Doctor Who - The Beginning box set extras (1 Viewer)

I would have sent this to TVSoDVD, but theyre probably off for Xmas (and while the R1 set will be identical, this is for R2 for the moment). It comes from the assets notes (I believe), and is the complete list of extras in the upcoming Dr Who set. Damn I cant wait for this one. . . .

Beginning Box Set Contents

Disc 1 contents

Episodes
* Pilot Episode - 25 mins, a previously untransmitted recording
* An Unearthly Child - 4 x 25 mins, produced by Verity Lambert and Directed by Waris Hussein
* Episode 1: Commentary with Verity Lambert, Carole Ann Ford, William Russell, Gary Russell
* Episode 4: Commentary with Waris Hussein, Carole Ann Ford, William Russell, Gary Russell.

Extras
* Pilot Episode Studio Recording (dur. 35' 37") - unedited recording of the entire studio session for the Pilot Episode. Commentary with Verity Lambert, Waris Hussein and Gary Russell
* Theme Music Video (dur. 2' 36") - allows the viewer to hear the original full-length theme music, with original 1963 title sequence visual elements, in three different versions
* Comedy Sketches (dur. 14' 23") - four short comedy sketches - The Pitch of Fear (dur. 3' 41"), The Corridor Sketch (dur. 6' 53"), The Web of Caves (dur. 3' 49") and 'The Kidnappers (dur. 3' 40) - mostly themed around the early years of Doctor Who.
* Photo Gallery
* Programme Subtitles
* Subtitle Production Notes

DISC 2 contents

Episode
* The Daleks - 7 x 25 minutes, produced by Verity Lambert and directed by Christopher Barry (eps 1,2,4,5) and Richard Martin (eps 3,6,7)
* Episode 2: Commentary with Christopher Barry, Verity Lambert, Gary Russell
* Episode 4: Commentary with Christopher Barry, William Russell, Carole Ann Ford, Gary Russell
* Episode 7: Commentary with Richard Martin, William Russell, Carole Ann Ford, Gary Russell

Extras
* Creation of the Daleks (dur. 17' 11") - new featurette looking at the origins of these iconic villains.
* Photo Gallery
* Programme Subtitles
* Subtitle Production Notes

DISC 3 contents

Episode
* The Edge of Destruction - 2 x 25 mins, produced by Verity Lambert and directed by Richard Martin (ep 1) and Frank Cox (ep 2)
* Episode 2: Arabic Soundtrack

Extras
* Doctor Who: Origins (dur. 53' 50") - an in-depth look at the creation of Doctor Who, including rare interviews with the programme's creator, the late Sydney Newman, and new interviews with other members of the cast and production team.
* Over the Edge (dur. 29' 22") - a new featurette exploring 'The Edge of Destruction'
* Inside the Spaceship (dur 10' 14") - members of the original cast and crew talk about the Doctor's unique time and space ship, the TARDIS.
* Masters of Sound (dur. 13' 22) - A look inside the BBC Radiophonic Workshop through interviews with the musicians and technicians who brought composer Ron Grainer's Doctor Who theme to life using electronic music
* Marco Polo (dur. 31' 24") - a condensed version of the fourth Doctor Who story, a seven-part historical adventure that is missing from the BBC's archives. It uses parts of an off-air recording of the soundtrack along with off-screen stills and production photographs to re-tell the story of the Doctor's adventure with Marco Polo and Kublai Kahn.
* Photo Gallery - includes photographs from both 'The Edge of Destruction' and 'Marco Polo'.
* PDF documents - Radio Times billings and script for 'An Unearthly Child' '
* Programme Subtitles
* Subtitle Production Notes

Nope. As we said, we never take a day off all through the year. Feel free to send us stuff 24/7.

It's the fact that this is R2-sourced info that makes it difficult. Our policy is it 100% wait for the R1 info. So, even though we know that these days the BBC mandates that their R2 and R1 releases will always be identical, right down to extras, it gets into our "no R2 info" policy. I'll discuss with Gord and see if this is okay to post, though. If we do, you will of course get full credit. Thanks, Tony!

I must have missed that - silly me for thinking you'd take time off from your loved ones.

Oh wait! DVDs = loved ones (well, if youre anything like me, that is)

Now, now...my wife and son are already a teeny bit sore at me that I'm taking time to do this today and tomorrow (as if I haven't done it for every holiday for the last two years). But let's not add fuel to the fire!

Heh, heh - understood.

Oh, BTW - something that I haven't seen mentioned about "The Pitch of Fear". This short comedy sketch is slightly edited from when it was broadcast for Doctor Who Night on BBC2. But before someone starts smelling conspiracy, it was at the request of the author himself, Mark Gattis.

You see, the end of the skit - an "early pitch session" for Who goes something like this:

BBC Exec: "Who were you thinking in the title roll?"
Producer: "Early on, I was thinking of someone elegant like Jon Pertwee"
Exec: "And later in the run?"
Producer: "Oh, any old bastard with a equity card will do"

Well, Sylvester McCoy and Colin Baker (Doctors 6 and 7, AKA, the "any old bastards") didnt take kindly to this, and even Mark realized that he'd crossed the boundaries of good taste with that one. So, he said that he would only give permission to use it for The Beginning only if the offending line (and the set up) was removed.

So while normally I support releasing material unedited and as originally broadcast, I'm willing to let this one slide.

Tony,

You're not the only one drooling in anticipation of this release!

2006 is going to be the best year to date for Dr. Who on DVD!


For anyone that's keeping track of the new show, the official BBC website now has the 2006 Season 2 preview trailer on-line. The trailer was a special treat which was televised yesterday at the end of the Christmas Invasion.

Oh happy days!

Sarah Jane Smith, K-9, Anthony Stewart Head, and Cybermen


2006 is gonna be great fun

I've written a review of the Region 2 edition of this set.

You can find it here.

Alot of the early telerecordings (especially The Daleks) suffer from heavy grain. How well has the Restoration Team delt with this?

The detailed article outlining all of the RT's efforts on the Beginning boxset can be read here.

But basically the RT will have made the picture look as clear and as good as realistically possible. It's almost miraculous how all the other Hartnell and Troughton releases have looked, and I have no doubt that The Beginning will be the same.