DVD REVIEW: The Green Death: Special Edition

THE GREEN DEATH: SPECIAL EDITION

Starring Jon Pertwee

2-disc DVD - details HERE

UK: Aug 5

AUSTRALASIA: Aug 7

NORTH AMERICA: Aug 13

Review by Jack Bowman

STORY

I shan't bore you with my thoughts on this classic tale, having already been released on DVD (so I'm sure you've got it already), but The Green Death is one of the most iconic adventures not only of the Jon Pertwee era, but also of all Doctor Who serials. Frequently (and fondly) remembered as “the one with the maggots”, this tale of ecological doom strongly evokes the growing awareness of our impending environment crisis, when it first came to public attention in the 1970s.

However, the story also marked the departure of the Katy Manning's Jo Grant and heralded the start of the slow break-up of the UNIT family – indeed, the farewell of Jo has often been cited as a rare example of classic Who embracing a more emotional tone we find now in "new" Who, with the finale offering a dramatic template on which the revived series draws on. As such, this release celebrates the influence of The Green Death on the revival and rightly offers the most for fans of both old and new Who.

Also included as an extra is Death Of The Doctor, a The Sarah Jane Adventures two-parter that featured both Matt Smith's Time Lord and Katy Manning's last appearance (to date) as Jo on-screen. This is a lovely addition that not only really showcases SJA at its best, but also a rare, lone example of Russell T Davies writing for The Eleventh Doctor. (You can read Blogtor's review of Death of the Doctor HERE.)

EXTRAS
The Green Death contains a wonderful collection of riches for fans of the series, no matter their age. Aside from the usual Who DVD goodies (the well-established PDFs, fascinating Production Subtitles and Photo Galleries), there are some incredibly fun and well-produced featurettes - most notably The One With The Maggots, a documentary on the making of this production. Also included is a fascinating extended look at the FX creation of the iconic maggot monsters themselves, extended interviews with Robert Sloman and Stuart Bevan, some nostalgic clips from Wales Today with Jon Pertwee (which tell you what happened to the location later in the 1990s) and a look at Katy Manning's post-Who pottery series (yes, you read that correctly), amusingly titled Serendipity.

Given that Russell T Davies often talks about the emotional impact of this serial on both him as a child and on his approach on how he handled Who's revival, then it isn't surprising to find the extras offering much from the man himself, without unbalancing the extras in favour of the post-2005 series.

Episode Six features a charming and touching bonus commentary with RTD and Manning discussing the impact of the final episode, her relationship with Jon Pertwee and how SJA brought her new fame, and an array of wonderful Welsh accents. This rapport continues through into an unmissable and sweet commentary between them on the Death Of Doctor.

Finally, of most interest for new series fans, is a mini-documentary that discusses the the gradual plans that fell into place to bring the show back, and how much luck has been on "new" Who's side, even as far back as the late 1980s, revealing – possibly for the first time - a bizarre connection between John Nathan-Turner and Jane Tranter (pictured below) that lead to her life-long love of the original show.

Tranter's passion is clear to all here, showing that even as the show began to die, she saw what the show could offer if it was loved again, its potential place at the BBC and what a successful Doctor Who it could mean for British television; all of this turning her into its greatest champion many years later. One hopes this will be explored and expanded for a future New Series DVD or bluray release.

"Easter Eggs" to hunt out include the original 1973 and 1994 repeat continuity announcements - which will give certain fans of both the Seventies and the Nineties a nostalgia rush, and an out-take from Global Conspiracy, another DVD extra featured on this set (starring Mark Gatiss).

Overall, given the iconic nature of this serial, it was only fitting that BBC Worldwide delivered a celebration on DVD that showcases its influence which continues today, and this release delivers.

BLOGTOR RATING 8/10

Thanks to BBC Worldwide

Review by Jack Bowman

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CBBC wanted SJA gay character [UPDATE]

In the audio commentary for The Sarah Jane Adventures story Death of the Doctor - released on next month's DVD release of The Green Death: Special Edition - Russell T Davies states that one of the show's main characters, Sarah Jane's son Luke (played by Tommy Knight), was to have been gay should the show have continued. Speaking on the commentary, he reveals this information for the very first time with even some of the show's writers in the dark about the info. On the commentary for the story starring Matt Smith (The Eleventh Doctor) and Katy Manning (Jo Grant), Russell says:

"Tommy [Luke Smith] refers to his friend Sanjay. Now had we continued, Sanjay would have been Luke's boyfriend. Because children's BBC [CBBC] wanted to have - I've never said this in any interview anywhere - wanted us to have a gay character on children's BBC. Just a normal gay character."

"And so they said to us, 'Can you do that with [The] Sarah Jane [Adventures] and, I don't even think some of the writers on the show know this, because obviously we got taken off air sadly. Tommy [Knight, who played Luke Smith] wanted to come back into the show and we were going to approach him and say, 'Do you mind if he's gay and has a boyfriend?' So that was the plan, because of Steven Andrew [then Head of Drama and Acquisitions for CBBC] wanted it but it never came to pass. Isn't that sad? It's a shame."

