Look What They Dug Up! by David Lambert (All reviews)
8/21/2002
"You might almost say they've had a complete metal breakdown"
You would have a breakdown, too, if you tried to keep up with the history of Doctor Who. It all started in 1962, with a survey the BBC (British Broadcasting Corp.) put forth, looking into the feasibility of Science Fiction shows. After a long development, it led to the November 23, 1963 broadcast of the very first Doctor Who episode ever, "An Unearthly Child". 4.4 million viewers tuned in, and they told friends: by the following week it was up to 6 million viewers.
The concept was straightforward: a cantankerous old man and his "companions" traveling through time and space in a TARDIS. "TARDIS" stands for Time And Relative Dimensions In Space. This particular TARDIS is a somewhat faulty time-traveling device, with a "chameleon circuit" that has been on the blink since the first episode, making the vehicle forever in the shape of a British police box. Additionally, the passengers do not always have complete control of their destination, as the navigation controls are constantly in need of repair.
Going from time to time and place to place, it was assured that the characters would always find themselves in some dangerous situation, with only their wits to save themselves - and often the planet, or even galaxy - from a dismal and bitter end. The most popular recurring enemies our heroes faced were the alien Daleks, as well as the robotic Cybermen (who are the focus of this DVD's story). Doctor Who was considered to be a children's science fiction program, with a low budget that often shows up in special effects that are best described as "cheesy", but for fans have become part of the series' undeniable charm.
William Hartnell played the original Doctor. After playing the 650-year-old Time Lord for three years, and with the actor's health in jeopardy, it was reluctantly decided that he should step down from the role. However, with enthusiasm for the program still high, it was determined that the show must go on.
The producers came up with the concept of "regeneration". The idea was that the Doctor's alien body could regenerate into that of a younger man, and continues on in its new form. The process would subtract, in the case of this regeneration, about 200 years from The Doctor's age (which led to the first on-screen revelation of the Doctor's age in "Tomb of the Cybermen": 450 years, post-regeneration).
The new form of the Doctor was that of Patrick Troughton, who had made a BBC splash over a decade earlier in the role of Robin Hood. With the Doctor's new appearance came a new attitude, that was a bit lighter and even a tad immature in tone. Also there came new companions in his journeys: just one month after the change in Doctors, he took on board the TARDIS a kilt-wearing Scotsman named Jamie, who came from the highlands of the 1700's.
In May 1967 came the new Doctor's second companion. Victoria was appropriately named, having come from Victorian England, where the time-invading Daleks had murdered her father. Now alone, she was seen at the end of the fourth season's final installment, still in her 1800's-era gown, coming on board the TARDIS as a new companion, where the Doctor encourages Jamie to help her find clothing more suitable to their forthcoming adventures.
The DVD: "The Tomb of the Cybermen"
That final act was reprised as the beginning scene of the September 1967 fifth season kick-off serial, "The Tomb of the Cybermen". "Tomb" was the third appearance of these mechanized foes, introducing for the first time their leader, the CyberController, along with their somewhat mousy-looking "Cybermat" creatures. The plot was that the TARDIS had landed on the planet Telos, lost home of the Cybermen, where an archeological expedition was in the process of unearthing the tombs that the Cybermen had buried themselves in. Two logicians financed and accompanied the expedition, and they planned to use the strength of the robotic warriors to conquer and remake the Earth in their own "logical" image. It was a typical "with my brains, and your brawn..." sort of plot, but well designed and acted. The Cybermen turned the tables on the logicians, and havoc ensued...leaving the fate of all in the Doctor's hands.
This 4-part serial became one of the most popular episodes of Doctor Who. Unfortunately, it was lost along with almost every other serial of the show from the Hartnell/Troughton era. You see, Doctor Who was shot and aired on videotape, but also transferred to 16mm film to be used to sell to overseas markets. The film versions were put in the hands of BBC Enterprises, who kept their stock until deemed as "no longer marketable". At the time they destroyed their remaining stock of the older Who episodes, it was unknown to them that the BBC Engineering Dept. had, years before, performed a routine wiping of the videotapes of those old episodes to make room in their storage facility. You see, Engineering knew full well - or so they thought - that BBC Enterprises would have the 16mm versions "forever". Well, the left hand definitely didn't know what the right hand was doing! The result? That this serial, like all the others from the black-and-white years, was thought to be lost for all time.
In January 1992, a television station in Hong Kong returned to the BBC Archives a 16mm print of the complete "Tomb of the Cybermen" serial. At that time, a celebration of sorts ensued, and the surviving cast and crew of the rediscovered episode reassembled for the first time in years to view the story once again. Their reactions were discussed at a "Tombwatch" event, which has been incorporated onto this DVD as an extra (see below). The existing print was released, pretty much as-is, onto VHS later during the same year.
