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Posted: |
Dec 10, 2012 - 11:41 AM
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By: |
johnjohnson
(Member)
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Some further news regarding the Blu Ray release of Spearhead From Space.
03 December 2012: Doctor Who – the world’s longest running sci-fi TV series – turns 50 in 2013, having aired on the BBC for the first time on November 23rd, 1963. To celebrate this landmark anniversary, BBC Worldwide has commissioned BBC Studios and Post Production’s Digital Media Services team to remaster the four-part story, Spearhead from Space. Originally broadcast in January 1970, the story features John Pertwee’s first outing as the Third Doctor and was the first colour production of the iconic series.
Spearhead from Space is the only story from the original Doctor Who series that can be remastered into genuine HD, owing to unusual circumstances at the BBC during filming. A scene-shifters strike at Television Centre in 1969 meant that the entire story was filmed on location using 16mm film rather than recording to video tape, which allowed the team at BBC Studios & Post Production to remaster the story.
Working with the 16mm format meant BBC S&PP’s Digital Media Services lead colourist Jonathan Wood took a different approach to the grading of Spearhead from Space. He explains: “The look of this HD remaster is a low-key filmic approach, which gives it more of a dramatic result. Working with the original negative and using a powerful non-linear grading system, we decided to treat this four-part story like an individual filmed drama rather than thinking of it as part of an ongoing series normally shot in a TV studio.”
BBC S&PP’s Digital Media Services team used a variety of specialist tools for the remastering process. First, the original 16mm A/B roll negatives were scanned using a state-of-the-art Scanity film scanner and conformed using Nucoda Film Master. The negative of one episode had reacted with chemicals during a wet-gate printing process several years ago, so an alternative inter-positive element had to be utilised. Residual picture movement due to physical film joins was eliminated and Nucoda's restoration tools were used to remove dirt and stabilise the footage. Dark Energy lessened the grain and Diamant Dustbuster cleaned-up poor joins, remaining dirt, and other diffuse markings. Finally, the dustbusted files were imported back into Nucoda Filmmaster to finesse the final master version with the addition of the previously remastered soundtrack for playout to HDCAM-SR.
Clive Hodge, head of Digital Media Services at BBC Studios & Post Production, added: ‘We’re delighted to have teamed up with BBC Worldwide to have remastered such an iconic programme for its 50th anniversary. Doctor Who is one of the few series to remain popular through the ages, and it’s fantastic that the younger generations will have the chance to see this landmark story in the same picture quality that they’ve become used to with the more recent series.’
The Blu-ray will be released through BBC Worldwide on 15 July 2013.
http://www.bbcstudiosandpostproduction.com/news/121203_dr_who.html
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Posted: |
Dec 10, 2012 - 1:42 PM
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By: |
johnjohnson
(Member)
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Hello Mate,
Any release date on "The Mind of Evil"?
No word yet. I believe it's still being worked on. Terror of the Zygons is being prepared for a June 2013 release. Listed below is what's been announced so far.
With the first quarter of 2013 announced, speculation continues over which stories will be released over the course of the rest of the year in the lead-up to Doctor Who's Fiftieth Anniversary in November.
The currently confirmed stories include the final two complete adventures Terror of the Zygons (June) and the as-yet unscheduled The Mind of Evil. Also confirmed is a special edition release of Inferno - producer Dan Hall reported in September that four special editions were on the way, and with The Visitation recently revealed this completes those initial commissions (the others being February's The Ark in Space and March's The Aztecs). At least one additional (currently unnamed) special edition has now been commissioned, though whether this would be released next year has yet to be confirmed.
With regard to animations, though there have been no formal announcements post January's The Reign of Terror, Hall had explained that stories with a maximum of two episodes missing were being considered as commercially viable: stories meeting this criteria are The Crusade, The Tenth Planet, The Underwater Menace, The Moonbase and The Ice Warriors. Of those, sound designer Brian Hodgson indicated in June that he'd recorded a commentary for The Moonbase (and possibly The Underwater Menace), and Frazer Hines told the audience at the Dimensions convention that he'd recorded a documentary for The Ice Warriors alongside Sonny Caldinez - the latter story also had a trailer passed by the BBFC on 5th December, suggesting this adventure might well be out sometime next year.
