Along with Planet of Evil, this was one of the very first Doctor Who adventures my dad bought on VHS, and therefore one of the ones most firmly imprinted upon my childhood. This adventure is justifiably the highlight of Peter Davison’s debut season; not only a well told story, but also one that brings back an old foe, and has the ultimate emotional twist.
A very firm favourite in the Stafford VHS collection, The Ark in Space set the tone and the standard for the Tom Baker era, with an utterly superb four episodes of story telling. Written by Robert Holmes, one of the finest story tellers to grace the classic era of Doctor Who, the story is a triumph of using a limited set and cast to tell a compelling science fiction adventure. The fact that episode one only features the three main cast members, and nevertheless is among the finest 25 minutes of television ever produced, speaks volumes for how superb this adventure is.
Universally recognised as the story that transformed Doctor Who into a nationwide hit, The Daleks is much, much more than a mere introduction story to the alien race that would go on to become the Doctor’s deadliest enemies. The series’ second story is a fantastic sci-fi adventure that stands up well more than 50 years after its initial broadcast, and is superb television, nevermind superb Doctor Who.
This was among my very first DVD purchases, a story I’d wanted to own on VHS for one simple reason – the Doctor is dressed up like Sherlock Holmes! Set in Victorian London, this atmospheric and creepy adventure is made all the more enjoyable as Tom Baker dons, for one story only, classical Victorian dress, complete with deerstalker: “After all, we don’t want to be conspicious, do we?”
I had joked before disappearing on a (relatively) internet-free holiday that there was bound to be some sort of animation/recovery announcement while I wasn’t around to hear about it. Sure enough, news broke last week that the BBC are preparing a new animated release of the incomplete Tom Baker adventure Shada, the story originally scheduled to conclude Season 17, and cancelled due to industrial action.
Dan Talks Doctor Who 