants (1972)

Robot (1974)

The Brain of Morbius (1976)

The Creature from the Pit (1979)

 

(Via John Cooper)

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Big Finish Announces 15th Anniversary Story

Danny_Weasel is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.

This year is another biggie in the world of Doctor Who – Big Finish, those fine purveyors of audio adventures of our favourite Time Lord and his ever expanding collection of allies, are celebrating their 15th anniversary and they are putting together something rather special to mark the occasion.

The Worlds of Doctor Who is set to be a spectacular five disc set, packaged up in the same way as the special edition of 50th anniversary tale Light at the End in a swish slipcase with a book of behind the scenes pictures and interviews.

The story itself will be set across four individual tales and will bring together more of the Doctor’s associates than ever before, including the always entertaining Jago and Lightfoot, the Counter-Measures team, UNIT in the form of Mike Yates (Richard Franklin) and stars of the Companion Chronicles Tales from the Vault and Mastermind Ruth Matheson and Charlie Sato (Daphne Ashbrook and Yee Jee Tso, also previously of the TV Movie) and the leading lights of the popular Gallifrey series, as well as legends in their own right, Romana (Lalla Ward) and Leela (Louise Jameson). All this and the Sixth Doctor himself, Colin Baker.

Producer David Richardson says the idea had been fermenting in his brain for quite some time and has been waiting for just the right moment to spring it on the world.

…it seems fitting that this collaboration between the Doctor and many of his friends should mark our anniversary. This story has been quite a party to make, and I hope listeners will throw themselves into the celebrations too.

The scriptwriters are Justin Richards, Jonathan Morris and Nick Wallace, and the directors are Ken Bentley and Lisa Bowerman and with talent like that behind the mic coupled with the plethora of stars in front of it, this is looking to be something rather special indeed.

The Worlds of Doctor Who is available for pre-order now and will be released in October.

Will you be pre ordering it regardless (I will) or will you be waiting for reviews to filter through before making the leap? Do you think it sounds like a winning idea to collect all the spin off series characters together like this or do you have doubts? Let us know in the usual way below.

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The Minister Is Coming

Jonathan Appleton is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.

It’s been a long wait, but those who have been eagerly anticipating the completed Minister of Chance film won’t have to be patient for too much longer. Post-production, according to an update from those talented people at Radio Static, is just about done with, meaning we can get to enjoy the film version of the Prologue to the audio series very soon.

A highly successful spin-off from the 2001 BBCi (remember them?) Doctor Who audio Death Comes to Time, Minister of Chance has been funded entirely from donations and over the course of its installments has featured a top-notch cast including Sylvester McCoy, Tamsin Greig and Philip Glenister. The new film, shot last autumn, will star Paul McGann and Tim McInnery and is intended to serve as a pre-title sequence for a full filmed version, but will be a complete short film in its own right.

There’s still time to get your name in the credits of what should be a great production by pledging your support at the Minister of Chance website.

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Missing Eleven? Time To Embrace Big Chief Smith

Andrew Reynolds is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.

It’s been over a month, and still the shadow of Matt Smith’s excellent Eleventh Doctor hangs over the world of Doctor Who. If you’re one of the many fans trying to come to terms with “that old bloke” then why not embrace self-indulgence and splash out on one of the most excellent figurines ever produced?

Back in 2011, Big Chief Studios raised their head above all the other geek merchants at the SDCC and wowed the gathering hordes with the first images of their 12 inch Eleventh Doctor figure. It’s been around a while now, but we thought you might like to spend a few moments admiring it again…

Sadly unavailable from Forbidden Planet (or any standard retailer) these days, all 250 copies were sold  pretty quickly. However, a trip to eBay will reveal that there are quite a few on sale right now…

The likeness is absolutely fantastic (as you’d expect for something that originally retailed £149.99), capturing the pensiveness of a mid-thought Eleventh Doctor with realistic flesh tones and perfectly sculpted features.

You might even accompany him with a (still available) similarly proportioned Amy Pond!

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