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Doctor Who - City of Death [1979] [2005]


RRP: £19.99
Our Price: £5.70 (subject to change)

"I don't know much about art, but..."
Review date: 2008-07-15 Rating: 10 out of 10

Terrific stuff with a great cast and a very witty script e.g. Count Scarlioni suggests that if Romana and Tom Chadbon's marvellously thick Duggan wanted to see him, they only had to ask instead of the failed break in to his chateau. He observes "You had no need to resort to, well one could hardly call it "stealth"!

Julian Glover gives a perfect performance as the time splintered alien posing as an art thief. He has clearly got used to the finer things of his "Not very satisfactory mode of existence".
Catherine Schell gives him a marvellous trophy wife, making something special out of the scene where the Doctor plays on her doubts about the "man" she married.

We also get a lovely Eastern European scientist from David Graham and a wonderful butler-he's so violent!

Uncle Tom and Lalla are the perfect team for such a setting and both make the most of lines like "Patron, 3 waters and make them doubles!"

The script is a very good 1 and probably the nearest to what Douglas Adams had wanted with the humour and drama working together. Some strong concepts too like Scaroth's existence in different times.

The mask for the Jagaroth is not too bad for the time and when it's worn by a man in a sharp looking suit makes for an iconic image.

Of course this is the 1 with a marvellous cameo by Eleanor Bron and John Cleese assessing the Tardis' artistic merit!

The documentary has many of the cast and crew and for once the celebrity fans have good things to say-esp. Dark Lord Steven Moffat. There is a recreation of the original version of the story, brief but still fairly detailed and broken up into episodes. Hope we'll get this on some other stories. There is a great sense of humour throughout which is very successful.

The commentary sadly is not a Tommentary and lacks Lalla but Julian Glover and Tom Chadbon are still good value.

For once, I enjoyed the specially recorded comedy sketch. This one features Sardoth the dissolute second to last of the Jaggaroth. A highlight has him rattling a tin for donations crying "Save the Jagaroth!"

There is a duff photo feature about filming a chicken and a nest of easter eggs(the best of which are a BBC Xmas tape sketch and Douglas Adams recounting a cross continental drinking session!).

A great package for a great story, 1 for everyone!


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Reviews


Paris in the springtime...
Review date: 2008-04-14 Rating: 10 out of 10

Doctor Who's first overseas location and also it's best, City of Death is a sublime story from start to finish, with a wonderfully imaginative and bizarre plot, some terrific performances and fantastically witty dialogue. This was a period in the show's history where the show was getting increasingly cheap and tacky-looking and there was a general sense of 'any old tat will do, people will still watch it', and Tom Baker was starting to become overly dominant in the role and often sending it up or just appearing bored. This story is the exception, however, as everything just comes together with the whole cast giving great performances, the sets looking better than usual and the direction being very classy. The parisian location filming is gorgeous and gives the story a realistic feel often missing from a lot of stories. Even the music is wonderfully hummable. This is, without doubt, a real classic piece of Doctor Who that no self-respecting Dr Who fan should be without. A gem!

Really wonderful
Review date: 2008-02-13 Rating: 10 out of 10

This has been a popular release for the BBC, and deservedly so.

I remember when this came on TV, unusually I think I missed an episode (I was a die hard fan when I was 12!) and I don't think I liked it particularly. I did like the cleverness of the plot but the one eyed jelly alien didn't meet my high standards at the time.

Watching again as an adult, I'm struck by how well put together this is and just how funny. Most of which passed me by, way back when. It's actually a pastiche but of several different things at the same time. There's a standard thriller, a time travel story, thoughts on art and authenticity - it's great that all of these things can come together and not create a horribly stilted story. Full credit to Douglas Adams.
The performances are pitched nicely too, none of the principals puts a foot wrong really. There's a really nice rapport between Tom & Lalla and the script lets this shine through.
The extras are pretty standard, I've not listened to the commentary but I will when I get a chance.
It's a shame it was all downhill after this story, for the season and really Tom Baker.

Points out why I failed in life
Review date: 2007-08-22 Rating: 10 out of 10

Why couldn't I be like the bad guys here? I would have had a great life! Reason - never had the time to get that degree of STYLE. And besides, I'm just too old to even try now.

I'm thinking about the quotes particularly, but if I .... only... had the chops to turn out some of these, say, when I was 19 or so, my life would have been very different.

My wife regards this very highly, but ONLY for the immortal line

"... what have I been LIVING WITH for all these years???!!!!"

Can't imagine why. But in any case, this entire production comes very close to an "entire life management" kind of video. John Cleese was at this time filming his various and highly sucessful shorts on how to manage (or NOT to manage a company). I remember these if only because when we watched the one we had hired, half the guys in the room had to leave because, well, they could barely control themselves... And you can tell that Cleese is in top form here - completely straight and yet somehow, in a way that ONLY he can achieve, completely barking mad.

Wonderful!

And Tom is equally possessed here. If he had occupied the stage like this in every story for the seasons following, the resulting cult movements established in drop dead hommage would have been astonishing. You really have to get hold of this to see what I mean, but Julian Glover, Tom Baker, and whatshimname Cleese make for a very potent mixture - you may well have to have a change of underwear close to hand.

If this is an attempt to pander to the many (male and adolescent) Doctor Who fans who want to empathise with (and in fact, become) a kind of shy, but fierce and fearless action man, Duggan is the perfect foil; a brilliant acted complicated and very moral bloke who should really have been a companion to the good Doctor, but for some reason didn't quite make it. THAT was a waste. What was it? Nerves? Self preservation? We'll never know now.

I simply cannot list the number of lines here that have shaped (or even DEFINED) the way I think about art galleries, monsters, memory regression therapy, the origins of man, theology and hairstyling. As far as prime ham goes, only "Image of the Fendahl" comes close - and this is definitely Ginger Beer and John Buchan territory (aka CS Lewis), and therefore eminnently watchable, nay, irresitable.

It's better than that - a real treasure.



Quotes
Review date: 2007-08-16 Rating: 10 out of 10

Yes, I agree that...

Countess (speaking of the Dr): My dear, I don't think he's as stupid as he seems.
Count: My dear, nobody could be as stupid as HE seems...

is a great quote, but not as good as...

The Doctor: I do like your butler; he's SO violent..


Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Julian Glover
Tom Chadbon
David Fisher
Tom Baker
Douglas Adams

Creators:
Douglas Adams (Primary Contributor)
Tom Baker (Primary Contributor)
Ed Stradling (Producer)
Jonathan Morris (Writer)

Director(s):

Recording label: 2 Entertain Video
Manufacturer: 2 Entertain Video
EAN: 5014503166427
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 2
Format: PAL,
Release date: 2005-11-07
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Audience rating: Parental Guidance
Region code: 2
Running time: 100 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2005-11-15
Language: English (Original Language)

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