Doctor Who: Jon Pertwee: Complete Season Four Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		2.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		3.0

Doctor Who: Jon Pertwee: Complete Season Four Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman December 24, 2019

This is said without any intention of disrespect in the slightest, but special effects on some vintage British produced television series through the years could be on the, um, quaint side. Either due to lack of budgets or inadequate technologies, or perhaps a combination of both to some degree, there are charmingly lo-fi moments scattered throughout any number of science fiction themed British series, and for some pertinent examples, one need look no further than this so-called “Fourth Series” featuring Jon Pertwee as the venerable Doctor Who. As fans of the history of this rather incredibly long running enterprise may know, the first three years of Pertwee’s tenure in the role definitely did have some funding obstacles, and that kept the show resolutely set bound, with space and time traveling Doctor Who “exiled” to Earth and consigned to lots of interior scenes. Even this season struggles a bit to get really out and about (in either space or time), and it also offers some at times pretty ridiculous looking effects. That said, several episodes are unashamed in their rather bold exploitation of what was then the “new” element of the show being broadcast in color, and while undeniably hokey, there are some fun moments scattered throughout the quintet of so-called “serials” that comprise this season.

The Pertwee years of Doctor Who were probably unavoidably hobbled by the production constraints placed upon them, but even this season, which is ostensibly “opened up”, can suffer from silly writing and less than spectacular special effects. The first serial is arguably the most fun, since it reunites the “Third Doctor” with his two previous incarnations, played by Patrick Troughton and William Hartnell (who is really given what amounts to a glorified cameo). This serial, which deals with all of the Doctors’ attempts to prevent the destruction of the universe (of course), has some amusing banter, and it does provide some location photography as Doctor Who, Jo Grant (Katy Manning) and few innocent bystanders get exiled onto a desert planet inside a black hole (of course).

The remaning four serials provide an expected skirmish or two with the Daleks, as well as a couple of installments that have what might be considered “Toho” style monsters showing up. The second serial in particular seems to be a weird mash up of elements of Godzilla and Land of the Giants. This entire season has an unabashedly “mod” or “groovy” ambience, which might have been fine had it come out in the late sixties when Troughton was in the title role. Here, in what was becoming the mid-seventies, the brightly colored apparel (and occasional Sonny and Cher style fur vest) and other accoutrements seem like relics from one of the Doctor’s visits to a past time.

Doctor Who: Jon Pertwee: Complete Season Four Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Doctor Who: Jon Pertwee Complete Season Four is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of BBC with 1080i transfers in 1.34:1. This is another upscaled effort, and those who have seen other Doctor Who seasons which were also upscaled should have a baseline to deal with what's on hand here, but I have to say for me personally this was one of the less pleasing sets of episodes in the large upscaled universe of Doctor Who. The filmed segments (typically on location) tend to fare a bit better than the in studio taped sequences, with the latter suffering from clear signs of upscaling like stairstepping (i.e., so-called "jaggies"), and even some slight ghosting at times. That said, the palette tends to resonate with a bit more authority in the in studio scenes, with some of the location work looking a bit drab and wan at times. Detail levels also tend to be a bit better in the in studio scenes, especially in close-ups, where some of the makeup effects can look relatively decent.

Doctor Who: Jon Pertwee: Complete Season Four Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Doctor Who: Jon Pertwee Complete Season Four features DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono tracks for all the serials of this season, with Planet of the Daleks also granted a rejiggered DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. The mono tracks sound nicely full bodied overall, with a good accounting of the nascent "electronic" elements of the score, and with decent support for dialogue and effects. As with some of the other previous releases of Doctor Who episodes with "new, improved" surround tracks, I have to say I wasn't that impressed with the results here. There's a somewhat "phased" quality as effects are shunted (or duplicated) into various channels. There is a more aggressive low end, which may appeal to some listeners.

Doctor Who: Jon Pertwee: Complete Season Four Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Disc One - The Three Doctors

• Making of Documentary (480i; 23:12)


• Behind the Sofa (1080i; 45:36) is the first of several similarly named featurettes accompanying each serial and following in the now longstanding tradition of Doctor Who Blu-ray releases by bringing together various groups of cast and crew who talk both amongst themselves and also as commentators of a sort as individual episodes play.


• Looking for Lennie (1080i; 42:04) profiles director Lennie Mayne.


• Looking for Lennie Deleted Scenes (1080i; 6:59)


• Cleaning Opening & Closing Titles (1080i; 1:41)


• Alternate Opening & Closing Titles (1080i; 1:41)


• BBC Trails and Continuity (480i; 6:30)


• Blue Peter (480i; 1:36)


• Nationwide (480i; 1:04) offers some brief candid footage of Pertwee.


• BSB 31 Who Highlights (480i; 10:15) features a number of interviews.


• Photo Gallery (1080i; 7:04)


• Episode Commentary features a revolving set of cast and crew and can be found under the Audio Options Menu.

