Last Updated:

29/1/2007

     Last Addition:

10/3/2003

  Submitted By:

  Andy Kitching

  Review Submitted:

  10/3/2003

Robert Holmes once again returns to the Doctor Who fold in 1973 for the Jon Pertwee and Katy Manning serial, ‘The Carnival of Monsters’ with another popular tale.

The Lurman entertainer, Vorg and his assistant Shirna arrive on the planet Inter-Minor  to demonstrate their mini-scope – which is in heavy dis-repair, to the ministers of inter-minor who would prefer that any aliens to be sent back to where they came from. This mini-scope contains miniature living creatures and scenarios with Cybermen, Ogrons and a ship full of humans in the Indian Ocean…Kalik, one of the planet’s officials sees this as a great opportunity to point out the dangers within the scope to scare the government to take into account his exclusionist policies.

And the TARDIS, as ever, lands in the thick of it all…on board the ship that is sailing to India, in the scope!

Michael Wisher gives an outstanding performance as the scheming Kalik which pulls the viewer into the story, as usual the chemistry between the Doctor and Jo is also very realized and the turbulent events of the story shows just how strong their bond is.

The Plesiosaurus though is one of the very few faults with the story with it being so obviously made of rubber and it’s actually quite hard to believe that this is one of the most frightening creatures in the universe.

As usual, the Restoration Team have done an excellent job in the cleaning up of this seventies serial with some delightful extras included on the disc.

Barry Letts and Katy Manning both provide a running commentary to the story with Letts pointing out technical points to the story and revealing some of the facts behind the production. Katy Manning is as bubbly as ever, usually laughing at her performance as Jo every now and again and you can tell she really is enjoying watching the story – well worth a listen.

A somewhat younger Barry Letts is the presenter of a CSO Demo video which was produced to demonstrate the advantages of the CSO method, also well worth a look at as it shows just how such Doctor Who stories were made.

The Photo Gallery is now a film clip with the images of the story shown, some previously unreleased ones are also included as well as snaps of Katy Manning and Barry Letts recording the commentary.

Also included is some promo adverts from 1981 for the story’s ‘Five Faces’ repeat along with some extended and deleted scenes and I have also found two easter eggs but if I told you where to look that would spoil the surprise, wouldn’t it!?

All in all, this disc contains not only a superb story but some great footage and other media on what makes Doctor Who special to us the fans – I personally recommend it as a great addition to anyones collection.

» Review by Andy Kitching, Copyright 2003.

  Submitted By:

  Andrea Waterhouse

  Review Submitted:

  10/3/2003

Carnival of Monsters is another of the excellent Doctor Who DVD releases from the BBC. If you don’t want to know the plot outline and get straight onto the DVD review, skip the next 2 paragraphs.

The third doctor (Jon Pertwee) and Jo Grant (Katy Manning) materialise aboard the SS. Bernice during a test flight in the TARDIS. They believe the year is 1926 and that the location is the Indian Ocean (they were actually aiming for Metebolis Three, but that’s another story…blame the TARDIS’s sense of direction!)…how wrong could they be?

The two time travellers begin to discover that they are trapped in The Scope – a sophisticated “peep show” containing specimens from all over the universe (look out for the wonderful carnivorous Drashigs!). They are all miniaturised and are there for the amusement of the populous of Inter Minor. The machine begins to break down and there is nothing that Vorg (who won the machine in a game of chance) and his assistant Shirna can do to fix it….but don’t worry, it will all be alright in the end!

What follows is a tale involving monsters, political intrigue and an all round good adventure story. Carnival of Monsters is a classic Doctor Who adventure that is as good to watch today as it was when it was originally broadcast – from 27th January to 17th February 1973. It was released on DVD in July 2002.

SPECIAL FEATURES

COMMENTARY

This time the commentary is provided by Katy Manning and the Producer ' director Barry Letts. They are sadly the only two major contributors to this story who are still alive. As such are the best ones to tell us all those little anecdotes that we have come to expect from these commentaries. I must be honest and say that I found Barry’s commentary a bit boring, but only because I had heard most of the stories before. I enjoyed Katy’s fresh input and was glad I had listened to this feature.

