Written by Robert Holmes
Directed by Rodney Bennett
The Ark In Space is another recent release from the
Classic Doctor Who series DVD range.
The slow burn, sci-fi/horror tale by the late, great Robert Holmes finds
The Doctor, (Tom Baker), Sarah (Elisabeth Sladen), and Harry (Ian Marter)
arriving on Space Station Nerva several thousands of years in the future. While The Doctor and Harry explore the
seemingly deserted station, Sarah is taken away by forces unknown and placed in
suspended animation. As Harry
desperately searches for a resuscitation unit for Sarah, he instead stumbles
upon the horrifying remains of a giant, mummified, alien insect.
I first discovered Doctor Who back in 1983 or so when
the local PBS station began broadcasting the programme daily at 18:30, with a
feature length “omnibus” edition on Saturday night. I can’t say if this story scared me, but it certainly left an
impression. I recall an underlying
feeling of dread creeping into my guts as the story unfolded, and I felt
genuinely concerned for the characters as the true horror of their predicament
became clear.
Kudos to Robert Holmes for crafting a truly terrifying tale
that is essentially Ridley Scott’s Alien on a miserly BBC Television
budget, a good four years before Alien would hit the big screen. Holmes is distinguished by being not only
one of the best over all writers of the Classic Who era, but also the most
prolific, having written a total of sixty-four episodes of the programme,
including fan favourites, The Talons of Weng-Chiang, and The Caves of
Androzani. Two stories that are so
good, they almost make one forget his first commission for the series was The
Krotons!
This is peculiar... |
This story also represents a departure for the show, as it
leaves behind the Earth-centric U.N.I.T stories of the Jon Pertwee years, and
introduces darker, horror elements into the series that would become something
of a staple of the Classic programme, and continue to be used in New Series
episodes like Blink, and Silence in the Library/Forest of the
Dead.
Once again the video quality is amazing for a programme
first broadcast over thirty-five years ago, thanks to the hard work of the Doctor Who Restoration Team. The audio is the original mono, completely
digitally re-mastered by Mark Ayres to remove all hiss, pops, and audio
drop-outs, leaving dialogue crisp, and sound effects and music clear.
Extras include an audio commentary recorded for the original
2002 DVD release with Tom Baker, Elisabeth Sladen, and producer Philip
Hinchcliffe, a 30min “Making Of” doc, optional CGI effects, the 70min “TV
Movie” version, and much more.
Fancy Schmancy CGI |
Why should you revisit this story? Come on! It’s basically a
less expensive, brighter lit version of Alien, before Alien WAS Alien,
only without all the blood and swear words!
And it’s written by one of the best writers in the history of Doctor
Who: Robert Holmes! Rent it, borrow it,
or buy it, but definitely watch it when you have a chance.
Doctor Who: The Ark In Space Special Edition
gets FOUR mummified space wasps out of FIVE.
No comments:
Post a Comment