My slow by steady project of delving into vintage 'Doctor Who' tales continues with this fun Jon Pertwee adventure.
As a child, I collected many (in fact, most) of the tie-in Target novels, but for whatever reason I never had this one, meaning that I was mostly unfamiliar with the plot - but that turned out to be a plus point when, all these years later, I came to watch the DVD; I loved every minute of this great adventure unfolding, never knowing what would happen next.
Although a long-standing 'Doctor Who' fan (though my interest dipped a bit in those long barren years when it was off-air) I confess to having not watched a full Jon Pertwee adventure for some years now. Shame on me - I'd almost forgotten what fun he was; and I prefer his "dashing dandy" take on the character far more than some of the more "over excitable" leads who seem to have got all the attention in recent years.
Both Jon Pertwee and Katy Manning are on fine form in this story; they work well together and really bounce off of each other. The story is certainly a surreal one, but kudos to the ever reliable Robert Holmes for daring to try it - and for pulling it off! Of the guest cast, Leslie Dwyer is particularly fun as travelling showman Vorg.
I watched this story - and am writing this review - in the middle of the new Series 5 on Saturday nights (in which I am enjoying Matt Smith immensely more than David Tennant, and in which Amy Pond is by far the most modern 'Who' companion IMO, but that's for another site!)... so obviously I notice the difference in special effects with these old stories. But this does actually not bother me - the story is strong enough to excuse these limitations, and it actually reminds me of just how genuinely scared some of those old monsters could be!
The extras are as good as we've come to expect from a 'Doctor Who' release, featuring a number of interesting bonuses (including a terrible proposed update of the theme, which thankfully was never used). As is usually the case, my personally favourite extra is the in-episode trivia track.
I really enjoyed this story, it ranks just short of a solid 5 stars from me, but comes pretty damned close. If you're looking for a decent Third Doctor tale to check out, I highly recommend this one.