Help with Classic Who DVD's

[John Picard]

My son is very interested in the classic Who series and as such I'd like to start buying episodes. Is there a source where I can either get a complete collection of a particular Doctor? I don't want a hodge podge of someone's favorite episodes presented in on package? I've looked on Amazon and am confused at their classic Who offerings.

 

[Chaos Descending]

I'm not sure what you are asking, as such. Are you looking for box sets or do you want a concise list of what episodes are available for each Doctor?

Hopefully this link will give you some measure of assistance:

http://home.comcast.net/~smanfred/DVD_FAQ.html

 

[Timby]

My son is very interested in the classic Who series and as such I'd like to start buying episodes. Is there a source where I can either get a complete collection of a particular Doctor?

No such collections are commercially available. You can buy a particular Doctor's individual serials on DVD, but even then the complete lineups of their serials aren't available, either (due to being lost or simply not released yet).

That's not a bad thing, really -- as currently set up, you can buy the serials that you want, and you don't have to trudge through some really, really awful stuff.

For starting points, this is what I'd recommend:

Hartnell: The Beginning, The Aztecs
Troughton: Anything on DVD
Pertwee: Spearhead from Space, Carnival of Monsters
Baker T: The Robots of Death
Davison: Earthshock
Baker C: Vengeance on Varos, Revelation of the Daleks
McCoy: Remembrance of the Daleks, The Curse of Fenric

 

[John Picard]

I understand there are missing episodes. I guess I'm after box sets, or I want to be able to buy every episode of, say, Doctors #4 and #5.

 

[Timby]

I understand there are missing episodes. I guess I'm after box sets, or I want to be able to buy every episode of, say, Doctors #4 and #5.

I understand, but you just can't do that (at least not in box set form). You could buy the individual serials (each of which are 4 - 8 episodes long, or so) ... but even in the case of Tom Baker's 4th Doctor, you're looking at 114 half-hour episodes across 27 serials (and that's only looking at already-released DVDs). It would be prohibitively expensive to offer those in complete sets.

 

[Iamnotspock]

I'm not sure if you're aware that the original Doctor Who series had a completely different format from the new run. As an early sixties childrens' programme, it was a series of multi-part stories of twenty-five minute episodes each, with each episode ending on a cliffhanger. This format continued (barring an experiment with 45 minute episodes in the mid 80s) until 1989. So when you say "episodes"... well, the show was really about "stories" of varying length (4 episodes, 6, sometimes more). So some of those old stories are very long and the pacing is often a lot slower.

I'd recommend looking into Tom Baker's era, with classics like Genesis of the Daleks (introducing Davros and explaining the Daleks' origin), The Ark in Space, Pyramids of Mars, The Talons of Weng Chiang or City of Death.
Much of Patrick Troughton's era is sadly now missing from the archives, but I'd recommend The Tomb of the Cybermen. The very first three serials from 1963/4 are available as a DVD box set called The Beginning (incorporating An Unearthly Child, The Daleks and The Edge of Destruction).
Sarah-Jane Smith was introduced in the Jon Pertwee serial The Time Warrior (which also introduced the Sontarans) and departed in Tom Baker's The Hand of Fear. The following story, The Deadly Assassin heavily features the Time Lords and defines much of their mythology. Many Tom Baker stories feature K9, who first appeared in The Invisible Enemy.
The Master's first appearance was in Pertwee's Terror of the Autons (it's a good idea to see Pertwee's debut story Spearhead from Space, which introduced the Nestene Consciousness and the Autons - and was also the first to feature UNIT as a regular fixture - first). The UNIT stories of the Jon Pertwee era also prominently feature the character of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, who recently reappeared in The Sarah-Jane Adventures.
There was a season-long arc concerning the "Key to Time", which I believe is available as a box set.
There are also the anniversary muti-Doctor stories The Three Doctors (10th) and The Five Doctors (20th).
The handover from Tom Baker to Peter Davison and the introduction of a new Master is available as a box set called New Beginnings (incorporating The Keeper of Traken, Logopolis and Castrovalva).
Peter Davison's final story The Caves of Androzani is well worth a look.
The Colin Baker season-long arc The Trial of a Time Lord is available as a box set.
For Sylvester McCoy, I'd go for Remembrance of the Daleks, Ghost Light, The Curse of Fenric or Survival.
Paul McGann's untitled one-shot TV Movie is also available (Doctor Who: The Movie).

