Doctor Who: The Collection Season 12 • Tom Baker Season 1 - Limited Edition

[Darby1985]

2E knew that the black and whites were low sellers, and so were Colin and Sylvester's. Dan Hall said as much many times. They made sure to budget accordingly knowing they'd make hay with the Pertwees and T. Bakers. They're old hands at making sure the range soldiers on and that less popular releases don't kill the momentum. I'm sure that those involved - many of whom worked with Dan - know the plan to combat the concerns raised above.

Even if one subjectively likes Season 26, Dan said the only McCoy that sold anywhere near as well as a Tom classic was Remembrance. There were a lot of people buying just the Toms or Pertwees while Sylv or Colin were selling pretty much only to the diehards. That doesn't concern me as I said above as the team know what they're doing but there's clearly not going to be as much interest in a Season 26 as there is a Season 7-21. There never has been.

[Fnord Prefect]

Shite seems like too strong a word but the lows of JNT era certainly see the show at it's lowest ever ebb regarding scripts, direction, (stunt) casting and even music and art direction. Before his era sure there were bad stories and boring stories but they were an exception rather than the rule with the nadir IMO being season 24 which doesn't contain a single worthwhile story.

Seasons 25 and 26 may contain three of my favourite ever Classic Who stories while Remembrance of the Daleks, Paradise Towers (Doctor Who sort of do classic JG Ballard? Yes please) and The Happiness Patrol all contain germs of ideas that with better execution could have been as good as any 80's Who let's not kid ourselves. The show was at a real low and with JNT in control wasn't going to get better quick enough to save itself from cancellation.

[Man From Hammer]

Originally Posted by Jezza

God, DWB, one of the worst things to ever come out of Doctor Who fandom and summed up everything that was wrong with its fans during that era, and sadly similar attitudes have persisted to the present day, only now they're found on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Tumblr.

I'm not sitting here saying everything is great about Who, but it's healthier to keep a positive tone about things, which is what I try to do and why I'm excited about this new BD set.

I'll just leave it at that, there's no point going back and forth on this.

I'm excited about this new set too so we agree on something. I don't think speaking the true negative opinions about other eras of the series will make any difference to the future of this range.

I think DWB was one of the best things ever. I certainly looked forward to each issue although moreso after Who was cancelled and it covered other shows too.
The best thing about it was that it was independent so unlike DWM was not just a mouthpiece of positivity for the BBC. It spoke for fans even when the opinions were negative , like it was for a lot of the time when JNT was in charge. It was also often in confilct with DWAS but they were simply seen as a mouthpiece for pro BBC comments because being anything else would have lost them approval and backstage access.
Compare DWB to DWM at the time. It took DWM over 10 years to produce a magazine of the same quality.
I retain nearly a full run of DWB. For DWM I'm happy with a dvd rom set

Surely the fact that those same negative opinions appear somewhere says something. Why should the passage of time change opinions for everybody. Time is often kind to some tv shows and movies but generally I think the eras of Who that were not as popular at the time of broadcast remain pretty much the same even if some opinions have changed with the luxury of re-evaluation.

I do wonder if nostalgia plays its part as it does with other shows. Many of us have the fondest memories of Who for when we were a certain age. I was only 5 when I saw The Wheel In Space and by The Horror of Fang Rock and religiously ensuring I watched it every single week for a decade I decided I had outgrown it - like you do with many kids shows. But as with those others, I returned to it years later and caught up on what I'd missed. But while the Tom Baker and Pertwee stories seemed able to stand up to adult scrutiny most of the time I didn't feel the same way for the JNT era.

[thecooldud]

Such, tired cliched and wrong opinions.
Personally I think 3/5ths of the Pertwee is dated, unwatchable shite. Season 7 is great and there are a handful of others but most of seasons 8, 9 and 11 are dire. Gimme good old JNT any day. The memory very much cheats.

[Man From Hammer]

Originally Posted by thecooldud

Such, tired cliched and wrong opinions.
Personally I think 3/5ths of the Pertwee is dated, unwatchable shite. Season 7 is great and there are a handful of others but most of seasons 8, 9 and 11 are dire. Gimme good old JNT any day. The memory very much cheats.