The Ark in Space (SE)
The BBFC have classified extras for The Ark in Space special edition, currently scheduled for the 18th February; as well as a brand new "Making Of", the release will also include the Omnibus version of the story, originally edited for a repeat broadcast on 20th August 1975.
Movie Version:
01:09:48:01 DOCTOR WHO - THE ARK IN SPACE
DVD Extras:
00:29:51:23 A NEW FRONTIER - MAKING THE ARK IN SPACE
00:07:04:00 THE ARK IN SPACE - PHOTO GALLERY
00:01:03:17 (THE ARK IN SPACE - CGI SEQUENCE A)
00:00:22:22 (THE ARK IN SPACE - CGI SEQUENCE B)
00:00:18:12 (THE ARK IN SPACE - CGI SEQUENCE C)
00:00:16:03 (THE ARK IN SPACE - CGI SEQUENCE D)
00:00:16:21 (THE ARK IN SPACE - CGI SEQUENCE E)
00:00:07:11 (THE ARK IN SPACE - CGI SEQUENCE F)
Audio Commentaries
The Aztecs (SE)
The BBFC have classified extras for The Aztecs special edition, currently scheduled for the 11th March. As previously reported, this release contains the recovered Galaxy 4 episode Air Lock, and the extras reveal that reconstructions of the missing episodes (originally planned for The Time Meddler) will also be presented on this release. In addition, a 1969 episode of archaeology series Chronicle has been included which looks into the history of Mexico at the time of the Spanish conquest.
Value Added Material:
00:28:08:06 DOCTOR WHO - GALAXY 4
00:24:19:14 DOCTOR WHO - AIR LOCK
00:12:10:01 THE EXPLODING PLANET
Special Edition - Added Material:
00:49:49:14 CHRONICLE - "THE REALMS OF GOLD"
00:07:20:06 IT'S A SQUARE WORLD
00:04:31:07 (A WHOLE SCENE GOING)
00:22:33:15 DR. FOREVER! - THE CELESTIAL TOYROOM
A fresh set of production information text has been written for the episodes by Matthew Kilburn.
Terror of the Zygons
Slated for June next year, extras for the DVD release were classified by the BBFC back in July; one of the items passed was a "director's cut" of episode one, of which more detail is now known. Originally filmed but then cut due to grading issues, the opening scene with the Doctor, Sarah and Harry arriving in Scotland by TARDIS was discovered amongst the collection of the story's film editor Ian McKendrick, consisting of partial colour, partial black and white footage and soundtrack. The clip, lasting around a minute and a half, has had the monochrome sections colourised for the DVD by Stuart Humphryes (aka Babelcolour), who also worked on the colourisation of episode one of The Mind of Evil. The finished scene, which also includes its incidental music as composed by Geoffrey Burgon (featured on the CD soundtrack of Terror of the Zygons and The Seeds of Doom released in 2000), has been incorporated back into episode one and viewers will be able to select which version of the episode they wish to watch.
As Restoration Team member Steve Roberts puts it:
It's an AWFULLY good scene. And of course one that hasn't been seen before - a couple of minutes of brand-new Tom, Lis and Ian action from one of the most highly regarded stories in the show's history!
Meanwhile, since original classification a couple of new developments have been announced for the two-disc release. Firstly, a contemporary interview conducted by the south coast regional BBC news programme South Today was recently rediscovered, and fortunately there has been time to include the three minute item on the DVD.
Steve Roberts also reported that the late inclusion of the above has meant that it should be possible to include a 35 second clip from Disney Time, presented by Tom Baker in character as the Doctor, onto the DVD as an Easter Egg (previously to be included on a different release).
The Visitation
Confirmation of the commissioning of this story came via the latest edition of Vortex Magazine from audio producers Big Finish. In an interview with Fifth Doctor Peter Davison the actor mentioned filming the documentary, joking over titling the story The Re-Visitation:
That was one of the lines, actually, that we gave poor Mark [Strickson, Turlough] who wasn’t in The Visitation, but who was acting as a kind of host and asking us questions. One of the lines they gave him at the end was, "I hope you enjoyed revisiting The Visitation". We went down to various locations, Janet [Fielding, Tegan], Sarah [Sutton, Nyssa] and myself, and the house where we filmed, the manor house, and we went to Black Park, which is where we did the filming for the woods – Black Park being the BBC’s standard location for country filming.