 

[OmahaStar]

My son is very interested in the classic Who series and as such I'd like to start buying episodes. Is there a source where I can either get a complete collection of a particular Doctor? I don't want a hodge podge of someone's favorite episodes presented in on package? I've looked on Amazon and am confused at their classic Who offerings.

Does your son have a particular favorite Doctor? Knowing this will help you.

The releases of the dvds have been very much hodge podge. Unfortunately, the First and Second Doctors suffer the most, because so much of their material has been lost over the years. Especially in cases where a story might have 6-8 episodes, and only one or two still exist.

This list might help.

First Doctor:
The Beginning set - includes three stories 1) An Unearthly Child, 2) The Daleks, and 3) The Edge of Destruction
6) The Aztecs
10) The Dalek Invasion of Earth
13) The Web Planet
17) The Time Meddler
Lost in Time - includes remaining episodes and snips from that still exist from various stories

Second Doctor:
Lost in Time - as with the previous on, includes remaining snips and episodes of otherwise lost tales from the second doctor's era
37) The Tomb of the Cybermen
45) The Mind Robber
46) The Invasion
48) The Seeds of Death

Third Doctor:
51) Spearhead from Space
Beneath the Surface box set includes 52) Doctor Who and the Silurians, 62) The Sea Devils, and 134) Warriors of the Deep from the 5th Doctor ... these stories are also available as individual titles
54) Inferno
57) The Claws of Axos
65) The Three Doctors
66) Carnival of Monsters
69) The Green Death
70) The Time Warrior

Fourth Doctor:
75) Robot
76) The Ark in Space
77) The Sontaran Experiment
78) Genesis of the Daleks
81) Planet of Evil
82) Pyramids of Mars
84) Brain of Morbius
87) Hand of Fear
90) The Robots of Death
91) The Talons of Weng-Chiang
92) Horror of Fang Rock
Box set - Invisible/Friend includes 93) The Invisible Enemy and the K/9 spin-off A Girl's Best Friend
97) The Invasion of Time
The Key to Time season box set includes 98) The Ribos Operation, 99) THe Pirate Planet, 100) The Stones of Blood, 101) The Androids of Tara, 102) The Power of Kroll, and 103) The Armageddon Factor - these titles are also available individually ... the set is being replaced by a new special edition early in 2009
104) The Destiny of the Daleks
105) The City of Death
110) The Leisure Hive
New Beginnings box set includes 115) The Keeper of Traken, 116) Logopolis, and 117) Castrovalva - 117 is the first story for the fifth doctor, all titles are available individually

Fifth Doctor
already mentioned in box sets, plus
120) The Visitation
121) Black Orchid
122) Earthshock
123) Time-Flight
124) Arc of Infinity
130) The Five Doctors
130A) The Five Doctors 25th anniversary edition
136) Caves of Androzani

Sixth Doctor
139) Vengeance on Varos
140) The Mark of the Rani
141) The Two Doctors
142) Timelash
143) Revelation of the Daleks
Trial of a Time Lord box set - titles are only available in the set, they include 144) The Mysterious Planet, 145) Mindwarp, 146) Terror of the Vervoids, and 147) The Ultimate Foe

Seventh Doctor
152) Remembrance of the Daleks
157) Ghost Light
158) The Curse of Fenric
159) Survival (series finale)

In the UK, the TV Movie with the Eighth Doctor is available, but not in the US. It's sort of a bridge between the classic and udpated series.

I did not include upcoming new releases, as they won't be available until next year, except for the few re-releases.

Hope this helps.

 

[Stevil2001]

93) The Invisible Enemy
Box set - Invasion/Girl includes 97) The Invasion of Time and the K/9 spin-off A Girl's Best Friend

The box set is of The Invisible Enemy and K-9 and Company, whereas The Invasion of Time was a standalone release.

