Doctor Who-The Complete Davros Collection (1989)

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    The Complete Davros Collection box set represents great value for all fans of classic Dr. Who. It collects five of the best stories the show has ever featured, including the brilliant Genesis of the Daleks and an updated transfer of Remembrance of the Daleks, and is fairly reasonably priced. Casual fans and the curious need look no further - go and buy this set now!

    Whilst the collection is great value, it is highly likely that many fans already have one or more of the titles in the set and will have trouble deciding on the purchase. Destiny of the Daleks is the only title that is truly new to DVD (and released individually at the same time this set was released). The update to Remembrance of the Daleks is highly worthwhile and only available as part of this set, however. It's going to be a tough decision for many, but I would suggest it is still a worthwhile purchase for anyone who owns one of the titles in the set, perhaps even two.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

Doctor Who-Genesis of the Daleks (1975)

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General		Extras
Category	Science Fiction	Main Menu Audio & Animation Audio Commentary-Tom Baker (The Doctor), Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith) Audio Commentary-Peter Miles (Nyder) and David Maloney (Director) Featurette-Genesis Of A Classic Featurette-The Dalek Tapes Featurette-Continuity Complilation Featurette-Blue Peter: Collection of Doctor Who models DVD-ROM Extras-Radio Times Billings: Illustrations, Articles and Listings Gallery-Photo DVD-ROM Extras-The Doctor Who Annual 1976 Subtitle Commentary
Rating
Year Of Production	1975
Running Time	142:57 (Case: 278)
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered Dual Disc Set	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	Michael E. Briant Douglas Camfield Chris Clough Frank Cox
Studio Distributor	Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	William Hartnell Patrick Troughton Jon Pertwee Tom Baker Peter Davison Colin Baker Sylvester McCoy Carole Ann Ford William Russell Jacqueline Hill Maureen O'Brien Peter Purves Adrienne Hill
Case	Amaray-Transparent-S/C-Dual
RPI	$39.95	Music	Mark Ayres Richard Rodney Bennett Carey Blyton

    En-route to the space station Nerva, a Time Lord intercepts the Doctor (Tom Baker) and his companions, Sarah Jane Smith (Elizabeth Sladen) and Harry Sullivan (Ian Marter), and takes them to Skaro, the home-world of the Daleks, at an early point in its timeline. The time lord offers the Doctor a mission that could, and ultimately would, change the face of history; to prevent the creation of the Daleks.

     The two races of Skaro, the Kaleds and the Thals, have been locked in a war of attrition for the best part of a millennium. They have reached a point where only two cities remain, each enclosed in a protective dome. Outside these domes lies a wasteland, its ruins populated by Mutos, people who have genetically mutated as a result of the war. Little do the Thals realise that Davros (Michael Wisher), the despotic head scientist of the Kaleds, has developed a weapon that will soon end the war, the Mark III Transportation Device, piloted by a genetically engineered mutation of the Kaleds - the Daleks.

     At heart, Davros is megalomaniac and intent on producing the ultimate form of life, not winning a war. To free his race of Daleks from the limitations of one's own morality he has the capability of empathy and pity erased from their genetic code, turning the Daleks into the ultimate source of evil. This decision divides his own people, even Davros' own Elite followers, bringing political turmoil into an already chaotic world.

     Genesis of the Daleks is arguably the best (I say this literally having argued the point, but most fans would place it undeniably in contention) Doctor Who story from the period commonly referred to as the Golden Age of Doctor Who. Much of the credit needs to be handed to Terry Nation, who has constructed a consistent and complete history for his race of Daleks and woven it into a classic tale of good and evil. The pacing is superb. A fairly complicated plot is unfurled very evenly throughout the duration of the story. There is not one scene padding or time-wasting sub-plot in Genesis of the Daleks, as classic Doctor Who was notorious for, despite it being a 6 part story.

     As always, Tom Baker plays no small part in the success of this story. Even in his early days as the Doctor, as is the case here, his aloof nature brings a charm that carries even the weakest points of an episode effortlessly. No other incarnation of the Doctor had quite the power to control the mood of a scene in the way that Tom Baker could. This power is used to great effect in Genesis of the Daleks. It is as though someone has stepped on the brakes when the Doctor's generally quizzical tone shifts into a serious tone, and the morality of the story catches up with the audience.

     The Daleks had long been likened to the Nazis by fans of Doctor Who. Genesis of the Daleks takes this theme back to the very origin of the menace. The Thals and the Kaleds are obvious parallels to the Allies and Nazis of World War 2. The introduction of Davros, complete with a handful of Hitler-esque mannerisms, and his Elite, who bear more than a passing similarity to the Nazi SS, is an ingenious stroke. Furthermore, the political aspect of the story is a microcosm of the European front of World War 2, r(SPOILER ALERT: highlight with mouse to read) ight down to the formation of the Thal resistance after the fall of their nation and their allying with the Mutos.

    The production values of Genesis of the Daleks are noticeably better than those of many classic Doctor Who episodes. There are still plenty of polystyrene rocks and monsters about, but the limited budget is hidden well with smart camera angles and clever lighting.

     Genesis of the Daleks would be an excellent place for any fans of the new Doctor Who to start with the classic Doctor Who episodes. It goes a long way into explaining both the Doctor's essentially humanitarian personality as well much of as his complicated history with the Daleks, two major plot drivers of the new Doctor Who. It is also one of the darker, more mature stories that began to emerge in the mid-1970s and, as such, holds up to modern sensibilities a lot better than many of the lighter episodes.

     This is a story not to be missed!

Video

     The episodes are presented in their original 1.33:1 full frame format and not 16x9 enhanced.

     The video on offer is essentially a very clean digital transfer of a cheaply recorded source. As such, there are no significant film to video artefacts visible, but the images are plagued by analogue video recording artefacts. Several scenes exhibit microphony (e.g. at 17:30 in the first episode) and almost every indoor scene exhibits comet trails (particularly Davros' shiny silver shoulder pads). Whilst these analogue video artefacts do get distracting, they are an unfortunate fact of early video that cannot be easily removed.