EXTENDED ' DELETED SCENES

This consists of Scenes (from the early edit of episode two) that were mistakenly screened in Australia during the 1970’s. There is also an alternative ending from episode 4 – shortened by 44 seconds because Barry Letts was concerned about one of the character’s bald skull-caps slipping. This shorter version was used for the Five Faces of Doctor Who programme.

BEHIND THE SCENES FOOTAGE

This is a piece called “Looking In” that was originally broadcast in November 1972 as part of the BBC 5oth Anniversary celebrations. The Carnival of Monsters sequence is included on this DVD and is a really nice addition…you even get to see a scene that wasn’t included in the final edit!

MODEL SEQUENCES

I found this really interesting because it gave me the chance to see the original Visual effects tests from some of the model sequences. This is from the 16mm footage and shows model space craft and some Drashig models. A good feature for us Doctor Who “anoraks”!

USING CSO

This is an internal training film headed by Barry Letts, demonstrating the “modern” (well it was then!) technique of Colour Separation overlay…if you want to know how it all works; I suggest you watch this film and then explain it all to me!

ALTERNATIVE THEME MUSIC

This is a new version of the theme music composed by the BBC Radiophonic Workshop to celebrate the 10th Birthday of Doctor Who. It’s a nice piece and well worth a listen.

PHOTO GALLERY

The usual montage of stills and photographs. Not a bad selection this time and many of the shots are rare or previously unpublished.

TRAILER

A nice bit of nostalgia here…I actually remember watching this trailer when Carnival of Monsters appeared on The Five Faces of Doctor Who. For me, this was the first time I had seen this story and remember watching BBC 2 and feeling very excited to be watching Jon Pertwee!

PRODUCTION SUBTITLES

Once again this is my favourite Special Feature! I enjoyed the trivia, cast details and general production information. The BBC have excelled once again with the data they have found. A recommended feature and a great chance to learn more and get involved in the story.

EPISODE ' SCENE SELECTION

The 4 episodes and 24 scenes are easily accessed via these animated menus. They are well produced and very convenient to use…they make navigation around the disc very easy!

TARDIS CAM SEQUENCE

This is Nick Sainton-Clark's CGI TARDIS “Escape Through the Vortex” sequence, completed recently for BBCi's Fictionlab. It looks like one of these will be included on future DVD releases. This feature ties in with the BBC web-site and shows the TARDIS in different locations. A good way to link the DVD with the internet.

EASTER EGGS

As far as I can tell there are two Easter Eggs contained on this release. As usual I won’t give them away…if you have trouble or just want to know how to access them (on your PC, not on your DVD player) leave me a message and I’ll try and fill you in. These little goodies are worth finding!

I think that just about wraps up the Special Features!

INTERESTING FACTS

• This story features Ian Marter as John Andrews (aboard the SS. Bernice). He will later appear as companion Harry Sullivan. He had auditioned for the role of Mike Yates, but didn’t get it!

• You will see some Cybermen making a cameo appearance in The Scope.

• This story was made using Colour Separation Overlay. This technique (known as CSO) was “cutting edge” at the time and Doctor Who pioneered this process. Don’t worry CSO is explained later in the Special Features review!

• The BBC chose this adventure to represent Jon Pertwee’s “doctorship” in the 1981 series “The Five Faces of Doctor Who”. It was said to be the adventure that summed up the action packed performance of Jon.

Once again this is a top notch release from the BBC and one that will compliment any good sci-fi fan’s DVD collection. The sound and picture quality are crisp and clear…it’s a good viewing experience. For its day (and the BBC budget) the Special Effects are pretty impressive and the story is well written and produced.

This DVD is available through all usual stockists (Blackstar, Amazon, MVC, etc) and prices vary. Mine was £16.99 from Blackstar and it’s currently retailing at the BBC on-line shop for £19.99. Shop around, because you may get it cheaper….I think mine was a good bargain! For the first time I actually like the cover used for this DVD, so I don't need to visit the web-site listed below to download and alternative cover for the box...I hope this is the start of good things to come! (DWO Price is £15.99)

I really recommend that you invest in a copy of Carnival of Monsters; an excellent piece of nostalgia and great value with all the extras that you get. Roll on the next release!

» Review by Andrea Waterhouse, Copyright 2003.