Doctor Who Vengeance on Varos

Doctor Who Vengeance on Varos
What would happen if a Doctor Who crossed paths with one of Stephen King's novels? It is a good question to ask because alot of authors novels have been used as a basis for a serial for Doctor Who. Was any Stephen King novel possibly the basis for a serial made during the classic series? The answer to that question is simply yes, but which novel. Could it have been Christine? Bessie a car with a soul and she wants the Doctor all for herself killing off people the Doctor's friends and companions along the way. How about Cujo? A robotic Dog K-9 who gets a strange form of rabies and now has his sights set on killing the Doctor and his companions. Well it is definately not either of those two novels, but which novel could it be then? To answer that question you will have to know that Stephen King also writes under the pseudonym Richard Bachman
. One of Bachman's more popular novels that was later turned into a movie with Arnold Schwarzeneggar was the Running Man which was released in 1982. However one Doctor Who serial Vengeance on Varos featuring Colin Baker as the 6th Doctor and Nicola Bryant as Peri has some striking simularities to this story as well. So if you like Stephen King books this serial might be just for you. Vengeance on Varos was written by Philip Martin and directed by Who veteran Ron Jones who in the end directed six serials for Doctor Who during the Davison and Colin Baker era including Black Orchid, Timeflight, and Mindwarp. Vengeance is also one of the few Who serials that has a great supporting cast of actors coming into it Martin Jarvis as the Governor, Jarvis known for playing the leads in a lot of British Shows throughout the 60's-80's, Jason Connery as Jondar, Jason the son of legendary Sean Connery made one of his first on screen appearances before becoming Robin in the 80's Robin Hood TV series, and veteran actress Sheila Reid who has graced both television and the silver screen for years. With all this said from this basis alone Vengeance on Varos has a lot going for it when you just take a look at the cover.
On the box
On the planet Varos, prisoners and guards alike are subject to the severest forms of punishment, which are the broadcast to the masses as entertainment.
For the Doctor, Varos is the only hope for him to locate the rare mineral Zeiton-7, which powers his ailing Tardis. But when he and Peri arrive, they are caught up in events beyond their control...
Freeing the rebel leader Jondar and incurring the wrath of the sinister alien Sil are just the beginnings of their ordeal. Hunted through the concealed terrors of the Punishment Dome, the Doctor becomes the subject of Varos's latest TV entertainment. But this is one show he is not expected to survive beyond the cliffhanger...
Story - A
Vengeance is possibly the best serial of Colin's era as the Doctor. Wonderfully written script combined with some of the best actors to ever have a guest appearance on Doctor Who. Nothing is really overdone or underdone. Possibly the only thing holding this story back is the use of simular sets and lack of different settings. Otherwise you cannot say much against this story or how it was filmed.
Video Quality - F
Vengeance by far is the worst DVD I have viewed from the Doctor Who range when it comes down to video quality. It looks uncleaned almost like a layer of white covers the entire print. The movement of characters through the entire two serials are jumpy and unexplained movements from them like sudden jerks of motion out of nowhere to make things worse you had a line that would also appear quite often on the top mostly and sometimes the botton of the screen that appears to happen out of nowhere that gets real annoying something simular to what I am showing below.
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Special Features - F
This is one of Doctor Who's first DVD releases and has less than the standard that comes with any Doctor Who release. So even though I would like to give a higher rating it is below par in this area and has 6 out of the usual and missing the radio times billings.
Overall - D-
This is as about as bad as it comes to a Doctor Who release on DVD it deserves a better transfer, more special features, and to be vidfired. The only thing saving this DVD is the serial itself from getting an F in my book. My suggestion wait for the rerelease.

Next up on the agenda is Akira Kurosawa Yojimbo/Sanjuro BluRay vs DVD side by side comparison from Criterion.