DOCTOR WHO –THE ARK IN SPACE: SPECIAL EDITION (2-disc DVD set)
Starring Tom Baker as the Doctor, Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith, and Ian Marter as Harry Sullivan
Written by Robert Holmes
Directed by Rodney Bennett
Available 18th February from BBC CONSUMER PRODUCTS
“When I say I’m afraid Sarah, I’m not making jokes…”
The Doctor
The lives of the last pure remnants of humanity hang in the balance when their suspended animation sanctuary is breached by a deadly parasitic life form with its own all-costs survival agenda in the latest exciting Classic DOCTOR WHO DVD release from the BBC, as Tom Baker’s control of the TARDIS brings him and his companions Sarah Jane Smith and Harry Sullivan to the hibernation cells of the Nerva space station for a chilling encounter with the totally alien Wirrn. It’s 1975’s timeless four-part adventure THE ARK IN SPACE, getting a sumped up, glorious restoration on two-disc re-release. Critically acclaimed then and now, a huge ratings success of the period and generally regarded as an all-time classic, its status has proved both legendary and deserved.
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| Cuddling up to a Wirrn Queen husk, Tom Baker put his unique stamp on playing the Doctor. |
A very adult and sophisticated story for its time, Robert Holmes classy script, a complete rewrite from a commission given to John Lucarotti, plays to the series true strengths of a strong and scary sci-fi horror story with solid characters and memorable, fast moving incident over effects, though this particular adventure is also not without some outstanding production design to heighten its atmosphere. It may not have the vicious, double-teeth biting, protruding back boned xenomorph of the hit 1979 movie ALIEN, but ARK’s overall plot certainly paved the way with its well-conceived, inspired and scary plot elements making their mark years before Ridley Scott came along, most notably with a unique creature hibernating its population seed in a human host, not unlike the classic Face Hugger would do to John Hurt’s character on the big screen a few years later. ARK also bears some of WHO’s classic hallmarks in its foundations, most notably the base under siege storytelling that had been done so well during the monochrome era of Patrick Troughton.
Championing the story at every level is Holmes ambitious new producer and friend, Philip Hinchcliffe, determined to send DOCTOR WHO into a new era of sophisticated adventures, beyond the cosy but restrictive Earth and UNIT format that had been successful with Jon Pertwee, and putting the series well and truly back into time and space. It would be a three year run of huge ratings success with its ingenious stories, exciting cliffhangers and effectively memorable monsters, aliens, and pure sci-fi ideas made palatable for mainstream audiences, alongside extra lashings of dark tea-time horror and genre homages!
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| The rather nasty Wirrn creatures at loose on the Nerva Station. |
With such fine material to work from, the new TARDIS team shines and builds on the fruits of their success with this story, often never to be bettered. Despite his wide brimmed hat, big hair, multi-coloured scarf and yoyo flicking, Tom Baker hasn’t yet become the Doctor he would be in total immersion of both fiction and reality. Here he is acting the part and feeling his way into it instinctively, building his alchemy. And all those instincts- mixed with that rich voice (which would make Baker a voiceover talent for years to come)- pays off handsomely by the end of ARK’s first episode. Any viewer resistance to his taking over the role from the late, great Jon Pertwee, and especially after opening story early worries of his post regeneration clowning (and the wacky outfits!), are easily and quickly banished.
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| The Doctor and Sarah (Elisabeth Sladen) give their all to protect humanity. |
Having been mostly separated from him in his premiere story, forced to cuddle up to a towering metal robot who had advances on her like King Kong did with Fay Wray, Elisabeth Sladen, as investigative journalist turned space traveller Sarah Jane Smith, cements what will be a very long and successful stint as primary companion to Tom Baker in his early iconic seasons. And she has some great moments of her own in the story, particularly in the final episode: one marvellous scene has her trapped in a ventilation shaft and the Doctor having to annoy her in order to get her moving against her own frustrations and fears. It’s now regarded as a classic moment and rightly so- beautifully played between the pair. Looking great in Barbara Kidd’s costumes, the actress is also at her most attractive here, too, and begins to slightly tone down her performance from the way it was first developed and played with Jon Pertwee, softening Sarah’s boisterous personality and making her a little more vulnerable, though no less spirited, as her and Baker’s on-screen partnership from the second year on rapidly becomes one of the greatest pairings of any WHO series.
