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 Tom Baker's first season was such a huge success with viewers, that the succeeding season would have a lot to live up to. Terror of the Zygons kicked off as a fine start, leaving the viewers imagining where in the universe The Doctor would next be headed. In Planet of Evil, The Doctor and Sarah Jane find themselves on Zeta Minor; the last planet of the known
universe.
The opening shot is worth a mention owing to its dramatic setting up of the story. A long distance zoom on a planet, is something of a success in the sci fi genre, but it could have been a few frames shorter, owing to the fact the final shot resembled a red painted tangerine. I'm not one to usually knock classic series effects as the budget they had,
entwined with the resourceful and intelligent use, are to be respected - even in today's hi-tech world of digital wizardry.
As a viewer, you are immediately drawn to Roger Murray-Leach's truly awesome set; a lavishly rich swamp jungle complete with rivers and imposing trees. We learn quite soon-in, that night time is bad and that the day is much safer, and through the set's use of colour and use of shapes, you really start to feel this.
We learn about a research team and witness them being killed first-hand by a mysterious invisible enemy. An enemy which is later revealed to be an anti-matter creature, from the 'other' universe.
The cliffhanger's are typically 'who' and have your minds eye churning round the endless possible outcomes, in the time it takes for you to press the fast forward button in anticipation for the next episode.
Planet of Evil is laced with an undercurrent of Jekyll and Hyde. It has its 'normal' side, veined with the mercurial tenancies of its 'evil' side, personified by the anti-matter creature along with the death it brings. This also reflects the journey of Professor Sorenson, and how the inner planetary evil is slowly taking him over.
It's a wonderfully written, produced and directed story, with all departments pulling together to produce a densely imaginative and entertaining 94 minutes. Planet of Evil definitely deserves its place in what is arguably one of the most popular seasons in Doctor Who history.
The Special Features are by far some of the finest to make it to Doctor Who DVD, and kudos to 2|entertain for the ability to pull all their resources together in packaging this adventure.
The commentary track is true joy to listen to, and makes you view Planet of Evil in a whole new light, thanks to inputs from Tom Baker, Elisabeth Sladen, Prentis Hancock and Philip Hinchcliffe.
Ed Stradling's 'A Darker Side' documentary, gives a rare insight into how the story came to be, with some amusing additions from Tom Baker and Elisabeth Sladen. Philip Hinchcliffe, offers the most rewarding window with his first-hand accounts and documentation from the production.
Steve Broster's 'Planetary Performance', is in my mind a continuation of Stradling's 'A Darker Side' documentary, and could have worked equally as well without it being its own separate entity. The documentaries are made in such a way that due to the interesting and insightful material, you don't feel time passing by, and as a result your interest is kept throughout. Both of these documentaries are
well worth the title price alone.
It was at this point that I was thinking that the only item this DVD was missing, was some archive footage of some sort, and along came the 'Studio Scene' extra. This offered up a scene showing both Tom Baker and Elisabeth Sladen reacting to the [invisible] anti-matter monster. It also shows us just how professional and focused the said actors are.
The novelty 'Easter Egg' is always a joy to find, and it's nice to feel that after searching around for five minutes, you have in some way earned the right to watch the hidden gem. The gem in this case, is the brief, but priceless 'Hidden Hinchcliffe' documentary, where Producer; Philip Hinchcliffe takes an in-depth look back at his original production notes
from the serial.
A final extra worth a mention, is the new 'Coming Soon' trailer, which offers a glimpse at a forthcoming Doctor Who DVD. In this case, it is Destiny of the Daleks. I have to say I was truly blown away with the trailer, which makes [perhaps not the best Baker adventure] seem like a thrill-a-minute spectacular. I'm not a fan of Coming Soon trailers as I
feel they date a DVD. One only has to look back at the original Battlestar Galactica video release, before they are exposed to what can only be described as an onslaught of 80's vibrancy of colour and lycra-fuelled panic. This however changes my previous hang up, and actually adds further quality to the package.
All in all, I have to tip my invisible anti-matter hat to all parties involved in bringing Planet of Evil to DVD. Both story and special features work so well, and compliment each other, and as a result they offer a definitive tribute to this classic series adventure.
Rating: 
» Review by Sebastian J. Brook, Copyright 2007.
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