Customer Reviews
Some nice elements but mixed in with a fair bit of filler - By: L. Green, 27 Sep 2008 
Barcode: 5014503243128
I have always liked Peter Davison's Doctor so to go back & see where it all began for him was certainly an interesting experience. Four To Doomsday is most definitely a mixed bag, but I found much to enjoyin this story, even if it did comein inconsistent bursts.
In terms of the look & feel of the episode, with a new Doctor & a new season, the BBC was obviously keen to impress & as a result we are treated to some very nicely designed sets. Four To Doomsday sees the show at its most Sci-Fi, ideas of technology & intelligence forming a crucial part of the story. But as nice as these elements are, certainly from the first part of this serial you get an overriding feeling that there's just something slightly lacking when compared to other stories of the era.
For starters - & this isn't necessarily a bad thing - but this is a very wordy serial. There is a lot of dialogue, some of it getting pretty deep & at times the story can feel more like a lessonin morality, philosophy & science than an episode of Doctor Who. There are moments when this is done well & it is here that this episode really succeeds, but equally there is a lot of filler too.
The whole thing flows along nicely but nothing much really happensin episode 1 & for much of episode 2. Then we get episode 3 which shows real potential, the tension & drama of the story suddenly being turned right up as all the plot elements slide into place. We get treated to some wonderful bits of dialogue here & for a while it looks like everything is building to an epic finale but then sadly things drop off againin episode 4. So, episode 3 is without a doubt the best of the four, if anything, worth it alone for when Tegan gets angry at Adric & knocks him out.
The companions are interestingin this story, growing into their roles - I've always loved Davison's classic `TARDIS team' as I think it gave a real element of youthful energy to the show. As is standard with the three companions, because of the complexities of giving them all parts to playin the story, all three get sidelined at various moments - Nyssa getting hypnotised, Adric being knocked out & Tegan trying to figure out how to fly the TARDIS. Equally though, all get their chance to shine too, oh, & who knew Tegan could draw so well?
In terms of the villains, the costumes of the Urbankans isn't the best, coming across like a mix between a cabbage & a frog, but Stratford Johns is fantastic with his charming yet egotistical Monarch & his self indulgent banter is a delight to listen to, & along with his creepy assistants Enlightenment & Persuasion, this trio inject much needed gravitas into this story.
Their bizarre fascination with the failings of `flesh' beings is quite unnerving & adds to an overall sinister feel to this story - a sense of sterile conditions populated by `androids' who have settled into a mindless monotony lasting thousands of years. It sent a chill down my spine as the Greek philosopher reveals his true form, holding up the computer chip & declaring `This is me' - great cliffhanger.
Without a doubt the worst element of this story is the ridiculous 'entertainment' room/variety show thing. It's used to pad out a fair bit of the story & ultimately just looks & sounds a bit of a mess & doesn't really mesh fully with the feel of the rest of the serial. In regards to the whole space-walk sequence, again, a nice idea but sadly the effects just don't cut it. Another disappointment was the way the ending comes around far too suddenly, before you know it Monarch is defeatedin a flash & everything is resolved.
In terms of extras, as well as the standard commentary you also get some raw studio footage & an interview with Peter Davison but is quite lacking compared to what's on offer on other Doctor Who DVD releases. I'd really like to give this story five stars as there are some really nice elements to it, moments that just remind you why you love Doctor Who so much, but these are scatteredin with a lot of filler & ultimately this story's inconsistency lets it down a lot it, & as a whole it just isn't strong enough to warrant a top rating. That said, it's still worth a watch, just maybe see some of Davison's other stories first.
dancing till doomsday - By: Paul Tapner, 25 Sep 2008 
A four part doctor who story from 1982, featuring peter davison as the fifth doctor, & as his three companions: janet fielding as tegan, sarah sutton as nyssa, & matthew waterhouse as adric.
the story involves the tardis landing on a large spaceship heading towards earth, just four days away. it's run by a biepedial frog like humanoid alien called monarch, & crewed by some others of his race & lots of humans they've taken prisoner over the centuries. Earth will bein big trouble if he gets there again. can the doctor & friends stop him?
as you can see from the variety of reviews here, this is a story that divides opinion & doesnt have a great reputation. It's entirely studio bound. Having three companions does rather restrict the amount of material each gets, & the story is not terrible, but is rather average. the human prisoners put on regular dancing displays, & this can slow the plot down. acting wise peter davison,in his first recorded storyin the part, has yet to fully find the character of the fifth doctor, & the script does rather waste a potentially very good villainin the form of monarch.
so it's not terrible, but it's no better than average & ultimately a bit forgettable.
this is a bit lacking extras wise, as well, & it's a surprise it's not one of the cheaper dvd'sin the range. most of the decent material about peter davison's startin the role was used for the new beginnings box set, so there's not much left to put on here.
you get the usual:
photo gallery of the story & it's production.
english language subtitles.
production information subtitles, which will display information about the story & the production whilst you watch it.
digitally remastered picture & sound.
the listings for the episodes from the radio times as a PDF file [you use a computer to open them to view]
and also:
a theme music video. a long version, roughly four minutesin total, of the mix of the theme tune that was used around this time on the show, complete with a long version of the title sequence with no text
a fifteen minute long interview with peter davison on a bbc interview show from december 1980. this was recorded prior to him starting work on doctor who. it's a bit slow to start but ultimately quite a decent little chat, although the date of recording means that the majority of it is about his work on all creatures great & small rather than who. but he does have good stories about that
studio recording: twenty seven minutes worth of film of the recording of the story on the first day of production. offering no great insights into the acting process, but an interesting look at how tv production worked back then. although we have seen the like on other doctor who dvds before, & it's a bit long at twenty seven minutes.
