Doctor Who - Beneath The Surface Box Set This Summer, With Silurians, Sea Devils & Warriors of the Deep

In an early "heads-up" to retailers, distributor Warner Home Video has revealed BBC Video's plans for the USA release of 3 new classic Doctor Who DVD releases (all digitally restored/remastered), along with a box set of these stories collected into a package called Doctor Who - Beneath The Surface. These stories feature the Time Lord's three classic battles against the Silurians, then the Sea Devils, and finally both races together! Here are all the known details:

• Doctor Who - Story #052: Doctor Who And The Silurians - Also known as simply "The Silurians", this story stars Jon Pertwee as the 3rd Doctor. "The Doctor is summoned to an underground research center, and soon discovers that the nearby cave system conceals a colony of an ancient race called the Silurians." This 7-part production was first broadcast in 1970 and is available in color for the first time (it "was the first Doctor Who story to be made on colour videotape", per the Restoration Team) The 175 running time requires 2 discs, that includes extras such as Commentary (with director Timothy Combe, producer Barry Letts, script editor Terrance Dicks, actors Caroline John, Peter Miles, Geoffrey Palmer and Nicholas Courtney), Isolated Music, Photo Gallery, Production Notes, a "Coming Soon" Trailer, DVD-ROM Material, and 5 Featurettes: "What Lies Beneath," "Going Underground," "Now and Then," "Musical Scales," and a look at the color restoration process in "Colour Silurian Overlay" (note: it probably will be spelled "color" on the North American release; "colour" is the popular spelling in the U.K.). Keep an eye out for Geoffrey Palmer ("Lionel", As Time Goes By) in some episodes; he returned to Doctor Who recently with the 10th Doctor in the Christmas episode "Voyage of the Damned". Cost of The Silurians by itself is expected to be $34.98 SRP, based on previous 2-Disc releases.
  
  
• Doctor Who - Story #062: The Sea Devils - This time the 3rd Doctor (Jon Pertwee) goes up against an old enemy, who leads an army made up of a race related to the Silurians. "When the Doctor and Jo Grant (Katy Manning) pay a visit to the Master (Roger Delgado) at a top security prison, the Doctor soon finds himself pitted against the Sea Devils, an ancient race of reptiles intent on eliminating humankind." This 1972 production comes in 6 parts, which is presented on a single DVD running 147 minutes. Expect extras to include Commentary (with director Michael Briant, producer Barry Letts and script editor Terrance Dicks, moderated by late-eighties script editor Andrew Cartmel), a behind-the-scenes Featurette called "Hello Sailor!," Isolated Music, a Photo Gallery, Production Notes, an 8mm Film home movie shot by a Royal Navy sailor who was an extra in the production, Trailers and Continuity Pieces, DVD-ROM Material and a "Coming Soon" trailer. Cost is expected to be $24.98 SRP, based on previous single-disc releases.
  
  
• Doctor Who - Story #131: Warriors of the Deep - The 5th Doctor (Peter Davison) faces both races in this 4-part story from 1984. "On Sea Base Four, the Doctor, Tegan (Janet Fielding) and Turlough (Mark Strickson) find themselves accused of being enemy agents. However, there is a greater threat to humankind: the Silurians and Sea Devils have formed an alliance." This single-disc release runs 97 minutes and includes supplements such as a Commentary (with actors Peter Davison and Janet Fielding, script editor Eric Saward and visual effects designer Mat Irvine), Featurettes "They Came from Beneath the Sea" and "The Depths", a BBC Schools production called "Science in Action" (featuring Doctor Who visual effects designer Mat Irvine), Isolated Music, a Photo Gallery, Production Notes, DVD-ROM Material, Trailers and Continuity Pieces and a "Coming Soon" trailer for more classic Doctor Who DVDs. Cost is again expected to be $24.98 SRP.

Information about extras on these releases is credited to the Restoration Team website, and could be subject to change. All other information comes from our industry contacts (who provide it to us on condition of remaining anonymous); we appreciate your long, regular help!

As we said at the beginning, all three releases will be collected into a 4-DVD set called Doctor Who - Beneath The Surface. It packs the above titles into a nice slipcase. We have a thumbnail of that box for you on the left; it's the only package art available so far. Retailers have been told that this collection will cost only $59.98 SRP...which is much less to pay (probably as much as twenty dollars cheaper) than getting these releases separately!

What is the release date for all four of these titles? Doctor Who - Beneath The Surface (pictured), Doctor Who - Story #052: Doctor Who And The Silurians, Doctor Who - Story #062: The Sea Devils and Doctor Who - Story #131: Warriors of the Deep will be available starting on June 3rd. Don't miss them!