Doctor Who DVD/BD News Thread

[DigiFluid]

And on the heels of Alan's R2 news... The Krotons and Death to the Daleks announced as R1's July releases, hitting shelves on July 10!

[DigiFluid]

Spearhead from Space: Special Edition and The Greatest Show in the Galaxy are the August releases for R1! Coming August 14!

[Alan]

DVD Update: The Ambassadors of Death / Special Editions
Wednesday, May 23, 2012 - Posted by Chuck Foster

The Ambassadors of Death
The British Board of Film Classification have passed the special features for the forthcoming DVD release of the Jon Pertwee adventure The Ambassadors of Death:.

00:01:27:01 (DOCTOR WHO - THE AMBASSADORS OF DEATH) (TRAILER)
00:13:05:07 TOMORROW'S TIMES - THE THIRD DOCTOR
00:04:24:15 THE AMBASSADORS OF DEATH - PHOTO GALLERY
00:25:49:16 MARS PROBE 7: MAKING THE AMBASSADORS OF DEATH

The DVD has yet to be formally scheduled, though it is believed to be due in Autumn this year.

Special Editions
The BBFC have also passed some of the features due to appear on September's special edition of Vengeance on Varos:

00:01:07:01 (NEWS) (TELEVISION NEWS CLIP)
00:15:07:11 (SATURDAY SUPERSTORE) (TELEVISION CLIP)
00:05:41:15 BBC BREAKFAST TIME (TELEVISION CLIP)

Speaking at the Utopia convention, Steve Roberts confirmed that another story to get the special edition treatment will be Jon Pertwee's adventure Inferno; the episodes are to be 're-coloured' using the black and white film prints and the NTSC reverse standard conversions recordings to create a better quality image to the original 2006 release. The project will also include a 'secret project' alongside the range's commentary moderator and presenter Toby Hadoke. The DVD is expected to be released in 2013.

Actor John Levene also reported that he had recently recorded a documentary which, though unconfirmed, could feature on this DVD.

Link to original article here: http://www.doctorwhonews.net/2012/05...bassadors.html

[DigiFluid]

And the September (11) R1 release will be....Planet of Giants!

[The Flyattractor]

Does anybody know if Dr.WHO is still avaliable on Netflix?

[DigiFluid]

^ Not a clue


The second R1 September release has been announced as a Special Edition re-release of Vengeance on Varos.


I wish they'd stop this re-release business and just hurry up with the ones that haven't had a first release yet

[Alan]

The Ambassadors of Death in Colour
Monday, July 02, 2012 - Posted by Marcus

BBC Worldwide has confirmed that the 1970 Doctor Who story, The Ambassadors of Death, will be released on DVD in full colour.

The seven part story was made originally made in colour as part of the first Jon Pertwee season, but the only master tape to remain in the BBC Archive is that of Episode One. The rest of the story was only kept as 16mm black and white film.

A second generation colour copy does exist as an off air recording from WNED Channel 17 in Buffalo, New York and this was used to restore episodes five and six to colour for the 2002 Video release. At the time it was not possible to restore the remainder of the story.

With the advances in technology over the last decade, it is now possible to restore colour to the complete story. It was hoped to release the story last year, paired with the 1977 story The Sun Makers, however problems with restoration process caused the release to be postponed in order to allow the restoration team more time to achieve the best results on the story.

It is expected that the DVD will be released later this year.

Link to original article here: http://www.doctorwhonews.net/2012/06...-death-in.html

[Alan]

DVD Update: Terror of the Zygons
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 - Posted by Chuck Foster

The British Board of Film Classification has passed special features that will appear on the forthcoming DVD release of the last complete Tom Baker adventure Terror of the Zygons:

00:26:25:04 THE UNIT FAMILY - PART THREE
00:19:38:05 MERRY-GO-ROUND - THE FUEL FISHERS
00:01:47:19 (EASTER EGG)

No release date for the story has been announced at present.

The current confirmed schedule consists of Planet of Giants for 20th August, Vengeance on Varos (special edition) for 10th September, and The Ambassadors of Death for 1st October. Online retailers have also listed The Claws of Axos (special edition) for 22nd October.

Other known releases still be to scheduled include The Legacy Boxset (known to feature Shada and More Than Thirty Years In The TARDIS), The Reign of Terror (with animated episodes 4+5), Inferno (special edition), and The Mind Of Evil (with colourised episode 1), plus the two recently returned episodes Galaxy Four: Air Lock and The Underwater Menace: Episode 2. How the remaining episodes of The Tenth Planet and The Ice Warriors are to be released has yet to be announced.

The Ambassadors of Death - Cover

A clean version of the cover art by Lee Binding for October's The Ambassadors of Death has been published via the Tea-Lady Design Facebook page.

Link to DVD cover of The Ambassadors of Death: http://images.doctorwhonews.net/image.php?pid=6357

Link to clean cover of The Ambassadors of Death: http://images.doctorwhonews.net/image.php?pid=6356

Link to original article here: http://www.doctorwhonews.net/2012/07...terror-of.html

[Blencathra]

I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on most of these DVDs, but mainly the Ambassadors of Death and The Mind of Evil.

