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Posted: |
Oct 11, 2013 - 8:17 AM
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By: |
johnjohnson
(Member)
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Back in mid-June we relayed word about some rumors going around the internet regarding missing episodes of classic Doctor Who being found...supposedly a HUGE cache of some 90 or more episodes (out of 106 total missing from among the adventures of 1st and 2nd Doctors). We later updated that story, and posted a follow-up as well, trying to better set expectations among our readers that the rumors may bear out, or that they may not amount to as much as has been hoped for after all. We basically finished by saying that we would wait until the BBC officially announced something about the matter. Well, this evening we've gotten a press release with today's date on it, so we're passing along the pertinent info from that document. Here's the first important piece of information: how many were found, and where?
"Eleven Doctor Who episodes were discovered (nine of which have not been seen for 46 years) by Philip Morris, director of Television International Enterprises Archive, by tracking records of tape shipments made by the BBC to Africa for transmission. Morris says, "The tapes had been left gathering dust in a store room at a television relay station in Nigeria. I remember wiping the dust off the masking tape on the canisters and my heart missed a beat as I saw the words 'Doctor Who'. When I read the story code I realized I'd found something pretty special." BBC Worldwide has re-mastered these episodes to restore them to the fantastic quality that audiences expect from Doctor Who."
The episodes in question are all from two stories which star Patrick Troughton as the 2nd Doctor: Doctor Who - Story #040: The Enemy of the World, and Doctor Who - Story #041: The Web of Fear. Each is a 6-part story, and until this time each of them had a single episode which had survived (#3 for Enemy; #1 for Web). Both of those surviving episodes have been on DVD since the BBC's 2004 release of The Lost in Time Collection.
The episodes Morris found in Nigeria include those two parts, plus ALL other missing episodes from The Enemy of the World, as well as all the other parts from The Web of Fear EXCEPT for episode #3. Enemy aired in late December 1967 and January 1968, starring Patrick Troughton as both the 2nd Doctor AND as his evil doppleganger, Salamander. It co-stars Frazer Hines as Jamie and Deborah Watling as Victoria (both were reportedly at the BBC press conference for this announcement!). Web was broadcast right afterward, in February and March 1968, and introduced Nicholas Courtney as Colonel Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart (when we next saw him in The Invastion, he was Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart of UNIT). Jamie and Victoria are in it as well, plus - as the sequel to story #38 (The Abominable Snowmen) - this story also marks the return of Professor Edward Travers (played by Jack Watling, Deborah's father), the Great Intelligence, and the Yeti.
The BBC press release for America does not mention DVD plans in particular, but an article at the British website CultBox gives information about the United Kingdom DVD plans for these stories: "'The Enemy of the World' will be released on DVD on Monday 22 November**, while 'The Web of Fear' will be released on DVD early next year." In the meantime, these episode will be available to watch via iTunes. The press release we received states this about the missing Web episode, and how that's handled for the streaming service: "With episode 3 still missing, the restoration team has reconstructed this part of the story using a selection of the 37 images that were still available from the episode along with the original audio, which has been restored." MY PERSONAL SPECULATION (and that's all it is, a guess!) is that the reason for holding off on Web for DVD release until 2014, is to allow enough time for an animated episode reconstruction to occur, similar to what we've seen in The Invasion and other classic Doctor Who stories only missing one or two episodes. That may just be wishful thinking on my part, however.
Could there be more found that the BBC isn't telling us about just yet? Maybe, but I personally doubt it. After all, the 50th Anniversary isn't that far away now, and I'm sure they would want to let everybody know about it if there were more on tap. But sure, it could be possible that they're holding back some news until closer to November 23rd. In the meantime, though, it's gratifying to know that these newly-found episodes - 9 that we hadn't had access to since they were originally broadcast! - will bring the "missing" total down from 106 to 97 (with 26 stories in all missing at least one episode). And, once these stories are released on disc, there will be only 10 stories not represented at all on DVD. And, even though there are no stated plans as of this writing for North American DVD releases of these stories, we can all rest assured that the folks at BBC Home Entertainment would never ignore the USA/Canada market. They're coming, and we can't wait to find out when! We'll update you more as further developments occur.