The documentary is produced by a newcomer to the DVD range, Russell Minton.
Clarifying some of the restoration work on the episodes themselves, Steve Roberts explained that the picture quality of this release had already been greatly improved for the original 2004 release:
Coupled with the fact that a lot of the location filming was underexposed anyway, people aren't going to see anything like the sort of improvement they would have seen from a new neg transfer versus the original eighties print transfer. However, the MPEG noise-pumping problems that plagued the earlier release shouldn't be a problem, especially as the two-disc format will enable us to allocate a much better bitrate to the episodes.
Nicholas Pegg confirmed that there will be a fresh set of production information text to accompany the episodes, too.
http://www.doctorwhonews.net/2012/12/classic-series-dvds-081212114508.html
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Posted: |
Dec 12, 2012 - 7:50 PM
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By: |
johnjohnson
(Member)
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A pair of classic Doctor Who stories originally put out on DVD back in 2002 and 2003 are being re-released as Special Editions on March 12th. The folks at BBC Home Entertainment today announced that the 1st Doctor (William Hartnell) adventure Doctor Who - Story #006: The Aztecs: Special Edition will be joined on that date by the 4th Doctor (Tom Baker) adventure Doctor Who - Story #076: The Ark In Space: Special Edition. Full-sized artwork for this SE of The Aztecs can be found at the bottom; early thumbnail-sized artwork for the SE of The Ark In Space is visible on the right. That's early artwork and could be subject to change; we'll have full-sized finalized images for you once the BBC has made it available and begun distributing it. Unofficial word about the brand new extras for Aztecs can be found here and there around the web, but we'll update you with an official list once the studio makes that available. Meanwhile, we have a copy-and-paste of the bonus items for The Ark In Space which distributor Warner Home Video has sent to retailers, but we're not certain yet if this is a finalized list yet either...stay tuned!
Doctor Who - Story #006: The Aztecs: Special Edition (William Harnell as the 1st Doctor)
2 discs, 99 minutes, 4 episodes, full frame video, English mono audio, English subtitles, $34.98 SRP
The TARDIS arrives in fifteenth century Mexico inside the tomb of one-time Aztec High Priest Yetaxa. The travelers become cut off from the ship when they explore the temple outside and the tomb door closes behind them. Barbara is proclaimed by the High Priest of Knowledge, Autloc, as Yetaxa's divine reincarnation. However, she incurs the enmity of the High Priest of Sacrifice, Tlotoxl, when - against the Doctor's advice - she attempts to use her new-found authority to put an end to the barbaric Aztec practice of human sacrifice once and for all. But can she rewrite history without disastrous consequences?
Extras:
To Be Announced
Doctor Who - Story #076: The Ark In Space: Special Edition (Tom Baker as the 4th Doctor)
2 discs, 98 minutes, 4 episodes, full frame video, English mono audio, English subtitles, $34.98 SRP
The TARDIS lands on a wheel-like space station orbiting the earth in the distant future. It's seemingly deserted, but the Doctor, Sarah and Harry soon discover that they are not alone. Thousands of humans - the only survivors of the human race - are in cryogenic sleep, and while they've slept their Ark has been invaded. A parasitic insect race - the Wirrn - have taken control..and threaten the very future of mankind!
