THE MOVIE

Introduction:

After the stunning double DVD release of ’The Curse of Fenric’, Roadshow Home Entertainment deliver another quasi-historical number titled ’The Visitation’. Originally airing in the UK on BBC1 in February 1982, ’The Visitation’ is at first an odd choice for DVD release at this point in time (considering the number of far superior stories available for potential release), but on closer inspection, it is a nice little period piece that brings back fond memories of the traditional Doctor Who format (i.e. to take a historical point of significance and then drop the Doctor and his companions into that point in time).

Plot Synopsis (courtesy of www.bbc.co.uk):

The Doctor attempts to take Tegan back to Heathrow Airport but the TARDIS arrives in the 17th Century instead of the 20th. The time travellers discover that a space capsule has crash-landed nearby and that its alien occupants, three Terileptil prison escapees, intend to wipe out all indigenous life on Earth by releasing rats infected with an enhanced strain of the great plague.

The creatures are also using a sophisticated android to strike terror into the local villagers. Aided by itinerant thespian Richard Mace, the Doctor tracks the Terileptils to their base in Pudding Lane, London.

Commentary:

As I mentioned earlier, ’The Visitation’ is a bit of a strange choice for DVD release at this time because quite frankly, I find the story to be incredibly dull and slow moving. Now before all the Doctor Who fan boys and girls start casting stones, please allow me to explain. My major gripe with the story is that there are too many pointless occurrences throughout the four episode arc that they detract from the overall premise of the story. Take for instance the unbelievably drawn-out sequence where Nyssa constructs some form of sonic vibrating device in the TARDIS. The whole point of preparing such a device is to destroy the android that is terrorising the villagers, but there is absolutely no sense of urgency in Nyssa’s acting whatsoever. Instead, the audience is forced to watch Nyssa ponder back and forth around the TARDIS, picking up and replacing strange items in awe and basically being the poster-child for procrastination!!! And don’t get me started on the absurd amount of running around the village/forest to evade inevitable capture. At times, these sequences felt circular (i.e. the Doctor and/or his companions are on the run from enemies, are captured and then escape, only to find themselves on the run and being captured once again). One can’t help but wonder whether these sub-plots actually had a point or whether they were merely derived to keep each member of the principal cast busy.

At the time ’The Visitation’ aired, the Doctor had three travel companions (i.e. Tegan, Nyssa and Adric). Along for the ride in this particular episode is Richard Mace who for all other purposes, may as well be the Doctor’s fourth companion in this story. It is quite remarkable in hindsight to think that such a series could accommodate so many principal cast members, and ’The Visitation’ only serves to highlight the futility of it all. As mentioned above, Nyssa’s role in the story is reduced to a lot of procrastinating in the TARDIS, whilst Adric’s role is (as usual) to annoy the living daylights out of everyone. At one point in the story, Adric actually questions his importance of his role in the TARDIS!!!

Another alarming point to note about ’The Visitation’ is Peter Davison’s portrayal of the Doctor. Those unfamiliar with Davison’s earlier stories (which includes ’The Visitation’) should note that at the time, the producers of Doctor Who were still trying to differentiate Davison from Tom Baker’s previous portrayal of the Doctor. How else can you explain the Doctor’s erratic behaviour in this story? Not only do we bear witness to the Doctor running away from a situation where two of his companions are in real danger, but we are also exposed to numerous instances where the Doctor is clearly in a ‘shirty’ mood!

Having ranted on about how bad ’The Visitation’ was as a stand-alone serial, I should back-peddle a bit and acknowledge that it had some merits. For example, the fact that a significant portion of the story was filmed on location serves to heighten the reality of the story and the timeframe in which the story was based. Period drama is something the BBC have always excelled at, and ’The Visitation’ is no exception.

Other interesting points to note about ’The Visitation’ is that it showcased the first use of animatronics in the series’ history (i.e. the Terileptil masks) as well as the talents of Michael Robbins who easily steals the show in his role as the well-spoken highwayman, Richard Mace. Such a shame that Robbins didn’t join the TARDIS crew in place of Adric!!!

One final point, for those of you who love continuity, ’The Visitation’ has some pearlers including references to the previous Tegan-focused story ’Kinda’ as well as a fitting end to one of the Doctor’s longest running companions, the sonic screwdriver!!!

THE TRANSFER

Video:

’The Visitation’ is presented in its original full-screen aspect ratio and is therefore not anamorphically enhanced.

As with all other releases in the ongoing ’Doctor Who’ DVD series, ’The Visitation’ has had the benefit of being authored by the very talented Doctor Who Restoration Team. Together with Village Roadshow’s commitment to outstanding audio/visual transfers, ’The Visitation’ is about as good as this televised serial will ever look.

The picture detail is amazingly clear when you consider its source. As to be expected, there are some very minor instances of unintentional grain present (most notably in the outdoor sequences) but from a practical point of view, this video transfer is a vast improvement on the original televised version and can not be faulted.

The colour palette is put to great use in this release, particularly in relation to the greens which enhance the lush vegetation and forestry of the story’s environment as well as the lizard-esque appearance of the Terileptils. There is also a great use of red hues in the final episode at the Tereleptils’ lair. Flesh tones were accurate and there was no evidence of colour bleeding or inappropriate saturation. Blacks and shadow detail were excellent.

’The Visitation’ is presented on a dual layered disc and therefore there is a layer transition. However, I found no evidence of the layer transfer which probably means that it was placed between episodes.