**UPDATE/CORRECTION: Please be aware that CultBox showed an incorrect date of "Monday 22 November" (which is actually a Friday, the day before the Saturday Nov. 23rd anniversary for 50 years of Doctor Who, which sees the worldwide broadcast of the 50th Anniversary special "Day of the Doctor"). However, they apparently have gotten their incorrect date directly from the BBC, which shows "November 22" in reports such as this one (see fifth paragraph). The actual British date , per the U.K. online store for the BBC, is Monday November 25th. The same source shows the U.K. date for Web of Fear as Monday February 24, 2014.
http://tvshowsondvd.com/news/Doctor-Enemy-of-the-World-and-Web-of-Fear/19064
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Posted: |
Oct 15, 2013 - 7:46 PM
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By: |
johnjohnson
(Member)
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This review is based on the UK Region 2 DVD release.
This time last week, our world view of Doctor Who was quite different. Last month's Terror of the Zygons represented the end of a DVD era, as the final complete adventure was released and so from The Tenth Planet onwards we'd be looking forward to incomplete stories with animation to fill the gaps ... and then Friday midnight changed that completely! Now, we have another complete story to look forward to (The Enemy of the World), and all the excitement that entails. So, in some ways, the status of this adventure has diminished; however, that can hardly be said of the story itself.
Regardless of above, The Tenth Planet still has its 'firsts': it's the first story in the fourth production block, leading to the first credit on the show for several crew including costume designer Sandra Reid, make-up designer Gillian James, designer Peter Kindred, and production assistant Edwina Verner (and also the first time she met future husband Michael Craze!); it's the first appearance of the Cybermen, it's the first change of the show's key performer - and, of course, the first (fleeting) appearance of Patrick Troughton's Doctor.
But, of course, it is also a story of lasts, with William Hartnell delivering his final starring performance as the Doctor. It's a shame that, then, with his health declining, that it was hardly a "pull-out-all-the-stops" adventure, and Hartnell himself had to pull out of episode three due to bronchitis leading to a rapid rewrite to cover his absence. And to add insult to injury, some bright anonymous spark managed to lose the last episode, so we are almost unable to watch his final performance either (thank goodness for Blue Peter and off-air recordings that at least allow us to see his departure in the closing moments).
His departure is one of those stories of which there are many variations, with Hartnell himself giving two versions as time went on; regardless of whether he was persuaded to leave or otherwise, it is interesting to see him play the role for this final, single story of a new season. As I mentioned above, this wasn't a climatic way to go; Colin Baker famously declined to reprise his role for one final adventure after his removal from the show, but I suspect had he done so his story would have been as 'epic' as, say, Jon Pertwee's or Peter Davison's departure. Of course back then Doctor Who was almost a production line so it would just be one episode after another, with Hartnell coming back off holiday, so in many ways it would have just been 'business as usual' and not such a 'stand out' moment in the same way as Matt Smith's departure at Christmas will be. Another side-effect of this is that the following week's Troughton-led adventure was a natural progression in the series, and not the hugely jarring impact of having a "mid-season change" when The Twin Dilemma followed The Caves of Androzani!
In the scenes that he's in, however, the Doctor continues to be a dominant personality, something he would need to have been against the equally dominant General Cutler at Snowcap base. The production notes indicate that there was a mutual respect between Hartnell and Robert Beatty, and their performances complement one another nicely as a result. It's a shame we lost more of that in episode three, but at least they got to have their confrontation at the start of episode four.
Having those personalities are actually vital to the story as, otherwise, it could have been a very mundane story indeed, in spite of the involvement of the Cybermen. We basically have an attempt to save one space mission (Zeus 4) followed by an attempt to save another space mission (Zeus 5), the fates of both of which were inevitable - the destruction of one and the survival of the other - as Mondas passes through its own inevitable course of destruction as the Doctor foretold. It is Beatty's portrayal of the professional leader abusing his responsibility in order to save his son that maintained my interest, at least.
It is also one of those stories where the overall end result would have been reached without the Doctor being there at all - it is Ben's initiative to help defeat both invading Cyber-forces at the base that is of consequence. To be honest Polly didn't have to be there at all, though she did offer to make coffee - a career that would come to haunt her in future episodes!
Back to the Cybermen. I was a little dismissive of them above, which is a little unfair. They may not have been quite the central threat that they become in future adventures, but The Tenth Planet does a good job of introducing the (apparently) emotionless creatures that evolved from a dying race. Personally, I think the Mondasians look far better than the Telosian we encounter later, the balance between the mechanical and biological works well with the still-human hands and bandaged almost mummified heads - also, though it was probably a production error, the close-ups of them in pristine DVD-a-vision occasionally give the rather disturbing impression of the sunken eye sockets of a cadaverous skull as the actors' eyes were glimpsed within. Vocally, the effect of their mouths opening to emit their syncopated ministrations (thanks to the remarkable performance by Roy Skelton) also accentuates their alien qualities - though post-Rainbow I can't help imagining a cybernetic race of yellow wide-mouthed creatures (which wasn't helped by Zippy popping up in an advert just now too!).
