Customer Reviews

BLACK N' WHITE, DODGY SETS, FLUFFED LINES....JUST BRILLIANT! - By: T. Leatherbarrow, 19 Sep 2008
This is real telly history. The whole Doctor Who/Tardis concept still astounds me with the imagination that went into its creation. The original mass of sound effects that was the opening theme was changed years ago, but not for the better. The light distortions the bass sounds & the asthmatic Tardis sounds, with howling ,fading echo were all there & gave the show a totally original look & feel .
The'unearthly child, both versions are good to watch. Introducing a great cast headed by the wonderful William Hartnell. The stone age story was alright, although the arrivalin the middle of nowhere by the Tardis at the beginning was visually stunning. As was the arrivalin the petrified forestin the Dalek story, that was genuinley scary. There was a tension & genuine spookiness that ran through the show. When the drama was high it was great, only lost when they became adventures & the chases replaced the drama, but that couldn't/can't be helped. The odd story 'The edge of destruction ',was i believe a money saver, but a good character story setin the Tardis. Which looked like a battered old wooden police box, rather than the huge bright blue thing they have now. David Tennant are doing well, but you must watch this, esspecially the first two Dalek episodes.

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Story 1,2,3 of the brilliant Doctor Who - By: Jones, 30 Aug 2008
As a now 24 year old, who as a child watched the odd couple of episodes of Sylvester Mccoy's doctor who, & was never really what you call a fan of the show, even when the new series came out i did not rush to watch them. But upon watching the 2nd series of the new who(which at times was quite brilliant, apart from love & monsters of course - dont know why some people like that episode, beyond me) i decided to indulgein some of the old who from the beginning. To which i purchased this dvd & was quite astonished how good it actually is. To my shock of thinking the new series was something special & then watching this it then gave me a totally different perception on the new series to an extent where at times the new series is very much like a soap opera with cheesy scenes & a non scary enemies. Not to give the new series to much critisism because it is at times very very good. But sadly it is nothing compared to some of the old series(and this from a person who has never been a who fan, until now, & can judge without ever seeing the old ones)

Anyway enough dribble about how the old & new series compare. This dvd is a must buy. Not just because its the very first doctor who, also because it really is a fantastic set of 3 stories. Having serials with more episodes & are longer make the stories so much better, plot wise & makes the stories more whole. Also what was suprising was how good it wasin being black & white (i was very sceptical at first) it adds to the tension & makes the first few seasons very dark & mysterious which really does make it more special & what doctor who should always be like. The stories themselves are all top class:
Story 1
AN UNEARTHLY CHILD.
Basically opens with us being introduced to a mysterious person who is the doctor, & sets up the main characters & companions of the show, to then leading to the main story of the doctor & companions landin a tribe full of cannibals & have to escape. A very good story that is intended to get the audience to know the characters. (9 out of 10)

Story 2
THE DALEKS
This trully is the story that made Doctor who what it is today, i can understand why people went dalek crazy & they are the iconic enemy of Doctor who, & are used so much today. The story focuses on the doctor & companions landing on the planet skaro. Which has 2 civilizations one being the Thals & the other being the Daleks. The doctor & co come across a metal city & investigate. Which is where the daleks live, & live on causing terror. As the doctor finds out. The story is well paced & truly dark & tense. The daleks are also very menacing, compared to what they are nowadays. Which all creates a fantastic story (10 out of 10)

Story 3
THE EDGE OF DESTRUCTION
This story is short & is obviously a filler story which cost little to make. But never the less it is still a very good story. In which the crew of the tardis wake up from an explosionin the tardis & have loss of memory & strange things are going on with the tardis itself. As stated a short story while not as good as the first 2 stories, but still a very enjobable one (8 out of 10)

To conclude this is a must have to start your doctor who collection. Buy it now, because trust me from a previously NON - DOCTOR WHO fan, to one, who has now started his collection, this is television at its best.

