Coming later this year, Tom Baker’s first season in the role of the Fourth Doctor will be released on Blu-ray. Why is this the first complete season of Classic Who to be released? And what can we expect?
Earlier this month, the official Doctor Who page announced some rather exciting news. Coming in June 2018, Tom Baker’s entire first season of Doctor Who will be released in a special Blu-ray box set.
Along with restored and up-scaled picture quality, fans can also expect a large amount of bonus content. Not only will this include previous material from existing DVDs, but there will also be brand new special features. These will include:
TOM BAKER IN CONVERSATION
A candid new one-hour interview with the Fourth Doctor.BEHIND THE SOFA
Classic clips from Season 12, viewed by Tom Baker, Philip Hinchcliffe, Louise Jameson, Janet Fielding, Sarah Sutton and Sadie Miller.NEW MAKING-OF DOCUMENTARIES
For The Sontaran Experiment and Revenge Of The Cybermen.IMMERSIVE 5.1 SURROUND SOUND MIXES
For The Ark In Space and Genesis Of The Daleks.OPTIONAL BRAND NEW UPDATED SPECIAL EFFECTS
For Revenge Of The Cybermen.GENESIS OF THE DALEKS – OMNIBUS MOVIE VERSION
Unseen since broadcast in 1975.THE TOM BAKER YEARS
The 1991 VHS release on disc for the first time.PRODUCTION ARCHIVE MATERIAL
PDF files from the BBC Archives.
Why this season?
With twenty-six seasons in the original series, what made season twelve in particular stand out? There are several reasons for this.
The first is that it’s the first season of one of the most popular Doctors, Tom Baker. That in itself is quite a draw for Classic Series fans.
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And for two good reasons why he’s so popular, this season includes two of the most popular serials ever: The Ark in Space and Genesis of the Daleks. Both are huge fan favorites, and show Tom Baker performing brilliantly in the role.
It’s also notable that this season is the first in the collaboration between producer Philip Hinchcliffe and script-editor Robert Holmes. Together, they created a very distinctive era with a dark, horrific tone and many much-loved stories.
Overall, this looks set to be a popular release for fans of the Classic Series. And, with the distinctive label of Doctor Who: The Collection, it looks like this won’t be a one-off. That’s very exciting news. While none of the stories will ever be true HD (with the exception of Spearhead on Space), it’ll be great for fans to finally have the option of purchasing complete seasons of the Classic Series.
Doctor Who: The Collection – Season 12 will be released in the UK from June 11, 2018, with details of an international release coming soon.