The attempts at giving the International Space Control a truly international feel works quite well (better than in The Moonbase I felt). Earl Cameron commented on his role as a black astronaut as being quite advanced at the time; however, women still hadn't made their way into key technical roles by 1986 it seems. Having said that, there is Ellen Cullen credited as "Geneva Technician", though she managed to pass me by!
A few observations:
•Was his blasting the Cyberman with its own weapon the first time Ben has taken a life? He certainly was quite cut up about it afterwards.
•The description of the Z-Bomb's capabilities made me wonder if the Master inadvertently left the Time Lord files on the Uxarian's weapon behind on Earth at some point...
•Was this the first appearance of an air duct escape in Doctor Who?
•The Cybermen are depicted as a slow-moving, methodical race throughout - except when they end up under attack, judging by the way the last one scarpers in episode three!
•Suits that are able to protect against radiation but not poison gas?
•Why on Mondas do Cybermen ships have prison cells and manacles when they are all logical and wouldn't understand 'crime'?
•At least in 1986 Mondas would still have been considered a tenth planet in the solar system!
•"Next Week The Power Of The Daleks" - yeah, we wish!!!
Episode Four
With episode four missing presumed not in Nigeria or other African outpost, this edition presents us with an animated alternative, courtesy of Planet 55 who previously worked on The Reign Of Terror. Their distinctive anime look is still visible, though the quick-cutting points-of-view from their earlier work has been toned down here. There is still a little more inter-cutting between characters that perhaps jars a bit with the more sedately live camera scenes, but this didn't particularly bother me when watching. It was the Cybermen that niggled me slightly, as their expressions were a little more 'dynamic' than I would have expected from their 'mechanical' appearance - certainly more so than their live counterparts in the earlier episodes. I also felt the recreation of the regneration scene didn't flow as well as it could have been (and at first glance I thought it was a re-enactment of the sixth/seventh regeneration with an animated Troughton sporting a Hartnell wig!). However, those are my only reservations, really, overall I felt the animation did the episode justice, and conveys the story better than the original VHS reconstruction (which is also available on the DVD should you wish to watch that way).
The Extras
Commentary for this story are given by Anneke Wills, Gregg Palmer aka Donald Van der Maaten, Christopher Matthews, Earl Cameron, Alan White and from episode three Chris Dunham, plus some inserts with designer Peter Kindred with moderator Toby Hadoke (who continues to display his encyclopaedic knowledge of the acting profession!). The cast and crew reflect on their involvement with the story, its protagonists and of course the departure of William Hartnell. The production notes, compiled by Stephen James Walker supplement the commentaries with plenty more data than you can throw a radiation rod at, pointing out things like a continuity error with the Doctor's glasses thanks to a scene cut, the correspondence between Hartnell and director Derek Martinus, the actor's unexpected way to explain how to be an actor to Kindred, and the various versions of the his departure from the show. However, everything is squeezed into the three existing episodes, with nothing to accompany the animated fourth episode this time around.
A number of pointers from the above also crop up in the making-of feature, Frozen Out, which features anecdotes from Wills, Cameron, Kindred, Cyber-actor Reg Whitehead and vision mixer Shirley Coward. It was quite a poignant discussion of Hartnell's swan-song, and it'll be interesting to see how this is handled in the forthcoming drama An Adventure in Space and Time; however I was a bit surprised to hear Wills say that he "couldn't hack it any more" - very candid! (However, the montage of Doctors at the end was missing Peter Capaldi, reflecting the feature's production some time before Smith's successor was announced.)
