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

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		2.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		2.5

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

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 10, 2021

Hey, it only makes sense, if you just take a minute to think about it. BBC has been releasing Doctor Who in a frankly baffling strategy of standalone offerings that tend to ping pong between eras and actual actors portraying the venerable Doctor, but Doctor Who is a so-called Time Lord, after all, so perhaps this is just BBC's subliminal way of reminding us of that "fact". All joking aside, Jon Pertwee's tenure as Doctor Who has had one previous standalone release on Blu-ray (as of the writing of this review), Doctor Who: Jon Pertwee: Complete Season Four, which of course was broadcast after this season, but which for reasons which are perhaps left unexplored, came out almost two years ago on Blu-ray. As was mentioned in our Doctor Who: Jon Pertwee: Complete Season Four Blu-ray review, the Pertwee years of the series, especially the first few seasons (of which this release is obviously a part), were hampered by extremely curtailed budgets and a conscious decision to keep the Doctor "Earthbound" for a while to try to rein in spiraling costs. As has been discussed in some of the reviews of previous Doctor Who releases, because of naming variances between USA and UK versions, this is (according to the Brits, anyway) actually Season Eight (how the release was branded for UK Blu-ray distribution), and it offers five "serials", all of which at least intermittently feature The Master (Roger Delgado) as the chief villain. This season also introduces companion Jo Grant (Katy Manning), and also at least tries to get Doctor Who off of Earth for at least one adventure.

The five serials in this season offer another often goofy collage of often slightly ridiculous science fiction tropes, but as with a lot of this general era of Doctor Who, the show is just unabashedly enjoyable when taken on its own silly merits. Interestingly, the Autons of the first serial might be thought of as this season's version of the more "traditional" Daleks, in terms of returning nemeses. The Master also fulfils that function throughout this season, as he crops up regularly, though kind of unexpectedly he turns out to be somewhat of an afterthought in serials like Colony in Space.

The Mind of Evil, which along with The Dæmons evidently had to be at least partially reconstructed in color after master tapes were destroyed, may remind some Star Trek: The Original Series fans of the well remembered episode "Dagger of the Mind". Jon Pertwee himself is on record as stating this season's The Dæmons was his favorite serial during his four year reign as Doctor Who.

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

Doctor Who: Jon Pertwee: Complete Season Two is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of BBC with AVC encoded (upscaled) 1080i transfers in 1.33:1. Those devoted Whovians who have either seen or actually purchased any of the other upscaled seasons the BBC has released will know pretty much what to expect here, though this was a more widely variant looking season to my eyes in terms of consistency between either the taped studio scenes or filmed location work. Both media show pluses and minuses at various times, with some of the film material looking rather weirdly mottled or with a scrimshaw pattern that can make close-ups of faces look a bit weird. But there are also some anomalies in the taped scenes, aside from the usual upscaling bugaboos like stairstepping and haloing. As with many of the other upscaled seasons, the best overall plus is probably the vivacity of the palette, which still pops appealingly throughout. Effects work is pretty "quaint" looking at times, and the increased resolution (upscaled though it may be) probably doesn't help things. The "updated special effects" for Terror of the Autons may indeed be an improvement, though the bar was pretty low to begin with, so miracles should not be expected. I'm not sure if there was a workflow error somewhere along the way, but kind of interestingly the version of Colony in Space on Disc Five, which I believe may have gone from NTSC to PAL back to NTSC over the course of its life, is in standard definition.

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

Doctor Who: Jon Pertwee: Complete Season Two features DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono tracks for all the serials included in this set, with both The Terror of the Autons and The Dæmons receiving "new, improved" DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mixes as well. The surround mixes do noticeably open up a lot of the effects work, as well as providing even more space for the "spacey" synth driven score, but they also tend to offer a slightly out of phase sound at times that seemed a bit echo laden to my ears. The mono tracks are all fine sounding, though the series can be quite noisy at times, with effects sometimes seemingly dialed "up to 11". Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

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

Disc One - Terror of the Autons

• Making of Documentary (SD; 33:41)


• Behind the Sofa (HD; 28:25)


• Plastic Fantastic (SD; 11:02) is a fun and kind of wacky piece focusing on the product.


• The Doctor's Moriarty (SD; 18:55) profiles The Master.


• BBC Trails & Continuities (SD; 00:48)


• Photo Gallery (HD; 10:14)


• Clean Opening & Closing Titles (HD; 1:36)


• Coming Soon (SD; 1:14)


• Updated Special Effects can be toggled on or off.


• 5.1 Surround Episode Audio can be found under the Audio Options Menu.


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


• Episode Info Text can be found under the Subtitles & Info Text Menu.


• PDF Files are available via a computer drive.

Disc Two - The Mind of Evil

• Making of Documentary (SD; 22:46


• Behind the Sofa (HD; 25:14)


• Now and Then (SD; 7:07) looks at some of the locations utilized.


• Television Centre Documentary (HD; 24:01) is an archival piece.


