One of the jewels in the crown of the Davison era of Doctor Who, Earthshock is one of those who-shot-J.R. moments where everyone who saw it remembers where they where when they first saw part four. Boasting the most powerful and memorable exit that the series ever provided for one of the Doctor's companions, Earthshock was the first real hint that Doctor Who was changing with the times - even moreso than the jarring change-in-style that The Leisure Hive represented. For, after years and years of Tom Baker's nonchalant antics, we now had a Doctor who was capable of misjudging a situation critically - critically enough to seal the doom of one of his companions.

The suite of extras on the Earthshock DVD reinforce that idea, chief among them the documentary Putting The Shock Into Earthshock, featuring interviews from Peter Davison, script editor Eric Saward, Cyberleader actor David Banks, numerous members from the ranks of "professional fandom" (i.e. Gary Gillatt, Gary Russell, etc.), and even Matthew Waterhouse, the actor who played Adric, the doomed companion in question. Davison, Waterhouse, Sarah Sutton (Nyssa) and Janet Fielding (Tegan) tackle the audio commentary all at the same time, with Waterhouse trying to salvage his dignity and Fielding trying to prevent him from doing that. Poor Matthew Waterhouse - truth is, I've always liked Adric as a character, and I thought Waterhouse did as good a job as could be expected from a teenage actor playing that part circa 1981/82. As a non-cool kid myself, I found a kindred spirit in Waterhouse's character, and I've always though that the fans who seem to spend so much time bashing him need to look in the mirror and keep that analogy in mind.

Sadly, even the DVD extras have their fun with Adric, as a claymation spoof "Episode Five" shows us that Adric survived the cataclysmic events of episode four after all - but he just didn't survive them for long. Also included is a segment of Gavin Scott's "Did You See?," which aired during the original broadcast of Earthshock, highlighting memorable monsters from Who history with a special focus on the many incarnations of the Cybermen. As usual for 1980s releases, an isolated music track is available too.

By far the coolest feature on this disc, however, is the CGI effects option. Like the DVD of Ark In Space, Earthshock gives you the option of either watching the original show as broadcast, or a spruced-up version where select effects have been enhanced or completely replaced by modern computer-generated effects. I'm not a big fan of Lucas-style revisionism - the new version is official and to hell with the original - but this, I'm okay with. And it works wonders for the show's finale. Wow.

Easily one of the best pieces of Doctor Who drama produced in the John Nathan-Turner era, Earthshock is worth a viewing on DVD. I've always liked the story, but this disc and its extras prove that a great many other people did as well - and rightly so.

Reviewed by Earl Green
theLogBook.com webmaster / editor-in-chief