Doctor Who - Resurrection Of The Daleks
Setting aside, for the moment, that Resurrection Of The Daleks sees the metallic monsters still very much alive (it’s really Dalek creator Davros who’s being revived, and even then he’s only in suspended animation), it’s interesting to see this story again, and in this form.
To start with, a hasty rescheduling forced by the 1984 Winter Olympics meant that this, Davison’s only TV meeting with the Daleks, had to be re-edited into two 50-minute-long episodes at the last minute; like other episodes of its era, Resurrection was originally intended to consist of four 25-minute episodes. For this DVD, the original four-part version was restored, bringing the story full circle to the way it was always meant to be seen.
U.S. viewers were also affected by the re-editing job, as the version supplied to the U.S. was sent with no music or sound effects in the second half of the story. In many ways, nobody’s ever really gotten to see this story the way it was constructed. Some purists demanding the as-broadcast version may object, but overall Resurrection benefits greatly from being restored to the original format.
For this DVD release, it also boasts one of the most lively commentaries ever for a Who release, courtesy of director Matthew Robinson and actors Peter Davison and Janet Fielding. You heard right: Janet “Tegan” Fielding, someone who’s disassociated herself with fandom since the late 80s and spent the intervening decade or so building a career as an actors’ talent agent and fiercely bashing the BBC’s venerable time travel series for its rampant sexism. (Fielding also represented Paul McGann in negotiations for his starring role in the 1996 TV movie, so Doctor Who can’t be all bad.) She lends the commentary a very funny and lively air, as the three discuss everything from the choice of Tegan’s costumes to fellow actor Mark Strickson’s ability to milk every shot he was in for maximum face time to the fact that you can see Davison’s dental work during his torture scenes. It’s a pleasant surprise to hear her at all, and especially to hear her discussing this story in particular (which was also her last) so enthusiastically.
A nice little featurette follows Robinson around the murky London locations for the story - now renovated into nice office space, ironically stealing the retrospective’s attempt to recreate the rainy, gloomy atmosphere - and includes interviews with writer/script editor Eric Saward, and the last appearance of the late John Nathan-Turner, the series’ producer for the entirety of the 1980s. The story, and that era of the show as a whole, is dealt with frankly and informatively.
The end result is very entertaining. I’m critical of the storytelling structure of Resurrection Of The Daleks, but I’ve always been a huge fan of the story’s overpowering sense of mood. It’s a masterful job of creating an atmosphere, and director Matthew Robinson is justifiably proud of it, despite having moved on to bigger and better things career-wise.