Disc Two - Carnival of Monsters

• Making of Documentary (480i; 23:12)


• Behind the Sofa (1080i; 37:06)


• Studio Footage (480i; 1:44)


• Visual Effects Footage (480i; 8:42)


• CSO Demo (480i; 3:08) looks at more special effects work.


• Episode 2 Early Edit (480i; 29:45)


• Revised Ending (480i; 1:19)


• BBC Trails and Continuity (480i; 4:06)


• Photo Gallery (1080i; 4:12)


• Coming Soon (480i; 1:22)


• Episode Commentaries (there are two for this serial) feature a revolving set of cast and crew and can be found under the Audio Options Menu.

Disc Three - Frontier in Space

• Making Of Documentary (480i; 17:58)


• Behind the Sofa (1080i; 45:00)


• Visual Effects Footage (480i; 57:55)


• Roger Delgado Tribute (480i; 31:46)


• Jon Pertwee Introduction (480i; 1:01)


• BBC Continuity (480i; 1:05)


• The Perfect Scenario: Part One (480i; 29:38) is another overview of the Pertwee era in general and this serial in particular.


• Photo Gallery (1080i; 8:37)


• Episode Two Credits (1080i; 00:56)


• Episode Commentary features a revolving set of cast and crew and can be found under the Audio Options Menu.

Disc Four - Planet of the Daleks

• Updated Special Effects can be toggled on or off. These are marginally improved effects at best.


• Making of Documentary (480i; 16:48)


• Behind the Sofa (1080i; 37:28)


• Restoration Featurette (480i; 10:49)


• Stripped for Action (480i; 13:55) has a fun interview with Gerry Anderson.


• Blue Peter (480i; 12:35)


• BBC Trails and Continuity (480i; 6:50)


• Commentary Extra (480i; 2:49) stems from an alternate take when the commentators were watching a black and white version.


• The Perfect Scenario: Part 2 (480i; 28:20)


• Photo Gallery (1080i; 9:21)


• Coming Soon (480i; 1:24)


• 5.1 Surround Episode Audio is available under the Audio Options Menu.


• Episode Commentary features a revolving set of cast and crew and can be found under the Audio Options Menu.

Disc Five - The Green Death

• Making of Documentary (480i; 26:24)


• Behind the Sofa (1080i; 54:26)


• Keeping Up with the Joneses (1080i; 31:01) follows Katy Manning and Stewart Bevan as they return to Wales.


• The Unit Family - Part Two (480i; 31:23)


• Visual Effects Featurette (480i; 11:41)


• Robert Sloman Interview (480i; 6:52)


• Stewart Bevan Interview (480i; 7:42)


• Wales Today (480i; 2:29) has some brief candid footage.


• BBC Continuity (480i; 5:15)


• BBC News (480i; 00:32)


• Nationwide (480i; 6:29) features more interviews, this time with a warning about quality (the main part of the interview looks like it was sourced from an old black and white videotape with pretty severe tracking problems).


• What Katy Did Next (480i; 5:39) focuses on Katy Manning.


• Global Conspiracy? (480i; 10:53) features a "special report" by Terry Scanlon.


• Global Conspiracy Interviews (480i; 29:41)


• Photo Gallery (1080i; 8:46)


• Coming Soon (480i; 1:01)


• Episode Commentaries (there are three commentaries, one for all six episodes, a second for episodes 3-5, and a third for episode 6) feature a revolving set of cast and crew and can be found under the Audio Options Menu.

Disc Six - Bonus Disc

• Doctor Who and the Third Man (1080i; 1:32:55) is a fun and informative overview of the Pertwee era.


• Blue Peter (480i; 13:40)


• Pebble Mill at One (480i; 20:45) proves cosplaying is not a new phenomenon.


• Death of the Doctor - Episode 1 (1080i; 26:23) is culled from the Sarah Jane Adventures .


• Death of the Doctor - Episode 2 (1080i; 26:12)


• Optional Commentary Tracks are available for both Death of the Doctor episodes.


• The Green Death Omnibus (1080i; 1:29:49) is a 1973 repeat of the serial.


• Season 10 Blu-ray Trailer (1080i; 2:31)


• The Panopticon Archive (480i; 59:12) features some of the principal cast in some fun interviews.


• Audio Archive: Jon Pertwee and Jack Kine (8:46)


• Audio Archive: Peter Brookes and David Driver (25:59)


• Studio Clocks (480i; 10:20)

Doctor Who: Jon Pertwee: Complete Season Four Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This is one of the sillier seasons of Doctor Who, one which seems content to "play to the kiddies", which is fine and good but which may leave some older viewers wanting something at least a bit more substantial. This is another release of an earlier year of the long running season that can't quite overcome the technical limitations of its video source, but which at least offers a really sumptuous array of supplements which should definitely appeal to diehard Whovians.