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Black Guardian
After Christmas I bought a few of 2009’s Doctor Who DVD releases; I tend to buy them a little while after they are released, once the Amazon discount is larger than 50%. One of them was the Black Guardian trilogy, three Peter Davison stories from 1983. These introduced Turlough as a companion, saw the departure of Nyssa, and welcomed Nicholas Courtney back as Lethbridge-Stewart.
I’m not sure that I’d seen the three stories, “Mawdryn Undead”, “Terminus”, and “Enlightenment”, since they were originally broadcast. I remember particularly liking them, with notable enjoyment of the casting, the production values, and the ongoing story arc. I wondered how they would fare all these years on.
I wasn’t disappointed. There is much to enjoy here. Highlights included Courtney’s performance as Brigadiers six years apart (he achieves a distinct look and behaviour for each), Barron and Baron as ships’ captains, and one of my favourite companions, Turlough. Furtive, sly, cowardly, and laconically intelligent, he is sometimes Gollum-like in his cradling of the Black Guardian’s crystal.
“Mawdryn Undead” and “Terminus” have the option of viewing the modern digital effects replacing some of the original effects; these are mostly decent, and non-intrusive, allowing the story to be appreciated without one being overly aware of the limitations of television special effects in 1983. “Enlightenment” is supplied on two discs; one has the original four-part serial, and the other has a new re-edited version, shorter in length, with enhanced effects, a 5.1 soundtrack, and presented in widescreen. It works surprisingly well; I appreciate the reinvention and improvement of old Who, as long as the original versions are supplied as well.
Beth enjoyed them a lot. Next up is to conquer her aversion to black and white (she complains about it being ‘boring’, but then tends to like B&W Who when she starts watching it). Two of the other DVDs I bought this week are “The Keys of Marinus” and “The War Games”. Maybe next weekend for those.
I’m not sure that I’d seen the three stories, “Mawdryn Undead”, “Terminus”, and “Enlightenment”, since they were originally broadcast. I remember particularly liking them, with notable enjoyment of the casting, the production values, and the ongoing story arc. I wondered how they would fare all these years on.
I wasn’t disappointed. There is much to enjoy here. Highlights included Courtney’s performance as Brigadiers six years apart (he achieves a distinct look and behaviour for each), Barron and Baron as ships’ captains, and one of my favourite companions, Turlough. Furtive, sly, cowardly, and laconically intelligent, he is sometimes Gollum-like in his cradling of the Black Guardian’s crystal.
“Mawdryn Undead” and “Terminus” have the option of viewing the modern digital effects replacing some of the original effects; these are mostly decent, and non-intrusive, allowing the story to be appreciated without one being overly aware of the limitations of television special effects in 1983. “Enlightenment” is supplied on two discs; one has the original four-part serial, and the other has a new re-edited version, shorter in length, with enhanced effects, a 5.1 soundtrack, and presented in widescreen. It works surprisingly well; I appreciate the reinvention and improvement of old Who, as long as the original versions are supplied as well.
Beth enjoyed them a lot. Next up is to conquer her aversion to black and white (she complains about it being ‘boring’, but then tends to like B&W Who when she starts watching it). Two of the other DVDs I bought this week are “The Keys of Marinus” and “The War Games”. Maybe next weekend for those.
no subject
I can sympathise. I think Troughton is probably my favourite Doctor, but despite that, experience shows I'm more likely to fall asleep watching a black and white story than colour.
I've always thought "Enlightenment" was a bit of an overlooked classic, and Courtney's performance in The Two Brigadiers was something that also impressed me.
Must go and check prices for "The War Games"...