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Title:
Doctor Who: The Visitation: The Peter Davison Years 1982 – 1984
Region:
One
Genre:
British Sci-Fi TV Series
Stars:
Peter Davison, Matthew Waterhouse, Sarah Sutton, Janet Fielding, and Michael
Robbins
Writer:
Eric Saward
Director:
Peter Moffatt
Feature
length: 97 minutes
Extras:
Audio Commentary With Actors Peter Davison, Janet Fielding, Sarah Sutton,
Matthew Waterhouse, and Director Peter Moffatt, Text Commentary, Isolated Music
Only Soundtrack, “Directing Who” – Interview With Peter Moffatt,
“Writing A Final Visitation” – Interview With Writer Eric Saward On His
Debut Doctor Who Script, “Scoring The Visitation” – Interview With
Composer Paddy Kingsland, “Film Trims” – Untransmitted Shots and Dialogue,
Cast Bios and Credits
Languages:
English Two-Channel Monaural Sound
Subtitles:
English Captions
Packaging:
Keep Case
Chapter
Stops: 6 Per Episode/24 Total
Sound:
Two-Channel Monaural Sound
Year
of Television Broadcast: 1982/DVD Release: 2005
Home
Video Distributor: BBC Video
MPAA
Rating: Not Rated
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
The
year is 1666. The Doctor and his companions find themselves in England where the
Great Plague has driven the locals into acts of fear and superstition. Sightings
of a grim reaper about along with evidence of advanced alien technology soon
pits the Doctor against three Terileptil fugitives whose ship crash-landed not
long before the TARDIS materialized. The amphibious Terileptil have reprogrammed
the enforcer android that was on their ship and are using it as a way to scare
away outsiders from the stately manner they have taken for their layer. Although
the Doctor offers to take them to a new world where they can live out their
lives free from fear of being recaptured, the Terileptil have another plan in
mind. They intend to wipe out humanity with a biological weapon and then steal
the TARDIS so they can rummage through time and space and steal enough
technology from which they can terraform the Earth and make it defensible should
their wardens send enforcers to take them back to prison. With the balance
throughout the space-time continuum as well as the human race in danger, the
Doctor and his companions must cope with primitive 17th century
technology against the terror and might of the Terileptil fugitives.
The
Terileptil look a bit like the troll creature seen in “Stephen King’s
Cat’s Eye.” They are not normally an aggressive species to outsiders though
they find glory in warfare. These aliens are perhaps more insane than they are
malevolent. Their plan to steal the TARDIS so that they can steal technology to
build up their defenses on Earth seems like an awful lot of hard work when if
you have a TARDIS, it would be easier just to travel to a time before they were
fugitives and perhaps prevent their incarceration. Since the Earth does not hold
enough of their native gasses from which they can breathe, choosing it as a
place to hide seems fool hardy especially when the power of time and space
travel are at your finger tips. While I realize that extraterrestrial minds
would probably not think in the same way a human mind perceives things, the only
rational explanation that satisfies me is that the three Terileptil fugitives
are mad as well as desperate. At least then one can see them as a kind of tragic
villain and while their actions are objectionable, giving an alien menace some
kind of human fault makes them a bit more sympathetic for the viewer and
heightens the drama as a whole. Unfortunately the mystery and suspense of this
four-part story is weak compared to other “Doctor Who” adventures.
Just
a little over twenty years old, “Doctor Who: The Visitation: The Peter Davison
Years 1982 – 1984” looks terrific with no analogue video defects to speak of
and a clear English Two-Channel Monaural Soundtrack to match. English Captions
for the hearing impaired are encoded onto the DVD as an option and there is also
an isolated music only soundtrack option too. The episode is presented in a four
by three (1.33:1) aspect ratio that preserves the manner in which it was
originally broadcast in the UK for Region One North American NTSC DVD users.
Actors
Peter Davison and Matthew Waterhouse along with Actresses Janet Fielding and
Sarah Sutton as well as Director Peter Moffatt participate in a lively screen
specific audio commentary for all four installments, which can be viewed
individually or in succession too. As with previous DVD releases of “Doctor
Who” there is another anecdote filled text commentary track that covers just
about anything seen in the episode as it relates to the “Doctor Who”
universe. As noted in my DVD review of “Doctor Who: The Green Death: The Jon
Pertwee Years 1970 – 1974” the Doctor’s Sonic Screwdriver, which he has
had and used to get into locked places, tinker with the TARDIS, and escape from
foes, gets destroyed in this adventure. It was believed that the Sonic
Screwdriver offered the Doctor too many easy ways to resolve situations. The
device was first introduced in 1968 and does not show up again until the 1996
Universal/BBC TV movie where Sylvester McCoy handed the TARDIS to the Doctor’s
eighth incarnation, played by Paul McGann (Alien 3). I have not read anything
new related to this in a while so I am unsure of the status, but Christopher
Eccelston (28 Days Later) is supposed to be the new Doctor, but I am unsure if
this “Doctor Who” series will be a reinvention with no relation to the 43
year old franchise or if Eccelston will in fact be the ninth Doctor.
Additional
extra value features include an excellent interview with Director Peter Moffatt,
who besides having experience as a Writer and Actor in addition to his talents
as a Director discusses in detail the sixth episodes of “Doctor Who” he was
involved with that include “Staten Of Decay” (1980), “The Visitation”
(1982), “Maudryn Undead” (1983), “The Five Doctors” (1983), “The Twin
Dilemma” (1984), and “The Two Doctors” (1985). The interview featurette
entitled “Directing Who” (26:14) not only gives insight into Moffatt’s own
creative interests in relation to the TV series, but it also goes into some
small detail about working with the various Actors who portrayed the Doctor in
the episodes he directed, which include Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom
Baker, Peter Davison, and Colin Baker.
“Writing
A Final Visitation” (12:51) is an interview with Writer Eric Saward, who goes
into detail regarding how he got to write for “Doctor Who” as well as the
changes the script went through because of the fact that while he was writing
it, Tom Baker had announced he would be leaving in 1981 and there was no one
cast yet to take over the role as the Doctor. In addition to having to tailor
the script for a new leading Actor, he also had to write very generalized
versions of the Doctor’s traveling companions since it was not clear who would
be staying or leaving as well as who might be cast to accompany the new Doctor
aboard the TARDIS in future adventures. The nature of the Terileptil and how he
came up with the idea for these aliens is also discussed. It is interesting to
note that the Terileptil are supposed to be among the most beautiful alien
species in the galaxy, but the fugitives have been disfigured from their
incarceration and forced labor in mines on some far off world.
“Scoring
The Visitation” (16:20) features an interview with composer Paddy Kingsland
regarding the period music mix used for the episode. A motion still photo
gallery (5:14) and onscreen cast biographies and credits wrap up the extra value
materials on this DVD. The interactive menus are well rendered and easy to
navigate.
While
I am not a huge fan of the episode itself, the extra value materials on this DVD
are very well thought out and put together and so if you are a sci-fi fan and a
“Doctor Who” fan, I do think it is worth adding to your DVD collection now
that “Doctor Who: The Visitation: The Peter Davison Years 1982 – 1984” is
available at retailers on and offline courtesy of BBC Video.
©
Copyright 2005 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
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