Disc Two contains a number of features that are rather companion-oriented. Doctor Who Stories - Anneke Wills is an unsurprising item for this story, featuring the actress talking about her time during the show, including how her audition was against some 150 other potential Pollys and how she originally saw the role as a light-hearted "jolly" on the side as her ambitions were to be a 'serious' actress. Boys! Boys! Boys! (a - ahem - companion piece to Girls Girls! Girls! on The Romans) features a discussion between Peter Purves, Frazer Hines and Mark Stickson on how they got their roles, costume decisions, and where a male companion sits within the show against the more popular girls and the Doctor himself. Strickson participated via a screen virtually, and might well have simply been pre-recorded considering the way the interaction flowed as Hines and Purves dominated the feature with their camaraderie. Companion Piece was a more in-depth look at the role of a companion, with contributions from Nicola Bryant, Arthur Darvill, William Russell, writers Joseph Lidster and Nev Fountain, plus psychologist Dr Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic - his views on the companions' roles and their behaviour was quite an eyebrow-raiser! Even though it has been about for some nine years now, it is still a nice surprise to see the 21st Century series pop up on the 'classic' range - and especially fun to see the really early pre-return trailer with Rose, too! It was also quite lovely to see a couple of inserts with the much-missed Elisabeth Sladen.
The oddity in this set is The Golden Age, a feature in which Dominic Sandbrook rambles his way through various loosely themed facts and figures about Doctor Who in order to determine when was the best time to be a Doctor Who fan. I'm not entirely sure what this feature was really meant to prove, though it was quite interesting in presenting JNT's then-infamous "memory cheats" comment on Open Air, which is not as outrageous as it seemed some 25+ years ago, plus the equally infamous comments by then youthful writer Chris Chibnall! Ultimately, of course, it is always going to be down to the individual as to what they believe is the Golden Age - the opening quote from Jon Pertwee taken from Invasion of the Dinosaurs sums it up!
Also on the disc is an extract from the Blue Peter feature on Doctor Who's Tenth Anniversary, which is included in its entirety on The Three Doctors but presented here because of its Tenth Planet clip heritage.
Leaving the most intriguing feature til last, this DVD set also includes the only known surviving interview with William Hartnell, captured during his tour of Puss in Boots where he played Buskin the fairy cobbler. The short interview sees the actor discussing his thoughts about Daleks and how he considers the acting roles he undertakes and what he thinks of pantomimes ...
Conclusion
The Tenth Planet is a story that isn't exceptional by any means, but its significance in Doctor Who history cannot be underestimated. It introduces the fundamental mechanism by which the show has kept alive and kicking for some fifty years; it also introduces my favourite Doctor Who monster, too, so that's another positive vote as far as I'm concerned! The circumstances surrounding the missing final episode also serve to enhance its mystique, and with the recoveries this last week fuelling fervent interest in the quest to find these gems once more, you never know we might yet get to see Hartnell's final twenty-four-odd minutes in all its glory (don't hold your breath though!).
Coming Soon
Those pesky Cybermen are back, this time causing mischief for a Moonbase ... or they would have been had Salamander not resurfaced from his Nigerian bunker to be regarded as The Enemy of the World ...
http://reviews.doctorwhonews.net/2013/10/tenth-planet-131013180008.html
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Posted: |
Oct 17, 2013 - 9:33 AM
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By: |
johnjohnson
(Member)
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Since 1996 BBC Worldwide (in its various guises) has released every complete Doctor Who story (and a few that are not) on DVD. Some might expect that to be the end of it – except that the releases haven’t stopped.
Since 2010 several “special editions” have been released – first as part of the Revisitations box sets and latterly (in the case of, say, 1970's Inferno and 1973's The Green Death) as single releases. Now, these are excellent releases, full of excellent new special features alongside those found in the originals, new commentaries and often freshly upgraded video and audio.
In fact, it’s wonderful that BBC Worldwide and the Restoration Team are able to have the time and resources to dedicate to these special editions, and long may this situation continue. The problem for older fans, however, is what to do with the original DVDs…
It isn’t easy parting with much-loved Doctor Who; I still have several VHS tapes on my shelf, such as The Tom Baker Years and More Than 30 Years In The TARDIS (although only one of these has been released on DVD…). But if you need to make space for the new special editions, there are several things you can do.
1.First and foremost, consider donating your old DVDs to a local charity shop, one that could do with the money and relies on the goodwill of donations and volunteers. In my view you should steer clear of the “corporatised” charities and stick with local causes that you preferably already know about.
2.If this isn’t possible for some remarkable reason, why not donate your DVDs to a school or library? Local colleges running media production courses may also welcome the gesture.
3.Are there any young Doctor Who fans in your area? Such a concept was barmy back when I bought the TV Movie on DVD, but these days fans are everywhere, so you might be able to score some credibility giving some classic Who to younger neighbours or relatives.
4.Finally – and it pains me to suggest this - you might also sell your old DVDs online. This would be a particularly useful option if you’re short of cash and want to collect the special editions. You might, for example, sell an old copy of The Visitation to help towards the new release.
