This past weekend, the excellent website known as "Outpost Gallifrey" posted
this news about upcoming
Doctor Who DVDs:
At last, we're getting details about North America's 2004 list of Doctor Who selections. Having now exhausted the VHS range, the current plans call for the distribution of two DVDs per quarter, released at the same time, likely in February, May, August and November. According to email from BBCAmericaShop, the first two DVDs for 2004 will be The Seeds of Death starring Patrick Troughton and, in a surprise move, The Three Doctors starring Jon Pertwee, Troughton and William Hartnell. ("Three Doctors" is only seeing release next month in the UK!) This is, of course, subject to change. We do know that at this time there are no plans for an additional North America-only boxed set (like "The Key to Time") and that only stories released first in the UK will be on this schedule.
Today BBCAmerica and their distributer, Warner Home Video, officially announced those first two
Doctor Who DVD releases of 2004. As reported above, they are indeed
The Seeds of Death (Story #48, starring Patrick Troughton), and
The Three Doctors (Story #65, starring Jon Pertwee, Patrick Troughton and William Hartnell). However, they won't make February as Outpost Gallifrey thought. Although the order due date is the second of February,
the actual street date is March 2, 2004 for the first pair. Both are 1.33:1 video aspect, and have English soundtracks and subtitles. Here is the rundown:
The Seeds of Death is a 2-DVD package, and has a list price of $34.98. It comes with a wealth of supplements: Audio Commentary by actors Frazer Hines and Wendy Padbury, director Michael Ferguson, and script editor Terrance Dicks; Original 8mm footage of the filming of the lost classic The Evil of the Daleks (#38); Newly discovered footage from the missing episodes of The Web of Fear (#43) and The Wheel in Space (#45); "Sssowing the Ssseedsss" (a new 25-minute featurette on #41 The Ice Warriors); Cast Biographies; and a Production Note subtitle track. The running time for this feature is 145 minutes.
In the late 21st century the human race has become totally dependent on T-Mat, a revolutionary form of instant travel. The Doctor, Jamie and Zoe arrive on Earth just as T-Mat is suffering a malfunction. Sinister Ice Warriors from Mars have seized the lunar T-Mat Station to launch an invasion of Earth. Their preliminary plan is to transport deadly seedpods that will unleash a fungus capable of absorbing the world's oxygen. The Doctor must race against time to defeat the invaders - or the human race will be doomed to suffocation.
The Three Doctors is a single-disc item, and the SRP is $24.98. Extras include: an Audio Commentary track with actors Katy Manning and Nicholas Courtney, and producer Barry Letts; Interviews with actors Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Katy Manning, Nicholas Courtney and writers Bob Baker and Dave Martin; Cast Biographies, Photo gallery; and a Production Note subtitle track. Run time clocks in at 98 minutes.
The Doctor and UNIT are called upon to investigate strange events surrounding Dr. Tyler's research into cosmic rays. UNIT HQ comes under attack by an alien force, and the Doctor has no other option but to call on the Time Lords for help. The Time Lords, too, are under attack - from a mysterious power emanating from a black hole in space. With power reserves falling, the only way they can help the Doctor is to break the First Law of Time and allow him to help himself. The First and Second Doctors are lifted out of their time streams and sent to Earth to help the Third. Between the three of them, they must find a solution to the threat that not only endangers UNIT and Earth, but also the future of the Time Lords themselves.
This looks like the start of a great year, one which could potentially also see releases of
Earthshock,
The Curse of Fenric,
The Two Doctors, and perhaps even
The Doctor Who TV Movie. Stay tuned, and we'll inform you about future
Doctor Who DVD releases just as soon as their plans are made known.
We at TVShowsOnDVD would like to thank Rich Kirkpatrick, Jessie Loflin, and Lee Hubbard for their contributions to this story.