There is no such thing as a wrong opinion. The fact you think there is makes it clear there is no point wasting time on you.

The fact that Pertwee ratings were what kept the show alive and the fact that JNT was responsible for its very slow and long decline that finally lead to cancellation would indicate you are in a minority.

The memory doesn't cheat. The dvd's are within easy reach so nobody has to rely on 20 year old memories any more

[Darby1985]

Originally Posted by thecooldud

Such, tired cliched and wrong opinions.
Personally I think 3/5ths of the Pertwee is dated, unwatchable shite. Season 7 is great and there are a handful of others but most of seasons 8, 9 and 11 are dire. Gimme good old JNT any day. The memory very much cheats.

Even if that were so, what relevance would it have? The post Davison JNT videos and DVDs were the lowest sellers of the range outside some black and white stories regardless of quality. Being "good" - which they subjectively might be to you - doesn't make them any more commercial. Likewise the Pertwee "shite" doesn't become any less commercially attractive because of any fanboy opinion. My favourite Doctor is Troughton but I can separate the love I have for his Doctor with the fact that commercially b&w 60s stories are much, much harder sells than ANY Pertwee or Tom, even their poorer stories like The Mutants or Underworld.

This range will not live or die on "Well, I liked it so it must be popular" nonsense.

[Freddofeet]

I grew up with the Davison era, and that has the most memories for me specifically.

[lemonhead118]

US release is no longer a digipack.
Amazon.com

[CouncilSpectre]

Steve Roberts re the UK packaging:

Re the UK packaging. It's a hard, thick card case in the shape of a hardback book. The back and front covers are slightly oversize compared to the internal box, so it really does look like a book. When you open it, there's a stack of transparent plastic DVD holders that open like the pages of a book. On the left hand side there are two TARDIS doors held shut with a velcro tab. When you open those, there are a similar set of flaps top and bottom and those unfold to reveal the booklet.

It's genuinely looks and feels like a high quality item.

Mentioned on Roobarbs.

[Man From Hammer]

I much prefer the "book" style to the ones that fold out forever so this is a good bit of news.

[russgup]

Do we know if it's bluray sized or DVD sized in terms of height? The pictures I have seen so far look slightly taller than bluray.

[Fnord Prefect]

Originally Posted by russgup

Do we know if it's bluray sized or DVD sized in terms of height? The pictures I have seen so far look slightly taller than bluray.

Judging by the quote in comment 150 it appears to be a few mm taller and wider than a standard blu-ray case. The mention of DVD trays is probably a typo and they actually mean blu-ray trays.

EDIT: Have the final specifications re bonus material been released yet? If so I can't find them online.

[Jezza]

Originally Posted by Fnord Prefect

Judging by the quote in comment 150 it appears to be a few mm taller and wider than a standard blu-ray case. The mention of DVD trays is probably a typo and they actually mean blu-ray trays.

EDIT: Have the final specifications re bonus material been released yet? If so I can't find them online.

Nothing has been confirmed as yet, but based on various sources (BBFC classifications, original DVDs, twitter and forum posts by the Restoration Team), this is what I've to put together for the special features:

ROBOT
• COMMENTARY by Tom Baker (The Doctor), Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah-Jane Smith), producer Barry Letts and writer Terrance Dicks
• ARE FRIENDS ELECTRIC? – Making-of documentary (39mins)
• BEHIND THE SOFA: ROBOT *new* – (44mins)
• THE TUNNEL EFFECT – Documentary about the title sequence (14mins)
• ROBOT REHEARSAL READ THROUGH *new* - Film footage of the readthrough (36mins)
• BLUE PETER – 1974 extract from the set of ‘Robot’ (2mins)
• 8mm FILM FOOTAGE – Behind-the-scenes location film (1min)
• CLEAN TITLES (2mins)
• CONTINUITY ANNOUCMENT (1min)
• PHOTO GALLERY (4mins)

