Doctor Who: Inferno
Doctor Who fandom routinely applies the word “classic” to its descriptions of several adventures from the original series, and as Doctor Who fandom is wont to do, that description is routinely shifted around to describe different stories, as the prevailing tastes and critical mood of the fans in general. Inferno is just that, a fairly recent addition to the ranks of the Who “classics,” and all I can say is…what took so long?
The seven-part story is presented in its entirety on the first disc of this collection, with a running commentary by the then-current team responsible for this show, producer Barry Letts and script editor Terrance Dicks. Nicholas “The Brigadier” Courtney is on hand to recall the story from his perspective, and there are occasional contributions from John Levene, whose appearances as Sgt. Benton were on the verge of making him a regular cast member. Levene now lives in America, so his commentaries are recorded separately and edited in. This isn’t as jarring as you might think - there’s really only one or two instances where any attempt is made to splice him into the others’ discussion.
The bonus features on the second disc are, as usual, impeccable. Can You Hear The Earth Scream? is the factual documentary about the making of Inferno, with on-screen contributions from not only the commentary participants, but Caroline “Liz Shaw” John, and stuntman Derek Ware, whose hand-picked army of stuntmen, known as HAVOC, were ubiquitous in the Pertwee era. Even as a devotee of the incredibly detailed Howe, Stammers & Walker Handbook series, I learned things about Inferno that I had never known before from this featurette. (more…)