Extras:
"Audio Commentary: by actors Tom Baker and Elisabeth Sladen and producer Philip Hinchcliffe Interviews: with designer Robert Murray-Leach. Archival interview with Tom Baker Other: New CGI model footage and 3D Ark schematic Production Notes: Optional caption stream" (NOTE: may not be final)
http://tvshowsondvd.com/news/Doctor-AztecsSE-and-ArkInSpaceSE/17862
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Posted: |
Dec 18, 2012 - 4:49 PM
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By: |
johnjohnson
(Member)
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A week ago we brought you the BBC's announcement for a March 12th North American release of both Doctor Who - Story #006: The Aztecs: Special Edition and Doctor Who - Story #076: The Ark In Space: Special Edition on DVD. At the time we only had thumbnail package art for Ark in Space, but now we've gotten ahold of full-sized finalized 3D artwork for that title; see it at the bottom (along with Aztecs again). We also didn't have the finalized list of bonus material for these releases, but now the BBC has provided a full list of the extras for these digitally remastered (both picture and sound quality) versions of the stories. Here these are, which are a copy-and-paste of the studio information (excepting a note I composed to explain one of these special features in more detail):
Doctor Who - Story #006: The Aztecs: Special Edition
Audio Commentary
Doctor Who - Story #018: Galaxy 4
[NOTE: this first story of the original show's third season, starring William Harnell as the 1st Doctor, was among those productions "wiped/junked" by the BBC in the 60s & 70s. In 2011 a 16mm reel of the 3rd episode, "Airlock," was located and has been restored. It will be included on this DVD release, reportedly along with narration and surviving clips/stills of the 1st, 2nd and 4th episodes "Four Hundred Dawns," "Trap of Steel" and "The Exploding Planet"]
Chronicle - The Realms of Gold
Doctor Forever! - Celestial Toyroom
It's a Square World
A Whole Scene Going
Remembering The Aztecs
Designing The Aztecs: Cortez and Montezuma
Restoring The Aztecs
Making Cocoa
Easter Egg
TARDIS-Cam no.3
Photo Gallery
Intro sequences
PDF materials: Radio Times Listings
Production Note Subtitles
Doctor Who - Story #076: The Ark In Space: Special Edition
Audio Commentary
A New Frontier
Roger Murray-Leach Interview
Model Effects Roll
CGI Effects Roll
3D Technical Schematics
Trailer
Alternative Titles
Alternative CGI Sequences
TARDIS-Cam no.1
The Ark in Space - Movie Version
Doctor Forever! Love & War
Scene Around Six
Robot 8mm Location Film
Easter eggs (3)
Photo Gallery
PDF materials: Radio Times Listings; the Doctor Who Technical Manual; tie-in promotional materials for Crosse & Blackwell, and for Nestlé
Production Note Subtitles
http://tvshowsondvd.com/news/Doctor-AztecsSE-and-ArkInSpaceSE/17883
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Posted: |
Dec 26, 2012 - 10:50 AM
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By: |
johnjohnson
(Member)
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BBC Consumer Products have sent DWO the covers and details for the Doctor Who DVD release of The Legacy Collection.
Shada
Featuring: The 4th Doctor
Never aired on television due to a strike in 1979, and never fully completed, the six-part adventure 'Shada' traces the chase to recover a powerful book, the Artifacts of Gallifrey, stolen from retired timelord Professor Chronotis (Denis Carey).
Skagra (Christopher Neame) is the evil despot responsible for this foul jiggery pokery.
Original footage from this episode was used as the Fourth Doctor's involvement in 'The Five Doctors', before it was reassembled, with an older and portlier Tom Baker narrating the missing gaps.
Cleared Special Features:
• 00:25:35:09 TAKEN OUT OF TIME - THE MAKING AND BREAKING OF SHADA
• 00:12:41:20 SHADA - NOW AND THEN
• 00:27:46:01 STRIKE! STRIKE! STRIKE!
• 00:30:08:15 BEING A GIRL
• 00:04:46:06 SHADA - PHOTO GALLERY
** Also included is the 2003 Animated version Shada (Flash version) for PC or Mac with Paul McGann and Lalla Ward.
More Than 30 Years In The TARDIS
Documentary
Also included is the BBC-produced documentary ‘More Than Thirty Years in the Tardis’, a compilation of clips spanning the first thirty years of the Doctor, including some never before seen on television, plus interviews with the many stars, writers, producers and designers.