Approx. runtime: 2hrs 23mins

THE ARK IN SPACE
• COMMENTARY by Tom Baker, Elisabeth Sladen and producer Philip Hinchcliffe
• OPTIONAL CGI EFFECTS
• OPTIONAL 5.1 SURROUND SOUND MIX
• A NEW FRONTIER – Making-of documentary (30mins)
• BEHIND THE SOFA: THE ARK IN SPACE *new* - (38mins)
• ROGER MURRAY-LEACH INTERVIEW – Interview with the set designer (10mins)
• MODEL EFFECTS ROLL – 16mm film footage of the original model work (7mins)
• CGI EFFECTS ROLL – Option to watch all the optional CGI effects separate from the story (2mins)
• 3D TECHNICAL SCHEMATICS – Technical schematics of the Ark, as created by the CGI effects team (1min)
• MOVIE VERSION – Unrestored cut-down omnibus edition of the story, as broadcast in August 1975 (1hr10mins)
• ALTERNATIVE TITLE SEQUENCE – (1min)
• TRAIL/CONTINUITY (1min)
• PHOTO GALLERY (7mins)

Approx. runtime: 2hrs47mins

THE SONTARAN EXPERIMENT
• COMMENTARY by Elisabeth Sladen, Philip Hinchcliffe and writer Bob Baker
• LIKE NOTHING IN EARTH *new* – Making-of documentary (37mins)
• BRED FOR WAR – Documentary about the Sontarans throughout the Classic Series (40mins)
• BEHIND THE SOFA: THE SONTARAN EXPERIMENT – (18mins)
• ON TARGET WITH IAN MARTER – Documentary about Ian Marter’s career as an actor a writer (16mins – Originaly on the ‘Carnival of Monsters: Special Edition’ DVD)
• LOCATION REPORT – (3mins)
• PHOTO GALLERY (5mins)

Approx. runtime: 2hrs

GENESIS OF THE DALEKS
• COMMENTARY by Tom Baker, Elisabeth Sladen, Peter Myles (Nyder) and director David Maloney
• OPTIONAL 5.1 SURROUND SOUND MIX
• GENESIS OF A CLASSIC – Making-of documentary (1hr2mins)
• THE DALEK TAPES – Documentary about the Daleks throughout the Classic Series (53mins)
• BEHIND THE SOFA: GENESIS OF THE DALEKS – (43mins)
• KEITH MILLER AUDIO RECORDING FROM TVC CANTEEN – Audio recording from the Television Centre canteen during Part 3 (47mins)
• CONTINUITY COMPLIATION – Continuity announcements from the original transmission and repeats (6mins)
• BLUE PETER – Extract showing models made by a teenage fan (7mins)
• PHOTO GALLERY (8mins)

Approx. runtime: 3hrs46mins

REVENGE OF THE CYBERMEN
• COMMENTARY by Elisabeth Sladen, David Collings (Vorus), Philip Hinchcliffe and designer Roger Murray-Leach
• OPTIONAL CGI EFFECTS *new*
• THE TIN MEN AND THE WITCH *new* – Updated making-of documentary of the same name, originally from 2010 (32mins)
• CHEQUES, LIES AND VIDEOTAPE – Documentary about Doctor Who on VHS in the 1980s (28mins)
• BEHIND THE SOFA: REVENGE OF THE CYBERMEN – (32mins)
• LOCATION REPORT – 1974 news report from Points West (6mins)
• PHOTO GALLERY (5mins)

Approx. runtime: 2hrs 3mins

BONUS DISC
• TOM BAKER IN CONVERSATION *new* – Candid interview with Tom Baker, presented by Matthew Sweet (1hr4mins)
• DOCTOR WHO: TIMES – (41mins)
• GENESIS OF THE DALEKS: MOVIE VERSION *new* – Unrestored cut-down omnibus edition of the story, as broadcast in December 1975 (1hr26mins)
• THE TOM BAKER YEARS *new* – Original 1992 two-part VHS documentary featuring Tom Baker reviewing clips from all his stories (2hrs55mins, combined total)

Approx. runtime: 6hrs6mins

Plus the usual information subtitles and BD-ROM PDFs, of which have yet to be confirmed, but as it stands there's about 19 hours of extras.

