The Invasion

[Starkers]

I've just finished watching this for the very first time and wondered what other people think of it?

I have to say it's one of the most enjoyable classic adventures I've seen in quite a while, and despite being 8 episodes long it rattled along at quite a pace. Tobias Vaughn must surely stand as one of the greatest of Who villains, to the point where the Cybermen are almost irrelevent!

Great to see the Brigadier not being used as a comedy slightly foolish sidekick but as a trusted ally- The 2nd Doctor could quite easily become a favourite of mine, as could Jamie as companion...plus I have to say, Zoe in that catsuit

I had feared how I'd cope with the animated episodes, but in truth I can't say I noticed too much difference, the story seemed to flow well, I always knew who was speaking/what was going on, and I hope this isn't the last time animation is used.

Anyway, great story, only really let down by a lack of Cybermen at times. Their invasion force seems to consist of just half a dozen men!

 

[Cutter John]

Bought this on video years ago when it was just Nick Courtney narratign the missing episodes, and its been a favor ever since.

 

[Winterwind]

I've had it for a while, watched it twice (and parts of a third since my flatmate was watching it) and I quite like it.

It was on the long side, since we're used to classic serials being four parts but you're right, very enjoyable. The animation, to me at least, was quite good. It didn't "try too hard" and it "felt right", suited the show, if that makes any sense.

It was hard to see it as an invasion with just a handful as you point out but still, an enjoyable story that I'm glad I have. It does indeed make you long for more of Troughton's stories to be found. And it makes me really wish it had sold better because the animation studio said they'd love to do more. The Beeb won't cover it though because The Invasion didn't sell enough. Shame too.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

I love The Invasion and it's my second favorite Second Doctor serial after The War Games. Tobias Vaughn is an excellent villain and I love how he's forced to join The Second Doctor's side by the end. The Brigadier, Benton, Jamie, and Zoe all had great moments, especially when Zoe broke the computer with logic.

 

[Winterwind]

I always wondered if Zoe had ever met Captain Kirk... I loved her breaking that computer.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Yeah, this was a great serial. Probably my favorite Cybermen series (partly because of their voice, which was downright creepy, partly because I saw it shortly after Revenge of the Cybermen so maybe it just looked good by comparison ). It was very well paced, had eerie music at times, and there were two great villains (both the Cybermen and Tobias Vaughn were great).

 

[Chris3123]

I watched the DVD a few months ago, and it was fantastic, despite the jarring transtions between episodes from animated to live-action, and vice-versa. Exciting stuff.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Probably my favorite Cybermen series (partly because of their voice, which was downright creepy, partly because I saw it shortly after Revenge of the Cybermen so maybe it just looked good by comparison ).

Very good I would guess. Revenge of the Cybermen is both my least favorite Cyberman serial and least favorite Fourth Doctor serial.

The Invasion, on the other hand, is easily my favorite Cyberman serial.

 

[Captain Pike]

And it makes me really wish it had sold better because the animation studio said they'd love to do more. The Beeb won't cover it though because The Invasion didn't sell enough. Shame too.

This has always frustrated me. IIRC, The Invasion was the 2nd highest selling Doctor Who DVD of all time, 2nd only to (I think) Genesis of the Daleks. This implies the BBC benchmark they set was impossibly and ridiculously high.

 

[DS9Continuing]

I just got it out of the library recently, and the thing that hit me most was that it seems to have had a massive influence on NuWho.

The storyline - a tech genius making way for the Cybermen by way of hi-tech devices that everyone just has to have (cellphones, iPods), and then being betrayed himself by the Cybermen - is almost identical to "Rise of the Cybermen"/"The Age of Steel"/"Army of Ghosts"/"Doomsday."

I am not claiming plagiarism but rather homage here - in fact in RotC, Doc 10 even says, "It's happening again" in direct reference to "The Invasion." When Doc 10 says "It's too late for an invasion - this is a victory" at the end of AoG, it reflects back on this.

Also massively influential in that it was the first story to feature UNIT, which has been a regular part of the show ever since.

I also chuckled right at the beginning when Doc 2 says "Hmmm... where are we? England, I'd say summertime. See those rainclouds over there?" I lol'd, so I did.

Doc 2 is fun. This was the first time I'd seen him.

 

[Captain Pike]

^ There is also a more direct reference. In RotC, Mr. Crane drives an International Electromatics lorry - the same company ran by Tobias Vaughan in The Invasion.

 

[Stevil2001]

Tobias Vaughn is amazing. One of the best all-time Who villains.

 

[Starkers]

^ There is also a more direct reference. In RotC, Mr. Crane drives an International Electromatics lorry - the same company ran by Tobias Vaughan in The Invasion.

Wow I never twigged that (Probably because I hadn't seen the invasion when I saw the Cyberman 2-parter.) I have to say that I've never been a huge fan of the NuWho Cybermen 2 parter, and I have to say that The Invasion has made me even less of a fan. It's actually a very mature story- was this really a kids show in the 60s?

 

[diankra]

And it makes me really wish it had sold better because the animation studio said they'd love to do more. The Beeb won't cover it though because The Invasion didn't sell enough. Shame too.

This has always frustrated me. IIRC, The Invasion was the 2nd highest selling Doctor Who DVD of all time, 2nd only to (I think) Genesis of the Daleks. This implies the BBC benchmark they set was impossibly and ridiculously high.

The problem's two-fold:
First, the animation's weren't originally commissioned for BBC DVD; they were set up by the BBC Cult website, which had a seperate budget and benchmark for success. However the BBC Trust, damn their eyes, ordered that the Cult site be shut down, so the animations were left looking for a home and BBC DVD provided one.
Second, the animators did The Invasion as a bit of a loss leader, at a lower rate than they'd expect for any follow-up, in order to get the chance to prove they could do it.

So, any follow-up would have to sell better. And most other stories would involve more episodes, increasing the costs still further.

 

[Starkers]

^That's a bit of a shame. I'm not very up to speed on what other stories there are missing episodes. Is there nothing where just a single ep or two eps is missing, as in The Invasion? Not sure I'd want to watch an entire 6/8 parter animated.

Tis a shame about the Cult BBC website I loiked that!

 

[Captain Pike]

^ The Tenth Planet is missing only the last episode, and The Reign of Terror, The Crusade, The Moonbase and The Ice Warriors are missing two episodes a piece..

 

[diankra]

^ The Tenth Planet is missing only the last episode, and The Reign of Terror, The Crusade, The Moonbase and The Ice Warriors are missing two episodes a piece..

If any more were to be done, Reign of Terror's probably the least likely, as while there are telesnaps for reference on several of the other stories (see the recontructions on the VHS releases), there's none for Reign, and not even any photographs of some settings and characters.

 

[Captain Pike]

True enough. Although, AFAIK they still have scripts and camera scripts to work off, as well as the appearance of characters and sets present in the other remaining episodes of that story on which to base those elements on.

Perhaps the biggest thing against doing Reign.. IIRC is that there are some issues with the soundtrack on one or both of the missing episodes. Anybody here can shed some light on that, as I can't seem to recall the specifics ?

 

[The Nth Doctor]

It must be on the music side, because I've seen a reconstrucion for The Reign of Terror (using pictures from the surviving episodes) and as far as I could tell, all of the dialogue was present. I've certainly have heard worse quality of the audio (like The Abominable Snowman, where I could barely make out the dialogue), so I don't think it's an issue of cleaning up the dialogue.

 

[Stevil2001]

You can tell which serials they thought have enough surviving components to make up their own DVD release, because those are the ones that aren't on the Lost in Time boxset.