Doctor Who - The Legacy Collection product reviews

I was excited to see this DVD set, as we only have one set of Dr Who at home currently, and it is also Tom Baker. I suspect he is one of my favourite doctors, though he is the doctor I was first exposed to all those years ago. Shada is an unfinished Dr Who story. Strike action at the Beeb meant that it was cancelled before all of the filming had been completed. What was created, was then held in storage until now. Interestingly, that was not normal BBC procedure back in the day. They just didn't see why people would watch a repeat, so many tapes were destroyed or rescued by staunch fans (this is covered in one of the documentaries in the special features).

Shada is introduced by a now much older Tom Baker. We watched the first three episodes back to back. My daughter was entranced and didn't want to stop watching. "More Dr Who" was chanted at us until we decided to stop and make her go outside for some sunshine. The episodes are well put together, considering their incomplete-ness. I did find the cuts to current Tom Baker to be disruptive at first. These increase through the story, for anything that wasn't filmed but needs explaining. Eventually I got used to the interruption.

The script was written by Douglas Adams who wrote Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. My husband is a huge fan of his writing. I admire it, but I wouldn't call myself a die-hard Adams fan. Still the script for Shada was brilliant for its time. The jokes are very funny and the timing for delivery was spot on. Its such a shame this was cancelled at the time it was. Every so often, my husband would laugh and say "that's so Adams" about whatever a line was. My daughter loved K9 and the Dr and the Tardis so much she has asked to see more and more. So we have a happily converted 5 year old. The ex-film student in me adored the documentaries too. A great peek into the history of television making, women in film, and other bits and pieces.

As a fan of Doctor Who I had mixed feelings about a DVD set with an unreleased and incomplete story. Despite the appeal of viewing previously unseen material, I was concerned the main feature might have an unpolished feel to it. I was very much relieved to find this was not the case.

The box set consists of two disc cases: Shada and the More Than 30 Years in the Tardis documentaries. The material in this box set is clearly aimed at fans of the Classic Dr Who series and others will struggle with it. That said, die hard fans will enjoy the treasure trove of previously released and unreleased material.

Shada
Shada is a double disc of an unreleased Classic Dr Who story staring perhaps the most renowned incarnation of The Doctor played by Tom Baker. As discussed at length in supporting material on the discs, filming of the story was interrupted by industrial action and not resumed. The story is presented as a series of fully edited scenes with Tom Baker narrating the unfilmed sequences. The story itself shows the kind of wit you would expect of something written by Douglas Adams (of Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy fame). Fans of Romana and K9 will not be disappointed by this story. Unusually a female perspective of Dr Who is given in the Being a Girl documentary.

More Than 30 Years in the Tardis
Fans will readily relate to the Dr Who viewing experiences of the cast and crew presented in the main feature. Additional highlights include snippets from across the Classic Dr Who series allowing the viewer moments of nostalgia as they try to place them in context of the stories. Some of the shots of early homemade daleks are simply hilarious. Cast and crew members interviewed in the other documentaries are often quite candid in their discussions of the filming conditions and limitations placed on them. The Deadly Divas documentary offers an insight into character of the many female villains in Dr Who.

The Shada story is quite watchable despite significant periods of narration and its novelty is very rewarding for the dedicated fan. The documentaries make for an interesting and pleasant way to fill in time when not watching Dr who itself.