Cleared Special Features:
• 00:25:57:14 - REMEMBERING NICHOLAS COURTNEY
• 00:13:29:06 - DOCTOR WHO STORIES - PETER PURVES
• 00:10:33:21 - THE LAMBERT TAPES - SUCCESS STORY
• 00:01:47:21 - RICHARD MARTIN'S MEMORIES OF VERITY
• 00:22:35:23 - THOSE DEADLY DIVAS
• 00:06:04:02 - MORE THAN THIRTY YEARS IN THE TARDIS - PHOTO GALLERY
http://news.drwho-online.co.uk/#The-Legacy-Collection-(Box-set)-DVD-Covers-Details
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Posted: |
Dec 26, 2012 - 10:51 AM
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By: |
johnjohnson
(Member)
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BBC Consumer Products have sent DWO the cover and details for the Doctor Who DVD release of The Ark In Space: Special Edition.
The Ark In Space: Special Edition
Featuring: The 4th Doctor
The Fourth Doctor's first trip in the TARDIS brings him, with Sarah Jane and a very skeptical Harry Sullivan, many thousand years into the future to Nerva, a space station in Earth's orbit.
The Doctor is amazed to discover that Nerva is nothing less than an ark for the human race. Having evacuated Earth when the solar activity threatened all life on the planet, these few hundred survivors have been drifting in suspended animation for thousands of years.
Even more perplexing is the discovery that someone has sabotaged Nerva's vital systems. The Doctor reactivates the systems, and one by one, the human race begins to awake from its enforced deep sleep. The future of humankind appears secure until the Doctor learns that the larvae of the Wirrn, a hostile insect race, are also aboard.
Special Features:
• Audio Commentary
• A New Frontier
• Roger Murray-Leach Interview
• Model Effects Roll
• CGI Effects Roll
• 3D Technical Schematics
• Alternative Titles
• Alternative CGI Sequences
• TARDIS-Cam no.1
• The Ark in Space - Movie Version
• Dr. Forever! Love & War
• Scene Around Six
• Robot 8mm Location Film
• Coming Soon Trailer
• Easter eggs (3)
• Photo Gallery
• PDF materials: Radio Times Listings, the Doctor Who Technical Manual, tie-in promotional materials for Crosse and Blackwell and Nestle
• Production Note Subtitles
• Digitally remastered picture and sound quality
http://news.drwho-online.co.uk/The-Ark-In-Space-Special-Edition-DVD-Cover-Details.aspx
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Posted: |
Jan 15, 2013 - 6:51 AM
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By: |
johnjohnson
(Member)
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Review of The Reign of Terror.
When The Doctor lands the TARDIS back on Earth with the express intention of putting Barbara and Ian off the Ship, the original crew find themselves caught up in the tail end of the infamously bloody and grisly French Revolution. In 1794 Paris, crawling with ne'er-do-wells, jumped up "citizens" and people who'd sell their own grandmother, the time travellers must not only reach the safety of the TARDIS once more, they must avoid losing their own heads to the guillotine. Separated from each other, stranded in a different time, and heading for the chop, things are looking bleak for the team...
Episodes Four and Five of The Reign of Terror are missing from the archive; however using the same ingenuity previously shown in The Invasion release with Patrick Troughton, the missing episodes have been animated, and then matched to the extant soundtrack to complete the story for release. The animated instalments may not have the polish of the Cosgrove Hall episodes from the Troughton release, but the work here is top notch, intricately detailed, and doesn't detract at all from the story being told. The artwork for the characters and sets is beautiful - and showcased later in the DVD.
So without any further ado, let's Carry On...
Don't Lose Your Head - The de rigeur "making of" featurette. Carol Ann Ford, still with that mischievous twinkle in her eye, and William Russell lead the talking heads discussing green directors, walking to France, buckets to catch rain in, and the curse of Lime Grove studios.
The documentary touches on some less than happy subjects - such as nervous breakdowns on set - and it's sadly here where the featurette gets bogged down and somewhat less than glowing in review. Thankfully, however, eventually it all has a happy ending; mostly down to TV Centre, and people recovering from illness. An honest look back, warts and all, as it were.
Robespierre's Domain Set Tour - An animated extra, no less! It's basically a look around the set design of the Prison from the story, set to lots of really annoyingly echo and reverbed sound bites.
It's all beautifully done, and very short; and if you can tune out the mucked-around-with sound, a stunning, brief look at what's basically some lovely artwork.