Doctor Who DVDs are so popular these days, and it’s an odd state to be in, especially for the older fans who spent years willing the show to come back and snapping up the limited number of cassettes and DVDs in WHSmith or HMV before their local rivals got in first.
Shelf space aside, this isn’t a bad problem to have really, is it?
http://www.kasterborous.com/2013/08/the-doctor-who-dvd-conundrum/
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BBC Worldwide have released the details for the forthcoming DVD of The Enemy of the World, which is due out in the United Kingdom from the 25th November 2013 (plus an exclusive BBC Shop release on the 22nd November).
The Enemy of the World is the first of two classic Doctor Who stories recovered by BBC Worldwide in 2013. The story had not been viewed in the UK since it was first broadcast over 45 years ago. The second missing story, The Web of Fear, will be released on DVD in early 2014.
Features:
•Programme subtitles
•Coming Soon: The Web of Fear
http://www.doctorwhonews.net/2013/11/the-enemy-of-the-world-dvd-061113142808.html
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Details have been announced of the Region 2 DVD release of An Adventure In Space And Time - the forthcoming drama looking at the genesis of Doctor Who.
The BBC Two production, written by Mark Gatiss and starring David Bradley as William Hartnell and Jessica Raine as Verity Lambert, is due to be shown on BBC Two on Thursday 21st November at 9pm, following its sell-out première at the BFI on next Tuesday, and now BBC Worldwide has revealed that the PG-rated drama will be given an R2 release on Monday 2nd December, with what looks to be a reversible cover plus the following extras:
•Leaflet featuring programme images and an exclusive foreword by writer and executive producer Mark Gatiss
•William Hartnell: The Original
•The Making of An Adventure - narrated by Carole Ann Ford
•Reconstructions:
- Scenes from An Unearthly Child and the pilot episode
- Regenerations
- Farewell to Susan (from The Dalek Invasion of Earth)
- Festive Greeting (from The Daleks' Master Plan)
•The Title Sequences
•Deleted Scenes:
- The Radiophonic Workshop
- Verity's Leaving Party
•English subtitles for the hard of hearing, audio description and audio navigation.
•5.1 soundtrack
Synopsis
Actor William Hartnell felt trapped by a succession of hard-man roles. Wannabe producer Verity Lambert was frustrated by the TV industry's glass ceiling. Both of them were to find unlikely hope and unexpected challenges in the form of a Saturday teatime drama, time travel and monsters! Allied with a team of brilliant people, they went on to create the longest-running science fiction series ever, now celebrating its 50th anniversary
As previously reported, the drama was originally to have formed part of an anniversary release that also included The Day of The Doctor. Both will now come out separately on the same day.
http://www.doctorwhonews.net/2013/11/adventure-space-time-dvd-081113042717.html
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Posted: |
Nov 24, 2013 - 8:53 PM
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By: |
johnjohnson
(Member)
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Some background info on the Spearheard From Space Blu ray, courtesy of the Restoration Team.
As the only classic Doctor Who story to be shot entirely on film, Jon Pertwee's debut story provides a unique opportunity to present the series in high definition via Blu-ray.
It's only by an accident of fate that Jon Pertwee's first story was made on film at all. Industrial action meant that the studios at Television Centre were not available, so the decision was made to shoot the story entirely on location using 16mm film cameras. The existing cut camera negatives were retained to this day in the BBC archive, giving us the potential to go back to the very best quality source for this Blu-ray release.
We have, of course, worked on Spearhead three times before - once from print for a BBC2 transmission in 1999, an upgrade of that master for the initial DVD release in 2000 and again from newly struck interpos in 2011 for the Special Edition release as part of the Mannequin Mania boxset. Readers may find it useful to read through these three articles first for background.
As noted in the later article, we did transfer the interpos in HD in 2011 for potential future Blu-ray use. However, in the intervening couple of years, the grading team at BBC Studios & Post Production had brought in new tools and developed workflows to allow them to work economically from the AB-roll cut negatives directly. Essentially this involved scanning the films and digitally correcting the jumps and other positional disturbances caused by splices before resizing and grading.
The cost of working from the original negatives was obviously much higher than simply working from the HDCAM-SR transfer of the interpos, but an agreement was reached to allow this to happen. Because of the large amounts of data involved (each episode is around 450GB), it was decided that it was quickest and most cost-effective to keep the entire process in-house on the enormous storage SAN at S&PP rather than to pass the picture cleanup out to SVS as usual. The soundtrack had already been remastered for the previous DVD release so no further work was required from Mark Ayres.