Years later, the print was put in the hands of the Doctor Who Restoration Team, who ultrasonically cleaned the print, transferred onto a high-end post-production telecine, and then imported into digital format where the majority of the restoration took place. Over 16,000 repairs were made to the four-part serial, including a massive effort for the final part...4500 frames had to be restored! The restoration was completed for transfer to DVD in the summer of 2001, for release to DVD in Great Britain 10 years to the month after the episode's recovery: January 2002. Now, after a long eight-month wait, the DVD was released in Region 1, and Doctor Who fans in North America can enjoy this terrific adventure...for the first time, in the vast majority of cases!
The four chapters that make up this serial are all here on this DVD. The easy-to-navigate menu system allows you to play the entire episode all at once, or to jump to a particular chapter and view only it. If you wish, it even allows you to go to a specific scene within any of the chapters. Each of the chapters is broken into five sections, plus the end credits, giving you six choices per chapter.
Video
Giving a rating to the video quality of this presentation is difficult. Does it look textbook perfect? Hardly. Does it look as good as it's original broadcast, 35 years ago? I couldn't really claim that: despite the excellent restoration, there is still the occasional blemish to cross the screen, which obviously wasn't there in the beginning. Regardless of comparison to the original broadcast, is it viewable with no complaints about what you are seeing? Not quite. The most obvious complaint can be seen when the camera pans quickly, or if characters move at a brisk pace across the screen: a blurring around the edges of objects in motion, which actually hurts my eyes a bit. Also, blacks are not always true black, and as a result the shades at the lighter end of the spectrum can wash out a bit when a strong light source is introduced.
Having said all of that, now...HOW is the video? REALLY? Well...SUPERB, given the circumstances! Is it watchable? Absolutely it is. Can you see everything you need to see? Unquestionably!
The gray scale, despite being a bit on the high end of the scale (was it shot like this?), contains a satisfying array of subtle tones. Besides being a budget consideration, the black-and-white Doctor Who shows of the late 60's were considered "moodier" because of the lack of color, and Tomb is a great example. Shadows are eerie, menacing. The electronic panels found throughout the tombs' antechambers take on a more advanced look than I believe they would have in a color broadcast. And, at the end, when a Cyberman meets a rather gruesome (at the time) end - one that caused a bit of a controversy, actually, though laughable by today's standards - the effect is made all the more intense with the contrast of the lighter fluids spilling out against the darker floor.
This is definitely the best video result that could ever be obtained for this feature. Without a doubt, the faults are forgivable. I think that the faults I've mentioned are most easily seen on the larger-screen televisions, so if you have a screen to watch it on in the under-35" range, it might be preferable. Even if that's not possible for you, because your monster home theater setup is the only thing you've got a DVD player hooked up to, I don't think you should shy away from this disc. It's too enjoyable, and the few negatives aren't really worth worrying over.
Audio
If you follow my reviews, you may notice that I tend to naturally give high scores to Audio presentations. My policy is very simple: if the audio format is identical to the original television broadcast, and if it doesn't sound like a complete and utter piece of garbage, it will get a high score. It's difficult for me to impart a perfect score, because perfection is hard to achieve. But most DVDs of television shows come close...it's rare to see a substandard soundtrack on a TV DVD.
"Tomb of the Cybermen" is no different. Presented in English mono, it preserves the original audio format. The Restoration Team performed a lengthy audio restoration - mostly with the aid of a Macintosh computer, mind you! - which results in a soundtrack that is as close to the original broadcast as one could ever hope for. The only changes made were to accommodate any tiny frame edits to accompany the video portion of the restoration effort. And you won't notice them.
The audio portion of the Doctor Who Restoration Team should consider this among their best work. And, if you don't know it, be aware that the Team is a volunteer group with separate full-time jobs, who do this work in their spare time, on the basis of separate BBC-funded projects. They did an awesome job with the video restoration here, and the audio work was simply superb!
"Tomb of the Cybermen" is also English Subtitled for the hearing impaired, a definite plus.
This disc is chock-full of extras...more than you can explore in one sitting. Lets go over them:
Title Test Sequences: A look at the original set of effects recorded, intended to be integrated into the opening credits sequence. A psychedelic arrangement, even in black and white. It will make you wonder at the skill of video effects technicians in an age when computer-generated graphics were unavailable!
"Late Night Line-Up": This was a separate BBC show, a newsmagazine of sorts, which ran an article about the special effects used in various BBC programs. This color article has been edited to focus on the Doctor Who portions, including "Tomb of the Cybermen" creatures such as the Cybermats, and that version of the article is included among this disc's supplements
Photo Gallery: 25 photographs, some in color, of work both in front of and behind the camera during filming.
"The Final End": A short 8mm sequence taken from the end of the episode "The Evil of the Daleks", which immediately preceded "Tomb of the Cybermen", and introduced the character of Victoria. Here we see a very different Dalek Emperor than the one seen on a previous DVD release, "Remembrance of the Daleks" (shot years later). He is commanding his Dalek troops, who are at civil war with each other, to cease fighting in his command room. The resulting mayhem leads to dire consequences for the Dalek homeworld of Skaro.