Commentary - Toby Hadoke chairs the discussion once more; in attendance are Tim Combe (Production Assistant), Carol Ann Ford (Susan), and various guest cast members take the third seat in each episode. Toby and guests have a lot more issues when it comes to talking about the animated episodes; they hadn't been done when the commentary was recorded, so full marks to them from trooping bravely onwards! Lots of gentle behind the scenes nattering with nothing new or earth-shattering to impart, but it's nice to hear anecdotes from people who filmed this story nearly fifty years ago, and are still happy to talk about the time they spent on Doctor Who.
Photo Gallery/Animation Gallery - Yup, there's two of 'em! The first is the usual stills gallery of publicity and behind the scenes shots; with some rather nice candid snaps in there. The second gallery however is much more interesting, showing the design schematics for animating the main cast members - and they look superb. From William Hartnell and his walking stick and ring, to an incredible shot of Barbara going from photo to artwork, this is a little gem of a library.
Info Text - Four episodes only of the fun facts and trivial tales this time. From the historic first time the full sized TARDIS prop had been filmed landing onwards, the usual array of information and career information on the stars meanders happily on until we reach the end of episode three, at which point it states it will return in episode six. There's no info text for the two animated episodes at all.
Coming Soon Trailer - It's another special edition release: Tom Baker's second story gets another look in, as The Ark In Space gets a makeover edition. It's Time Lord versus Wirrn, and an amazing story to boot. One thing though: if the adult Wirrn have six legs, why do they all shuffle/hop about on their bum?
With the usual Subtitles and Audio Navigation available, and the PDF Radio Times clippings should you view the DVD on your computer, The Reign Of Terror is a wonderful treat for fans who never thought they'd see this story released. The quality and sound are optimal as always, and the animation is sublime. The extras aren't huge in quantity, but are certainly of outstanding quality. A real treat of a DVD, with a strong story, Hartnell on perfect form, and a rare quality historical piece that all too quickly vanished from Doctor Who.
http://news.drwho-online.co.uk/#Review-The-Reign-Of-Terror-DVD
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Posted: |
Jan 23, 2013 - 12:26 PM
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By: |
johnjohnson
(Member)
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The cover and contents of the forthcoming two-disc special edition DVD release of The Ark In Space in the UK have been finalised.
All four episodes have been newly remastered, using advances in technology and technique, and are supported by an expanded collection of bonus features.
The Ark In Space - Special Edition
Release date: 18th February 2013
Starring Tom Baker as the Doctor, with Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith and Ian Marter as Harry Sullivan
Written by Robert Holmes
Directed by Rodney Bennett
Broadcast: 25th January - 15th February 1975
The TARDIS arrives on the apparently deserted and deactivated space station Nerva, otherwise known as the Ark, orbiting Earth in the far future. There, the Doctor, Sarah and Harry discover the last survivors of the human race held in suspended animation, Earth having been evacuated thousands of years earlier when solar flares threatened to destroy all life. However, the Ark's occupants face a new threat in the form of the Wirrn - an invading insect life form.
Special Features
•Commentary: With actors Tom Baker and Elisabeth Sladen plus producer Philip Hinchcliffe
•A New Frontier: Making The Ark In Space
•TV movie version: The 70-minute repeat compilation of the story that was broadcast on 20th August 1975
•Dr Forever! – Love And War: A new documentary examining the Virgin/BBC Books novelisation range produced during the show's hiatus. Interviewees include Russell T Davies and Mark Gatiss
•Scene Around Six: 1978 news footage of Tom Baker's public appearances in Northern Ireland
•8mm location footage: Amateur film shot during Tom Baker's first story
•Interview: With designer Roger Murray-Leach
•Alternative title sequence and model footage
•Optional CGI effects
•Original BBC trailer
•3D technical schematics
•Photo gallery
•TARDIS Cam
•Coming Soon trailer
•Production information subtitles
•Radio Times listings, Doctor Who Technical Manual, plus Crosse & Blackwell and Nestlé promotional material (Adobe PDF format)
•Digitally remastered picture and sound quality
http://www.doctorwhonews.net/2013/01/ark-in-space-special-edition-final-cover-230113162817.html
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Posted: |
Jan 31, 2013 - 8:42 AM
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By: |
johnjohnson
(Member)
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The cover and contents of the forthcoming two-disc special edition DVD release of The Aztecs in the UK have been finalised.