there's also a commentary from peter davison & the three actors who played the companions, plus john black, the director of the story. the davison commentaries are always very good & lively & this is no exception, & john black is a good addition to the group. this may help you appreciate the story a little better, because, as they say, watching it with no sound does make you study the sets & design & costumes & some of them are really rather good indeed.
and some people may be pleased to learn that, according to the commentary, they've already recorded one for the highly regarded story kinda, so hopefully that will be along sooner rather than later.
there is also a coming soon trailer for the story the war machines. this actually came out last month, but the production order originally had it coming out after four to doomsday. be careful watching this trailer because it begins with some very fast cuts & then some flashing lights & it nearly gave me a fit as a result.
and that's the whole package for you. average story, & not much with it. but the commentary may help you like it a little better
Why this one? - By: Mark Prior, 22 Sep 2008 Of all the remaining Peter Davison era stories why release this one? Four to doomsday was one of the very last Dr Who stories to be released on video, & one of the worst.
Okay, it's not the very worst from this era but certainly one of the dullest. Stratford Johns, Philip Locke, Burt Kwouk, A waste of some great british acting talent.
Where are the greats? Kinda, the black gaurdian trilogy, Planet of fire?
"You take a large ripe frog and squeeze.." - By: Bob Marlowe, 22 Sep 2008 I last saw this when it was 1st broadcast, but thanks to the intervention of a mate who bought a copy of the DVD I've given it another look. Sorry but it's still rather lightweight, despite Terence Dudley writing some actual Sci Fi for once. An alien who considers himself a God & wants to travel faster than light, an arkship & personalities/consciousness stored as data are all good concepts but despite his track record on shows like Doomwatch & Survivors, Dudley was perhaps creatively a bit burned out by the time he came to who.
There are lapsesin logic e.g having thrown considerable bafflegab & gizmos at the Tardisin an attempt to getin in part 2,in part 4 Monarch walks past an open doored Tardisin part 4 without so much as a glance.
There is quite a lot of padding e.g. the Tardis crew variously have to sit through a sort of Royal Variety Performance with dancing, sword fighting & some Blue Peter assembled Chinese Dragons! Now that's what I call torture!
Peter Davisonin his 1st recorded story is confident & makes the most of moments such as mocking the use of floating cameras "Manopticons" (these are quite well realised for the time), but there are still growing pains for the 5th Doctor (he's really snappy with Teganin a Tardis scene & makes corny jokes-"shows how academic everything is").
Tegan is her usual strident self, oddly deciding to fly the Tardis (did she learn nothingin Castrovalva?)and clearly having a "bad hair" story.
Nyssa is underused & Adric's annoying-so no change there!
Stratford Johns gives a large fun performance as alien menace Monarch. Even though the Urbankan look is some way from the frogs describedin some dialogue, the facial mask & makeup move with his own face-not so for Annie Lambert whoin her Urbankan mode has difficulty speaking. Monarch's costume is dated looking & unimaginative- Johns' discomfort is visiblein his body language.
However when Persuasion & Enlightenment appear transformed into something out of Tegan's sketches, it's a justly celebrated episode climax!
The other cast make little impression, Burt Kwoukin particular wastedin a nothing role. Only Philip Locke is memorable.
There is great modelwork opening the story & the sets (if memory serves some are hand me downs from the film "Alien")are good. We all fastened at the time on the scene where the Doctor makes a cricket ball propelled space flight because it looked rubbish done with CSO. The Police Box Show has never been afraid to use dodgy science & if you did a similar scene now with CGI it would be a water cooler moment, but at the time they should have realised it was a bad idea.
The special features are only a notch or 2 above a budget release. the theme music video with a full version played to title sequence compilations is mildly interesting, the 27 minute studio footage of Peter Davison's 1st day's shooting needed some optional commentary to bring it to life.
Peter Davison's interview on vintage show "Saturday Night at the Mill" is more of a treat. Focussing on "All Creatures Great & Small", it does have a brief moment about Dr Who where his delight over having bagged the role is wonderful to see. He mentions a 60's story with aliens coming to life from being frozenin a cave & my vote is it's "The Keys of Marinus", feel free to cast yoursin comments.
The commentary is great with the classic line up; Jan, Pete, Matthew & Sarah, possibly as with The Visitation the presence of the director restrained them a bit. John Black offers an insight into the technical challenges whil Pete n' Jan offer their usual schtick. janet Fielding compares her haistyle to Elvis Presley, whil Peter D jokes about leadin your pencil & reveals he almost sacrificed his sitcom "Sink or Swim" to be Dr Who. He also reveals that the commentary for Kinda is alreadyin the can.
Middling story, middling extras big 5th Doctor fans only.
Slightly unhinged, but witty and fun - By: The Goose Loose, 21 Sep 2008 The negative reviews here are being very unfair on this story (I have a suspicion that some stories are classed as disasters, & it's then difficult to see past that & appreciate what's actually on offer). Plus points: a very imaginative idea, an enthusiastic cast, some proper drama between the regulars (Adric's betrayal & Tegan's panic), some great gags, & some of the best set design the classic series ever had. Minus points: it's clearly true that the regular cast are still finding their feet, & the writing feels slightly unhinged - it doesn't seem to developin the way you'd expect it to, but instead heads offin its own, slightly mad directions. There's nothing wrong with that though - it's fresh & good fun (and, for sheer entertainment, it actually beats a lot of Davison's second series into the proverbial cocked hat).