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| Harry Sullivan (Ian Marter): now a member of the TARDIS team. |
Sarah may not have been new to the viewers then, but Harry Sullivan was certainly a surprise addition to the show in its twelfth year. It isn't easy playing a likable fish out of water, but Ian Marter does a great job in bringing the square jawed and thoroughly decent chap, Doctor, accidental space traveller and champion promoter of old-school duffel coats, to endearing life, helped by some great dialogue from Robert Holmes. Marter/Harry integrates himself into the team well in his short but memorable stint with Baker (so much so, that the two men would try and get a DOCTOR WHO feature film off the ground in the mid-seventies) and with Sladen, whom he develops a unique on-screen partnership of sometimes improvised light humour and banter with, whilst off-screen, they would become great friends. Originally cast before Baker’s arrival, as an action figure hero for what was early planned to have been an older Doctor, Harry could have become the spare wheel of the trio but thankfully doesn’t. And, in comparison with modern WHO, he’s the blueprint for Rory Pond. But far braver.
Together, our three adventurers would become the ultimate on-screen combination of British sci-fi heart, heroism and intelligence. They may have limited resources, and at first untrusting support from the band of emerging humans, but their wits and determination against the invading Wirrn have never been better in such a dire crisis…
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| A worried Vira (Wendy Williams) confers with Sarah and Harry. |
Giving life to the script, Rodney Bennett’s direction of the story is sterling: nothing showy but full of building eeriness (especially in the slow burning part one- reminding me why I miss the serialized nature of the original series so much today!) and giving the actors lots to work with. His overall supporting casting of the awakened humans is spot on, particularly the striking Wendy Williams as Vira, the often cold and logical representation of our future human race, who has to find new resources of bravery inside herself, alongside the Doctor, to stop her life partner, the Wirrn infected Noah, played by Kenton Moore, from taking over the Ark. Moore has the difficult job of bringing alien malevolence and a trapped humanity to the possessed Noah, and pulls it off well. (So much so that the concept of alien possession would become a successful dramatic element of many future Philip Hinchcliffe produced WHO stories.) The actor also has to endure some slimy alien transmogrification make-up from Sylvia James that makes a fine first impression on viewers of the time- okay, so we all know some of the alien skin is made from bubble-wrap (then a new invention), but who cares! It is a shame, though, that the edited before transmission scenes of Noah’s continued alien possession, begging the Doctor and Vira to kill him, were deemed too graphic to air, and ultimately cut-the footage no longer existing.
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| The Doctor confronts the Wirrn leader (voiced by Kenton Moore) in the Solar Stacks area of the station. |
Another classic and striking alien foe imprinting themselves on the minds of the shows original die-hard viewers, then making the most out of peering from behind the sofa, would be the ultimate forms of the massive insect-like Wirrn aliens, constructed by series legend John Friedlander (with Tony Oxley), though their bulky frame omits any large scale movements from the stuntmen actors encased within them.
In, out and around the sterile, antiseptic looking white-walled corridors of the space station, Production Designer Roger Murray-Leach’s central set, showing the remnants of collected humanity in suspended animation, continues to be one of the series most impressive areas, and perfect for Tom Baker’s Doctor to make his classic soliloquy of man indomitable abilities to. In a clever cost cutting way, what with the expense of an upcoming Dalek story, the Nerva setting would effectively be re-used for the last story of the season, set at an earlier age of the station’s lifespan, where it would be invaded by an all-together different foe: the silver metalled figures that are the Cybermen. The accompanying all- important model work of the time also proves acceptable for then British TV sci-fi, later getting a welcome CGI upgrade in its early DVD release in 2002.
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| Human leader Noah (Kenton Moore) is infected. |
His music for the overall story more restrained than normal, regular series composer Dudley Simpson and his small but talented BBC orchestra provide genuine stirrings of creepy horror to the arrival of the Wirrn and the gradual possession of the human Noah, alongside notable sound design from the BBC RADIOPHONIC WORKSHOP’s Dick Mills. Simpson also begins the first of his subtle character themes for the Fourth Doctor and his companions travelling adventures, which are nice to hear.
The overall picture quality for the four-part story is far superior to the original one disc BBC release from 2001 and its later laserdisc release, as are the full set of special feature extras across this new two-disc set. Such an All-time Classic deserves the lavish treatment. “Oh, and don’t forget the steps…” You’ll find out what that means later.
Disc One launches with a splendid behind the scenes documentary: A New Frontier- finally, a proper look back at the story from reliable producer Chris Chapman, with contributions from actors Wendy Williams and Kenton Moore, producer Philip Hinchcliffe, director Rodney Bennett and Production Designer Roger Murray-Leach. Leach is also the subject of a separate and fun featurette where he talks about his work on ARK and the Baker era in general. A talented BAFTA and Academy Award nominee, it's a shame that his seeming dislike of his work on another fine BBC sci-fi series that he brought his considerable talents to- BLAKE’S 7- has to be so humorously shown!
