Moffatt, Peter

Doctor Who - City of Death (Episode 105)

In a story written by Hitchhiker's Guide's Douglas Adams and producer Graham Williams the Doctor (Tom Baker) and Romana ta a holiday in Paris where they unravel a mystery involving six original Mona Lisas!Running Time: 100 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS UPC: 794051239921 Manufacturer No: E2399

The late Douglas Adams (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) co-wrote this enormously popular four-part story from 1979, which pits the Doctor (Tom Baker) and Romana (Lalla Ward) against a time-traveling alien (Julian Glover) whose body, fragmented by an accident, spurred evolution millions of years ago. Now restored to his full (and horrific) form, he plans to travel back in time and prevent the destruction of his ship--which in turn would profoundly affect the course of humanity. A terrific blend of science-fiction thrills and humor (well-played by Baker and Ward), City of Death also benefits from its Paris locations and terrific performances by Glover and Space: 1999's Catherine Schell, as well as a pair of unexpected cameos from John Cleese and Eleanor Bron as art critics. The story's high caliber was rewarded with phenomenal ratings (reportedly, the largest ever for Doctor Who), and has remained a fan favorite ever since.

DVD features
Thanks to its popularity, the two-disc DVD of City of Death comes with an abundance of typically topnotch supplemental features. The commentary by Glover, co-star Tom Chadbon, and director Michael Hayes, is the longest and most informative of the extras, but it's well-matched by Paris in the Springtime, a 45-minute making-of featurette that offers rare archival interviews with Adams and many of the cast (but not Baker or Ward, sadly) and crew. Paris, W12 offers 20 minutes of studio footage taken from 1/2-inch videotape, while Prehistoric Landscapes and Chicken Wrangler are very different views of the story's special effects (the latter is a particularly amusing glimpse at the challenges of working with live animals). Finally, there's Eye on Blatchford, a wry parody of BBC "human interest" news items, here focusing on another alien attempting to live peacefully in the rural English countryside. Production notes and photos and a batch of well-concealed Easter eggs round out this highly enjoyable set. --Paul Gaita

Doctor Who - The Five Doctors (Episode 130)

Yes, "The Five Doctors" is the one that gathers together Hartnell, Troughton, Pertwee, Baker, and Davison, dumps them on some moorland, and lets some of the Doctor's greatest enemies take potshots at them. Except, of course, William Hartnell had passed on by the time this series was made in 1983 (although his replacement Richard Hurndall does an excellent job), and Tom Baker was only featured as a patched-in cameo, apparently prevented from joining in by a temporal thingummy. However, this kind of creakiness comes with the territory and is soon forgotten. The assorted incarnations of the Doctor (together with a scattering of assistants) are drawn together through time and space to battle Daleks, Cybermen, Yeti--those weird androids that keep jumping into the air and disappearing--and many other old foes. They realize that they're on their home planet of Gallifrey and must eventually deal with the legacy of Rassilon, founder of the Time Lords. --Roger Thomas

THE FIVE DOCTORS - "I am being diminished, whittled away piece by piece. A man is the sum of his memories you know, a Time Lord even more so." Someone is taking the Doctor's past selves out of time and space, placing in a vast wilderness - a battle arena with a sinister tower at its center. As the various incarnations of the Doctor join forces, they learn they are in the Death Zone on their home world of Gallifrey, fighting Daleks, Cybermen, Yeti - and a devious Time Lord Traitor who is using the Doctor and his companions to discover the ancient secrets of Rassilon, the first and most powerful ruler of Gallifrey.The Five Doctors was originally broadcast to celebrate the Twentieth Anniversary of Doctor Who in 1983. This new version of the story features extended scenes, previously unseen sequences, new visual effects and a stereo soundtrack. Not intended as a replacement for the original edition of the story, this is an alternative version which uses state-of-the-art technology to embellish and enlarge one of the greatest Doctor Who adventures ever.
THE KING'S DEMONS - "We sing in praise of total war; against the Saracen we abhor" It is thirteenth century England, and King John is visiting the castle stronghold of Sir Ranulf Fitzwilliam. Ranulf's personal fortune has dwindled away, freely donated to Kin John to help fund the Crusade. While staying with Ranulf, the King's greed is criticized by the baron's head-strong son, Hugh. As a result, Hugh is challenged to a duel by the monarch's enigmatic French Knight-at-Arms, Sir Giles Estram, a duel the young Englishman has little hope of surviving.When the TARDIS materializes and disturbs the joust, the Doctor's party are proclaimed friendly demons by the King, who seems strangely interested in their "blue engine." Before long the Doctor becomes embroiled in court politics, and he realizes that there is far more to the situation than a simple battle of honor between nobles.

DVD Features:
Deleted Scenes
Music Only Track

Doctor Who: The Five Doctors [Region 2]

Yes, "The Five Doctors" is the one that gathers together Hartnell, Troughton, Pertwee, Baker, and Davison, dumps them on some moorland, and lets some of the Doctor's greatest enemies take potshots at them. Except, of course, William Hartnell had passed on by the time this series was made in 1983 (although his replacement Richard Hurndall does an excellent job), and Tom Baker was only featured as a patched-in cameo, apparently prevented from joining in by a temporal thingummy. However, this kind of creakiness comes with the territory and is soon forgotten. The assorted incarnations of the Doctor (together with a scattering of assistants) are drawn together through time and space to battle Daleks, Cybermen, Yeti--those weird androids that keep jumping into the air and disappearing--and many other old foes. They realize that they're on their home planet of Gallifrey and must eventually deal with the legacy of Rassilon, founder of the Time Lords. --Roger Thomas