In the UK, the TV Movie with the Eighth Doctor is available, but not in the US. It's called "Enemy Within". It's sort of a bridge between the classic and udpated series.

It's only called that in the fevered imaginations of a few fans. On the DVD itself, it is referred to as Doctor Who: The Movie.

 

[OmahaStar]

93) The Invisible Enemy
Box set - Invasion/Girl includes 97) The Invasion of Time and the K/9 spin-off A Girl's Best Friend

The box set is of The Invisible Enemy and K-9 and Company, whereas The Invasion of Time was a standalone release.

In the UK, the TV Movie with the Eighth Doctor is available, but not in the US. It's called "Enemy Within". It's sort of a bridge between the classic and udpated series.

It's only called that in the fevered imaginations of a few fans. On the DVD itself, it is referred to as Doctor Who: The Movie.

I was able to type that with only one real boo-boo while on a conference call ... I think I did pretty well there. :P Besides, I don't have the movie so nyah. lol

 

[John Picard]

My son is very interested in the classic Who series and as such I'd like to start buying episodes. Is there a source where I can either get a complete collection of a particular Doctor? I don't want a hodge podge of someone's favorite episodes presented in on package? I've looked on Amazon and am confused at their classic Who offerings.

Does your son have a particular favorite Doctor? Knowing this will help you.

The releases of the dvds have been very much hodge podge. Unfortunately, the First and Second Doctors suffer the most, because so much of their material has been lost over the years. Especially in cases where a story might have 6-8 episodes, and only one or two still exist.

I did not include upcoming new releases, as they won't be available until next year, except for the few re-releases.

Hope this helps.

Wow, you certainly went out of your way to post! Very informative. He doesn't have a "favorite" so to speak, as we didn't get hooked until I stumbled across Eccleston's Who one Friday night a few years ago. He was a bit upset when he regenerated into the 10th Doctor but readily grew to like David Tennant. Now, he's not happy because Tennant is leaving.

A friend of mine has been a fan of Who since the Tom Baker era. He gave me a few stories burned to DVD (Ark in Space and Sontaran Experiment) and my son just loved them. I warned him about the cheesy sets and the acting, but he glossed right over that and was more concerned about the story (funny, as he's always been able to "see the story" since he was very young).

My goal, really, is to be able to go as far back as possible to get what's available.

He also wants to see the movie that featured the 9th Doctor.

 

[DWF]

I understand there are missing episodes. I guess I'm after box sets, or I want to be able to buy every episode of, say, Doctors #4 and #5.

I understand, but you just can't do that (at least not in box set form). You could buy the individual serials (each of which are 4 - 8 episodes long, or so) ... but even in the case of Tom Baker's 4th Doctor, you're looking at 114 half-hour episodes across 27 serials (and that's only looking at already-released DVDs). It would be prohibitively expensive to offer those in complete sets.

There are two full seasons in boxed sets, The Key To Time and The Trial Of A Time Lord are both out on DVD boxed sets.

 

[Stevil2001]

I was able to type that with only one real boo-boo while on a conference call ... I think I did pretty well there. :P Besides, I don't have the movie so nyah. lol

Hey, I'm impressed.

 

[The]

It's only called that in the fevered imaginations of a few fans. On the DVD itself, it is referred to as Doctor Who: The Movie.

"Fevered"? Yikes, that's a bit harsh, Steve. It makes my face go like this:

Unless you were teasing OS. If that's the case, then my face goes like this:


J.Picard:

Might I recommend the New Beginnings boxset? It has the 4th Doctor's final two stories, and the first story of the 5th Doc. It's a nice handover that gives a taste of Doctor Who in the early 80's.

Also, unless your son has a taste for B&W, I wouldn't go back any further than the 3rd Doctor. Honestly...just my opinion...I'd definitely stay within Tom Baker's era at first. His seems to be the most accessible and as close to timeless as you're going to get with Who. Don't get me wrong, it will still seem dated. But, with Tom Baker, the personality and acting will tend to make up for that.