I also need to buy the Inferno Special Edition as my current copy won't play the last episode any more. I hope there are lots of extra goodies.

[DigiFluid]

Shada DVD news!

[Alan]

Air Lock for March
Thursday, 18 October, 2012 - Posted by Chuck Foster

As reported by Dan Hall at Recon last month, the new issue of Doctor Who Magazine has a summary of the DVDs scheduled for the beginning of 2013, which includes the announcement that the recently recovered and restored third episode of the William Hartnell story Galaxy 4, Air Lock, will be released as a bonus episode on the special edition version of Season 1 story The Aztecs.

Other releases lined up for the first quarter include the previously reported Legacy Box on 7th January, the animation-enhanced The Reign of Terror on 28th January, a special edition version of The Ark in Space on 18th February, and the above-mentioned special edition of The Aztecs on 11th March. No features for the DVDs have been announced at present.

In addition, the last 'intact' story of the range, Terror of the Zygons has been announced for June (The Mind of Evil undergoing colour restoration) - features for the final Tom Baker release were unexpectedly revealed by the BBFC back in July.

Finally, DWM also revealed that Jon Pertwee's inaugural story Spearhead from Space is to be released yet again in June, this time taking advantage of the 'classic' series story's unique film recording to produce a high-definition Blu-ray presentation. Features on this release will include an extensive biography on Pertwee and an obituary for his co-star Caroline John, who died earlier this year.

Future History ...
Since our summer update the list of currently unannounced titles has diminished rapidly, with only fourteen episodes remaining to see the DVD treatment:

• The First Doctor: The Tenth Planet - three existing episodes, missing episode four
• The Second Doctor: The Underwater Menace: Episode 2
• The Second Doctor: The Ice Warriors - four existing episodes, missing episodes two+three
• The Third Doctor: The Mind of Evil - all six episodes, episode one is in the process of being colourised

In addition, several special edition versions of previously released stories are expected during the course of the year, including Inferno.

Link to original article here: http://www.doctorwhonews.net/2012/10...012114508.html

[Blencathra]

DVD Update: 2013 updates and expectations

http://www.doctorwhonews.net/2012/12...212114508.html

With the first quarter of 2013 announced, speculation continues over which stories will be released over the course of the rest of the year in the lead-up to Doctor Who's Fiftieth Anniversary in November.

The currently confirmed stories include the final two complete adventures Terror of the Zygons (June) and the as-yet unscheduled The Mind of Evil. Also confirmed is a special edition release of Inferno - producer Dan Hall reported in September that four special editions were on the way, and with The Visitation recently revealed this completes those initial commissions (the others being February's The Ark in Space and March's The Aztecs). At least one additional (currently unnamed) special edition has now been commissioned, though whether this would be released next year has yet to be confirmed. Speaking at last month's Dimensions convention, Cyberman actor David Banks reported that he'd recorded a new commentary for Earthshock, though this has not been corroborated elsewhere.

With regard to animations, though there have been no formal announcements post January's The Reign of Terror, Hall had explained that stories with a maximum of two episodes missing were being considered as commercially viable: stories meeting this criteria are The Tenth Planet, The Underwater Menace, The Moonbase and The Ice Warriors. Of those, sound designer Brian Hodgson indicated in June that he'd recorded a commentary for The Moonbase (and possibly The Underwater Menace), and Frazer Hines told the audience at Dimensions that he'd recorded a documentary for The Ice Warriors alongside Sonny Caldinez - the latter story also had a trailer passed by the BBFC on 5th December, suggesting this adventure might well be out sometime next year.

The Ark in Space (SE)

The BBFC have classified extras for The Ark in Space special edition, currently scheduled for the 18th February; as well as a brand new "Making Of", the release will also include the Omnibus version of the story, originally edited for a repeat broadcast on 20th August 1975.

Movie Version:
01:09:48:01 DOCTOR WHO - THE ARK IN SPACE

DVD Extras:
00:29:51:23 A NEW FRONTIER - MAKING THE ARK IN SPACE
00:07:04:00 THE ARK IN SPACE - PHOTO GALLERY
00:01:03:17 (THE ARK IN SPACE - CGI SEQUENCE A)
00:00:22:22 (THE ARK IN SPACE - CGI SEQUENCE B)
00:00:18:12 (THE ARK IN SPACE - CGI SEQUENCE C)
00:00:16:03 (THE ARK IN SPACE - CGI SEQUENCE D)
00:00:16:21 (THE ARK IN SPACE - CGI SEQUENCE E)
00:00:07:11 (THE ARK IN SPACE - CGI SEQUENCE F)

Audio Commentaries


The Aztecs (SE)

The BBFC have classified extras for The Aztecs special edition, currently scheduled for the 11th March. As previously reported, this release contains the recovered Galaxy 4 episode Air Lock, and the extras reveal that reconstructions of the missing episodes (originally planned for The Time Meddler) will also be presented on this release. In addition, a 1969 episode of archaeology series Chronicle has been included which looks into the history of Mexico at the time of the Spanish conquest.

