 Before I tell you about this excellent DVD
I must give you a brief plot out-line. If you don't
want to know you should skip the next three paragraphs...
The Sixth Doctor
(Colin Baker) and his companion Peri (Nicola Bryant)
are in trouble again, when they land on the planet Varos.
They are looking for a rare mineral, known as Zeiton-7,
which can power the TARDIS. According to the TARDIS
databanks zeiton-7 can be found in abundance on Varos
so, because the TARDIS is suffering form technical difficulties,
getting this mineral becomes a priority.
Varos is a strange
world, once a prison colony, which is ruled by a cruel
and evil regime. The prisoners and guards are punished
and tortured; these awful scenes are then broadcast
to the people to keep them entertained and subdued.
When Peri and the Doctor arrive they are caught up in
this terrible system and seem to be the only ones who
can instigate change.
They free the
rebel leader Jondar (Jason Connery….phwoorgh!) and make
an enemy of the evil alien Sil. They are pursued through
the dreaded punishment dome and become a big hit as
the current entertainment!
What follows is
an excellent two part adventure involving torture, genetic
modification, illusion and death! This story sees the
introduction of the wonderfully corrupt alien Sil, who
is fleecing the people of Varos out of their only marketable
asset. A really enjoyable story with a great cliff-hanger
at the end of episode one.
Vengeance on
Varos was originally broadcast on TV from January 19th
1985 to January 26th 1985.
SPECIAL
FEATURES
Commentary
by Colin Baker (The Doctor), Nicola Bryant (Peri) '
Nabil Shaban. (Sil)
This is a really
good feature! Unlike some of the commentaries, this
one was really funny and not at all annoying. It was
both informative and entertaining. All seem very at
ease and take the Mickey out of themselves and each
other. They don’t take it too seriously and sometimes
they lose the point and get a bit carried away: Colin
spends some of the time denying any accusations of violence
made against him by the other cast members. They are
all really enthusiastic and the fun they had working
on the shows shines through. This commentary was recorded
on 29th March 2001.
On screen
production notes
Those of you who
have read my Who reviews before will know how much I
like these production notes. Again they are not disappointing
on this disc! These give a great deal of interesting
behind the scenes info and some facts about the cast
and production crew. Unlike the Earth based adventures
there isn’t the same location information, but they
do tell you when things were filmed and in which studios.
A lot of things that will help fans and non-fans alike
understand the thought processes behind the finished
production.
Extended/deleted
scenes
This features
a selection of bits that either didn’t make it into
the finished production, or were cut down to save time.
A lot of these scenes were pretty dire, so it’s no real
surprise that they were cut. It is nice to see these
on the disc though, because it’s interesting to know
what they did and didn’t consider to be important. Being
limited to just two episodes it isn’t surprising that
things were cut out through time restraints. I’m really
pleased to see things like this included on the DVD…where
else are we going to get to see them!
Photo Gallery
The usual round
of stills and cast photos. From a purely personal point
of view I can say that I enjoyed the ones of Jason Connery
(very decorative!). My husband thought the ones of Nicola
Bryant were better….can’t understand why!! Although
nice to look at, the photo gallery is never my favourite
addition on these DVDs; I can look at photos in magazines
and other sources….extended scenes, etc are often exclusive
and previously unseen. In this case the photo gallery
has slightly more merit, because some of the pictures
are shot during production and are pretty rare (some
of them are exclusive too!).
Trailers
These include
both of the original BBC1 trailers and a continuity
link. I like to watch these and really think they “set
the scene” for me ready to watch the episode. They always
remind me of when I first watched the story and bring
back memories of those occasions. This DVD is not an
exception to that rule….I always watch this feature
prior to sitting down and watching the adventure.
Behind the
scenes Featurette
Only a short one
this…but gives a good feeling of what went on when it
was being filmed. I always enjoy these little insights
and really advise you to spend a bit of time viewing
this feature. I love the out-takes too! It’s always
good to see what we weren’t supposed to see! A recommended
feature.
Animated
Graphics
These are once
again very well produced and make the disc very easy
to navigate. They are slick and feature an animated
TARDIS sequence that appears before you can pick what
you want to view. There are some very well produced
scenes from the show in the background…very nice to
look at and give you a “taster” of what is to come.
Scene Selection
Although there
are only two episodes these are still split into “bite
sized” chunks to allow you to pick which episode and
which scene you want to view. Very user friendly, but
a pretty standard feature on DVDs these days.
This DVD is available
through all usual stockists (Blackstar, Amazon, MVC,
etc) and prices vary. Mine was £18.59 from Blackstar
and it’s currently retailing at the BBC on-line shop
for £19.99. Shop around, because you can get it
cheaper. (DWO Price
is £15.99)
INTERESTING
FACTS
It
was the first DVD release showing Colin Baker as
The Doctor.
This
DVD doesn’t contain the isolated music soundtrack
like the majority of Who releases.
Vengeance
on Varos stars both Martin Jarvis and Jason Connery.
Peri,
despite what her accent may imply, is from Surrey
and not from America!
I really enjoyed
watching this DVD and thought that it translated well
into this format. The quality and range of special features
is good, though not a patch on Tomb of the Cybermen
and Remembrance of the Daleks. The picture is clear
and crisp; a delight to watch. The sound quality, although
in mono not stereo, is excellent. The Dr Who Restoration
Team have, once again excelled themselves by producing
a professional and highly watchable DVD.
Even if you already
have this story on video I still recommend that you
get it on DVD. It’s another great addition to any Dr
Who fan’s collection and a great viewing experience
too. The BBC have done us proud once again and released
another classic. My only problem now is which Dr Who
DVD to watch next! Buy Vengeance on Varos soon and have
a great night in front of the TV.
» Review
by Andrea
Waterhouse,
Copyright 2003.
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