[simon_r_harding]

Case and Disc artwork was posted on Twitter. Really liking what I see and making me wish we would get all the seasons like this.

[Fnord Prefect]

Originally Posted by simon_r_harding

Case and Disc artwork was posted on Twitter. Really liking what I see and making me wish we would get all the seasons like this.

Glad that judging by the picture the artwork is BBFC logo free, with said legally obligated irritations relegated to a disposable obi banner or j card. I bet this looks nice in the flesh.

Despite myself I've decided to buy this release (it's Doctor Who, what can you do?). With this, the Arrow Akio Jissoji and BFI Woodfall sets all within a couple of weeks of each other mid-June's going to be expensive.

[The_DoctorInTARDIS]

So I've been diving in and out of various threads on this gorgeous release, and I'm seeing a lot of people saying that the US is no longer getting the huge and sexy steelbook featuring the Lee Binding artwork. Does anyone have a definitive answer on what the US packaging will be? AFAIK the only significant difference between US and UK release was the title (DW Season12/Baker season 1). Being that half the reason I want this is in fact for the artwork I'd happily wait an extra week for UK shipping if I had to (having it properly named wouldn't go amiss either).Any information on this would be greatly appreciated

[Jezza]

Originally Posted by The_DoctorInTARDIS

So I've been diving in and out of various threads on this gorgeous release, and I'm seeing a lot of people saying that the US is no longer getting the huge and sexy steelbook featuring the Lee Binding artwork. Does anyone have a definitive answer on what the US packaging will be? AFAIK the only significant difference between US and UK release was the title (DW Season12/Baker season 1). Being that half the reason I want this is in fact for the artwork I'd happily wait an extra week for UK shipping if I had to (having it properly named wouldn't go amiss either).Any information on this would be greatly appreciated

OK, you seem to have got lots of things muddled up here.

First, there is no steelbook for this release, I assume you're referring to the Series 3 steelbook, for which Lee Binding didn't do the artwork and you seem to be under the impression was a US release. However, it was only ever a UK release.

As far as the actual packaging for this set, the UK vs. the US, it would seem both countries have different packaging. The UK set is what you see just above you OP, a digipak set with hard outer box.
The US on the other hand appears to be a standard 14mm case, but with the same basic front artwork and a different title.

There's no clarification at this stage whether the US set also comes with a booklet.

[The_DoctorInTARDIS]

Originally Posted by Jezza

OK, you seem to have got lots of things muddled up here.

First, there is no steelbook for this release, I assume you're referring to the Series 3 steelbook, for which Lee Binding didn't do the artwork and you seem to be under the impression was a US release. However, it was only ever a UK release.

As far as the actual packaging for this set, the UK vs. the US, it would seem both countries have different packaging. The UK set is what you see just above you OP, a digipak set with hard outer box.
The US on the other hand appears to be a standard 14mm case, but with the same basic front artwork and a different title.

There's no clarification at this stage whether the US set also comes with a booklet.

Yeah sorry, I actually just realized that this is a digipack and not a steelbook. I also believed that the Baker set had Lee binding cover artwork, perhaps I was wrong there as well. I already have series 3 steelbook though.
But darn that's rubbish that the US only gets standard packaging. Amazon.co.uk it is then hopefully they're still doing perorders.

[HarrySullivan]

This set looks amazing, but my pragmatic side says don't pre-order, wait to see if there are manufacturing issues or authoring errors first.

If this range continues, Tom's years would no doubt be popular but the latter seasons of the show must surely be a hard sell (to put it mildly). I wouldn't want to be the guy who has to write the marketing blurb for a Season 24 blu-ray set.

[Darby1985]

Right but as we were saying earlier, the guys at 2E know about offsetting less popular releases (Black and whites, Colin Baker and McCoy) with the big hitters. They're old hands at it. I think they'll only do a Season 24 if and when they've got enough of these released that they know it'll be viable to rely on completionists and the budget will be less for it.