    The sharpness and colour grading of the image between the indoor and outdoor scenes varies noticeably. One scene in particular, at the end of the second episode, was partially filmed on location and partially in-studio and really highlights the issue. This is, again, a sign of the times rather than a poor DVD transfer. At the time this was recorded, location scenes were still filmed on 16mm film, whereas studio scenes were recorded on 2 inch studio videotape.

     On the positive side, the grain in the image is fairly fine throughout. The restoration team have done an excellent job cleaning the image, which is virtually free of dirt and dust. A good deal of information about the restoration and transfer is available on the Doctor Who Restoration Team website.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     There are two soundtracks on this DVD, both of which are in Dolby Digital 2.0 with a bitrate of 192kbps. They are the original English dialogue and an English audio commentary.

     The dialogue is generally clear and easy to understand, but there are occasional distortion issues with Michael Wisher's (Davros') dialogue (most notably at 5:07 of the fifth episode). Evidently he had to be recorded separately to the rest of the cast at the time of filming to allow for his voice to be electronically processed and that recording is noticeably worse than that of the rest of the dialogue.

     There is no surround channel or subwoofer use in the audio.

     The music largely consists of incidental synthesizer parts and stock orchestral stabs that most Doctor Who fans will be very familiar with.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

     There is a first rate variety of extra features included in this 2 disc set.

Main Menu Audio & Animation

     Each disc features a brief clip from an episode with some dramatic music behind the main title menu, but the rest of the menus are static.

Audio Commentary - Tom Baker (The Doctor), Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith), Peter Miles (Nyder) and David Maloney (Director)

    A pretty run-of-the-mill commentary track. Elisabeth Sladen keeps the commentary alive whilst the other three seem to come and go, frequently leaving for whole episodes. Most of the track is very off the cuff rather than prepared anecdotes, which mostly leads the group into talking about how much they liked each of the actors in the story. Tom Baker does a good job of conveying that he's probably never seen the episode before!

Subtitle Commentary

     One of the subtitle tracks consists of trivia, script excerpts and other assorted tid-bits of information about the episodes. This feature is fantastic and generally proves much more interesting than the audio commentary track. It also manages to contradict the audio commentary a number of times!

     I have to gripe about one typo, though. At the end of the first episode, the commentary claims that the episode was fist aired from 5:30 to 5:35pm. I assume it should have read from 5:30 to 5:55pm, as the rest of the episodes claim.

Featurette - Genesis Of A Classic

     A 62:09 minute documentary on the making of the episode, presented in a 1.78:1 format. This is almost worth the price of the disc alone. It features an enormous range of interviews about every aspect of production, from the production of the script, to the operation of the Daleks, lighting, casting, and the enigma that is Tom Baker (including him answering a phone call from an ex-wife during his interview - too priceless to describe). The sections are broken up by Roy Skelton teaching viewers how to be a Dalek.

Featurette - The Dalek Tapes

     A 53:20 minute documentary about the continuity between the various Dalek episodes of Doctor Who, presented in a 1.78:1 format. A variety of Doctor Who boffins and past producers commentate as the story from each Dalek story is recapped, including the 1960s stage play, and the continuity of the Dalek's mythos put under a microscope. This is another first rate extra.

Featurette - Continuity Compilation

     A 6:16collection of continuity voice overs, announced over credits and BBC logos, from each of the times the BBC have broadcast Genesis of the Daleks. This is mostly filler until the last few that feature Daleks shaped like the number 2 rolling around a soundstage that were used for the most recent Doctor Who screenings on BBC 2.

Featurette - Blue Peter: Collection of Doctor Who models

     A 7:13 minute excerpt from a fairly old episode of the BBC children's television variety show Blue Peter about a large number of Doctor Who and assorted other science fiction models that had been built by a teenage viewer with far too much time on his hands.

Gallery-Photo

     A 7:57 minute photo gallery that features a wide assortment of on-set and publicity shots from the story.

DVD-ROM Extras - Radio Times Billings: Illustrations, Articles and Listings

     A 9 page PDF document that collates a variety of clippings about the episodes from the Radio Times (Britain's equivalent to the TV Guide) when the episodes first aired. Interesting archival material.

DVD-ROM Extras - The Doctor Who Annual 1976

     A 59 page high resolution PDF of the entire 1976 Doctor Who annual. This is one of the best DVD ROM extras I have come across. Packed with short stories, illustrations and comics. A great piece of nostalgia.

     An identical package is available in both Region 1 and Region 2, although Region 1 is NTSC formatted. Choose the local version for its original PAL format.

     Possibly the greatest Doctor Who adventure has been given a high quality restoration and DVD transfer along with an excellent package of extras. The original image suffers many video faults associated with video of its age and there is an occasional distortion issue with the sound, but neither of these faults significantly detract from the overall package. I highly recommend the Genesis of the Daleks DVD set.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

Doctor Who-Destiny of the Daleks (1979)

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General		Extras
Category	Science Fiction	Main Menu Audio & Animation Audio Commentary-Lalla Ward, David Gooderson and Ken Grieve Featurette-Terror Nation Featurette-Directing Who Seamless Branching-CGI Effects Featurette-Continuities DVD-ROM Extras-Radio Times Listings Short Film-Prime Computer Adverts Trailer-Continuities Gallery-Photo
Rating
Year Of Production	1979
Running Time	100:10 (Case: 343)
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (74:00)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Ads Then Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Ken Grieve
Studio Distributor	Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	Tom Baker Lalla Ward Tim Barlow Peter Straker Suzanne Danielle Tony Osoba Mike Mungarvan Roy Skelton Cy Town David Gooderson
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Dual
RPI	?	Music	Dudley Simpson

    Testing out the new randomiser circuit on the TARDIS, the Doctor (Tom Baker) and a newly regenerated Romana (Lalla Ward) arrive on a desolate, burnt out planet littered with ruins of ancient cities. It is not long before the travellers realise that they have materialised on the Dalek home world Skaro, hundreds of years after the planet's destruction (as witnessed by the Doctor in Genesis of the Daleks).

