There is some truly excellent acting in this Doctor Who serial. Besides the show's stars, Richard Franklin (Emmerdale Farm) is fantastic as Captain Mike Yates, a recurring character who falls out of favor after he is taken in by the plot. John Levene's Sgt. Benton is very funny, and John Bennett makes Finch appropriately sleazy. Taking the cake is Noel Johnson as Minister Charles Grover. It's hard to tell if Grover feels at all guilty about all the people who will cease to exist should the plan be acted upon, but Johnson makes him charming and firm in his beliefs.
The first episode of Invasion of the Dinosaurs plays in black and white by default, though a colorized version is available if one goes into the special features on the first disc. The rest of the episodes are in color, each remastered. The picture does appear fuzzy at times, but for as old as this adventure is, it looks and sounds remarkably well. Certainly well enough to enjoy a viewing of and not get distracted by picture quality.
There are a wealth of extras in this two disc set. Not only is commentary provided by select surviving cast and crew, but deleted scenes have also been found. A half hour documentary briefly addresses the dinosaur puppets, before spending most of the time discussing the story and the process of making the episodes. Sladen gives a fourteen minute interview as part of a larger series made a few years ago. She has some fascinating memories about her co-star and the origin of her role. There is also a photo gallery.
Less exciting is the thirteen minute "Now and Then," which basically shows locations used for shooting this episode both in the show, and now. Sure, it's interesting, but goes on far too long. Also, "Billy Smart's Circus" is short and campy, not really adding to anything.
Doctor Who: Invasion of the Dinosaurs goes on sale this Tuesday.
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Article comments
1 - GregTN_USA
Thank you for this very fair and accurate analysis of INVASION OF THE DINOSAURS.
IOTD is one of the finest WHO stories of all time, but with poor special effects that keep it from being recognized as the superb story it actually is.
I was hoping the DVD would allow a CGI dinosaur option. With good dinosaur SFX, I'm certain that IOTD would move up into the top 25 WHO stories!