Delta and the Bannermen (VHS)
Science Fiction Video
Written by Malcolm Kohll
Starring Sylvester McCoy
ISBN: 0-7907-6787-2
Publisher: Warner Home Video / BBC Video, $14.98
Back on the VHS front, BBC Video has released the last of the Sylvester McCoy shows onto tape. After getting into this three-episode tape, one can see why it was the last McCoy show to be published.
The story starts out in a typical BBC rock quarry with the Bannermen and their leader trying to destroy Delta, the last of the Chimeron race. There’s no real explanation as to why her race is being wiped out, or for that matter who the Bannermen were supposed to be. And thus begins one of the worst Dr. Who shows I’ve personally witnessed (even worse than “The Gunfighters” in my opinion).
Delta ends up escaping from Chimeron, her homeworld, and proceeds to a galactic tollport, where the Doctor and Mel have just won a holiday to Disneyland in 1959. Talk about a nonsense plot, if I’d even call it one at that. Together, the group end up on Earth, where they crash near a Sangri-La holiday camp in England (image that) after hitting an early American satellite. Of course the rocket they land in is a bus that supposed to be a spacecraft disguised as a bus, but I think they just got cheaper than usual on the Doctor Who budget.
While at the camp, the Bannermen track Delta down and start hunting for her. The camp ends up being a battle ground that decides the fate of the Chimeron race. I won’t divulge the ending for those brave enough to buy this tape, just suffice it to say it’s rather disappointing.
The main problem I have with this particular program is that the horrible plot, combined with non-stop garish 1950’s style loud background music and horrible acting, make this my most disliked Dr. Who tape ever. It’s just that bad!
At the bottom of the barrel, Delta and the Bannermen is not recommended to any but the devout Dr. Who fans who wants to see as much Dr. Who as they can. If you’re not a big Dr. Who fan, avoid this VHS tape at all cost, as it will turn you off of Dr. Who completely!
(review (c) July 2002 / David Flemming)