    As they explore the wastes the pair come across an unusual spacecraft landing in an open gully. Through the usual series of misadventures the Doctor finds himself at the mercy of the occupants of the ship, while Romana is captured by the Daleks and sent to a humanoid slave camp. The Daleks are looking for something that has been long lost on their ancient home world and the Movellans, a mysterious alien race who have been locked in a centuries long war with the Daleks, have dispatched a ship full of troops to investigate. Alas, it is too little and too late as the Daleks have almost uncovered the one thing they believe can turn the tide in their war with the Movellans... their creator Davros.

    Destiny of the Daleks is one of the more thoughtful Doctor Who adventures. It explores the theme of logic versus intuition and tells a cracking yarn in the process. The secret being a good dose of action to drive the story (and not too much running through corridors!). The pace of the four 30 minute episodes is spot-on.

    This was the final Doctor Who adventure written by Terry Nation, the creator of the Daleks, and also one of the best. The production values are quite high (once you get past the mops on the Movellan's heads) and the cast quite strong. Destiny of the Daleks is a real treat for any Doctor Who fan.

Video

    The video looks very good for a show that is nearly 25 years old. A commendable effort has been put in to the restoration.

    The episodes are presented in their original 1.29:1 full frame aspect ratio.

    The episodes are sourced from a mix of 16mm and video. The video scenes are reasonably sharp. The 16mm scenes are a little soft in comparison, particularly for shots at any real distance, but still very good. A small degree of low level noise is present throughout the video-sourced scenes, though you are unlikely to notice it unless you are watching closely on a very large display. Contrast levels and black levels are both good.

    The colour palette looks a little dated by modern standards, but is evenly presented throughout.

    There are no significant MPEG compression related artefacts visible. A small number of analogue video artefacts are noticeable, however, but none are terribly distracting (particularly to anyone used to the standard typically found in Doctor Who releases). The most noticeable being occasional mild comet trails. The video-sourced shots also feature noticeable edge enhancement in a few of the scenes, although this is fairly common in video of this age.

    The English subtitles are white with a black border. Based on the section I sampled, they appear accurate and well-timed.

    This is a RSDL disc. The layer change occurs between episodes.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

        A single English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kbps) audio track is available. The track is crystal clear and well mixed.

        The dialogue is clearly audible throughout and at a good level in the mix.

        The score is fairly typical Doctor Who fare, although a little sparse. The score is clear and well mixed.

        There is no noticeable pro-logic surround speaker use throughout the episodes. A modest degree of bottom end makes its way to subwoofer level, particularly around the many explosions in the episodes.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Main Menu Audio & Animation

    Standard animation with clips and audio form the show. Beware, the special features menu page animation gives away a significant twist in the story.

Audio commentary with Lalla Ward (Romana), David Gooderson (Davros), and Ken Grieve (director)

    A reasonably chatty commentary that relies on anecdotes more than technical guff.

Terror Nation Featurette (27:50)

    A documentary about writer Terry Nation, creator of the Daleks, and his work on Doctor Who. The documentary runs sequentially from the start to the end of Nation's involvement with the show and features audio interviews with the late Nation, producers Barry Letts and Philip Hinchcliffe, script editor Terrance Dicks, director Richard Martin, and Dalek voice artist Nicholas Briggs.

Directing Who Featurette (9:30)

    Destiny of the Daleks director Ken Grieve chats about his experience directing Doctor Who (and contradicts some of the sentiment contained in the previous featurette).

CGI Effects

    This extra allows the story to be watched with simple CGI effects replacing a number of the old video effects (for Dalek lasers and the like), using seamless branching. The branching works well and the effects themselves are very good - simple, but certainly nicer looking than the original effects and designed to blend in with the dated look of the show.

Trails and Continuity (dur. 3' 43")

    A series of clips of the continuity announcements bookending the episodes during their numerous broadcasts in the UK and a trailer heralding the return of the Daleks in Destiny of the Daleks.

Prime Computer Adverts (3:09)

    A hilarious series of TV adverts for Prime Computers, starring the Doctor and Romana.

Photo Gallery (8:15)

    A fairly run-of-the-mill set of production stills done as a slideshow and backed by a passage of music from one of the episodes of the story.

DVD-ROM Extras - Radio Times Billings

    6 pages of snippets from the Radio Times, Britain's TV magazine, advertising the episodes' original airing, including an article about the episode's costume designer and a poem about watching Doctor Who.

Trailer

    A trailer for the upcoming release of Beneath the Surface, a box-set of water themed Doctor Who stories.

Informational Subtitles

    A set of subtitles with production notes and other trivia about the episodes.

    The Region 2 and 4 editions are identical in terms of content.

    The NTSC Region 1 edition has not been released yet, it is due in early March 2008. Early reports indicate that it will most likely have a very similar, if not the same, set of features to the PAL release.

    An excellent Doctor Who story featuring the Doctor's age-old nemeses The Daleks.

    The video and audio presentation are of reference standard for TV material of their age.

    The extras are solid, without being overwhelming.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

Doctor Who-Resurrection of the Daleks (1984)

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General		Extras
Category	Science Fiction	Main Menu Introduction Main Menu Audio & Animation Featurette-On Location Featurette-Breakfast Time Deleted Scenes Theatrical Trailer Informational Subtitles Gallery-Photo Audio Commentary Isolated Musical Score Featurette-Tardis-Cam no. 4 Easter Egg-Clapper Board
Rating
Year Of Production	1984
Running Time	97:53 (Case: 100)
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	Matthew Robinson
Studio Distributor	Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	Peter Davison Janet Fielding Mark Strickson Terry Molloy
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI	$34.95	Music	Ron Grainer Malcolm Clarke

    The Doctor: The young one with the cricket uniform, aka the Fifth Doctor (Peter Davison).
    The Companion(s): An air hostess named Tegan Jovanka (Janet Fielding) and a nondescript man named Turlough (Mark Strickson).
    The Setting: A deserted set of docklands somewhere in London, presumably at what was then considered the present time.
    The Serial's Main Nemesis: Those pepper-pots on wheels, the Daleks, and their mouthpiece, a curious character called Davros (Terry Molloy).