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How it all began. - By: Mr. Andrew Young, 14 May 2008
This is how a television instiution began backin 1963. William Hartnell was an inspired choice for the part that he would play for the first three years of the show.
We begin with a good opening story. The opening episode is a real classic with two school teachers wandering why one of their pupils knows far more about science & history than she should. Their investigations, take them to an old junk yard, where, inside they discover a mysterious police box & an irascible old man. Eventually they force their way inside the box ... This episode paved the way for all that was to come.
The remaining episodes are set backin the stone age, & tell of the Doctor & his companions struggling to survive & ultimately, escape. These episodes may not match up to the first, but are still very tense & exciting. They also contain a darker element than many of the stories to come over the years.
The second storyin the set sees the beginning of another television legend that continues to this day. The Tardis lands on planet Skaro, home to the beautiful pacifist Thals ..... & the Daleks! The series most popular monsters made their debutin a seven part morality tale. There were better Dalek stories to followin subsequent years, but no one could doubt the impact of this story, which saw Doctor Who's ratings soar over the weeks. It may be a little bit long & sagin the middle, but it contains some of the shows most memorable scenes. The most notable of these being the cliffhanger to Episode 1.
The final story, `The Edge of Destruction' is a bit of a disappointment. The first episode is a good one, which builds up tension, as the Tardis crew appear to be facing real danger. Too bad that this is all spoiled with a disappointing resolutionin the second episode! However, significantly, this is the first episode to hint that the Tardis is more than just a time-travel machine.
The set contains the usual array of DVD feaures icluding commentaries, interviews withcast & crew & documentaries charting the making of the programmes. The first disc contains the original pilot episode. It is very similar to the opening episode of an unearthly child, but has a few subtle differences. You may note,in particular, as the Tardis takes off, there is a much more different, electronic sound, compared to the one that we have become used to. Then on the third disc, we have an abridged soundtrack of the lost story `Marco Polo.' This is accompanied by a series of still shots & gives us an insight into what this adventure would have been like.
There were better stories to follow over the years, but nevertheless, these are still worth watching. As someone said many years later: "After all, that's how it all started!"

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In the beginning there was... - By: Shaun Cryer, 07 Feb 2008
An Unearthly Child: dark, moody & compelling. A little bit OTTin places but this was 1963. Ian & Barbara are so well realised & who would have believed the police box would become such an icon. It's hard to imagine the viewer reaction to the TARDIS back then, being as familiar as we are with it now.

Hartnell is greatin the role, & I actually find the fact that he occasionally fluffs his lines quite endearing. The pilot episode is very interesting & probably shows that Newman was rightin his insistence that a lighter tone was introduced to the reshoot.

The Tribe of Gum has always worked well for me, the first show was always about introducing the characters & Gum does this well. I love the fact that the cavemen look unclean & the travellers look like they've been to hell & back by the end of it. I also like the fact that the Doctor is able to see that the cave people are not to hot on thinking, while Ian & Barbara treat them as contemporaries. There are so many firstsin this episode, first time inside the TARDIS, first time out etc.

The Daleks needs no introduction; a tad slow paced for today's viewers but a classic job & to some the reason for Dr Who's longevity. I really would have liked the Daleks from Genesis to resemble these machines but that is by the by. On the plus side Hartnell is never bettered than his performancein this show, fluffs & all!

The Doctor really wasn't such a likeable character back here; he hadn't quite developed his strict code of ethics.

Inside the Spaceship has been rather derided over the years, we all know its history & as such I think it's quite admirable, also we get to see more of the ship's interior. Hartnell goes a bit AWOLin the last scene it's true, butin some ways this show becomes the glue that binds the travellers together & as such is worth viewing.

There really are some cracking extras on this box set, along with some informative commentaries make this release a must for fans old & new.

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a pure classic - By: C. J. Mccolgan, 18 Dec 2007
just a classic, an unearthly child is a very worthwhile story to watch even though some of the acting was poor. 7/10

the daleks was the best of the sixties, maybe the best until the new series, best voices too. 10/10

the edge of destruction is a very intense for the time & still convinces me. 7/10