A week ago we
reported that
July 12th will see the DVD release of the classic 5th Doctor (Peter Davison) story
Doctor Who - Story #132: The Awakening for USA/Canada. At first we thought it was by itself for the month, when all 2011-long the BBC and Warner Home Video had been scheduling classic
Who DVD releases in pairs. Later that day we
passed along word that it wasn't alone for July after all; the BBC (with Warner) would also be releasing the 1st Doctor (William Hartnell) tale
Doctor Who - Story #025: The Gunfighters on DVD that same day.
That later-in-the-day info last week knocked out our original theory, that the "companion" (heh, heh...a bit of
DW humor there!) title for the month of July could possibly be Matt Smith in
Doctor Who - The 6th Series, Part 1, reflecting the split-season broadcast status of the new episodes that debut at BBC America on April 23rd (have you seen
the new BBC One trailer made available today for the debut episode, "The Impossible Astronaut"?). MAYBE (that's a big "maybe"), however, our theory about that might be back in place for August (closer to the September broadcast debut for the "back half" of the sixth season).
Why? Because today BBC/Warner has announced exactly ONE classic
DW DVD title for North American release in the month of August.
August 9th, to be precise...and this time it's a long-awaited 7th Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) tale:
Doctor Who - Story #149: Paradise Towers. The thumbnail- sized early box art (subject to change) is on the right, and here are all the available details (including an early list of extras which may also be subject to change, a portion of that list is courtesy of our friends at DoctorWhoNews.net).
Doctor Who - Story #149: Paradise Towers (Sylvester McCoy as the 7th Doctor)
1 disc, approx. 98 minutes, 4 episodes, full frame video, English mono audio, English subtitles, $24.98 SRP
According to the sales brochure, Paradise Towers is a utopian blueprint for community living, with its fabulous architecture and state-of-the-art facilities. The perfect place for Mel to take a leisurely swim, in fact. But when the TARDIS arrives, the Doctor and his companion discover that the futuristic tower block has fallen into ruin, and a series of unexplained disappearances have the tenants living in fear. As gangs of teenage girls run wild in the hallways, a squad of bureaucratic Caretakers struggle to regain control. To keep the citizens of Paradise Towers safe, the Doctor must confront the resident evil lurking in the basement.
Extras:
- Audio Commentary with Judy Cornwall ("Maddy"), Stephen Wyatt (writer), Mark Ayres (composer), and Dick Mills (sound effects)
- Choice of the "As-Aired" Score (by Keff McCulloch) or the Rejected Score which it replaced (by David Snell)
- Featurette: Girls, Girls, Girls: 1980's
- Featurette: Horror of the High-Rise
- Featurette: Jigsaw
- PDF materials: Radio Times Listings
- Production Notes Subtitle Option
Of course, we could most certainly be wrong (again) about a "Series 6, Part 1" Matt Smith release happening. It's just my own personal theory, at least for now...that's all. It just makes sense to expect it, though!
Speaking of Matt Smith, a pre-Doctor Who role he had is also coming to DVD in North America soon: if you missed yesterday's news about a BBC show he was in called Party Animals (described as "a political drama"), then you may want to check it out!