    The Daleks have always been a fascinating thing in the Doctor Who canon, and they can also be credited with the series' slow metamorphasis from a sort of educational children's show into the ultra-low budget science fiction series that it has been since original producer Verity Lambert quit the show. Of course, this serial is credited to John Nathan-Turner, who is regarded by many as the worst producer the show has ever had, and it is ironic that he is seen by many as the man who killed the Doctor when far more sophisticated enemies could not. This particular serial, Ressurection Of The Daleks, was filmed as a four-parter, but it was re-edited prior to broadcast in order to allow more coverage of the 1984 Winter Olympics.

• Part One (24:07)
  The Doctor and his companions find themselves stuck in a Time Corridor, which basically involves a lot of thrashing about inside the TARDIS while the camera is shaken. Meanwhile, a space station prison in another time and another place is attacked by a group of men and Daleks who seek to free Davros, the Daleks' evil creator.
• Part Two (24:30)
  In this part of the serial, we learn why the Dalek faction we are seeing want Davros freed. It turns out that the Daleks lost their war with another race because of a virus, and Davros' bioengineering skills are needed to create an antidote. Meanwhile, we learn how the Daleks have managed to make some humans willingly do their bidding.
• Part Three (24:37)
  Tensions between the Daleks and Davros soon grow to boiling point, in spite of the fact that he allegedly created them. The Doctor begins noticing that the process used by the Daleks to subvert humans to their will is not as perfect as they would like to believe. The Daleks and the human agents being used by Davros begin fighting one another.
• Part Four (24:39)
  After our heroes have realised what the strange cannisters in the warehouse actually contain, and how they can be used to defeat the Daleks, the race is on to stop Davros escaping and the Daleks surviving. Obviously, things turn out alright, more or less, in the end, but the toll turns out to be more than Tegan can take. Fans who've seen this serial before will know what I mean.

    Even in later serials, when more sophisticated special effects were used for such things as the Daleks shooting one another, it has been the strength of the story and the acting that has carried Doctor Who. Even though the education aspect was very diminished during the 1980s, it is still a whopping great shame that there will be entire generations of children who will grow up without broadcasts of this show. Now that we're moving towards high-definition television, in fact, the time has never been better to reintroduce the show to viewers. While some of the scripts used by producer John Nathan-Turner were decidedly ordinary, especially towards the end of the Seventh Doctor's run, they are still far superior to anything that has been aimed at schoolchildren since.

Video

    We have to take it as read that Doctor Who serials are transferred from source materials that are of less than optimal quality, being shot on videotape for indoor sequences or sixteen millimeter film for outdoor (location) sequences. It is very important to bear in mind that the majority of the problems I point out in the transfer are inherent in the source material, and the transfer itself is better than we have any right to expect.

    The transfer is presented in the aspect ratio of 1.33:1, and it is not 16x9 Enhanced.

    The sharpness of this transfer is comparable to the original broadcast, which is about as good as it will ever look. The outdoor sequences are noticeably softer, partly due to the visible film grain, but this is not unexpected. The shadow detail is somewhat limited, but again very good considering the source materials, and there is no low-level noise.

    The colours in this serial look somewhat faded and muted, partly because of the locations in England where it was shot, but also because of the studio decor. The Daleks in particular have a rather muted colour scheme. The transfer represents the colours well, without any major composite artefacts in evidence.

    MPEG artefacts were not found in this transfer. Film-to-video artefacts consisted of aliasing on such things as the medical officer's headband at 7:01 during Part One, and the ship models at 11:48 during Part One, to name two good examples. The camera mechanism also looks somewhat unstable during panning shots such as the opening shot of Part One. Video artefacts, namely microphony, were noticed at 16:04 in Part Two and 11:46 in Part Four. A few small film artefacts were also noticed during outdoor sequences.

    English for the Hearing Impaired subtitles are available on this DVD. They vary somewhat more from the spoken dialogue than is normally the case for Doctor Who DVDs, but the important points of the dialogue are retained.

    This disc is dual-layered. I believe the layer change would have been sensibly placed between episodes, given the lack of any pauses during episodes.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    If you'll remember one of the answers given in my interview with Steve Roberts, there is a very limited selection of Doctor Who serials where there is any possibility of a 5.1 remix. Resurrection Of The Daleks just happens to be one of them.

    There are four soundtracks presented on this DVD, the first two of which are renderings of the original English dialogue - a Dolby Digital 5.1 remix with 448 kilobits per second, and the original monaural soundtrack rendered in Dolby Digital 2.0 with 192 kilobits per second. Also included as Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtracks with 192 kilobits per second are an Audio Commentary and an Isolated Music Score. I listened to all of these soundtracks, and it is nice to see that both an approximation of the soundtrack's original format and a 5.1 remix have been provided as options. The Dolby Digital 5.1 remix is the default soundtrack.

    The dialogue in the Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is very clear and easy to understand, with the increased channel seperation allowing the actors' voices to be heard more clearly. The Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack is, by comparison, somewhat muffled and congested, but still perfectly satisfactory. There were no noticeable problems with audio sync.

    The music in this serial consists of a variation on the usual Doctor Who theme composed by Ron Grainer, and incidental music by Malcolm Clarke. As usual, the music in this serial is highly atmospheric and engrossing, making me wish that it were possible to purchase Doctor Who scores on CD or DVD-A.

    The surround channels are used frequently for music, the reverberation from Dalek voices in some locations, and some gunfire. While the sound field is not as immersive as a 5.1 soundtrack for a recent feature film, it is far more so than we could possibly expect from a Doctor Who serial. It is a real credit to the Restoration Team, especially given the directionality of some effects during gunfights with the Daleks.