Work began by ultrasonic cleaning of the 16mm cut negatives, comprising two circa 950ft rolls per episode. Each roll was then scanned at 2K to 10-bit RGB DPX frames using a DFT Scanity film scanner. The episodes were then digitally reconformed by colourist Jonathan Wood from the two rolls onto a single timeline on a Digital Vision Film Master non-linear grading system, using the previous DVD release's Digibeta master as a reference. Film Master which was also used to stabilise the splice instability before resizing the image to create a 4:3 image pillarboxed into the 1920 x 1080 pixel HD frame. Jonathan monitored his grade on a 42" Dolby PRM-4200 professional reference monitor, fast becoming the industry standard monitor since the demise of the CRT. Having spent the previous three months grading the seventies cop show 'The Sweeney' for Network's excellent Blu-ray release, Jonathan decided to apply some of that look to 'Spearhead', giving this new transfer a more realistic 'drama' feel than the previous release.
During scanning, it was noticed that both rolls of episode three were covered in blemishes which were not apparent on the transfer from the interpos. Inspection of the film showed white marks all over the surface of the film. The conclusion reached was that at some point in the past, episode three had been given a surface lacquer coating, probably to fill scratches on the acetate film base. After peeling off several layers of labels on the cans, a label for a process called PermaGuard was discovered. It seems that the lacquer has chemically reacted with the wetgate solvent used in the optical printer when the films were in the lab to make the interpos in 2011. Closer inspection of the HDCAM-SR transfer of the interpos showed that the solvent was actually becoming polluted as the printing process progressed, with occasional flurries of blemishes appearing. The films have been passed to the film examiners at the BBC archives for assessment of the best way to remove the markings to preserve the negatives for future use. The new interpos had been put into the archive anyway, so there are good physical and digital backups of this episode available. We decided to use the interpos transfer of episode three as the master for this release.
Post-grade, the episodes were passed onto Amanda Whitby and Sheona Henderson for manual cleanup of dirt, sparkle and other blemishes using Diamant Dustbuster +, before being returned to Jonathan for more targeted shot-by-shot grain management and tweaks to the grading as required during the client viewing session with the Restoration Team's Steve Roberts.
Below is a comparison of the picture quality differences between the Blu-ray and the DVD. The picture represents one quarter of the HD frame, with the Blu-ray grab presented here pixel for pixel compared against the DVD grab upscaled to HD. The geometric differences are due to differences in scanning on the two transfers. Roll the mouse over to reveal the DVD version. Grabs by Alex Lydiate, with thanks.
As noted in the article for the 2011 DVD release, there are two points in the story where frames are missing, possibly due to neg cutting errors in 1970. These had been fixed at standard definition by Peter Crocker, who created new motion-estimated frames to bridge the gap. With no budget to do this again at HD, Jonathan upscaled the SD fixes, matched the position and the grade, grain and sharpness to his HD material and dropped them into his timeline. As both are short shots on rapid movement, the inclusion of SD-sourced material isn't noticeable.
'Spearhead' was originally shot and edited at 25fps, as befits a UK television production, so was remastered at 25 progressive frames per second, or 25P as it is known colloquially. However, the Blu-ray standard doesn't include 25P, so it is presented on Blu-ray at 50i (50 interlaced fields per second), which is the norm for this sort of material. As both fields originate from the same point in time (ie the same film frame), there is no real difference between 50i and 25P in this case.
For the US release, the choice was more complicated. In order to maintain the same running time, the 25P master would have to be standards converted to 59.94i, which would create inherent conversion artefacts as well as potentially introducing other artefacts caused by deinterlacers and scalers in the consumer's player and TV. It was therefore decided that the best way of presenting the show for the US disc in order to optimise the quality was to slow it down to 23.98fps (which is generally referred to as 24P, although that term covers both 23.98 and true 24.00fps rates - 23.98 being the most generally compatible due to its strong relationship to the 59.94 field per second video standard). This maintains the 'one video frame for every film frame' link which means no deinterlacing issues, but it does mean that the soundtrack is also running around 4% slower than normal. This is somewhat mitigated by digitally pitch correcting the audio so that voices appear to be at the normal pitch although speech itself is still slightly slower. This pitch correction was done downstream of us by authoring house Deluxe, using Avid Protools.
One audio change has been made compared to the last DVD release, which is to reinstate the original stuttering TARDIS materialisation noise at the beginning of the first episode.