As well as representing a huge technical improvement on the original DVD release from 11 years ago, it also features a selection of new extras and the premiere of the recently recovered third episode of Galaxy 4. Missing for many years, the episode is presented in its entirety, within a shortened reconstruction of the rest of the adventure.
The Aztecs - Special Edition
Release date: 11th March 2013 (available for pre-order)
Starring William Harnell as Doctor Who, with Carole Ann Ford as Susan, William Russell as Ian, and Jacqueline Hill as Barbara
Written by John Lucarotti
Directed by John Crockett
Broadcast: 23rd May - 13 June 1964
The TARDIS arrives in fifteenth century Mexico inside the tomb of Aztec High Priest Yetaxa. The travellers become cut off from the ship after the tomb door closes behind them and Barbara is proclaimed as Yetaxa's divine reincarnation. However, she incurs the enmity of the High Priest of Sacrifice, when - against the Doctor's advice - she attempts to use her new-found authority to put an end to the Aztec practice of human sacrifice.
Special Features - Disc One
•Commentary - with actors William Russell and Carole Ann Ford, producer Verity Lambert OBE.
•Arabic Soundtrack - optional soundtrack for episode four only.
•Remembering The Aztecs - actors John Ringham, Ian Cullen and Walter Randall recall the production of the story and of television production in the sixties in general.
•Designing The Aztecs - designer Barry Newbery talks about his work on the story, illustrated with many never-before-seen production drawings and photographs from his personal collection.
•Cortez and Monezuma - an extract from a 1970 Blue Peter, introduced by Valerie Singleton on location in Mexico, giving historical background to the Aztec belief in human sacrifice.
•Restoring The Aztecs - a short featurette demonstrating the restoration and videoisation effects used for the release. With subtitles.
•Making Cocoa - an animated guide to making cocoa the Aztec way, voiced in character by John Ringham as Tlotoxl and Walter Randall as Tonila, with both characters animated and presented in South Park style.
•TARDIS-Cam no.3 - the third of BBCi’s TARDIS-Cam shots.
•Photo Gallery - production, design and publicity photos from the story
•Easter Egg - an animated BBC Enterprises logo recovered from the end of one of the prints sold overseas.
•Intro Sequences - the umbrella story title The Aztecs does not appear on any of the episodes, so for (outdated now) BBFC compliance a caption card with the title has been provided. To add interest, six versions have been provided, each with a different voiceover, in character, from three of the actors involved in the production. The intention is that the disc will randomly select one of these six sequences and play it out at the appropriate point.
•PDF Material – Radio Times listings in Adobe PDF format for viewing on PC or Mac
•Programme subtitles
Special Features - Disc Two
•Galaxy 4 (dur. 64’ 43”) – a shortened reconstruction of the missing story Galaxy 4, using off-screen stills, audio recordings and animation plus the recently recovered complete episode three to tell the story.
•Chronicle – The Realms of Gold – John Julius Norwich’s superlative 1969 retelling of the story of the Spanish conquest of Mexico and the Aztecs, which also features music by the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.
•Dr. Forever! – Celestial Toyroom – the first of a new five-part series introduced by Ayesha Antoine looks at Doctor Who toys. With original series producer Verity Lambert, new series creator Russell T Davies, writers Mark Gatiss, Rob Shearman, Paul Cornell and Joseph Lidster, BBC Worldwide product licensing executive Richard Hollis, product approval executive Dave Turbitt and ex- range editor Steve Cole, AudioGO commissioning editor Michael Stevens, Character Options’ Alasdair Dewar, DWM’s toy reviewer Jim Sangster and last, but by no means least, Doctor Who’s very own Winston Churchill, actor Ian McNiece.
•It’s a Square World – the very first Doctor Who skit (as far as we can ascertain), with Clive Dunn in full First Doctor costume as a scientist demonstrating his new space rocket to Michael Bentine, resulting in Television Centre being launched into space! Features cameo appearances by Patrick Moore and Albert Steptoe.
•A Whole Scene Going – an excerpt from a recently recovered edition of the sixties music and arts programme, featuring an interview with director Gordon Flemyng and a behind the scenes look at filming of his movie Daleks’ Invasion Earth: 2150 AD.
