The Ark In Space (DVD) 
Science Fiction Video -- Dr. Who story No. 76
Written by Robert Holmes
Starring Tom Baker
ISBN: 0-7907-7097-0
Publisher: Warner Home Video / BBC Video, $24.98
The BBC continues to transfer their huge library of Dr. Who shows to DVD with The Ark In Space, released during the second half of 2002. Starring Tom Baker, the fourth Doctor, this four-episode storyline is a good but somewhat slow-paced adventure.
The Doctor, Sarah Jane (Elisabeth Sladen) and Harry Sullivan (Ian Marter) find themselves accidentally landing on space station Nerva, thousands of years into the future. The station is in Earth orbit, and serves as an ark for the human race during a time of huge solar flares. However, the ark has been sabotaged by a strange creature, the Wirrn, which has laid the seed for its species survival. The Doctor and his companions much unravel the mystery of the Wirrn and help the humans on the space station that are awakening from an extended suspended animation.
Tom Baker is at the beginning of his career in Doctor Who during the Ark in Space. His acting, along with the entire crew, is refreshing, charming and even quite humorous at times. Dr. Who was never one to take itself too seriously, which is one of the things I’ve always liked about the show. Since this whole storyline was shot on a closed set, there’s plenty of character interaction to keep the story going. And, as usual, they do a darn good job of telling a story without a huge budget for special effects.
About the only bad thing about the Ark in Space in the “bubble-wrap” scenes, where they used the modern packing supply painted green for some of the creature effects in the show. It’s somewhat silly now, but back then bubble-wrap was just coming into use, so it didn’t look bad back in the late 70’s. Any Dr. Who fan always talks about the character Noah, as he pulls his mutated hand out of his pocket, and acts out a scene with his hand covered in bubble wrap. It’s supposed to look like a mutated hand, but in modern times it just doesn’t quite work, except for the fact that the actor does a good job of covering up for the cheap special effect.
In all, you end up with a pretty good science fiction story in which the Doctor and his two companions help save the human race from a hostile insect race. The pace is a bit slow at times, but the story keeps your interest, and Tom Baker and company shine on as they usually do. Just marvelous stuff, even after more than 25 years!
Extras on this DVD include commentary by Tom Baker, Elisabeth Sladen and producer Philip Hinchliffe. Their banter is interesting and fun, with the usual laughing at their own expense sort of stuff, pointing out all the background things that you wouldn’t normally know just watching the show. There’s also two short, old 70’s interviews with Tom Baker and designer Roger Murray-Leach, which are both a bit dated and dry, but interesting nonetheless.
One thing the BBC did with the Ark in Space DVD release was the addition of new CGI model footage of the outer space scenes, which can be used in place of the old model shots. Some Dr. Who fanatics have complained about this, but I thought the footage was just wonderful and didn’t take away from the story at all. Besides, you have the option of viewing the old footage instead, in case your can’t handle something new. There is also the usual extra stuff to fill out the DVD, such as an unused title sequence, original trailers, a photo gallery, a Who’s Who (information about the actors), and a somewhat intriguing 3D Ark schematic. Too bad the Ark schematic wasn’t interactive, as it’s just a repeating series of shots of the space station.
One other bit that they included with this particular DVD, as they did with one of the Pertwee DVDs, was the addition of optional information text. Throughout the episodes, you get a fairly constant stream of on-screen text, describing things about the scenes, actors and other bits of trivia associated with the Ark in Space. I found this stuff very well done, even though it can distract from the show if you use this option the first time you watch it.
While not one of my all-time favorite Dr. Who shows, the Ark in Space is still a well done sci-fi show that is worth taking a look at. If you’re not a fan of Dr. Who, you may wish to rent this first before decided on purchasing it, as any true fan of the series should!
(review (c) October 2002 / David Flemming)