Tuesday, May 05, 2009

Doctor Who: The E-Space Trilogy

Like 1970 before it, 1980 was a year of transformation for Doctor Who. Incoming producer John Nathan-Turner and his new script editor, Christopher H. Bidmead, were keen to institute a number of changes to a series that had become increasingly stale, as well as difficult to take seriously. JN-T wanted to give the show a massive visual overhaul (including a new title sequence accompanied by a fresh arrangement of the theme tune), while Bidmead was keen to whip up some serious, hardcore sci-fi. Together, they reinvented the show for the new decade, and their success as a team is most obvious within the confines of this three-part storyline, which saw the Doctor (Tom Baker), Romana (Lalla Ward), and K-9 (voiced by John Leeson) trapped in another universe known as E-Space. Along the way, they pick up the mathematical boy genius Adric (Matthew Waterhouse), and by the end of the trilogy, the TARDIS crew goes through some pretty big changes as well.

Read the rest of this DVD review, which discusses the stories "Full Circle," "State of Decay," and "Warriors' Gate" by clicking here and visiting Bullz-Eye.