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| London's burning, as an alien threat is underway, of which the Doctor (Peter Davison) soon becomes an unwilling part. The Visitation, out now on BBC DVD. Images: BBC. |
DOCTOR WHO: THE VISITATION – SPECIAL EDITION (2-disc DVD)
Starring Peter Davison as the Doctor
Written by Eric Saward
Directed by Peter Moffatt
Available May 6th 2013, from BBC DVD
Reviewed by Scott Weller
Already at crisis point-its lands and people ravaged by The Great Plague- ye olde England circa 1666 is about to meet the Fourth Horseman both literally and physically with the arrival of a crash-landed space craft bearing a group of xenophobic reptilian aliens intent on destroying humanity, bringing “a final visitation” to planet Earth, in a genuinely classic early eighties four-part DOCTOR WHO adventure starring Peter Davison as the vulnerable, fair-haired, youthfully heroic Time Lord. Beware the comet, beware The Visitation- now available in a remastered special edition two-disc DVD from the BBC, its presence adding greatly to the shows prestigious fiftieth anniversary celebrations.
Eerily co-inciding on shop shelves with the recent real-life discovery in Farringdon, London of skeletons likely dating from the time of The Great Plague, The Visitation is easily one of those Why didn’t they ever think of doing a story like this before? type of adventures that has held up well with the passage of time. Basing the story on his personal remembrances of watching DOCTOR WHO whilst growing up, Eric Saward delivers the first classic entry of the Davison era in the process, filmed second but shown fourth in 1982, with dramatic proceedings getting off to a cracking start with a fine and memorable “teaser”: heralded by the explosion of a night-sky comet, an alien attack takes place at a country house, and its bewildered family trio of slaughtered innocents, from a bejewelled and sinister, technologically superior android (played by Peter Van Dissel), looking different to anything seen in the series at the time.
From such shocking brutality, the local woods are soon the stuff of nightmares,
what with the virulent rebirth of the great plague and death walking the forests of the countryside, black cloaked and bearing the scythe-all proving great and effective elements that the writer mines successfully in his noteworthy, premiere script for the series, soon deservedly landing him in the hot seat position as the show’s script editor.
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| The new eighties Doctor- Peter Davison-enjoys the outdoor life... |
And it’s a fine continuance for Peter Davison in his inheritance of the title role, too. After big-grinned, big-haired Tom Baker’s iconic older, more bohemian authoritarianism and totally encompassing performance, Davison’s portrayal was originally considered too youthful and weak by many of the series critics and a select cross reference of the old WHOvian fandom. But here, in only his second filmed story in the role, he gives one of his best performances as series star, showing eccentricity, vulnerability and fallibility (a welcome change for the series as the Doctor had often become too indestructible), occasional spikiness (mostly shown towards his sometimes annoying/sometimes bullying companion, and occasional mother hen type figure, Tegan), and the ability to subtly command and confidently confront his enemies when needed: witness a memorable dialogue exchange between him and the aggressive alien Terrileptil leader in episode three, as its unnecessary plans of carnage for humanity, utlising ‘the poor old black rat and his flea’, are unveiled, and the creature’s undesirable takeover plans for the TARDIS. Additionally, there’s also the notion of an old man trapped in a young man’s body- characterisation quirks that Davison and the writers would enjoy playing with on and off within his all-too-brief three-year duration in the role. Years on, still much too underrated in my book, Davison was doing everything then that Matt Smith is doing now, if with a higher budget and more BBC support and enthusiasm for the latter.
Bedecked in his striking Edwardian cricket outfit, bearing a singular celery stick lapel, and striped trousers (an excellent costume design from the late Colin Lavers), this is an invigorated Doctor for the then modern eighties audiences to root for: a Doctor that had to think for himself a lot more and not rely on trusty technology to get him out of life and death situations. The demise of his beloved and iconic sonic screwdriver in this story was sad for a brief time but creatively proved the right thing to do behind the scenes-the small but handy device had given the Doctor his get out of jail free card too many times without the need for dramatic inspiration and creativity from the writers. Just look at the shorthand way its resurrected use has dominated the current series today- way too much in my opinion.
The old guard now well and truly phased out, this time and season around our recently regenerated hero enjoys his times and places in a wonderful part 1982 season -it’s nineteenth year- which proves itself as a joyous breath of fresh air. I really liked this new Doctor, and could relate to him more in some ways than with Baker’s breezy, equally impressive incarnation, alongside an overall TARDIS team that was equally youthful and diverse –a family foursome very much like the original B/W era of William Hartnell, and the way the series was truly back in unknown territory, not sure where and when they were going despite the Time Lord’s best efforts.
