Doctor Who- Planet of Evil
Posted by dailypop on February 21, 2008
This DVD collects all four episodes of the often overlooked story from Season 13 of the Classic Doctor Who series. When producer Philip Hinchcliffe took over the reigns of the program from Barry Letts, he inherited Tom Baker’s opening season twelve and all that had been planned for it. As such, he felt frustrated that he could inject more of his own touch to the program from the beginning.
But he more than made up for it in the following Season 13. With stories including ‘Terror of the Zygons,’ ‘Pyramids of Mars,’ ‘Brain of Morbius’ and ‘Seeds of Doom,’ ‘Planet of Evil’ gets lost in the deck of excellent stories. This was the often referred to ‘Gothic Horror’ era of Doctor Who, reflected in modern stories like ‘Impossible Planet,’ and ‘Human Nature.’
A self-admitting mixture of Forbidden Planet and Jeckyl and Hyde, ‘Planet of Evil’ is mainly known for the creepy alien planet set constructed by Roger Murray Leach who went on to work on many other stories. Tom Baker’s Doctor is less of the clown he would eventually become and 100% bug-eyed ‘Tom Baker the Alien.’ His synergy with co-star Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith) is evident even so early on in their collaboration.
The story is a lovely mix of atmosphere, action and horror… with the usual ‘you can’t be serious’ effects/acting moments such as the misfire scene where the monster’s grand entrance looks more like Joe Cocker in a music video. But this is the Classic Doctor Who which is 9 parts ‘it’s amazing’ to one part milk shooting out of your nose unintentionally hilarious.
From the extras on the disc, including commentary by Tom Baker, Hinchcliffe, Sladen and Prentiss Hancock are the usual smörgåsbord of information and enjoyment. Honestly, if you’ve never purchased a Doctor Who DVD, you have no idea how much info you can put on a disc. From information text at the bottom of the screen, production profiles, making of documentaries, etc… it’s truly amazing.
It’s important to note that the last episode of this story (a story hardly regarded as a classic or a major viewing success) gathered 20% of the total viewing public of Britain. That’s 1 in 5 people, something the much vaunted new Doctor Who can only hope for.
Coming Soon Trailer
Posted in doctor who | No Comments »
