DOCTOR WHO VIDEO TITLES

THE CREATURE FROM THE PIT

Set for release on the 15th July is the story, The Creature From The Pit. The script for this story was edited by the late Douglas Adams of Hitchikers Guide fame and stars Tom Baker as the Doctor. The Doctor and Romana pick up a distress signal and hasten to the source, the planet Chloris. Lush in vegeation, there is a distinct lack of metal on the planet and the mining is strictly controlled by the ruler of the planet, Lady Adrasta.

The Doctor is not exactly welcomed on his arrival, but manages to escape his captors by jumping into a pit where he discovers an enemy-consuming, globular creature, who is not a mindless murderer, but Erato, an ambassador from the planet Tythonus. The plight of his home planet is the reverse of Chloris and they have an abundance of metal, but no chlorophyll, and his mission was to set up a trading realtionship. He too received a less than hospitable welcome and was consigned to the pit.

A collaboration is agreed, but how will the two manage to overcome Lady Adastra's guards?

Released on the 15th July on VHS only, this sotry has a total running time of approximately 100 minutes and is priced £12.99

THE AMBASSADORS OF DEATH

This is one of three epic stories from Jon Pertwee's first season as the Doctor, and is the one that I enjoyed the most when I saw it on UK Gold several years ago. It is a shame that it also the one that has survived the least well. The sound is a bit ropey in places and there are only 90 minutes of the footage in colour, but I thought it well worth sticking out the 170 minutes.

The Doctor helps U.N.I.T's investigation into the disappearance of the the Mars Probe 7. Space control lost contact with the three man crew soon after the probe left Mars nearly 7 months ago, and the Recovery 7 probe sent to rescue them has now run into similar difficulties. It did manage to saffely return to Earth, but the astronauts were kidnapped on landing and it transpires that that the occupants were not the original crew, but in fact radiation dependant ambassadors who swapped places with them.

The doctor tries to investiagte why there was a swap, what has happened to the original and rescue crews, and what does this all mean for Earth.

This single video is superb value at just £12.99 and contains all 7 episodes, running to nearly 3 hours, of this gripping story.

UNDERWORLD

The Doctor, played by Tom Baker, is involved in a quest to retrieve ancient artefacts from a forgotten Minyan spacecraft. The TARDIS materialises on another spacecraft under the command of a man called Jackson, whose mission is to find the Minyan race banks from a ship, the P7E, lost in a meteor storm. The computer aboard the P7E, however, has treacherous motives of it's own that could spell disaster for the Doctor and his companions. Originally broadcast January 1978, this four part story has Louise Jameson as the companion Leela. Priced £12.99, this video runs approximately 100 minutes.

PLANET OF GIANTS

William Hartnell is the Doctor as he and his companions fight for their survival in Planet of Giants. The main doors of the TARDIS open unexpectedly of their own accord just before it materialises, causing it to run dangerously out of control.

Upon emerging, the time travellers are distressed to discover that the ship had been reduced in size and they are now only about an inch tall.

In this miniaturised state, the Doctor and his companions stumble across a plot by a ruthless businessman, Forester, and his misguided scientist colleague, Smithers, to lauch a new insecticide named DN6 - a product so destructive that it would not only kill those insects harmful to the agriculture, but those vital to it as well.

Produced by Verity Lambert, this 3 part story was first transmitted from October 1964 and also stars William Russell and Ian, Jacqueline Hill as Barbara and Carole Ann Ford as Susan.

Priced £12.99, this video runs to about 75 minutes.

FOUR TO DOOMSDAY

Four to Doomsday sees the fifth Doctor, Peter Davison, struggling to save the planet Earth (where would we be without the Doctors help??!) from apocalyptic plunder from an alien race. This time is is the frog-like Urbankans and a population of human androids that have their eyes on the Earth's raw materials, which they believe will give them the ability to travel in time. Of course, the Doctor must stop them or the planet is doomed. Originally broadcast on January 1982, this story is considered to be one of the best visual stories due to its dance sequences and strong special effects. Written by Terence Dudley, directed by John Black, produced by John Nathan-Turner, and starring Peter Davison, Janet Fielding and Stratford Johns. The video is priced £12.99 and runs for 90 minutes.

