The Doctor (Sir Thomas of Baker) and Romana (Lalla Ward) materialise in Paris, circa 1979. Although they have arrived simply to go on holiday, they soon begin to experience moments where time goes all funny. Not simply content to write them off as acid flashbacks, especially when detective Duggan (Tom Chabdon) is following them, the pair soon discovers that the jolts in time are the result of the experiments of Count Scarlioni (Julian Golver). As the two get drawn into the world of art theft; experiments with time and rapidly aging chickens, one is left to ask: what does Leonardo Da Vinci have to do with all of this? And where's Dan Brown when you actually need him?

From the start of this episode, it is obvious that this one is going to be a little bit different. With a prologue set millions of years in the past, the villain is introduced in spectacular fashion. However, it is when The Doctor and Romana are introduced, on the streets of Paris, that we truly get a sense that this episode is going to be something special. This was the first time Doctor Who had shot outside of England, as it was an attempt to get away from the 'aliens invade the home counties' cliché. The difference is instantly noticeable, with the 16mm shots of the Champs Elysees, the Eiffel Tower and the Lourve giving a cinematic feel to a series that had traditionally been studio-bound. However, the director (Michael Hayes) and his cameraman weren't content to have postcard shots in the background: interesting angles, especially one of Duggan approaching as seen through a magazine stand, make this feel more like a 'movie' than a four-part television serial.

Tom Baker and Lalla Ward are both at the top of their game in this episode, as it is obvious the two have a good rapport (one that led to more than a working relationship, if rumours are to be believed). This results in much ad libbing, which fits in well with the already humourous script. One can expect some witty one-liners in a script co-written by Douglas Adams, after all. Baker plays the fool perfectly when he has to, and much of the Baker years were characterised by his sometimes 'over-the-top- performances. Here, that is appropriate, as his flippancy is used to mask his real plans from the villains. However, on a dime, Baker becomes deadly serious when the fate of the world is at stake. It is this ability that truly made Tom Baker one of the most memorable Doctors in the show's history. However, the other actors must be praised as well: Tom Chadbon as the 'punch first, ask questions later' Duggan is hilarious and completely on the money, while Julian Glover - who would play General Veers the following year in Empire Strikes Back - is the perfect villain. His casual pride at his own handiwork and almost perpetual sneer are reminiscent of a James Bond foe. Indeed, Glover played a Bond villain only two years later in For Your Eyes Only. Of course, this episode features an unbilled cameo from John Cleese, and thus instantly qualifies for 'classic' status.

City of Death is the perfect length for a Doctor Who serial. While many serials have run into the problem of having to pad out a 6-part serial, City of Death works perfectly at four parts. Originally screening in the UK between 29 September and 20 October 1979, City of Death manages to start with a bang, and keeps up the pace for the remaining chapters. We are never entirely sure what the motivation of the villain is until the end of the serial, even when we have established what the villain actually is. Injected with liberal doses of humour, audiences are kept entertained for the entire running time. This seems to be difficult in modern TV shows that run only 45 minutes per episode, yet this show manages to keep the same level of entertainment up for over 90 minutes.

While this episode is highly regarded by many fans - being voted the fifth most popular episode ever in this 2003 poll - it is not universally loved. Some feel that the humour is too much, while others can't get past some of the obviously fake alien masks. This, however, is largely irrelevant. Doctor Who has always had some humour in it, and is part of what makes the show such a fun romp to watch. Likewise, the low-budget sets and costumes are also part of the charm, as they require the audience to use their imagination more often. However, when the writing is as good as this, and the pace is so rapid, it is this humble reviewer's opinion that this is about as close to a perfect vintage Doctor Who episode as one can get. Given the high quality of shows over its forty-odd year history, that's high praise indeed.

When reviewing the video quality of any given disc, you have to take into account a number of factors. Age and availability are the two main ones, but the source of the prints also needs to be considered when making anything more than an arbitrary "star rating" on video quality. With a Doctor Who serial, or any BBC serial for that matter, one has to be aware that video quality is going to vary from scene to scene. As was the standard at the time, 2" quad videotape was used for interior studio shots, while 16mm film was used for exterior and location shoots. On City of Death, there are certainly more exterior shots than most Doctor Who serials - with the exception of Spearhead in Space, shot entirely on 16mm - as City of Death showcases Paris as much as possible.

Naturally, the good old Restoration Team has done their best here. This serial only appeared on ABC television late last year during their marathon of Doctor Who repeats, but the difference is instantly recognisable. Full details of the restorative process can be found here. While the 16mm obviously has a bit of grain, and the odd film artefact and colour fade, it looks remarkably good for a TV show that is almost 27 years old. The interior video shots fare much better, which colour more vibrant and strong throughout. A few quirks inherent to video are present - the odd comet trail from a moving light, for example, and the odd video effect from the late 1970s - but these can be forgiven due to the age of the material.