I noticed you mentioned something about a "9th Doctor movie". Did you mean the 8th Doctor's tv movie that Steve feverishly posted about above?

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

I'd agree that some of the really old stuff is an acquired taste. It took me a while to get into it. On the one hand, your kid might really enjoy seeing how it all began in "An Unearthly Child" and seeing the very first appearance of the Daleks in "The Daleks." But it was a very different show back then, even compared to what it would become just a few years later. In some ways, even Patrick Troughton's old black & white serials are closer in tone to the current series than the early William Hartnell stuff.

We're used to the Doctor being the dominant character on the show. During the William Hartnell years, the Doctor was a much older, frailer man. He was the mysterious genius that got the companions into their various misadventures on alien planets. Much of the heavy lifting in terms of plot development fell to the companions, especially Ian Chesterton as the "young hero."

I have quite a fondness for that original group of the 1st Doctor, Susan, Ian, & Barbara but it's very different from the dynamics of any of the subsequent Doctors.

The UNIT stories of the Jon Pertwee era also prominently feature the character of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, who recently reappeared in The Sarah-Jane Adventures.

What?! Was that in the 1st or 2nd season of The Sarah Jane Adventures?

 

[Phillip Culley]

I was able to type that with only one real boo-boo while on a conference call ... I think I did pretty well there. :P Besides, I don't have the movie so nyah. lol

Two - take a second look in the Pertwee section with regard to a particular boxset

 

[The]

The UNIT stories of the Jon Pertwee era also prominently feature the character of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, who recently reappeared in The Sarah-Jane Adventures.

What?! Was that in the 1st or 2nd season of The Sarah Jane Adventures?

I think it was the last two episodes...

 

[Iamnotspock]

The UNIT stories of the Jon Pertwee era also prominently feature the character of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, who recently reappeared in The Sarah-Jane Adventures.

What?! Was that in the 1st or 2nd season of The Sarah Jane Adventures?

Dammit! Belated spoiler warning. Sorry, didn't think.

 

[OmahaStar]

I was able to type that with only one real boo-boo while on a conference call ... I think I did pretty well there. :P Besides, I don't have the movie so nyah. lol

Two - take a second look in the Pertwee section with regard to a particular boxset

*gets in his Tardis and changes history*

I have no idea what you're talking about.

 

[Stevil2001]

It's only called that in the fevered imaginations of a few fans. On the DVD itself, it is referred to as Doctor Who: The Movie.

"Fevered"? Yikes, that's a bit harsh, Steve. It makes my face go like this:

Unless you were teasing OS. If that's the case, then my face goes like this:

I was teasing, but with a serious (if pedantic) point behind it-- the TV movie is not called "Enemy Within".

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

The UNIT stories of the Jon Pertwee era also prominently feature the character of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, who recently reappeared in The Sarah-Jane Adventures.

What?! Was that in the 1st or 2nd season of The Sarah Jane Adventures?

Dammit! Belated spoiler warning. Sorry, didn't think.

I'm not complaining. I'm elated! I was just the other day wondering how they could work the Brigadier & Liz Shaw into new Doctor Who series. I was asking about which season it was because my friends may be getting Season 1 for Christmas and I was wondering how strongly I should pester them about borrowing it.

I was able to type that with only one real boo-boo while on a conference call ... I think I did pretty well there. :P Besides, I don't have the movie so nyah. lol

Two - take a second look in the Pertwee section with regard to a particular boxset

Well, and that box set is less relevant to the original query because it's a themed set that covers two different Doctors years apart. It's even further from a regular season set.

As has been said, right now the only complete seasons available as box sets are Season 16 (the Key to Time arc with Tom Baker) and Season 23 ("Trial of a Time Lord" with Colin Baker).

I've wondered if the BBC would consider coming out with complete season sets once they've come out with all of the stories in a single season. I think they're nearly finished with Season 22. And there was some speculation a while back that Season 11 would be released as a box set with "Revenge of the Cybermen" coming exclusively with the set.