The decision was made by 2entertain that this Blu-ray release was to be a companion disc to the DVD included in the Mannequin Mania boxset rather than a replacement for it, so none of the additional features from that DVD have been included here. Instead, a package of brand-new HD extras was put together to compliment the main feature.
Disc Contents:
• 4x 25 mins approx colour episodes with mono audio.
• A Dandy and a Clown (dur. 42’ 19”) – this exclusive documentary looks at the life and career of Jon Pertwee. With contributions from actors Katy Manning, Judy Cornwell, David Jacobs, Geoffrey Bayldon and Kenneth Earle, Doctor Who writer and script editor Terrance Dicks and long-time friend Stuart Money.
• Carry On: The Life of Caroline John (dur. 29’ 07”) – a tribute to the actress who played the part of the Third Doctor’s assistant in his first season. With husband Geoffrey Beevers, daughter Daisy Ashford, brother Seb John, sister Priscilla John and friends Jennie Heslewood and Patricia Merrick.
• Title Sequence Material (dur. 22’ 38” ) – raw, mute test and build-up material produced during creation of the Jon Pertwee title sequence.
• Restoration Comparison (dur. 2’ 13” ) – this release was mastered in 2K from the original 16mm camera negatives and interpos prints for the best possible quality. This short feature compares the results against previous versions and looks at some of the problems encountered during the remastering.
http://www.restoration-team.co.uk/
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BBC Home Entertainment will release Doctor Who's 50th Anniversary Special, Doctor Who: The Day of The Doctor, in a Blu-ray 3D/Blu-ray/DVD combo pack or DVD on December 10, 2013.
Bonus features include: •Doctor Who Explained - The entire 50-year history in one 50-minute special
•Two mini-episodes - "The Night of The Doctor" and "The Last Day"
•Behind-the-Scenes Featurette - Go behind the scenes at the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special - on set and on location - featuring interviews with Matt Smith, Jenna Coleman, David Tennant, Billie Piper and John Hurt. Steven Moffat gives insight into writing the episode, and it takes a look at the monsters that make a return for this very special event
•San Diego Comic-Con trailer of Doctor Who: The Day of The Doctor
•Doctor Who 50th Anniversary tribute teaser trailer
Doctor Who earned the Guinness World Record for the largest ever simulcast of a TV drama, following a massive global campaign which saw the episode broadcast in 94 countries across 6 continents. The anniversary special broke ratings records: BBC AMERICA was the #1 cable network on Twitter on November 23, Doctor Who was #1 on Twitter in all of television, and the series set a record on Tumblr with the highest level of activity of any televised event ever, surpassing the Super Bowl and MTV's Video Music Awards. And in addition to a theatrical simulcast in 11 markets on November 23, BBC AMERICA and NCM Fathom Events presented Doctor Who: The Day of The Doctor in RealD 3D in over 660 select movie theaters across the country on November 25. Overall Doctor Who: The Day of The Doctor was No. 2 at the box office on November 25 and was Fathom's most successful one-night event ever.
Doctor Who: The Day of The Doctor, written by lead writer and executive producer Steven Moffat, sees the Doctors (Matt Smith and David Tennant) embark on their greatest adventure across space and time. In 2013, something terrible is awakening in London's National Gallery; in 1562, a murderous plot is afoot in Elizabethan England; and somewhere in space an ancient battle reaches its devastating conclusion. All of reality is at stake as the Doctor's own dangerous past comes back to haunt him. Starring Matt Smith, David Tennant, Jenna Coleman, with Billie Piper and John Hurt, this is the event fans have been waiting for. The special also stars Jemma Redgrave as Kate Stewart, daughter of legendary Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, and Joanna Page as Queen Elizabeth I.
Last seen as the Tenth Doctor on January 1, 2010, the special is the first time David Tennant has reprised his role. During his tenure as the Time Lord, Tennant appeared in three seasons as well as several specials. He was first revealed as the Doctor in the 2005 season finale, "The Parting of the Ways." Meanwhile Billie Piper, who played companion Rose Tyler for two seasons following the reboot in 2005, will appear in the show for the first time since featuring in David Tennant's last episode, "The End of Time," in 2010. Doctor Who: The Day of The Doctor is directed by Nick Hurran, executive produced by Steven Moffat, Faith Penhale and produced by Marcus Wilson.
http://tvshowsondvd.com/news/Doctor-The-Day-Of-The-Doctor/19228
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Posted: |
Dec 3, 2013 - 6:59 AM
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By: |
Joe E.
