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Doctors (The): Sylvester McCoy Years (The): Behind the Scenes
R0 - United Kingdom - Reeltime Pictures Review written by and copyright: Rick Curzon (16th November 2023). |
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The Film
 This is the definitive set of interviews with the production team who brought Doctor Who to life and sent you “behind the sofa”! These six documentaries are the best in-depth interviews with Ben Aaronovitch (Writer), Ian Briggs (Writer), Stephen Wyatt (Writer), Andrew Morgan (Director), Mike Tucker (Visual Effects Supervisor) and Keff McCulloch (Composer) ever undertaken! Presented by Robert Dick, “Ace” Sophie Aldred and “voice of the Daleks” Nicholas Briggs. For all Doctor Who fans, this special collector’s edition is over 5 hours of pure nostalgia, which will give you a whole new insight into the making of your favourite science fiction series!
Video
Keith Barnfather has been interviewing Doctor Who (and Blake's 7) alumni since the 1980s for his long running Myth Makers range of behind the scenes interview VHS and latterly DVD releases. This latest edition collects together chats with several, personnel from the 1987-89 period that was the Sylvester McCoy / Seventh Doctor era. We have an excellent collection of beautifully conducted interviews. My technical comments on these releases tend to be identical for each set released however, these are all very recent productions and the visual side of things is generally strong. Colours are stable, black levels aren't always completely deep but these have been shot digitally on location and on the fly. Contrast is strong, detail decent for the standard definition DVD format. As I have observed before: I didn't notice any artefacts or compression issues but had there been some minor ones it probably wouldn't have detracted in the same way as on a release of Doctor Who episodes. The image is soft by virtue of how it was captured but that is not a criticism. The only way things could improve would be to upscale on Blu-ray discs with the superior encoding / codecs that the format affords. But, this kind of material will probably not support the costs; after all, this essentially is a 2-disc set of extras. Overall rating = B+. NTSC / MPEG-2 / 2 x DVD-9 / 1.33:1, 1.78:1 / 383:45
Audio
English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo (48kHz / 192kbps) Subtitles: None Basic 2.0 stereo that gets the job done with no surrounds unless channelled through ProLogic II or similar. Frankly, playing these through PLII is pointless as there's the occasional bleed in which sounds from the front appear in the rear. Stick to "straight" or "direct" (AFD Auto = Auto Format Direct). Speech, which is THE main point of these sets, is always crisp and clear and what little music there is (intros and outros) doesn't get in the way. Being more recent recordings audio is stronger than more vintage productions even if my comments are pretty much the same ('B-'). Sadly, no subtitles have been provided so the hearing impaired will have trouble accessing this set.
Extras
"Myth Makers: Ben Aaronovitch" 2023 interview conducted by Robert Dick (71:08) "Myth Makers: Ian Briggs" 2023 interview conducted by Robert Dick (62:53) "Myth Makers: Stephen Wyatt" 2022 interview conducted by Robert Dick (64:13) "Myth Makers: Andrew Morgan" 2023 interview conducted by Robert Dick and Sofie Aldred (74:32) "Myth Makers: Mike Tucker" 2015 featurette featuring 2014 interviews conducted by Martin Parsons and Nicholas Briggs (64:11) "Myth Makers: Keff McCulloch" 2003 interview conducted by Nicholas Briggs (46:48) As ever, these are very comprehensive interviews that give each subject the time to discuss their wider careers as well as their time on our favourite TV show . Unusually everyone interviewed is still with us which is of course wonderful. In any case, these interviews are here for posterity and are an essential collection to sit next to the official DVDs and BD collection sets.
Packaging
Standard, black 2-disc DVD Keepcase.
Overall
Another invaluable 2-disc set from Reeltime Pictures. Keith Barnfather and his colleagues have been working tirelessly since the 1980s to document the careers, experiences and memories of Doctor Who and Blake's 7 alumni. With this set we get a focus on the short controversial Sylvester McCoy era (1987-89) and as usual this is a must have for any serious fan of the show. Highly recommended! Bravo Reeltime! Only available via their sales website: https://timetraveltv.com/
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