Value Added Material:
00:28:08:06 DOCTOR WHO - GALAXY 4
00:24:19:14 DOCTOR WHO - AIR LOCK
00:12:10:01 THE EXPLODING PLANET

Special Edition - Added Material:
00:49:49:14 CHRONICLE - "THE REALMS OF GOLD"
00:07:20:06 IT'S A SQUARE WORLD
00:04:31:07 (A WHOLE SCENE GOING)
00:22:33:15 DR. FOREVER! - THE CELESTIAL TOYROOM


Terror of the Zygons

Slated for June next year, extras for the DVD release were classified by the BBFC back in July; one of the items passed was a "director's cut" of episode one, of which more detail is now known. Originally filmed but then cut due to grading issues, the opening scene with the Doctor, Sarah and Harry arriving in Scotland by TARDIS was discovered amongst the collection of the story's film editor Ian McKendrick, consisting of partial colour, partial black and white footage and soundtrack. The clip, lasting around a minute and a half, has had the monochrome sections colourised for the DVD by Stuart Humphryes (aka Babelcolour), who also worked on the colourisation of episode one of The Mind of Evil. The finished scene, which also includes its incidental music as composed by Geoffrey Burgon (featured on the CD soundtrack of Terror of the Zygons and The Seeds of Doom released in 2000), has been incorporated back into episode one and viewers will be able to select which version of the episode they wish to watch.

As Restoration Team member Steve Roberts puts it:

It's an AWFULLY good scene. And of course one that hasn't been seen before - a couple of minutes of brand-new Tom, Lis and Ian action from one of the most highly regarded stories in the show's history!

Meanwhile, since original classification a couple of new developments have been announced for the two-disc release. Firstly, a contemporary interview conducted by the south coast regional BBC news programme South Today was recently rediscovered, and fortunately there has been time to include the three minute item on the DVD.

Steve Roberts also reported that the late inclusion of the above has meant that it should be possible to include a 35 second clip from Disney Time, presented by Tom Baker in character as the Doctor, onto the DVD as an Easter Egg (previously to be included on a different release).


The Visitation

Confirmation of the commissioning of this story came via the latest edition of Vortex Magazine from audio producers Big Finish. In an interview with Fifth Doctor Peter Davison the actor mentioned filming the documentary, joking over titling the story The Re-Visitation:

That was one of the lines, actually, that we gave poor Mark [Strickson, Turlough] who wasn’t in The Visitation, but who was acting as a kind of host and asking us questions. One of the lines they gave him at the end was, "I hope you enjoyed revisiting The Visitation". We went down to various locations, Janet [Fielding, Tegan], Sarah [Sutton, Nyssa] and myself, and the house where we filmed, the manor house, and we went to Black Park, which is where we did the filming for the woods – Black Park being the BBC’s standard location for country filming.

The documentary is produced by a newcomer to the DVD range, Russell Minton.

Clarifying some of the restoration work on the episodes themselves, Steve Roberts explained that the picture quality of this release had already been greatly improved for the original 2004 release:

Coupled with the fact that a lot of the location filming was underexposed anyway, people aren't going to see anything like the sort of improvement they would have seen from a new neg transfer versus the original eighties print transfer. However, the MPEG noise-pumping problems that plagued the earlier release shouldn't be a problem, especially as the two-disc format will enable us to allocate a much better bitrate to the episodes

.

Nicholas Pegg also confirmed that there will be a fresh set of production information text to accompany the episodes.

[Blencathra]

This may be interest to US fans. Amazon.com are selling Series 5 and 6 on BD for $23.49 each, which I understand is a lot cheaper than previously sold? Best Buy apparently have them at $19.99 but are sold out.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...F8&me=&seller=

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listi...ef=olp_tab_new

[Alan]

The Green Death - Special Edition DVD Announced
16th December 2012

Chris Chapman, a producer of documentaries for Doctor Who DVD's has announced on his Twitter account that the 1973 Jon Pertwee story The Green Death is going to be receiving a special edition release next year.

It will also include The Sarah Jane Adventure Series 4 story Death of the Doctor which will feature a commentary track recorded by guest star Katy Manning and creator/writer Russell T. Davis.

Announcement links here: https://twitter.com/ChrisChapman81/s...98049090232320

and here: https://twitter.com/ChrisChapman81/s...02164918800386

[Blencathra]

Exclusive Reign of Terror animation video clips

http://www.doctorwho.tv/whats-new/ar...on-video-clips

To celebrate the DVD release of First Doctor adventure, The Reign of Terror, Planet 55 Studios – who have reconstructed the missing episodes four and five – have given us some exclusive clips of their animation.

The Reign of Terror is available to buy from January 28 (UK | US).

Take a closer look inside the TARDIS’s iconic first console room – this time in animated form, join Lead Animator Chris Chapman as he brings the First Doctor to life, complete with the elaborate hat and cloak of a French regional officer, and get a glimpse of the First Doctor’s TARDIS in colour. (All videos at the link above.)