    The subwoofer was also aggressively, but infrequently, utilised to support gunfire and explosions, which it did without calling attention to itself except through the infrequency of its use.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    All of the extras on this DVD are presented in the aspect ratio of 1.33:1 with Dolby Digital 2.0 audio unless otherwise stated.

Menu

    The menu is based upon the usual Doctor Who theme, accompanied by Dolby Digital 2.0 audio, heavily animated (with the usual excellent introduction to boot), and it is not 16x9 Enhanced.

Audio Commentary - Peter Davison (Actor), Janet Fielding (Actor), Matthew Robinson (Director)

    This audio commentary is quite funny at times, and reveals a lot of behind-the-scenes tidbits about working on the set of a Doctor Who serial. Like almost all Doctor Who commentaries, it is well worth a listen. It is also subtitled for the benefit of hearing-impaired viewers.

Informational Subtitles

    This is a feature that I wish more DVDs would incorporate, as they make an excellent adjunct to audio commentaries, providing little tidbits on information that would be very difficult to communicate this efficiently in a commentary or other soundtrack.

Featurette - On Location

    Presented in the aspect ratio of 1.78:1, 16x9 Enhanced, this eighteen minute and thirty-two second featurette is an interesting look back at the making of this serial, and well worth the viewing time.

Featurette - Breakfast Time

    This seven minute and fifty-eight second featurette mainly consists of an interview with producer John Nathan-Turner and actor Janet Fielding.

Extended And Deleted Scenes

    This is a seven minute and five second collection of footage that was cut from the final version of the serial, and not recommended for viewing before the serial itself.

BBC Trailer

    A thirty-two second trailer advertising a broadcast of this serial as a two-parter.

Easter Egg - Clapper Board

    A fourteen second shot of a clapper board from the filming of this serial.

Photo Gallery

    Presented as a featurette, this is a three minute and thirteen second collection of unannotated stills from the making of the serial. Some of the shots are indeed quite funny, but the lack of any annotation makes it difficult to see the point of most of them. The audio accompaniment can get on the nerves somewhat.

Easter Egg - Unused Title Sequence

    From what I have been able to make out, this two minute and eight second egg is simply the title sequences without the credits superimposed over them, which is a nice feature to have.

Isolated Score

    The problem with an isolated score for a television show like Doctor Who is that they tend to consist of a lot of silence. Some audio commentary by the composer or the director would have been nice, or an option to skip the silent parts of the track.

Featurette - TARDIS-Cam No. 4

    This forty-three second feature is the fourth among many CGI reconstructions of the TARDIS landing. It is presented in the aspect ratio of 1.78:1, 16x9 Enhanced.

    In this case, the more relevant comparison is between the Region 4 and Region 2 UK version. From reading the Restoration Team's website and several online reviews, there does not appear to be any significant difference between these two versions.

    I grew up watching Doctor Who, and as a result I doubt that I will ever accept substitutes or inferior imitations of pretty much anything. Resurrection Of The Daleks is a case in point as to why - instead of a wafer-thin or ill-considered story supported by ultra-sophisticated special effects, we get a tight story with very basic special effects, supported by some of the best acting free-to-air television has ever seen. I cannot recommend this DVD enough to fans of science fiction or children's television from the days when it was concerned with more than selling toys.

    The video transfer is an excellent representation of ordinary source materials.

    The audio transfer is an excellent representation of ordinary source materials, and we get a 5.1 remix to boot!

    The extras are somewhat limited compared to previous DVD releases, but still very enlightening.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

Doctor Who-Revelation of the Daleks (1985)

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General		Extras
Category	Science Fiction	Main Menu Introduction Menu Animation & Audio Audio Commentary-Cast and crew Isolated Musical Score Informational Subtitles Featurette-Making Of-Revelation Exhumed Featurette-Behind The Scenes-In Studio, With Optional Commentary Alternative Version-With New CGI Effects Deleted Scenes Featurette-Continuity Announcements Gallery-Photo
Rating
Year Of Production	1985
Running Time	155
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	Graeme Harper
Studio Distributor	Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	Colin Baker Nicola Bryant Terry Molloy Clive Swift William Gaunt Eleanor Bron
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI	$34.95	Music	Roger Limb Ron Grainer (theme music)

    By popular consensus, Revelation of the Daleks is regarded as one of the better examples of 1980s Doctor Who. Even fans who dislike Colin Baker as the sixth Doctor generally concede it is one of his better stories. As someone who quite enjoys Baker’s interpretation of the role, but feels he was often let down by inferior scripts, I regard Revelation of the Daleks as his finest hour – which is not to say it’s perfect. But for the most part it’s stylishly directed by Graeme Harper and the writing – by Eric Saward, the series’ script editor at the time – is superior to the rest of the sixth Doctor’s stories.

    There are two major flaws in the story – the first is that the Doctor is not only highly ineffectual, but in fact virtually irrelevant in terms of contributing to the plot progression. This is a serious mistake in that it removes the moral centre of the piece, vital to any ‘good versus evil’ story which is always at the heart of Doctor Who. Consequently, with this and other stories during the sixth Doctor’s era, we see an increasing tendency toward moral ambivalence, which left a bad taste in the mouths of most longtime fans and which seems to undermine the whole point of the program. What is Doctor Who if not a morality tale?

    The second flaw is the inclusion of comedic actor Alexei Sayle (The Young Ones) as a rock and roll obsessed DJ on the planet Necros. Why any writer in their right mind would think for one mad second that an alien being from a distant planet would have the slightest fondness for a musical form that only became popular due to prevailing social trends, music business exigencies and radio payola, is utterly beyond me. Yet this idea keeps cropping up in TV and movie sci-fi (it even appears in a later Doctor Who story, Delta and the Bannermen where we have an entire race of aliens obsessed with rock and roll). It’s called “pandering to the audience”, I think.

    In the documentary that’s part of the special features on this DVD, the production team tries to make a case for Sayle’s character being either comic relief or “Greek chorus” (apparently because Saward wrote the script while on holiday in Greece), neither of which is the least bit convincing.

