The Doctor (Colin Baker) and his companion Peri (Nicola Bryant) arrive on the planet Necros. The planet holds a giant funeral home where the wealthy Who's Who of the galaxy can have their bodies cryogenically frozen until a cure is found for what ails them. The Doctor is there to pay his last respects to a close friend of his. However, unbeknownst to the Doctor, the Daleks and their creator Davros (Terry Malloy) seem to be pulling the strings of the operation under the guise of being the Great Healer. The Doctor must get to the heart of this mystery and defeat the Daleks before it is too late.

Although I am relatively new to the Doctor Who universe, I have never really been a huge fan of the Dalek stories. The temptation is usually to give into the fan boys and girls and simply have a 'cool' Dalek story, or assume that the presence of the Daleks will be enough to please audiences. Thankfully, Revelation of the Daleks doesn't give into this temptation, with an excellent script from Eric Saward. As with the best Doctor Who stories, Revelation of the Daleks begins with a mystery - a nagging feeling in the back of the Doctor's mind that something isn't quite right. The script, which is allegedly based on Evelyn Waugh's The Loved One but also contains liberal doses of the film Soylent Green, gradually draws you in with its surreal and atmospheric imagery. While the two 45 minute episodes doesn't allow for as much room as a six by 25 minute serial would, the doses of dark humour about death and mystery in this story make this a welcome change of pace. The Daleks almost seem superfluous, as they could have been easily replaced by any generic villain with the ability to run up a flight of stairs, but the strength of the storytelling makes the presence of the Daleks a formidable one once again. 

The Doctor himself plays a very low key role in this story, with the focus shifting slightly to some of the story specific characters. Despite his reputation of being flamboyant and arrogant, something which is referenced in the script, Baker plays down those characteristics in these episodes and channels a more thoughtful and caring side of the Doctor. This will no doubt please fans of Baker's immediate predecessor, Peter Davison. There are a rich variety of new characters in this episode, definitely more so than other episodes. Mr. Jobel (Clive Swift) is a delightfully dark and eccentric character, and his relationship - or lack thereof - with one of his colleagues provides surprising emotional depth. Kara (Eleanor Brun) and Vogel (Hugh Walters) also provide an interesting dynamic as a force working against Davros, with Kara playing out like a classic Disney villain. Finally, Orcini (William Gaunt) and his squire, looking for the ultimate quest, is of a perfect Don Quixote archetype. In fact, it would be fair to say that there aren't many other Doctor Who episodes where all of the one-off characters have as much depth going for them as this collection of characters, all of whom have been cast perfectly.  People will also note the appearance of comedian Alexi Sayle as The D.J., a retro disc jockey that sends out messages and updates to those resting in the deep freeze. His initial presence immediately dates this serial as a product of the mid-1980s, and becomes a little annoying in the early moments of the episode. However, we see a deeper side to his character later on, which allows the actor to strut his stuff to the high standard everybody else seems to be setting in this episode.

Revelation of the Daleks was significant as it was the last episode of Doctor Who to be screened before it went on an 18 month hiatus. For various reasons - including the launch of the still-running BBC drama East Enders, the ongoing costs of the show and the weaknesses inherent to the 45 minute format - the BBC decided to postpone the debut of the next series (which wouldn't air until September 1986). Fans will note that this is the reason behind the dramatic freeze-frame as the Doctor is about to announce their next destination at the end of the episode (he was going to say "Blackpool"). Regardless of how fans felt about Colin Baker as a Doctor, the decision was deemed as a cancellation and fears abounded that the Doctor would not return. We know now that this was not the case, but if it had gone the way of the dinosaur in that Spring of 1985, fans would have been left with one of the stronger episodes of the Sixth Doctor's years.

A number of problems exist with video transfers of older Doctor Who episodes on DVDs. There is, of course, the natural wear and tear that a thirty year-old television series is going to suffer from. Secondly, most Doctor Who episodes - indeed most vintage BBC episodes - have been filmed using a combination of film for exteriors and on location shots, and video for interior studio shots. Thankfully, by this era of Doctor Who, the BBC was already underway on a massive archival project, so the Restoration Team didn't have to worry about as much conversion and remastering as they did on Claws of Axos, for example, or trying to piece together masters from different sources.