As always, subtitles are included on this disc and include English subtitles for the main features, English subtitles for the audio commentary and English on-screen production notes.

Audio:

’The Visitation’ is presented with three specific soundtracks. The first is an English Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack for the main feature which faithfully recreates the intent of the original televised story. Dialogue was always clear and easy to understand and there were no issues with audio sync.

The second soundtrack is also an English Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack for the audio commentary by Peter Davison, Janet Fielding, Sarah Sutton, Matthew Waterhouse and Peter Moffatt. More details about this can be found in the ‘Extras’ section of this review.

Finally, we are also provided with an isolated score for the entire serial which is a great opportunity to revisit Paddy Kingsland’s score once again without the intrusion of dialogue in Dolby Digital 2.0. The soundtrack is actually quite marvellous, mixing some fantastic pipes into the score to heighten the period nature of this piece.

THE EXTRAS

Once again, we have an amazing amount of supplemental features on offer for Doctor Who fans collecting the series on DVD format.

(i) Information Text

A welcome addition that graces all the ’Doctor Who’ DVD releases, the information text feature allows viewers to watch the original 4-part serial with subtitles containing cast details, script development and other information related to the production of ’The Visitation’. It is often recommended to use this feature whilst listening to the audio commentary as they typically supplement each other.

(ii) ’Directing Who – Peter Moffatt’ Featurette

This is a 26 minute interview with Director Peter Moffatt in which he reminisces about each of his contributions to Doctor Who (i.e. ‘State of Decay’, ‘The Visitation’, ‘Mawdryn Undead’, ‘The Five Doctors’, ‘The Twin Dilemma’ and ‘The Two Doctors’).

Moffatt comes across as a charming man with a lot of experiences to depart on long time fans of the series. This interview is hands-down, my favourite feature on the entire disc. There are also an amazing collection of clips from each of the abovementioned stories to whet the appetite, particularly for those (like myself) waiting anxiously for a DVD release of one of Tom Baker’s finest stories, ‘State of Decay’.

(iii) ’Scoring the Visitation’ Featurette

In this 16 minute featurette, Mark Ayres interviews Paddy Kingsland about his score for ’The Visitation’. This is a very technical featurette and probably won’t appeal to everyone, but I found it very interesting to head Paddy discuss the inspiration for his score and provide practical demonstrations of what he was trying to achieve.

(iv) ’Film Trims’ Featurette

This 5 ½ minute featurette is a collection of scene extensions that were edited out of the main televised feature. It is not the most interesting feature to watch, and frankly, there were more repeated takes of scenes from the serial than “unseen” material. Strictly for die-hard fans.

(v) ’Writing a Final Visitation’ Featurette

The writer of ’The Visitation’, Eric Saward, is interviewed in this 12 minute featurette. It was filmed on the story’s shooting location, Black Park, in mid-September 2003. The first thing you will note about Saward is that unlike the story’s director Moffatt, Saward doesn’t have the fondest memories of working on the show, and more specifically, the way in which the producers changed the intention of his script. Nonetheless, his recollections are very interesting and provide a glimpse into the often dual worlds of writers and producers.

(vi) Photo Gallery

As with other ’Doctor Who’ DVD releases, we are provided with an auto-scrolling photo gallery containing lots of shots from the televised serial, a few behind-the-scenes shots as well as a few publicity shots of the principal and supporting cast.

(vii) Audio Options

There are two audio options available. The first is a feature length audio-commentary presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 for the four-part serial with Peter Davison, Janet Fielding, Sarah Sutton, Matthew Waterhouse and Director Peter Moffatt. This commentary really has a cast of thousands and my first impression was that it was going to be very difficult to listen to. Thankfully, Sarah Sutton and Matthew Waterhouse have very little to say (thank goodness) and therefore leave the microphone to Davison and Fielding who have quite a bit to say. Unfortunately, Moffatt didn’t have as much to say as I first expected, but the self-contained featurette on his time with Doctor Who makes up for it.

Much of the recollections from the participants in this commentary are hysterical and the commentary comes across as a good-time reunion by all involved. Some of the more interesting discussion points involve sex on Doctor Who, the personal grooming and fashion sense of the principal cast, the liberal use of condoms by the costume department as well as general bitching about various crew members (e.g. John Nathan Turner). Perhaps the most interesting comment in the entire commentary belonged to Moffatt who openly condemns Paddy Kingsland’s score!!!

The other audio option is an isolated score which as stated earlier, is a great opportunity to revisit Paddy Kingsland’s score without the intrusion of dialogue in Dolby Digital 2.0.

(viii) Easter Egg

Navigate to the special features section of the disc and highlight the ‘Writing a Final Visitation’ section of the menu. Press the left button on your remote control and a green ‘Doctor Who’ logo will appear. Press enter and you will be treated to a collection of BBC continuity announcements for the original televised serial of ’The Visitation’. These aren’t terribly exciting but they are great for die-hard fans and help put a bit the story in context of its original air date.

SUMMARY

’The Visitation’ is a fairly long-winded and almost dull-ish addition to the ongoing Doctor Who DVD library. Having said that, it is pleasing to note that the title continues the BBC’s continued commitment to include significant value-added supplemental features to each DVD release.

The video and audio quality of this disc is very good and there are several hours of supplemental features to keep everyone busy. The audio commentary and interview with Director Peter Moffatt are worth the price of the DVD alone.

[Rated PG for low level violence and low level coarse language]