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| The Doctor with Adric (Matthew Waterhouse), Nyssa (Sarah Sutton) and Tegan (Janet Fielding). |
Inside this sprightly, more spruced up looking TARDIS, were the argumentative but caring “mouth on legs”- accidental tourist from the Barnet Bypass, air stewardess Tegan Jovanka, desperately wanting, but unable, to get back home to her life and career in London- 1981, played with gutsy charm and underlying sex appeal by Janet Fielding, and the brother and sisterly-like alien geniuses that were Adric and Nyssa, a new to the acting business Matthew Waterhouse (fortunately getting better in this second and final season, eventually killed off in the seasons penultimate story) and the lovely, fairy-queen’ish Nyssa of Traken, played by Sarah Sutton with innocence but also quiet determination, and whom soon proved to be the ideal companion to Davison on-screen during this period. “A trim time ship and a ship shape team” would be how the Fifth Doctor would regard his new nest, and quite rightly, too.
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| Earth history is threatened by the leader of the Terileptil criminals (Michael Melia). |
In addition to the fresh faces, there was the continuing story element to the show, again like its early years, where one adventure led into the next and continuity was strong but not too in your face- perfect for a series then being shown in twice weekly strips away from the old and once legendary Saturday evening timeslot- a bold scheduling gamble that paid off in its premier year with impressive ratings and lead to the eventual arrival of EASTENDERS a few years later. Though unlike that equally imaginary setting of Walford, WHO was certainly not a soap opera at that time-more an enjoyable continuing drama.
Former Production Unit Manager turned Producer, John Nathan-Turner, makes the most of the series limited budget and puts every penny on screen, whilst also utilising the BBC’s lavish classic sets and costumes archive to their best for this generally historical adventure. His assigned designer, Ken Starkey, is a solid choice, as is his re-use of old friend Peter Moffat (from their days working together on All Creatures Great and Small), who proves a thoroughly competent director, continuing his WHO experience after having done a previously good job mixing sci-fi and gothic horror in Tom Baker’s popular vampire tale State of Decay- this is the type of genre hybridisation that Moffat would enjoy, not at all mildly out of his depth as he would be when handling complex, futuristic stories later in the series.
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| Michael Robbins makes for a memorable guest star as highwayman Richard Mace. |
Moffatt’s primary casting for the historical drama is guest actor Michael Robbins, best known at the time for his ITV comedy work, who is excellent as highwayman/ actor Richard Mace- a gentlemen of the road based on a popular character Saward had previously created for radio. The author was originally unhappy with Robbins performance but has since gotten used to it over time. Robbins must have greatly enjoyed the chance to do drama, mixing charm and humour with cowardly bravery- if the TARDIS crew hadn’t already been so heavily complimented, he’d have made an excellent travelling companion to the Doctor, in the same way that Scottish highlander Jamie McCrimmon did for the Patrick Troughton’s incarnation.
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| Adric and Tegan are captured by the Terileptil. |
The adventure’s main antagonists, the reptilian Terileptil aliens, whose love of art and beauty is comparable only to their love of war and destruction, prove a solid, formidable entry in the WHO villains table, most notably their leader, as played and voiced by Michael Melia (best known for his lengthy stint on EASTENDERS), giving weight and menace to Eric Saward’s dialogue behind a huge animatronic mask, a then breakthrough in TV visual effects by technician Peter Wragg, later best known for his further pioneering model work on the BBC’s RED DWARF. Odile-Dicks Mireaux’s fish/reptile combination costume is also interesting but the lack of flexibility for the three actors within them is sadly all too obvious on-screen.
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| The Terileptil Android (Peter van Dissel) wears his grim death mask visage. |
Other effects used in and out of studio/location filming of The Visitation seem basic nowadays but there’s excellent use of glass paintings during the atmospheric Ealing Studios shot film work for the story’s memorable finale, whilst the overall outdoor filming at Black Park, home to many classic HAMMER HORROR films, is nicely handled and looks great in its remastered DVD form. Special mention also to Peter van Dissel as the colourful Terileptil controlled android, looking particularly effective in these scenes, roaming the countryside with his death mask and scythe, scaring the local peasants and villagers
The story gets further atmosphere from a subtle but enjoyable soundtrack courtesy of freelancer Paddy Kingsland-best known for his work on The Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy, and easily one of the best of the eighties era composers, at a time when WHO had a plethora of exciting and innovative electronic musical talent adding greatly to the mix. With The Visitation, Kingsland provides subtly period-esque flavoring with jaunty rhythms and sinister drama with the emerging threat of the Terileptils.
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| The Doctor fails to reason with the Terileptil leader. |
At the time of filming, Peter Davison was greatly impressed with the script and had good reason to be- this is DOCTOR WHO at its classic best, seeing in the welcome return of the pseudo historical/sci-fi tale to the series. Garnering ratings of nine million viewers on original transmission, The Visitation is a triumph of that first year for Davison, part of a fine mix of historical, action/adventure and sci-fi based stories, during one of the most genuinely interesting periods of the shows history, gaining a new identity for itself and re-igniting audience interest as the show approached it’s Twentieth Anniversary a year later.