"Tombwatch": As mentioned previously, a celebration of the 1992 discovery of the lost episode, "Tomb of the Cybermen", featured a viewing of the entire serial by all of its surviving principal cast and crew. This panel discussion of their experiences in creating the show, and viewing it again for the first time in 25 years, was recorded at a BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) event capping the recovery celebration.
Remastering for DVD: A look at the efforts of the Doctor Who Restoration Team, featuring selected shots both "before" (taken from the VHS released in 1992) and "after" (footage as used on the new DVD release). A feature that will reaffirm to all of you my comments regarding the excellence of this restoration work!
Morris Barry Intro: An introduction recorded for the 1992 VHS, by the director of the 4 "Tomb" chapters.
Information Text: A subtitle track commentary used to provide behind-the-scenes production notes concerning scenes, props, actors, and effects. Very nice.
Commentary Track by Frazer Hines and Deborah Watling: These are the two actors who portrayed the Doctor's companions in this serial, and throughout most of the fifth season. A fun reunion, they enjoyed it so much they insisted on watching the first three chapters without break! You can tell they had a good time, and you will too. However, I recommend that you do NOT turn both this commentary and the Info Text on at the same time; it tends to be too much information to process at once. Enjoy them separately.
Who's Who: A layman's guide to the characters you will meet in this episode of Doctor Who.
Easter Egg #1: From the "Play All" option in the main menu, press UP on your remote. The Doctor Who logo at the top of the screen will turn green. Pressing Enter on your remote will display the opening title sequence separately, without taking you into any of the chapters. Not much to it, but it's neat.
Easter Egg #2: With the Doctor Who logo highlighted in green, as in the first Easter Egg, press RIGHT on the remote. A Cybermen icon will appear on the middle picture along the top row. Note that pressing enter now will do nothing. Also note that pressing Right more will move the Cybermen icon to the two right-side pictures, which still accomplishes nothing. However, if you press LEFT on the remote instead, a green circle appears over the picture of Patrick Troughton. Pressing Enter will treat you to a scene from "Tomb of the Cybermen", where The Doctor and Victoria solemnly discuss topics such as his age, her father, and the importance of what our heroes do. This sequence has a somewhat different look to it than the in-episode version, but I cannot quite put my finger on it. I'm probably missing something obvious.
{EDIT: My thanks to reader Andrew Raymond, who wrote in to tell me that the thing I couldn't put my finger on was, in his own words, "This is the best work of the Restoration Team yet. You will get to see it in it's full glory on (the upcoming) release of the first season story "The Aztecs"...In short: Doctor Who was made on video with 25 frames of 50 interlaced fields per second. All that remains of the oldest episodes, are film copies of the video, made by shooting a film camera at a broadcast screen, resulting in a 24 frame per second picture, loosing half the resolution. Most early TV programs were transferred to film in this way. In the US it is called kinescope. VidFIRE is the videoising process developed by the Restoration Team's Peter Finklestone to restore the 'video look' to film recordings. For the first time, it has been possible to recreate the way that Doctor Who looked on its original transmission." That's a great explanation, Andrew, and one that ties in nicely with my desire to see all the classic TV Shows shown in a manner as close as possible to that in which they originally aired. Thanks again for your explanation, as well as your reminder that the first Easter Egg also displays the opening sequence in a "clean" manner, free from text overlays of titles or credits. And my thanks to the Restoration Team for their never-ending efforts toward Doctor Who perfection! - DAVID LAMBERT}
Easter Egg #3: In the Special Features menu, on the 2nd page, choose "Audio Options" (which is the area that allows you to activate the commentary). Pressing LEFT on your remote will again turn the Doctor Who logo at the top to a green color. Pressing Enter this time will treat you to an audio-only advertisement for the Doctor Who series "The Abominable Snowmen", which followed "Tomb of the Cyberman" in broadcast order.
Summary
I don't know what else to say about this DVD. I think I've said it all as I went: great story, an awesomely restored video presentation, near-perfect audio, and more supplements than a 35-year-old feature has a right to provide.
I have been a Doctor Who fan since my teenage days, when I wasn't able to catch enough of the show due to the local PBS station's erratic scheduling of the program. I often saw the later Doctors, especially Tom Baker, and didn't get a chance to appreciate Patrick Troughton's work like I should have. In this serial I can see his charm shine through.
I thoroughly enjoyed this DVD. In fact, I've enjoyed it more than I've enjoyed most other discs in my rather immense collection. Somewhere in one of the supplements on this disc - there are so many I lost track of where this was said - someone commented that this feature was a better production than most films, and made at a fraction of the cost. I have to agree with that. I can now understand the near-mythological status that this particular episode achieved, and the reasons for the sheer joy that fans expressed upon its recovery from Hong Kong. This is a super show, highly entertaining...not just for any science fiction buff, but for anyone, period.
