No doubt, “The Doctors
Revisited” series (or at least the first two sets, comprising the first eight
Doctors) will be the most controversial Who-related DVD releases of the year. Anyone
incensed by the monthly BBC America broadcasts of these same programs will
likely have issues with these discs as well. However, let’s take a deep breath and
consider who these sets are aimed at: (lifting a phrase from “Kinda”) The Not
We. These are not for the hardcore Doctor Who collector. They’re for the casual
fan, or the person who’s largely only familiar with the new series, and
therefore we should probably cut these presentations some slack, as the people
at which they are aimed may not have the same expectations that we do. So bear
with me while I rant and rave, but eventually I will twist back around and
turn this review into a recommendation (peppered with numerous reservations).
Having said all of that,
taking a 4x3 TV image from the past and stretching it to fit a 16x9 screen of
today – which is how the “feature presentations” on this set are screened - is one of
the most baffling TV on DVD decisions that I’ve ever seen made, and I’ve
watched and reviewed loads of TV on DVD over the years. I thought I’d seen
every permutation of fuck up known to man and fan, but I’ve never seen anything
quite like this, especially from a DVD range that is normally the absolute
cream of the crop. I find the decision so offensive that with the broadcasts on
BBC America, after the initial half-hour discussions of the Doctor in question are over,
I end up turning the programs off and directing my attentions elsewhere – which
is a shame, because I’ve been patiently waiting for quite a few years for BBC
America to start showing some classic Who, so that there could be a massive
shared experience among fans all over the country.
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| Pyramids of Mars |
Never did it occur to me that
the eventual presentation of this material would be so subpar that I couldn’t even
bear to view it. Commercial breaks I can hang with. Omnibus over episodic
format? I can deal with that, too. I could probably even make allowances for a
few minor edits here and there for time reasons. I will not, however, tolerate
a distorted and poor TV image. In this day and age proper aspect ratio is key
to any TV or movie viewing, and “The Doctors Revisted” series has been
incorrectly presented since it started back in January.
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| The Tomb of the Cybermen |
Of course, for a huge chunk
of the BBC America viewing audience, “The Doctors Revisited” series has been a mass shared experience. Most
people are not bothered by the stretching of image. If they were, BBC America
would’ve been so inundated with complaints they’d likely have changed it. Warping
square images into a 16x9 frame is so common at this point – most widescreen
TVs automatically do it to standard definition signals – there can be no doubt
that millions and millions of people don’t even notice that it’s incorrect. Or
if they do, they simply don’t care - otherwise they’d fiddle with the aspect
ratio buttons on their remotes (though even doing that typically presents its own set of problems, at least for these broadcasts).
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| Spearhead from Space |
Indeed, many viewers likely prefer it. Years ago I worked at a
laserdisc store. This was some time before DVD, of course, so watching movies
in widescreen (or “letterbox” as we called it back then) was still something
only cinephiles engaged in and appreciated. Many people who came into the store
had big screen TVs – square ones – and I was often reminded by customers that
they didn’t buy those big TVs to see black bars at the top and bottom. No, they wanted the entire screen filled, and if that meant sacrificing sections of
the movie itself, then so be it. And I am willing to bet that attitude exists
today as well with 16x9 flatscreens; the average consumer would probably rather
not see black bars on the sides of their TV set. It likely looks more offensive
to their eye than a stretched 4x3 image, filling the entire TV screen. Bit of a
shame, but then people also preferred VHS over Betamax.
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| The Aztecs |
So in a way it makes a sort
of warped sense that these stories are shown this way on BBC America and
on this collection, as well. And in fact I’d argue “Leave it to the Doctor Who
DVD range to so batshit crazily experiment in this manner.” Of course, none of
this really excuses the unrestored versions used for the Hartnell, Troughton, and Pertwee stories, especially given all the work the Restoration Team has
done over the past 20 years. It sort of goes to show how disconnected the many
departments of the BBC often are, when prints this archaic are used for both
broadcast and DVD release. If there’s a real fuck up to complain about with
this set, it’s this.
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| Menu Screengrab from Disc 2 |
So, I couldn’t in good
conscience recommend this set to anyone based on everything written above.
However (there's always a however...), somebody somewhere made the incredibly wise decision to include -
alongside the horrific versions - the restored original four-part versions of
each of the four serials here, presented in 4x3, as god intended. Fair enough. You
(and by you I mean the powers that be) can showcase your wares and shoddily as
you wish, as long as the good stuff is presented right alongside it. Basically
the viewer can watch the special on the Doctor of their choosing, then go check
out Steven Moffat’s introduction on the main feature of the story in question,
and then finally click away from that and settle into watching the serialized
version. This DVD collection works just fine if you know how to go about using it,
and as such it’s a lovely collection for people just getting into classic Who.
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| Fridge Magnets |
And these four stories –
“The Aztecs,” “The Tomb of the Cybermen,” “Spearhead from Space,” and “Pyramids
of Mars” - are wonderful primer, although I probably would’ve chosen a
different story to represent the Pertwee era. While “Spearhead” is a great deal
of fun and a cracking yarn, it doesn’t really showcase Pertwee’s Doctor as we’d
eventually come to know him. With it being his first story, he, and perhaps the
production team as well, hadn’t quite found the character yet. Minor quibble,
but then this review is already so full of quibbles, what’s wrong with throwing
down yet another?
The only real extra aside from the programming talked about
in this review is a set of four fridge magnets (see left), featuring each of the first
four Doctors surrounded by a selection of their enemies. The first volume of
“The Doctors Revisited” is certainly a complicated DVD release, but not one that
should be dismissed outright, as with the proper knowledge it will accomplish
precisely what it sets out to do, and in that sense, the DVD trumps the BBC
America broadcasts of the same material.
Read the review for “The Doctors Revisited - Fifth to Eighth” by clicking here.
Read the review for “The Doctors Revisited - Fifth to Eighth” by clicking here.