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| Tegan and the Doctor ponder early events. |
All of the discs extras from the original 2003 release are present, including a fun audio commentary with Davison, Waterhouse, Fielding and Sutton (basically an opportunity for Davison and Fielding to poke fun at poor fellow actor Matthew Waterhouse whilst all have a good time together reminiscing about the story-it’s strengths and weaknesses- and the overall era it was a part of). Outside the commentary, Eric Saward also outlines the genesis and construction of his first WHO with Writing a Final Visitation- another interesting featurette.
A further separate entry has old school professional, and much liked actors director, Peter Moffatt (also contributing to the audio commentary) talking affectionately about his time working on six WHO stories during the eighties, clearly enjoying the mix of adventures he was assigned, notably the sci-fi historical hybrids. Totally amiable and good-natured, the late director loved working on the series, its stars and guests, and the new film-making and visual effects techniques he learned along the way.
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| Tegan becomes an unwilling servant of the Terileptil. |
Mark Ayres talks to composer Paddy Kingsland about his work on the story, his skills and the particular challenges of composing music for it in a pleasing fifteen minutes featurette, plus the option of listening to an isolated music score.
Rounding it all off are film trims with a few deleted scene moments, PDF materials, detailed production info, and a nice, colourful stills gallery.
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| Back to Black Park for Fielding, Sutton, and Davison, with Mark Strickson. |
The material on disc two comprises three new documentaries. First out of the gate is Grim Tales, where former companion Mark Strickson guides his fellow TARDIS mates Davison, Fielding and Sarah Sutton back in time to the Berkshire and Black Park locations for some memorable anecdotes/reminisces about the story. Slotted in amongst the camaraderie are numerous contributions from many of the other behind the scenes peoples to have worked on the story, including Eric Saward, designer Ken Starkey, make-up artist Carolyn Perry, and costume designer Odile Dicks-Mireaux, in what is a very satisfying 45 minutes.
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| Mark Strickson has fun with his ex-TARDIS chums. |
Well produced by Russell Minton, the documentary is also proof positive that you can have your (TARDIS) cake and eat it!
Then comes The Television Centre of the Universe- Part One, as eighties BLUE PETER presenter and former ghost hunter Yvette Fielding takes Peter Davison, Janet Fielding and Mark Strickson on a new trip, this time into the bowels of the now sadly defunct BBC Television Centre in London for a chat about what it was like to work at the world famous building back in its eighties heyday, and of bringing WHO to life within its equally hallowed VTR studios. There’s further fun anecdotes (Davison teases Fielding galore!) from the trio as they wander in an out of the legendary rooms, corridors and offices, alongside other quirky incidents provided by numerous behind the scenes staff that worked there and remembered WHO when it was a major part, loved or hated, of the corporation’s production schedules (be wary of "the piranha pool!"). This documentary does a better job conveying the magic and legacy of the now closed "donut" building than anything that insipid showbiz entrepreneur Michael Grade previously did with his own BBC 4 tribute special!
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| Yvette Fielding takes Davison, Fielding and Strickson back to London's BBC Television Centre for a retro discussion of WHO''s filming. |
Rounding the trio off is the latest in the DR FOREVER! series, introduced by Ayesha Antoine, looking at the merchandise of DOCTOR WHO over the years-this nearly thirty minute episode concentrating on the series audio drama existence over the years, from very early nostalgically scratched LP days with the Tom Baker era, against the Daleks and the dreaded fish monsters: the Pescatons, to today’s huge Internet/download/CD success story with the all-new, original adventures regularly coming out from the BBC AUDIO GO and BIG FINISH ranges. With lively contributions from the likes of Sixth Doctor Colin Baker (whose incarnation has thrived in popularity within the format), and enthusiastic modern series writer/producer Russell T. Davies.
Finally, beware the Primords, as BBC DVD reveals a tense trailer for the multi-universe hopping Third Doctor, Jon Pertwee, in his next classic tale, caught up in Earth’s alternate Armageddon: INFERNO, coming soon on special edition DVD.
KOOL TV OVERALL RATING (Story and extras): This period piece setting of rats and Pudding Lane makes for a terrific DOCTOR WHO story. 4 out of 5.
Get DOCTOR WHO: THE VISITATION, here: Doctor Who: The Visitation - Special Edition [DVD]: Amazon.co.uk: Peter Davison, Matthew Waterhouse, Janet Fielding, Sarah Sutton, Anthony Calf, Eric Dodson, Valerie Fyfer, Peter Moffatt, Michael Robbins, James Charlton, John Nathan-Turner: Film & TV