Russell went to to reveal that a filmed line hinting at Luke's homosexuality was taken out of the Joe Lidster story, The Nightmare Man (review HERE); the former Who showrunner says:

"In the very last scene he says goodbye and Sarah Jane says, 'Have a lovely time at university. You'll grow up, you'll find a girlfriend,' and he says, 'Oh, could be a boyfriend!' And she goes, 'Well, as long as it's not alien, I don't care!' We ended up cutting it."*

Russell also talks about Matt Smith, stating the outgoing Doctor Who, is "amazing".

The Death of the Doctor audio commentary includes much more fascinating and hilarious insight into both The Sarah Jane Adventures and Doctor Who from Russell T Davies and Katy Manning. It is released on The Green Death: Special Edition DVD, out on August 5 (full details HERE).

The same DVD set also includes a documentary with stunning revelations on the show's return in the Noughties - read them HERE.

*UPDATE: Lovely writer Joe Lidster has been in touch to clarify the line was actually: "As long as it's not a Slitheen, I don't care!"

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BBC wanted Tom Baker for RTD relaunch

Next month's DVD release of The Green Death: Special Edition includes another in the series of The Doctor Forever looking at the "wilderness years" of Doctor Who before its 2005 return. Titled The Unquiet Dead, the special feature includes interviews with former showrunner Russell T Davies and former Controller of Drama Commissioning at the BBC, Jane Tranter. They both discuss the story of Doctor Who and how they both brought it back to BBC One on Saturday nights. Below are some highlights from the fascinating documentary:

• Just before the Channel Four show Queer As Folk hit the screens in 1999, its writer Russell T Davies came to the attention of Mal Young (BBC Controller, Drama Serials 1997-2004). RTD remembers the first meeting:

"I remember, actually, someone in the room said, 'Why don't we bring Tom Baker back?' and we all said, 'Yes!' I was sitting there, going with anything, 'Yeah, that'd be great!'"

• Jane Tranter (pictured left) wanted to bring back Doctor Who with Judi Dench.

• After market research, BBC Worldwide decided there was: "great awareness of Doctor Who, but very little desire to see it"

• In 2001, the BBC wanted RTD to write a science-fiction version of Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities, but he turned them down saying, "If I'm going to do science-fiction with the BBC then I want to do Doctor Who."

• Co-producers of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) wanted to redub Christopher Eccleston (pictured right) with a Canadian actor, but Russell T Davies told them, "You're not doing that to our lead actor!"

• Michael Grade returned to the BBC in early 2004 and, as he had done before, wanted a Doctor Who-free schedule. Jane Tranter says, "The person who was completely opposed to bringing back Doctor Who was Michael Grade. He thought this was a really bad idea." On his return to the BBC as Director General, Mark Thompson also spoke to Jane Tranter about halting production on Doctor Who. The former BBC Head of Drama stated that he: "asked me if we could stop making it. 'Were we able to stop?' And I said' No!'"

The Doctor Forever: The Unquiet Dead includes much more fascinating recollections and revelations. It is released on The Green Death: Special Edition DVD, out on August 5 (full details HERE).

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The Green Death Special Edition DVD details

BBC Worldwide have released details of next month's Special Edition DVD release of The Green Death - check them out below and click on the pictures for bigger versions. It's released in the UK on Aug 5.

•    Commentary with actors Katy Manning (Jo Grant), producer Barry Letts and script editor Terrance Dicks.
 
•    Bonus commentary with actors Richard Franklin (Captain Yates) and Mitzi McKenzie (Nancy), moderated by Toby Hadoke (episodes 3 – 5); with actress Katy Manning and writer Russell T Davies (episode 6)

•    The One With the Maggots - Cast and crew look back at the making of this story.

•    Global Conspiracy? A spoof investigative report looks at the strange happenings in the village of Llanfairfach.
 
•    Visual Effects An interview with the story’s visual effects designer, Colin Mapson.   

•    Robert Sloman and Stewart Bevan interviews

•    Wales Today - Two pieces from the BBC Wales news programme – a mute 1973 film insert from the filming of The Green Death, and a 1994 item with Jon Pertwee opening the new country park that was built on the site of the colliery used in the story.

  •    Doctor Forever: The Unquiet Dead - In this unique interview, new series creator Russell T Davies and then BBC Controller of Drama, Jane Tranter, talk about the genesis of Doctor Who’s rebirth on television.

•   What Katy Did Next - A look at Serendipity, the TV series that Katy Manning presented after leaving Doctor Who.

 •    The Sarah Jane Adventures: Death of the Doctor - This two-part story from 2010 sees Katy Manning reprising her role as Jo Grant and a guest appearance by Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor. Optional Commentary with actress Katy Manning and series creator Russell T Davies.
   
• Radio Times listings (DVD-ROM), Programme subtitles, Production information subtitles and Photo gallery

Thanks to BBC Worldwide

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The Green Death documentary appeal

Doctor Who DVD documentary maker and BAFTA nominee Chris Chapman is currently producing a documentary on the Jon Pertwee story The Green Death for release on the Revisitation DVD later this year. If you have any photo, audio or video archive relevant to the production - please contact chris@denefilms.com.

If your photo/video/audio is selected to be used, then you'll receive a copy of The Green Death Revisitations DVD, on which the documentary will be featured. Read more about the release HERE.

Please send your hi-res photos, videos and audio to - chris@denefilms.com

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