Remembrance of the Dalek (DVD)
Science Fiction Video -- Dr. Who story No. 152
Written by Ben Aaronovitch
Starring Sylvester McCoy
ISBN: 0-7907-6595-0
Publisher: Warner Home Video / BBC Video, $24.98
Remembrance of the Daleks is the last Doctor Who show to date that starred the old tin pepper pots from the beginning of the series. They make a decent reappearance here, along with other flashback material from the earlier era of Doctor Who.
In this group of episodes from 1988, we have the Doctor and Ace (Sophie Aldred) arriving back on Earth for some unfinished business of the Doctor’s. There are bits and pieces of the original show thrown in throughout the movie, from the location in London to the date when Dr. Who first appeared on TV. These little touches are ok, but I found then to be a bit silly, and took away from the main plot in some areas.
Suffice it to say, the Doctor and Ace do battle with two groups of Daleks, both of which are trying to find something that the Doctor left behind back in 1963. Through a bunch of small battles and unusual events, they end up defeating both Dalek groups.
It’s good sci-fi fun, and one of the better Doctor Who shows out there. They even had the budget for some rather good special effects in this particular show, and for once the Daleks can actually move up and down stairs (this last bit was a real shocker for folks in England)! They also have what I’d finally call a “real” death ray! The only major problem I have with Remembrance of the Daleks is some of the acting. It’s just not quite believable in a few parts, even though the majority of it is rather good. The little girl they have in this show just irritates me to no end. If you ignore her, you have a good show.
As for the extras on this DVD, they don’t amount to too much. You get a few deleted scenes and out-takes, a small group of multi-angle scenes (boring stuff), somewhat interesting pop-up production notes, trailers, a photo gallery, and the usual Commentary by Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred. I found the commentary interesting to a point, but they completely cut the sound from the show out, so you can’t enjoy the movie and hear them comment on it at the same time. I didn’t care for this at all!
If you are a Doctor Who fan (or a sci-fi fan in general), you should rather enjoy this DVD. For anyone else, as I’ve almost always stated with Doctor Who, you may wish to rent or borrow this one first before picking up a copy.
(review (c) May 2003 / David Flemming)