This is not to imply that the Restoration Team have sat on their laurels, as they have still managed to produce a fine example of remastered picture here. The Team have reduced a lot of the noise than is typically associated with a print of this vintage, and given us a fairly clean looking print. There are naturally instances, especially the odd 16mm film shot, that are a little worn or dirty, but these are few and far between. Colours are a little bit soft at times, but for the most part they come across with a high level of detail. You'll probably still notice the odd lens flare or comet trail associated with video footage of this vintage - not to mention the odd blocky video effect - but they really can't be helped.

A solid transfer.

Although the majority of the sound comes from the front and centre speakers, this is a little bit more than a 'faux surround' track. There is quite a bit of information on the Restoration Team's website about the remix, so I will direct you to the hows and whys here. Suffice it to say, there are a number of good uses of the surround channels, especially in the DJ's booth or during the attack of multiple Daleks. The effect is quite immersive at times, although I should point out that the Jimi Hendrix track, "Fire", is missing from this mix, due to the inability to obtain rights to it. This section has been remastered from scratch, and the effect is seamless. The mono track has also been included for purists, but this has also been remastered for the best audio quality.

The other nice 'bonus' on this DVD is the isolated music score track. This has been sadly lacking from all DVDs in the last few years in favour of cramming in multiple Dolby and DTS tracks. Thankfully, the Restoration Team seem to be fans of this feature, and it has been cropping up on most of the Doctor Who DVDs. Yay, Team. This score, by Roger Limb, is quite a moody piece and it is great to hear it in isolation.

Revelation Exhumed (45:51): This is an excellent retrospective documentary of the making of the episode. It also manages to draw up many of the themes in the episode, and the way in which the characters work with each other. They talk about the technical aspects of the shoot; the challenges of working with Daleks and aspects of the story and script. Almost everyone involved - with the notable absence of Colin Baker - are interviewed for this retrospective. Of most interest to fans will be the untransmitted segments and behind-the-scenes footage that can be found in this documentary. Between the commentary track and this documentary, you will learn everything you need to know about the making of the episode.

CGI Effects: This is an alternate version of the feature episodes with some of the vintage effects replaced with CGI effects. I'm not sure this was actually needed, simply because the originals weren't that bad to start with and the occasional dodgy effect is half the charm of these episodes anyway. Besides, these weren't particularly effects-heavy episodes anyway.

In Studio (15:36): This is a behind the scenes compilation of b-roll footage: outtakes, alternate takes, extended scenes, pre-effects sequences and occasional goofs. They mention an 80 minute version of this tape in the text-based opening to this featurette, and it would have been fascinating to see it uncut. However, like the equivalent feature on Claws of Axos, this gives us an excellent look at how an episode of Doctor Who was made from a fly-on-the-wall perspective. Davros drinking from a plastic cup and having a breather is quite amusing too.

Deleted Scenes (2:15): This section consists of 3 deleted scenes from the program, without any explanation as to why they were cut. However, we can usually assume with television that they have been cut for time. These aren't the full extent of the deleted scenes from this episode, as the documentary on the disc shows us a few more unaired clips not found here. Even so, fans will love any unseen Doctor Who they can get their grubby little hands on (*DVDBits does not wish to imply that Doctor Who fans are in any way grubby. We do, however, reserve the right to use the phrase "grubby fans" in relation to reality TV viewers).

Continuity Announcements (3:29): These are the ads that either ran between episodes or were TV spots advertising the show about to be aired. There is even a 1993 TV spot included showing some of the items available for the 30th Anniversary of the show.

The disc is rounded out with a Photo Gallery (5:55) that plays behind the scenes and publicity shots to music. This is a slightly better way of viewing the gallery than flicking through a series of still images.

As I am not that familiar with the Colin Baker years, I came to this episode with a completely open mind. As such, I found myself completely enjoying this solid piece of entertainment. It has an incredibly dark sense of humour and a depth of character not seen in most other television shows, let alone other Doctor Who episodes. Regardless of how you feel about the Colin Baker years, this is an easy episode to watch.

The disc contains a number of worthwhile bonus features, with the documentary and the commentary alone making this a strong example of how to release TV on DVD.

Recommended.