    The script was inspired by Evelyn Waugh’s novel The Loved One and is a kind of TV drama pastiche. The best thing about the story is of course the inclusion of both the Daleks and their Hitler-esque creator Davros, played here with suitable menace and creepiness by Terry Molloy. The guest cast for this story is very strong and includes Clive Swift (the longsuffering Richard Bucket from Keeping Up Appearances) as vain Mr Jobel, Eleanor Bron as a devious businesswoman and William Gaunt as Orcini, a noble assassin looking for his last kill. In fact, the best thing about the story is these wonderful performances and the strong characterisation offered by the script.

    While there are a few dumb moments in the direction – for example, where two scientists ‘sneak into’ the Tranquil Repose centre making no apparent effort to conceal themselves – for the most part Graeme Harper’s work is far more stylish and imaginative than the average Doctor Who episode of the time.

    The story also features a genuinely stomach-churning moment of horror, where a scientist who is in the process of being turned into a Dalek begs with his daughter to kill him. This is strong stuff thanks to the credible performances of the actors.

Video

    The episodes are presented in their original aspect ratio of 1.33:1. As is usual with a BBC production of this time, interiors were shot in the studio on videotape and exteriors were shot on film. All the episodes have thankfully been subjected to restoration work; the film inserts display a moderate (and acceptable) degree of grain and the occasional artefacts, but nothing obtrusive, and the video footage looks fine. Thanks to the direction of Graeme Harper, we get some reasonably atmospheric lighting in the studio for a change, instead of the usual overlit BBC sets.

    There is the usual problem with microphony (vibration in the video camera tubes in response to the firing of guns, which manifests itself as horizontal lines across the screen whenever they’re fired) which was due to the limitations of the video cameras the BBC was using during this period.

    Given the quality of the source material, this is likely to be the very best the episodes will ever look.

    NB: A special feature on the disc is the option to watch the episodes with new CGI special effects replacing the originals via seamless branching. Many viewers have commented that there is a problem with this feature and I experienced this myself.

    The Doctor Who Restoration Team (responsible for the restoration of the episodes released to DVD) have issued the following statement on their website:

“There have been reports of problems trying to play this disc on some machines. Generally it plays fine up until 8' 32" into episode one, which is the point at which the first branch to the new CGI sequences occurs. Symptoms include looping, freezing and skipping video. Those having problems should try forcing CGI effects either on or off as desired using the menu option in the Special Features menu and then try playing the episodes - we think a register isn't being set to a default in some players and this will force it.”

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    Audio options for the disc are a Dolby 5.1 remix, Dolby 2.0 stereo, an audio commentary track and an isolated music score.

    The Dolby 5.1 audio is obviously what most of us would prefer and Mark Ayres, who was responsible for the remix, has done a fine job. As you would expect, use of the subwoofer and rear channels is confined to loud explosions, gunfights and the like.

    No problems with audio sync or dialogue audibility were noted.

    The music for this story is all synthesized and was composed by Roger Limb and despite the fact that the director says he finds it appealing, I much prefer the orchestral music of Dudley Simpson who worked on Doctor Who until 1980. An isolated music track is included on the DVD, but unless you’re a particular fan of Mr Limb you’re unlikely to want to listen to it as the music really doesn’t have enough structure to hold your attention without the accompaniment of the visuals.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Audio Commentary – Graeme Harper (director), Eric Saward (writer), Terry Molloy (Davros) and Nicola Bryant (Peri)

    This is a reasonably interesting and informative commentary, although because both Harper and Saward are also featured in the documentary on this disc, there’s a sense of going over familiar ground. Graeme Harper comes across as very enthusiastic and quite proud of his work (which he should be), while Eric Saward seems, as usual, very bemused by it all and rather aloof (which he shouldn’t be). He also seems to be choosing his words with care. Terry Molloy has some interesting comments about the problems of acting under thick latex. As is always the case with these commentaries it’s a laid back affair sprinkled with the occasional anecdote but hardly gripping stuff.

Text Commentary

    As well as the audio commentary there’s an onscreen text commentary which gives you plenty of background information and trivia, most of which will be of no interest whatsoever to the casual viewer. More than anything, it demonstrates just how exhaustive dedicated fans can be in their research, and the fact that they often seem to lack an ability to discern which facts will be of broader interest and which won’t. This lack of discrimination means that to find out anything of substance you need to sit through loads of stuff you would have not the remotest interest in learning, and will soon lead most people to give up and switch the feature off.

Isolated Music Score

    The music for this story is apparently worth listening to on its own and so gets its own track. One has to consider this somewhat of a contrivance, again designed to bolster the extras list, as I cannot imagine most people finding the score appealing without the accompaniment of the episodes.

Documentary – Revelation Exhumed 45:53

    Despite the cheesy title, this is a reasonably good feature on the making of the story. Its main flaw is that it interviews people who are also featured on the disc’s commentary – director Graeme Harper, writer Eric Saward, actor Terry Molloy – so people who watch this as well as listening to the commentary are in for some repetitious moments. Actor Clive Swift has some very interesting comments on his character and it’s fascinating to see that just about everyone dislikes the work of supporting actor Jenny Tomasin. The affection that the production team and cast members have for the program is nice to see and thankfully we are spared the inclusion of interviews with people who have nothing much to say (often a flaw of these features on other Doctor Who DVD releases).

Behind the Scenes - Revelation in the Studio 15:38

    I suppose there are fans who will enjoy watching this but I found it extremely boring to watch raw studio footage which shows technicians, floor assistants and propspeople helping to prepare actors and props for shooting. To my mind this is simply an effort on the BBC’s part to pad out the extras as justification for the asking price. There is however an optional commentary by Graeme Harper and Terry Molloy which at least gives you an idea of what’s going on (you have no idea without it!).

Deleted Scenes 2:16

    The only point in including deleted scenes on a DVD release is if those scenes are worth watching insofar as they contribute something additional to the story. In this case the scenes were clearly cut simply because they were too long, contained padding and contributed nothing whatsoever to the story. Therefore their inclusion here is pointless – unless you want to know what not to write for a Doctor Who script.

