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SF HOME | DOCTOR
WHO HOME | BIG FINISH AUDIOS
| 8TH DOCTOR NOVELS | EPISODES
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The Seeds of Death was the first Doctor Who video I owned. There was no quality control involved - I wanted a story I hadn't seen before, I liked what Troughton I'd seen and, perhaps most importantly, its six episode length (albeit edited into a movie format) offered me the most Who for my money. One of the few stories never released episodically on video, Seeds was thus an ideal candidate for an early DVD release, especially with so few Troughton stories having survived. And, for those of us used to the old BBC video, watching the story on DVD is a revelation. Obviously it's episodic but it also looks great, thanks to the Restoration Team using the film negatives to provide the best possible source and the VidFIRE process to recreate the original video look. In some ways Seeds is a retread of the Ice Warriors' eponymous debut story, with Brian Hayles reusing elements such as a technological backdrop that humanity had become dependent upon and a strong female guest character in Louise Pajo's Gia Kelly. Arguably the Ice Warriors themselves aren't as effective here as in their first story, although Hayles has developed the race with the addition of ruling classes in Slaar and the Grand Marshall. Michael Ferguson's direction is very good, with the towering Ice Warriors looking superb in the confines of the moonbase. Ferguson has a tendency to shoot through the set, which makes for some very effective camera angles. Like the creatures themselves, the location footage of the Ice Warrior on Hampstead Heath also looks better in monochrome than it would have in colour. On the acting front, the leads are as good as ever and there's an excellent performance from Terry Scully as Fewsham. Of course, like most Who, it's not all great. The nappy-like uniforms worn by virtually everyone except Louise Pajo are particularly woeful, and Zoe turns the moonbase heating controls up so high that the humans would surely have suffered along with the Ice Warriors. However, it's still an enjoyable romp that, like most Who, benefits from being watched episodically rather than in one go. As well as the impressive restoration, we've also got the level of extras that we've come to expect from a Who DVD. In fact, the six episode length means that with the exception of the commentary track, these have been diverted onto a second disc. Unlike many fans, I'm not of the opinion that a commentary track should automatically be included on a Who DVD. If the right line-up is available then fine, but otherwise much of the information could just as easily be conveyed in short interview-based features rather than forcing the participants to try to stretch their comments over the entire length of the story. Stars Frazer Hines and Wendy Padbury, director Michael Ferguson and story editor (and uncredited co-writer of episodes 3-6) Terrance Dicks are the participants, with the line-up varying to keep things fresh and give everyone a chance to get their comments in. There's also the usual information subtitles and photo gallery and, this being one of the earlier Who DVDs, there's also waste of time that is the TARDIS-Cam. The most substantive extra is Sssowing the Ssseedsss, which contains news interviews with Ice Warrior actors Alan Bennion and Sonny Caldinez and costume designer Sylvia James. There are also comments from Bernard Bresslaw, who played Varga in The Ice Warriors. The remaining extras have subsequently cropped up on the Lost In Time set - a few seconds of censored clips from The Web of Fear and The Wheel In Space and The Last Dalek 8mm behind-the-scenes footage from The Evil of the Daleks. Obviously it would be unfair to criticise Seeds for a later disc's reuse of an extra, but in any case, I don't really have a problem with the BBC occasionally using the same extra twice. Although it's no classic, Seeds is an entertaining story. This DVD sees the story restored to a level that puts other series to shame, and packaged with some pretty decent extras. back to the top |
THE SEEDS
OF DEATH |