Additionally, from the first DVD release of ARK, there’s the jolly audio commentary from Baker, Sladen and Hinchlciffe, the alternate CGI material, and its integration into the storytelling, are still present, as are original 1975 model footage (including thankfully unused filmed model shots of the Nerva station and rocket), plus one look needed only technical schematics based on the original sets. Plus, terrific info text, a specially reconstructed trailer for the story from 1975, and some great production stills (with interesting promotional images of Tom Baker and the rehearsal period). Another nice bonus: an alternate series title sequence, from design legend Bernard Lodge, for the start of the Tom Baker era, which proves slightly different to what we would see over the next six years of the actors reign.
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| Williams, Baker and Marter in a rehearsal image. |
Finally, once again from the original DVD release, there’s Tardis-Cam image number one, showcasing pleasing filmed model work from effects whizz Mike Tucker, featuring a lone planet with a wrecked ship and a Cyberman’s head taking prominence during the TARDIS’s visit to an unknown alone planet. Nice for it’s time but rather pointless these days…
Disc Two’s special features include DR FOREVER! Love and War: a continuing series looking at popular and enduring aspects of the series merchandise. This half-hour feature, introduced by Ayesha Antoine, focuses on the long-running VIRGIN PUBLISHING range of original WHO novels that sprang to life after the demise of the original Classic Series in 1989 and which dutifully helped to keep the show alive in the public eye, and causing controversy at times with its darker and more controversial adult storytelling themes (i.e. lots of unnecessary sex and swearing!). The book range history unfolds with enthusiastic contributions from some of the soon-to-be top writers, many of whom have gone on to so many bigger and brighter things in the world of commercial television and literature, including modern WHO series talents Mark Gatiss, Robert Shearman, and original producer/head honcho of the modern series revival, Russell T. Davies. Plus WHO superfans like BIG FINISH audio boss David Richardson and the always opinionated and subtly anarchic Gary Russell, the latter on the DVD looking and starting to act like Bill Oddie’s character caricature from THE GOODIES!
Beyond THE NEW ADVENTURES range, there’s also an examination of the spin-off series of classic WHO original stories that followed, and then the novel franchise’s return back to old Auntie Beeb with the short but sweet resurrection of the show in 1996 with Paul McGann (where the final fate of their range’s many unsold books is revealed in a tragic but funny way!), and later with its huge success and resurrection from Christopher Eccleston onwards. Ultimately, Love and War is fun and fascinating if you’re a hardcore fan, but may lose the attention of any casual viewers dipping their toes into it.
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| The Doctor and an uncomfortable Sarah inspect the Wirrn and lay a power voltage trap. |
Back to ARK, there’s an additional movie-length seventy minute version of the adventure (the rare 1975 compilation in an unrestored transfer) which works very well without its cliffhangers, the regular PDF materials (Radio Times listings, the eighties DOCTOR WHO TECHNICAL MANUAL and a few other bits), and some very nice rare 8mm colour footage from the behind the scenes filming of Tom Baker’s first story, Robot. It’s great to see the UNIT regulars and the series new star enjoying themselves, reiterating how much better the series looks when shot on on film rather than outside broadcast videotape.
Even better footage comes with a delightful compilation from a 1978/79 news programme called Scene About Six,showing Baker, fully at home in the role and with the family friendly responsibilities that come with it, enjoying a three day trip to Derry, Belfast to meet hundreds of loyal fans of all ages, turning on the Xmas Tree lights of the city centre, popping in to see sick children in hospital, charging through the playground gates to surprise and delight pupils at a local school, and conversing with shoppers and ordinary folk in general. Asked by a newsman at the time how long he’ll be playing the role, Baker jokes that he has a twenty-two year contract (if only!) and that he isn’t leaving the show anytime soon. The footage brings back happy nostalgic times and places, when the series really was just as popular then as it is now.
Finally, there’s a Coming Soontrailer for the upcoming, and totally splendid, William Hartnell historical/character drama The Aztecs, as far removed from THE ARK IN SPACE as you’ll ever get with its back to earth historical setting, but also another equal example of the series at its finest.
KOOL TV RATING: Watch Tom Baker become a star all over again. Essential WHO: more adult, dramatic and scary than ever, and an essential slice of classic seventies British TV.
Overall story and special features: 4.5 out of 5