• Blue Peter (SD; 6:54) continues the Doctor Who release tradition which has offered snippets from the children's show.


• BBC Trails & Continuities (SD; 1:48)


• BBC South East Feature (HD; 2:47) is a brief "infotainment" piece.


• Photo Gallery (HD; 5:46)


• Coming Soon (SD; 1:05)


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


• Episode Info Text can be found under the Subtitles & Info Text Menu.


• PDF Files are available via a computer drive.

Disc Three - The Claws of Axos

• Deleted & Extended Scenes (SD; 27:01)


• Making of Documentary (SD; 26:40)


• Behind the Sofa (HD; 22:21)


• Directing Who (SD; 14:46) profiles Michael Ferguson.


• Studio Footage (SD; 12:52)


• Now and Then (SD; 6:34) is another look at locations utilized.


• DVD Restoration Featurette (SD; 10:11)


• BBC Trails & Continuities (SD; 00:40)


• Photo Gallery (HD; 9:12)


• Coming Soon (SD; 1:37)


• Episode Two - 2005 DVD Restoration (SD; 24:00)


• Episode Three - 2005 DVD Restorations (SD; 24:08)


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


• Episode Info Text can be found under the Subtitles & Info Text Menu.


• PDF Files are available via a computer drive.

Disc Four - Colony in Space

• Making of Documentary (SD; 25:01)


• Behind the Sofa (HD; 24:37)


• BBC Trails & Continuities (SD; 1:29)


• Photo Gallery (HD; 10:10)


• Coming Soon (SD; 1:27)


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


• Episode Info Text can be found under the Subtitles & Info Text Menu.


• PDF Files are available via a computer drive.

Disc Five - Colony in Space (Reverse Standards Conversion - 2011 DVD Restoration)

• Episode Two (HD Early Edit) (HD; 23:12)


• Film Trims Highlights (SD; 12:53)


• Location Film Trims (HD; 23:12)


• SFX Film Trims (HD; 34:51)

Disc Six - The Dæmons

• Making of Documentary (SD; 28:39)


• Behind the Sofa (HD; 26:55)


• Location Film (HD; 9:10)


• Colourisation Test (SD; 25:01)


• Restoration Feature (SD; 5:13)


• The Pertwee Years VHS Introduction (SD; 3:23)


• Christopher Barry (SD; 19:02) profiles the director.


• BBC Trails & Continuities (HD; 6:43)


• Photo Gallery (HD; 11:27)


• Coming Soon (SD; 1:22)


• 5.1 Surround Episode Audio can be found under the Audio Options Menu.


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


• Episode Info Text can be found under the Subtitles & Info Text Menu.


• PDF Files are available via a computer drive.

Disc Seven - The Dæmons Bonus Disc

• Devil's Weekend (HD; 36:08) is a fun 2021 retrospective featuring Katy Manning and John Levene.


• Remembering Barry Letts (HD; 33:36) profiles the producer.


• The Direct Route (HD; 49:20) is another nicely done new piece which offers Tim Combe, Michael Briant and Graeme Harper a chance to reminisce as they revisit some of the locations where they filmed various episodes.


• The Direct Route: Bonus (HD; 2:10) features a brief meeting between two residents and the directors.


• Living with Levene (SD; 35:09) features Toby Hadoke interviewing John Levene.


• Visual Effects (HD; 6:41) features effects designer Peter Day.


• 50th Anniversary Archive (HD; 30:43) features Anneke Wills and Richard Franklin.


• Chronicle: The Silbury Dig (SD; 39:29) offers a look at one of the inspirations for this serial.

Disc Eight - Bonus Disc

• Katy Manning in Conversation (HD; 1:15:30) is a fun interview moderated by Matthew Sweet.


• Terrance Dicks Tribute (HD; 1:01:49) is a really sweet retrospective focusing on one of the guiding lights of the series during this era.


• Panopticon Archive (SD; 51:14) features a 1991 interview and Q&A with Jon Pertwee.


• Return of the Autons (HD; 3:57) is a goofy short with Katy Manning and Stewart Bevan.


• Blue Peter (SD; 9:12)


• Audio Archive

  Audio Archive: Terror of the Autons (HD; 3:51:43) is an audiobook version of the tale.

  
  

  Audio Archive: Audio Book Promo (HD; 2:14)

• Studio Clocks (HD; 4:20)


• PDF Files are available via a computer drive.

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

The budgetary constraints of this era of Doctor Who probably show even more than in the one other Pertwee season the BBC has deigned to release stateside so far, and that keeps this season earthbound in more ways than one. It's fun to have a recurring villain in the form of The Master, and the Doctor's relationship with Jo provides a lot of heart and humor, but this is probably not the greatest season of the show, Pertwee's feeling about The Dæmons notwithstanding. As with many of the other upscaled releases of the series, video is pretty ragged looking a lot of the time, but audio is fine, and as usual the supplementary package outstanding, for those who are considering a purchase.