Continuity announcements 3:30

    The inclusion of this particular extra defies comprehension entirely. It’s a collection of the original BBC television station identifications (consisting of a BBC logo and globe of the world with a voiceover announcing that Doctor Who is coming up next) which preceded the episodes’ first UK transmissions. I’m utterly at a loss as to how anyone could justify including this on a DVD release, or why anyone would want to see them.

Photo Gallery 5:57

    A selection of still colour photos taken during filming of the story.

    This is not yet available in R1. The R2 version is identical to ours.

    Probably Colin Baker’s finest Doctor Who story, Revelation of the Daleks is a well-directed and for the most part well-written example of 1980s Who and well worth watching. It has elements of both horror and humour and strong performances by the supporting cast (in particular Clive Swift, William Gaunt and Terry Molloy).

    The episodes have been restored for the DVD release and the video is perfectly acceptable and the audio excellent.

    The extras range from reasonably interesting to completely pointless.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

Doctor Who-Remembrance of the Daleks: Special Edition (1988)

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General		Extras
Category	Science Fiction	Featurette-Making Of Featurette-Remembrances Audio Commentary Trailer Outtakes
Rating
Year Of Production	1988
Running Time	98:22
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (73:45)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Andrew Morgan
Studio Distributor	Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	Sylvester McCoy Sophie Aldred Simon Williams Dursley McLinden Pamela Salem Karen Gledhill George Sewell Michael Sheard Harry Fowler Jasmine Breaks Peter Hamilton Dyer Hugh Spight Roy Skelton
Case	Custom Packaging
RPI	Box	Music	None Given

• The Doctor: The Scottish one (or so it says in the informational subtitles), or the Seventh Doctor (Sylvester McCoy), as he is best known.
• The Companion(s): A rather forceful young woman by the name of Dorothy "Ace" McShane (Sophie Aldred).
• The setting: The very same junkyard that the Doctor was forced to vacate in his first incarnation, and its surrounding town.
• The serial's main nemesis: The Daleks. Moving tin cans with strange alien creatures inside them.

    Arriving in London, 1963, moments after the first Doctor set off with his grand-daughter and two companions in tow, the Doctor and Ace find themselves caught amidst a Dalek war. The Doctor has arrived to retrieve the Hand of Omega, an ancient Time Lord artefact that he had left behind on Earth, but the Dalek Emperor (Davros in the last throes of his organic existence) has his own plans for the artefact.

    Remembrance of the Daleks is a fan favourite. It features one of Sylvester McCoy's best turns as the Doctor, a strong supporting cast and an incredibly involving plot that is filled with rich Dr. Who lore.

    This story has been previously released on DVD in Australia (and reviewed here), the US and UK to a critically damning reception. Not for the story itself, but for its DVD presentation. The Australian and US versions were presented in NTSC (a format not playable on older TVs in Australia) and featured a modified version of the story (due to rights issues). The UK edition featured the original cut but contained a mastering issue that meant a number of special effects were accidentally omitted. This release features almost the original cut of the story (no actual story missing, but a mior change has been made to a snippet of background audio for rights reasons) in its original PAL format (which should be compatible with all Australian televisions). Fans should rejoice (although at this time it is only available as part of the Davros box set).

Video

    The show is presented in its original 1.29:1 aspect ratio, in a PAL format. This transfer is a significant improvement on the NTSC transfer presented on the previous edition of this story.

    The image is reasonably sharp, at least for a modest-budget show that is 20 years old. A very mild degree of low-level noise is visible in most scenes, but the picture is otherwise fairly clear. Blacks and dark scenes could use a little more depth, but generally look reasonable.

    The story is presented with a rather musty brownish palette which represents the era well and suits the story.

    No MPEG artefacts are noticeable. Mild edge enhancement is present (eg at 37:20), but only the pickiest viewers will notice and probably not be fussed even if they do.

    The story features English subtitles, which appear to be accurate and well timed.

    This is a RSDL disc. The layer break occurs at 73:45, between the third and fourth episodes, and was not noticeable on my equipment.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    This special edition features an English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kbps) and an English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kbps) soundtrack. The 5.1 has been specially prepared for this re-release and was well worth the effort.

    Dialogue is clear and easy to understand throughout. There are no synchronisation issues.

    This story features incidental music by Keff McCulloch. It is a reasonably typical Dr. Who score, a little over-the-top and very electronic.

    The 2.0 track makes no noticeable use of the surrounds or subwoofer. The 5.1 track is a fairly decent remaster that puts the surrounds and subwoofer to good use, mainly during action sequence though a reasonable bit of ambience is added throughout.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    This disc features almost all of the extras from the original release, omitting only a rather unnecessary set of cast biographies, plus a couple of extra featurettes and DVD-ROM material.

Menu

     The menu features the usual Doctor Who introduction, is accompanied by Dolby Digital 2.0 audio, and is not 16x9 Enhanced.

Back To School Making Of Featurette (32:41)

    An interesting "Making Of" featurette. It is mainly made up of cast and Crew interviews, along with production footage.

Remembrances Featurette (15:17)

    The cast and crew discuss the key references to past Dr. Who lore that are made throughout the story.

Audio Commentary - Sylvester McCoy (The Doctor) & Sophie Aldred (Ace)

A worthwhile commentary track, as is usually the case with Dr. Who releases. The commentators keep a good sense of humour throughout and provide a good deal of nostalic anecdotes. They aren't shy about pointing out a wobbly Dalek!

Isolated Musical Score

It's an isolated music track. The audio is crisp and clear. Not much else can really be said about it.

Deleted Scenes

     This is a collection of deleted and extended scenes from the serial - cuts were made in order to make the episodes conform to the standard running length, and some of what was left on the cutting room floor was left there for a good reason.

Theatrical Trailers

     Two trailers that were broadcast on the BBC, each approximately thirty seconds in length and a handful of continuity clips.

Multiple-Angle Featurettes

     Two scenes are presented here with two angles a piece - Chemistry Lab, and Gate Explosion. This is actually quite a good use of the multiple angle feature, as it allows the viewer to see just how different the original shots are from the finished product.