•Coming Soon - a trailer for a forthcoming DVD release.
•Radio Times Listings - in Adobe PDF format.
•Programme subtitles
http://www.doctorwhonews.net/2013/01/aztecs-310113125008.html
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Back in December the BBFC classified a trailer for Second Doctor story The Ice Warriors - this trailer has now been confirmed for the forthcoming The Aztecs - Special Edition DVD, though it should be noted that, as the name implies, the trailer illustrates a release that is "Coming Soon". Restoration Team member Steve Roberts clarified:
I think you'll find The Ice Warriors has moved further back in the schedule. These things happen. It's one of the reasons we no longer put "Coming Soon" on the trailers, now it's simply "Doctor Who on DVD".
Though the trailer indicates that the story is to be released, there is no indication as yet if the new DVD presentation will also feature animated recreations of the missing episodes two and three in the same way as this week's release of The Reign of Terror. Steve Roberts has reported previously, however, that the DVD would include the reconstruction of those episodes that appeared on the original VHS release back in 1998.
The official confirmation of story releases beyond The Aztecs will be announced later in the year.
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Meanwhile, the colour restoration work undertaken on The Mind of Evil is almost complete, with the Restoration Team reporting on Monday: "At TV Centre, grading episode one of The Mind of Evil - back in colour and looking stunning!". Unlike episodes two to six, which contained the chromadot information enabling Richard Russell to restore their original colour, the first had no such detail and needed to be painstakingly coloured from scratch by Stuart Humphryes and Peter Crocker.
The fruits of everybody's efforts will be premiered at the BFI on 10th March. The DVD release of the story has yet to be announced.
http://www.doctorwhonews.net/2013/01/dvd-update-300113130008.html
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BBC Worldwide have announced the Doctor Who stories that will be released on DVD in the United Kingdom up to September this year. As well as the titles known previously, the list confirms the inclusion of the colourised Third Doctor adventure The Mind of Evil, the incomplete Second Doctor tale The Ice Warriors, and also the animated 2003 story Scream of the Shalka - which starred Richard E Grant as the (very) short-lived online 'Ninth' Doctor.
The complete list of dates are as follows:
25th February: The Ark in Space: Special Edition
11th March: The Aztecs: Special Edition (plus Galaxy 4 reconstruction)
6th May: The Visitation: Special Edition
27th May: Inferno: Special Edition
3rd June: The Mind of Evil
24th June: Terror of the Zygons
15th July: Spearhead from Space Blu-Ray
5th August: The Green Death: Special Edition
26th August: The Ice Warriors
16th September: Scream of the Shalka
Unlike last month's release of The Reign of Terror, there has been no word on whether August's The Ice Warriors will also feature animated episodes, with only the condensed reconstruction of episodes two and three that accompanied its original VHS release in 1998 confirmed so far. No new information on features to accompany other releases in the list have been revealed since our previous updates.
As yet there has been no indication of how the final four existing episodes - The Tenth Planet(1-3) and The Underwater Menace(2) - are to be presented.
The Visitation:
In addition to above, the BBFC have now classified the features that will be presented on the second disc of The Visitation Special Edition, due in May:
00:45:08:13 GRIM TALES - REVISITING THE VISITATION
00:27:29:06 DR. FOREVER! - THE APOCALYPSE ELEMENT
00:32:11:20 DOCTOR WHO - THE TELEVISION CENTRE OF THE UNIVERSE
The main disc will contain the original features from the 2004 release, though has revised production notes compiled by Nicholas Pegg, and (of course) newly remastered episodes.
http://www.doctorwhonews.net/2013/02/dvds-070213221508.html
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BBC Worldwide have announced the Doctor Who stories that will be released on DVD in the United Kingdom up to September this year. As well as the titles known previously, the list confirms the inclusion of the colourised Third Doctor adventure The Mind of Evil, the incomplete Second Doctor tale The Ice Warriors, and also the animated 2003 story Scream of the Shalka - which starred Richard E Grant as the (very) short-lived online 'Ninth' Doctor.
The complete list of dates are as follows:
3rd June: The Mind of Evil
Excellent! Thanks for the heads-up!
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