Doctor Who: Jon Pertwee - The Complete Season Two

The GOLDEN AGE of Doctor Who on blu-ray continues!  Let that crimson-lined cape (which covers a black velvet smoking jacket and a ruffled shirt) freak flag fly!  Pertwee is back!

Eight discs, six stories, and over 700 minutes of classic science fiction.  That’s what fans get with the BBC’s latest Doctor Who release which features the EIGHTH SEASON of classic Doctor Who, constituting the second trip around the sun for Jon Pertwee in the titular role as everyone’s favorite human-loving Time Lord.  It is the third and probably the most brazen incarnation of the beloved character and now, thanks to the BBC, all five serials have been remastered and, as is the case for The Terror of the Autons, brand-new special effects.

"BBC continues to “reverse the polarity of the neutron flow” and offer fans of Doctor Who a reason to upgrade their library with the MUCH anticipated release of Doctor Who: Jon Pertwee - The Complete Season Two!"


As I stated previously in my other reviews of Doctor Who, while I have fond feelings for the other actors (and actress) and their portrayals of the character, Tom Baker is MY Doctor, but Pertwee simply cannot be denied as a force to be reckoned with and here, in the season which introduced audiences to THE MASTER (Roger Delgado), he makes the role truly his creation.  

Pertwee’s performance of Doctor Who - where rugged meets flamboyant -  and his stories involving UNIT, the Autons, the Axons, ancient doomsday weapons, the demonic Azal, and his travelling companion Jo Grant (Katy Manning, who makes her debut here) make for smart adventures, sharp stories, and great social commentaries.  Every single episode of this curious alien gave me every reason to stop channel surfing when I was a kid with a plate of mac and cheese in front of me.  In the years since his portrayal, I am able to understand that what he brought to the role of Doctor Who gave the character a respectability that continues to propel the role forward as the rebooted show continues with Jodi WhittakerDoctor Who: Jon Pertwee - The Complete Season Two 

With producer Barry Letts as the show’s guardian and Terrance Dick as script editor, the FIVE serials offered on these discs cruise to an all time high as the creativity and the ratings of this classic show were perfectly in sync to create some unforgettable adventures involving - from UNIT - Nicholas Courtney and John Levene, as they continue their roles of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and Sergeant Benton, Fernanda Marlow as Corporal Bell, and introduces us to Richard Franklin as Captain Mike Yates, and a whole slew of ORIGINAL aliens life forms as Colony in Space gives us the first non-Earth bound serial since Season Six thanks to the off world locale of the mineral-rich human colony world of Uxarieus!  

This release is CLASSIC Doctor Who and it shows with its timeless, science fiction quality.  The remastered stories featured on the set are Terror of the Autons (four episodes), The Mind of Evil (six episodes), The Claws of Axos (four episodes), Colony in Space (six episodes), and The Dæmons (five episodes).

BBC continues to “reverse the polarity of the neutron flow” and offer fans of Doctor Who a reason to upgrade their library with the MUCH anticipated release of Doctor Who: Jon Pertwee - The Complete Season Two!

5/5 stars

Doctor Who: Jon Pertwee - The Complete Season Two

Blu-ray Details

Home Video Distributor: BBC
Available on Blu-ray
- June 1, 2021
Screen Formats: 1.33:1
Subtitles
: English SDH
Audio:
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono; English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; eight-disc set
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A

Starring Jon Pertwee as The Doctor with Jo Grant (Katy Manning) alongside as his companion. Battling Autons, Axons, an alien mind parasite and a mighty Daemon, the Doctor, Jo and UNIT must defend the Earth – and its future pioneers - in five action-packed adventures. Featuring: Terror Of The Autons, The Mind Of Evil, The Claws Of Axos, Colony In Space and The Daemons Newly remastered in high definition with 5.1 audio on select stories Continuing the popular line of Classic Doctor Who full seasons on Blu-ray All episodes newly remastered from the best available sources available!

Video:

With an upgrade in sound and in vision, this television show, presented here in its second season with Jon Pertwee at the controls of the TARDIS, looks almost new again.  It sure beats the previous DVD releases as clarity has been pushed forward, shadows deepened, and lines/edges much more defined as the transfers - all in 1.33:1 - have been upconverted to 1080i.  Colors, too, are more pronounced – especially the greens and reds which used to be bleached out – and the special effects get a bit more polish to some of the details.  Fans can even choose to watch the series with enhanced special effects with this remastered and restored special edition release of Jon Pertwee’s second year as Doctor Who.

Audio:

While most of the sound is offered via a strong DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which gives us a great and limited audio presentation from within the TARDIS.

Supplements:

Commentary:

  • Full length commentaries from Matthew Sweet and others are available.

Special Features:

This set is loaded with hours of information that Doctor Who fans are going to dig.

  • Behind the Sofa” – New episodes with Katy Manning, Stewart Bevan, Janet Fielding, Sarah Sutton, Sacha Dhawan and Anjli Mohindra.
  • “In Conversation” – Matthew Sweet chats to companion Katy Manning.
  • “A Devils Weekend” – Actors Katy Manning and John Levene take a personal trip back to the picturesque village of Aldbourne, 50 years after they recorded the Doctor Who story “The Daemons” there.
  • “The Direct Route” – Doctor Who directors Michael Briant, Graeme Harper and Tim Combe take an epic road trip to all the filming locations from Season 8 as they discuss directing the show in the early 1970s.
  • “Terrance and Me” – Lifelong Doctor Who fan, Frank Skinner sets out to meet the family, friends and colleagues of the late, much-loved writer, Terrance Dicks.
  • Blu-ray trailer – A specially shot mini-episode
  • Extended Episode 1 of “The Claws of Axos”
  • 90-minute omnibus edition of “The Daemons”
  • Immersive 5.1 surround sound on “Terror of the Autons” and “The Daemons”
  • Optional updated special effects and CSO clean-up on “Terror of the Autons”
  • Unseen studio footage
  • Rare archive treats
  • Convention footage
  • HD photo galleries
  • Scripts, costume designs, rare BBC production files
  • The eight-disc box set also includes hours of special features previously released on DVD

 

Blu-ray Rating

  Movie 5/5 stars
  Video  4/5 stars
  Audio 4/5 stars
  Extras 5/5 stars

Composite Blu-ray Grade

4.5/5 stars

 

Art

Doctor Who: Jon Pertwee - The Complete Season Two