An excellent example of how to remaster vintage television.

As the good fellows at the Restoration Team said, "The audio remastering for City of Death was always going to be a pretty standard affair". Presented in a Dolby Digital 2.0 mono, this is another fine example of how to remix a soundtrack.

The Team has evidently done a good job of removing any noticeable clicks and pops, as none can be heard on this disc (at least none that I could detect anyway). The Team have gone as far as replacing the audio on the opening credit sequences, which is pretty standard procedure now. The remix is a good one, with dialogue coming across loud and clear, and the music soundtrack remaining within acceptable levels.

While the Team haven't gone all out by providing us with a 5.1 remix, the original track and an isolated score (as they did on the remarkable restoration of Remembrance of the Daleks), it wasn't really needed here. The track we have is not only perfectly acceptable, but exceeds what we have heard from the small screen. Nicely done, Team.

Disc One

Commentary

Unfortunately, neither Tom Baker nor Lalla Ward were available for the commentary track, but on the bright side we do get to hear a number of other interesting contributors. Featuring director Michael Hayes, and actors Julian Glover and Tom Chadbon, we are provided with a few interesting anecdotes from the set of the serial. While the track does tend a little toward the nostalgic, rather than the informative, the addition of the Production Subtitles provides everything you will ever need to know about the making of this serial. These subtitles, similar to the text commentaries on the Star Trek DVDs, are one of the best features of these discs. While an audio commentary track with this information could be a little dry, the combination of the casual audio commentary and the informative production subtitles provides the viewer with an experience that is both fun and fact-filled.

Disc Two

Springtime in Paris (44:04)

This is an excellent retrospective documentary that looks at the development of the City of Death story. The interviews with the writers, directors and producers are all fascinating, but the most interesting thing for fans is going to be the vintage interviews with Douglas Adams (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy). His influence on the story is discussed, as well as his wider contribution to the series. Another highlight is the cartoon-style recreations of alternative storylines/titles, complete with animated title sequences. A well-rounded documentary that has the right balance of humour, reflection and information.

Paris, W12 (20:05)

Although the actual quality of the footage in this section is terrible, this is possibly the most valuable bonus feature on the disc. This type of featurette was last seen on the Revelation of the Daleks and Claws of Axos DVDs, and is essentially b-roll footage and outtakes. However, given how rare it is to find some BBC programs, finding Shibaden studio tapes (a video format pre-dating VHS) with any playable footage on them is a miracle. From the 20 minutes worth of clips on display here, we get more of an idea of what it was like to be on set of a BBC show in the late 1970s than an army of talking heads could explain. A subtitle track has been provided to help explain what is happening on screen, making this one of the most informative featurettes ever to appear on a DVD. An excellent inclusion!

Prehistoric Landscape (2:26)

This is a montage of unused effects and landscape shots from the serial. Partly here for the sake of curiosity, it is also a great look at the road not traveled. One has to wonder how much work was put in for several minutes of shots that didn't even see the light of day.

Chicken Wrangler (2:46) 

Set to wacky music, this is another effects montage. This time we see an effects technician and chicken wrangler set up shots of various real and animatronic chickens to create the illusion of a fowl going through an accelerated aging process. Wrangling chickens of any kind would seem to be harder than it looks!

Photo Gallery (8:40)

Not your standard-issue 'Click remote to move forward' set of still, this is a self-running collection of production stills, publicity shots and behind the scenes photos. Set to music, there are a ton of shots neatly collected into themes and type. An example of how something a little bit different can be done with an otherwise standard DVD feature.

Eye on...Blatchford (13:00)

There have been a number of these short parodies on the various Who discs, and this one explores the adventures of Sardoth - The Second-to-Last of the Jargaroth. One of the more amusing of its kind, with a very wacky sense of humour to it. Very much for fans, but most will be able to appreciate the broader comedy about a guy who just can't seem to take a break.

Doctor Who Annual (DVD-ROM)

As with the previous Doctor Who release, The Web Planet, a PDF file has been provided on the disc containing the complete Doctor Who Annual from 1979. An invaluable addition, especially for fans that have either missed that era of the Doctor in his first run, or those who just want a trip down memory lane.

It has been said often throughout this review, but it bears repeating: City of Death is one of the finest examples of Doctor Who in its forty-year history. It has all the elements of classic TV: humour; action; aliens; villains and a cameo by John Cleese. All that in four short episodes.

The DVD is one of the best in the Doctor Who line. The restoration of the picture and audio are some of the best examples of their kind, and the collection of bonus features far exceeds any other 2-Disc Doctor Who.

Highly Recommended.