Outtakes

    A mildly amusing set of bloopers.

Informational Subtitles

     Subtitles that provide some interesting trivia about the episode and its production. These tend to be a bit more along the lines of cold, hard facts, whereas the audio commentary provide an anecdotal nostalgia trip. This makes an excellent companion to the audio commentary.

Photo Gallery

    A forgettable set of production stills.

Radio Times Billings DVD-ROM Feature

    5 pages of clippings form the radio times. 4 pages are simply TV guide descriptions of episodes, along with a couple of pictures. One page is a full-page feature article on the return of the Daleks for the show.

    This special edition has not yet been released in Region 1.

There is a minor difference between the Region 2 version and the Region 4 version, in that a small snippet of background music (literally a changed due to rights issues. This doesn't particularly affect the presentation of show, unlike the previous editions NTSC conversion or previous UK edition's missing effects, but does make the UK edition the version of choice for completists. The Doctor Who Restoration Team website has full details.

    An excellent latter day Dr. Who serial featuring the Daleks.

    This serial has finally been given the treatment it deserves. The video and audio are very good (and correctly PAL formatted). The extras are meaty and well worthwhile.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

Doctor Who-Complete Davros Collection, The-Extras (2007)

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General		Extras
Category	Science Fiction	Booklet
Rating
Year Of Production	2007
Running Time	847:58
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered Dual Disc Set	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	None Given
Studio Distributor	Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	None Given
Case	Custom Packaging
RPI	Box	Music	None Given

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	Full Frame	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	?
Original Aspect Ratio	1.78:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    The Complete Davros Collection features two discs of supplemental content beyond the five serials it includes.

Davros Connections (43:19)

    The first disc of extras contains a lone featurette, presented on a single-sided disc in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio and 16x9 enhanced.

    This featurette tells the story of Davros and his influence on the Daleks and the doctor, from start through to his influences in the new series of Dr. Who. This documentary tells both the history of the character himself and the development of the character by the show's writers. The story is told through interviews with series writers, snippets of stories (both from the actual TV series and Big Finnish audio stories), and CGI some specially made for the documentary.

    Interestingly, this featurette firmly incorporates the Davros stories from the Big Finish audio books into Dr. Who lore - something the new series has deliberately avoided. Time will tell how well this goes down with fans. It certainly adds more depth to the mythology of Davros which puts the featurette in a position where it could be readily dismissed as a heavy-handed attempt to validate the Big Finish mythology.

Big Finish Audio Dramas

    The second extras disc contains 8 audio dramas and an hour-long "Making Of" audio featurette. Each has been produced by Big Finish, who produced a number of Dr. Who audio dramas featuring the cast of the TV show from various eras following the series' "indefinite hiatus".

    Each of the audio stories further the character of Davros. In fact, five of them don't actually feature the Doctor and focus solely on Davros.

    Each of the audio stories runs between 60 and 90 minutes and plays back with a static image of the cover from one of the stories. It is a little disappointing that the stories are presented in this way as it necessitates playback be on a DVD player, rather than a regular audio device, which rules out (short of any nefarious audio ripping) listening in the kind of places audio dramas are good to listen to - on trains, in (most) cars, on the walk to work. This is rather unfortunate as the stories are all pretty good and well worth a listen if you can keep the rest of your senses occupied while they play.

• Doctor Who: Davros- Davros (Terry Molloy) is hired by a corporation on Earth to lead their research. The Sixth Doctor (Colin Baker) stumbles upon this and seeks to uncover what Davros is really up to.
• Doctor Who: The Juggernauts- A wheelchair-bound scientist named Dr. Vaso is developing "service robots" for his planet, Lethe. The Doctor (Colin Baker) and his companion Mel (Bonnie Langford) arrive. While Mel finds herself working closely with Dr. Vaso, the Daleks enlist the Doctor to investigate Dr. Vaso.
• Doctor Who: Terror Firma- The story of Davros's transition to becoming the Emperor Dalek. The Eighth Doctor (the pretend one, Paul McGann) is captured by Davros to aid him in cloning himself, meanwhile a renegade faction of Daleks is attempting to free themselves of their creator.
• I, Davros: Innocence- The first of a four-part story that explains the evolution of Davros from regular Joe to power-hungry genocidal maniac.
• I, Davros: Purity- The second of a four-part story that explains the evolution of Davros from regular Joe to power-hungry genocidal maniac.
• I, Davros: Corruption- The third of a four-part story that explains the evolution of Davros from regular Joe to power-hungry genocidal maniac.
• I, Davros: Guilt- The final of a four-part story that explains the evolution of Davros from regular Joe to power-hungry genocidal maniac.
• The Davros Mission- Recorded specially for his DVD release, this is the story of how Davros escaped his captors between Revelation of the Daleks and Remembrance of the Daleks.

Video

    The only video to consider is that of the Davros Connection feature which is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio and is 16x9 enhanced.

    The video appears to be a recently digitally recorded production and consequently the image is very sharp. There is no grain or low level noise noticeable. Dark scenes tend to feature plenty of detail and the colour is generally very bold.

    There is no sign of distracting video artefacts, such as MPEG compression artefacts, and no sign of any film artefacts.

    English subtitles for the hearing impaired are available. They appear to be accurate and well timed.

    This no noticeable layer transition on either disc - only the audio drama disc is dual layered and the transition appears to be between stories.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The audio for all these features is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0.

    The dialogue is clearly audible and easy to understand in all instances.

    Each audio drama features suitably Dr. Who-ish electronic scores, as does the documentary (albeit to a much lesser extent).

    There is no noticeable surround or subwoofer usage at any point.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Collector's Booklet

    A 12 page booklet featuring an essay that parallels Davros's plight to that of the Doctor, a timeline of the character's history and contents listings for the discs that comprise the box set.

    These discs have not yet been released in Region 1 and are identical to those found in the Region 2 box set.

    A worthwhile set of supplements to The Complete Davros Collection box set.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall