8.4 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
The Doctor (William Hartnell) stars alongside his travel companions Vicki (Maureen O'Brien) and Steven (Peter Purves) which sees the TARDIS landing on a planet on the verge of total annihilation as it drifts too close to the three suns which its orbits. Trapped on the planet with them are the Drahvins, a race of warrior women, and the reptilian Rills. The Drahvins want to steal the Rill spaceship to escape the planet's death throes, and enlist the Doctor's help, which he is forced to give when Maaga, the cunning Drahvin leader, keeps first Vicki and then later Steven as her hostage. Even though the Doctor is determined to broker a peace deal between the two sides in this conflict and help everyone escape safely, Maaga doesn't trust him, or the Rills... The two disc release gives fans the opportunity to enjoy Galaxy Four, available in either colour or black and white. The release will also include: • Remastered Surviving Original Episode 3 • Remastered Surviving Clip from Episode 1 • Telesnap Reconstructions of Episodes 1,2 and 4. • Audio Commentaries • Making Of Documentary • Finding Galaxy Four Documentary • Photo Gallery • Production Subtitles
Starring: William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker (I), Peter DavisonSci-Fi | 100% |
Adventure | 35% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1, 1.33:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.33:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 2.5 | |
Extras | 5.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Don't let that 4 in this release's title mislead you, there's no K afterward, and this is most definitely an "old school" offering in
more ways than one, perhaps with regard to audio at least as much as video. As any Whovian worth their salt* may already know, there are sadly a
bunch of missing episodes from the series, mostly from the relatively early years of what has ended up being an incredibly long broadcast
run that has stretched over several decades. One of those missing episodes stems from 1965 and the William Hartnell incarnation of the venerable
Doctor. Interestingly, though, Galaxy 4 wasn't completely lost, as both a snippet from Episode One as well as almost all of
Episode Three were ultimately discovered, and the complete soundtrack was preserved (under kind of funny circumstances), allowing for this patently
odd "recreation" to have been produced. This two disc set offers Galaxy 4 as an animated entertainment playing to that original soundtrack,
and kind of interestingly (and maybe just a bit weirdly), BBC is offering it in either black and white or color and in either 1.33:1 (for the black and
white version) or 1.78:1 (for the color version). The actual serial is about what you'd
expect from this era of Doctor Who, but it has at least one unintentional referent which those with a political bent may find absolutely
hilarious.
*Note: Somewhat hilariously, I discovered that there are actual corners of the internet devoted to the use of salt in Doctor Who.
Enterprising Googlers are encouraged to explore this oddity.
Doctor Who: Galaxy 4 is pressented on Blu-ray courtesy of BBC with AVC encoded 1080p transfers in 1.33:1 (black and white) and 1.78:1 (color). The animation style here is not especially remarkable, with pretty simple character designs and frankly not a whale of a lot going on in backgrounds. I personally preferred the color version simply because the palette is rather nicely suffused, with some especially gorgeous pastel tones in a kind of peach or yellow-orange territory. Line detail is sharp in both versions, though "fine detail" is probably kind of a misnomer to begin with since everything is so minimally presented. I noticed no problematic compression artifacts.
If some fan sites are to be believed, the audio for this serial was actually "curated" by a fan who recorded it off of the original broadcast in 1965, and as someone who used to sit in front of the television with a mini-cassette recorder in order to get my favorite themes memorialized (back when there were themes), I can easily believe it. That said, the DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono track here is not exactly state of the art. Amplitude is pretty anemic, there's a flat, boxy sound throughout and things like sibilance on "s" sounds can kind of ebb and flow at times. If not optimal, both dialogue and effects are offered with sufficient clarity. Optional English subtitles are available.
Disc One features the animated version of the serial in black and white along with these supplements:
- Episode One (SD; 23:33)
- Episode Two (SD; 26:18)
- Episode Four (SD; 26:31)
- Episode One with Maureen O'Brien & Peter Purves
- Episode One with Gary Russell
- Episode Two with Clive Doig and Brian Hodgson
- Episode Three with Sue Willis
- Episode Four with Maureen O'Brien, Peter Purves and Lyn Ashley
- Episode Four with Chloe Grech
- Surviving Original Episode Three with Maureen O'Brien, Peter Purves and Lyn Ashley
- Surviving Original Episode One Clip with Maureen O'Brien, Peter Purves and Lyn Ashley
- Episode One with Maureen O'Brien & Peter Purves
- Episode One with Gary Russell
- Episode Two with Clive Doig and Brian Hodgson
- Episode Three with Sue Willis
- Episode Four with Maureen O'Brien, Peter Purves and Lyn Ashley
- Episode Four with Chloe Grech
As with so many of the earlier Doctor Who releases, the actual serial presented here may be of less lasting interest than the excellent supplements. This is an interesting if frankly maybe unneeded "restoration". If more budget had been allowed for more impressive animation, this might have been more interesting, but I'm sure fans will delight in hearing the original soundtrack, even if the audio quality is compromised. Technical merits range from very good (video) to passable (audio), but the supplements are outstanding and will no doubt be appreciated by any Whovians who are considering making a purchase.
1963-1964
1964-1965
1966
1967
1967
1967
1970
1971
1972-1973
1972
1974-1975
1976-1977
1977-1978
1979-1980
1980-1981
1982
1983
1985
1986
1987
1988-1989
1989
The Star Beast / Wild Blue Yonder / The Giggle
2023
50th Anniversary Special
2013
1965
Doctor Who Docudrama / Includes 'An Unearthly Child' Bonus DVD
2013
2020-2023
1966
2009
1966-1969
Budget Re-release
1987-1994
10th Anniversary Collector's Edition | Limited
2014
1995-2001
The Director's Edition | Remastered
1979
1975-1977
Budget Re-release
2001-2005
45th Anniversary Edition
1978
2019
2016
2000
The Remastered Collection
1978-1980
2018