THE SUN MAKERS

On the planet Pluto, there is a ruthless regime, and the Doctor is struggling to overtrow it. The TARDIS arrives far into the future on the planet Pluto that now shines with the light of six suns. It is also inhabited, with a breathable atmostphere and large industrial community, but the denizens of the Solar System's ninth planet are controlled and exploited by "The Company", which pays its workers a pittance and texes them on everything imaginable.

The Doctor and Leela vow to help the small bad of underground rebels operating on the planet overthrow the Company and put and end to its cold-blooded machinations. First broadcast in November and December 1977, it was written by robert Holmes, produced bu Graham Williams and directed by Pennant Roberts and stars Tom Baker as the Doctor and Louise Jameson as Leela. Running for 90 minutes and priced £12.99, this is another classic story to add to the collection.

THE CITY OF DEATH

Sadly this is only a video re-issue of one of the highest rating DW stories. It ould have been much nicer if it had come out on DVD, but you can't have everything! Tom Baker stars as the 4th Doctor, with Lalla Ward as his companion. Enjoying a holiday in Paris in 1979, the two time lords become aware of a fracture in time, and the root of it appears to be the alien Scaroth, the last of the Jagaroth race, who is determined to go back in time and save his ship. This story also has a very nice cameo appearance of John Cleese and Eleanor Bron as art critics in the Louvre! Priced £12.99, this video has number BBCV 7132.

DELTA AND THE BANNERMEN

Sylvester McCoy stars as the 7th Doctor in a race to save an alien queen and her species from destruction. the last survivor of her race, Delta, a Chimeron Queen is being persued across space by the evil Bannermen, led by Gavrok. Delta finds herself aboard the smae tourist space bus as the Doctor and Mel, but the bus, en route to Earth, is knocked off course and arrives at a Welsh holiday camp in 1959.

Delta must avoid the Bannermen's clutches long enough to allow her child to hatch from its egg and grow into maturity, thus ensuring her race survives and the Doctor is determined to keep her from Gavrok's evil grip. First broadcast between 2nd and 16th November 1987, it is availabe for the first time on this BBC video priced £12.99.

THE DALEKS

The infamous Daleks make their first ever appearance in this classic black and white Doctor Who story with William Hartnell playing the Doctor. Although this has been available before, it was deleted long ago and this edition has been digitally remastered for a modern audience. The TARDIS has brought the Doctor and his companions to the planet Skaro where they meet two indigenous races. The Daleks are malicious mutant creatures encased in armoured travel machines; the Thals are beautiful humanoids with pacifist principles.

Despite the Thal's peace-loving ethos, the Doctor must convince them to fight the Daleks of risk annihilation, and thus starts his almost endless battle with his most well-known foes. With all 6 episodes released on the one tape, running to a whopping 172 minutes (why didn't they do this before??) this is well worth hunting out. If the price I have been given is correct - £12.99 - this is a MISS IT AT YOUR PERIL release!!!

AN UNEARTHLY CHILD

This is the first instalment of what was to be one of the longest running Sci-Fi series on TV. It intorduces William Hartnell as the Doctor, and Carole Ann Ford as his granddaughter, Susan. Also in the adventure are Jacqueline Hill and William Russell as Susan's schoolteachers. This is not an ordinary re-issue (the first video was released several years ago) as it has been digitally remastered. I will be giving more information about this as soon as I have a copy for review.

In the meantime, the video number is BBCV 6959, the price is £12.99, and it is released on 4th September.

THE EDGE OF DESTRUCTION

When Doctor Who was first shown on UKGOLD, many moons ago now, this was the first story that I got taped. I had read the book a while before and was expecting all sorts of wonders with the two parter, but was sadly disappointed. The book had been padded out to fill the standard 128 pages, and the story itself was slow.

Watching it again, it is still slow, juts like the others in the very early series, but without expecting too much, I actually enjoyed the character expansions and even the flimsy plotline that bit more. It is also very nice to fill the gaps in the early material.

Little thought appears to have been put into this release though, and we are 'treated' to another copy of the pilot episode, complete with re-takes, just like that available on the Hartnell years. To add insult to injury, the price tag for this volume is a whopping £12.99, so all in all, for 50 minutes of new material, and probably the least interesting of Hartnell's time, this release costs the most.

For those of you that are completists, like myself, then there is no option and the catalogue code is BBCV 6877.