(Member)
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'Spearhead' was originally shot and edited at 25fps, as befits a UK television production, so was remastered at 25 progressive frames per second, or 25P as it is known colloquially. However, the Blu-ray standard doesn't include 25P, so it is presented on Blu-ray at 50i (50 interlaced fields per second), which is the norm for this sort of material. As both fields originate from the same point in time (ie the same film frame), there is no real difference between 50i and 25P in this case.
For the US release, the choice was more complicated. In order to maintain the same running time, the 25P master would have to be standards converted to 59.94i, which would create inherent conversion artefacts as well as potentially introducing other artefacts caused by deinterlacers and scalers in the consumer's player and TV. It was therefore decided that the best way of presenting the show for the US disc in order to optimise the quality was to slow it down to 23.98fps (which is generally referred to as 24P, although that term covers both 23.98 and true 24.00fps rates - 23.98 being the most generally compatible due to its strong relationship to the 59.94 field per second video standard). This maintains the 'one video frame for every film frame' link which means no deinterlacing issues, but it does mean that the soundtrack is also running around 4% slower than normal. This is somewhat mitigated by digitally pitch correcting the audio so that voices appear to be at the normal pitch although speech itself is still slightly slower. This pitch correction was done downstream of us by authoring house Deluxe, using Avid Protools.
Does this apply to both the Blu-ray and the DVD in the new release, or just to the DVD?
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'Spearhead' was originally shot and edited at 25fps, as befits a UK television production, so was remastered at 25 progressive frames per second, or 25P as it is known colloquially. However, the Blu-ray standard doesn't include 25P, so it is presented on Blu-ray at 50i (50 interlaced fields per second), which is the norm for this sort of material. As both fields originate from the same point in time (ie the same film frame), there is no real difference between 50i and 25P in this case.
For the US release, the choice was more complicated. In order to maintain the same running time, the 25P master would have to be standards converted to 59.94i, which would create inherent conversion artefacts as well as potentially introducing other artefacts caused by deinterlacers and scalers in the consumer's player and TV. It was therefore decided that the best way of presenting the show for the US disc in order to optimise the quality was to slow it down to 23.98fps (which is generally referred to as 24P, although that term covers both 23.98 and true 24.00fps rates - 23.98 being the most generally compatible due to its strong relationship to the 59.94 field per second video standard). This maintains the 'one video frame for every film frame' link which means no deinterlacing issues, but it does mean that the soundtrack is also running around 4% slower than normal. This is somewhat mitigated by digitally pitch correcting the audio so that voices appear to be at the normal pitch although speech itself is still slightly slower. This pitch correction was done downstream of us by authoring house Deluxe, using Avid Protools.
Does this apply to both the Blu-ray and the DVD in the new release, or just to the DVD?
I believe it just refers to the Blu ray release.
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Canadian consumer electronics chains Future Shop and Best Buy Canada have announced an exclusive early release of The Enemy of the World and An Adventure in Space and Time exclusively in Canada on Tuesday, December 10th. For this early release both titles will only be available from these two retailers as well as from their websites. Retail price is $19.99 for each DVD.
http://www.doctorwhonews.net/2013/12/early-DVD-Canada-061213185060.html
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Posted: |
Dec 9, 2013 - 12:34 PM
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By: |
johnjohnson
(Member)
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Canadian consumer electronics chains Future Shop and Best Buy Canada have announced an exclusive early release of The Enemy of the World and An Adventure in Space and Time exclusively in Canada on Tuesday, December 10th. For this early release both titles will only be available from these two retailers as well as from their websites. Retail price is $19.99 for each DVD.
http://www.doctorwhonews.net/2013/12/early-DVD-Canada-061213185060.html
UPDATE.
Canadian Who fans are getting an early Christmas present tomorrow when BBC releases both "The Enemy of the World," and "An Adventure in Space and Time" (which isn't a story in the series, but the story behind the show). All the episodes of "The Enemy of the World," except the third, were thought to be lost, but were recently recovered by BBC and released on iTunes, and now DVD. These DVDs can be purchased exclusively at Best Buy and Future Shop (which is owned by Best Buy) in Canada, starting tomorrow, December 10, for $19.99 each. There's been no announcement for a "wide" release of either title in North America, but we hope to hear something soon.
http://tvshowsondvd.com/news/Doctor-canadian-retailer-exclusives/19247
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