The Mutants - Is it any good?

[Count Zero]

So, I've been watching my way through the old series up until this story, mostly on youtube/dailymotion. However, as I found the Third Doctor to be so awesome, the stories of that era quite entertaining for the most part and the quality of streaming sites lacking, I've begun buying them on DVD.
The next story would be The Mutants but as it is a new release, the price is still rather high, about 20 €. So I'm unsure whether to buy it or not. Do those of you who've seen it deem it worthy of purchasing at that price? Does the DVD offer features that make it more worthwhile?
I'd appreciate it if the discussion would remain free of spoilers.

 

[Atticus]

The review in Doctor Who Magazine got it absolutely right - there's a good story at the heart of The Mutants struggling to get out, but the execution just doesn't work. It's one of those six parters which could do with a couple of episodes being chopped off as there isn't enough story to fill them, and sadly there's also quite a bit of technobabble which doesn't do the script any good at all.

That said, Jon is on very good form and I think the villain is decent as well, although not everyone shares that view. To counter that there is one awesomely bad performance from a secondary character, which easily ranks amongst the worst in the show's history.

The problem is, there are plenty of other Jon DVDs out there you should get before this one - The Silurians/Sea Devils, Inferno, The Green Death and others - so if you can only get one, The Mutants should be very far down your list.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

I know I'm in the minority but I love The Mutants and it's one of my favorite Third Doctor serials.

 

[Count Zero]

Well, I'm watching the old show in the order of broadcast and I do plan to get most of the stories after The Mutants on DVD (except for The Time Monster because it's part of a box set that I'm not sure I want to get the other stories in it and The Three Doctors because it seems to be generally seen as pretty bad and is only available used to me and a bit expensive for that, but I'm willing to be persuaded otherwise in both cases) and The Green Death is definetely on the list.

Thanks for your assessment, Atticus. I'll think about that.

ETA: EMH squeezed in there. Mmh, interesting. What are your other favourite Third Doctor serials, if you don't mind me asking, so I can put it in perspective?

 

[Peacemaker]

I know I'm in the minority but I love The Mutants and it's one of my favorite Third Doctor serials.

I'm with you here.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

ETA: EMH squeezed in there. Mmh, interesting. What are your other favourite Third Doctor serials, if you don't mind me asking, so I can put it in perspective?

Inferno, The Mind of Evil, The Sea Devils, and Carnival of Monsters.

 

[Cutter John]

I don't know. I have a hard time telling someone to NOT get a Who dvd. But I've always had a hard time getting through this episode. To me it drags terribly.

 

[Count Zero]

ETA: EMH squeezed in there. Mmh, interesting. What are your other favourite Third Doctor serials, if you don't mind me asking, so I can put it in perspective?

Inferno, The Mind of Evil, The Sea Devils, and Carnival of Monsters.

I haven't yet seen the last one, I liked The Sea Devils and thought The Mind of Evil and Inferno are great, the latter being among the best Who stories for me.

Mmh, the poll is a close call, so far. How do you chaps think this story compares to, say, The Daemons and The Claws of Axos, two stories I thought were weaker?

 

[Atticus]

Mmh, the poll is a close call, so far. How do you chaps think this story compares to, say, The Daemons and The Claws of Axos, two stories I thought were weaker?

The Daemons is excellent, not my favourite Third Doctor by any means but still miles ahead of The Mutants. I love the Claws of Axos, I think it's a really entertaining story.

The big advantage they both have over The Mutants is Roger Delgado, whose presence is enough to recommend even the most mediocre of stories (like The Time Monster)

 

[Count Zero]

That's true. It's what made those stories entertaining for me. I loved his comments when he sees the Doctor's efforts to repair his TARDIS in the third episode of The Claws of Axos. "What does he think he's doing?"

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Personally, I can't stand The Daemons (the obnoxious village lady takes a lot out of the story) and The Claws of Axos but I know a lot of fans love at least the former.

 

[Count Zero]

I think both stories are mixed bags, The Claws of Axos more than The Daemons but I did enjoy them. Both have some humourous scenes (e.g. when the Doctor and Jo enter the village's pub to ask for directions in The Daemons) and the Doctor and the Master play off each other marvelously. The ending of The Daemons is rather disappointing, though, and they could have been a bit more creative with the monster's name ("they're from the planet Daemos" ).
The Claws of Axos takes up the pace in the latter two episodes and I thought the golden-hued Axonians looked pretty good. Some malus points for the absurd science surrounding the synchrotron. The DVD also contained outtakes and I think this story would have profited if some of those scenes had remained in the aired version.

 

[The Badger]

Buy the DVD....if there's nothing else available. There's some good ideas here, good concepts, but it's hard to focus on them amongst the amongst the occasionally clumsy dialogue and some atrocious acting.

 

[Count Zero]

Well, something else has come up and eaten into my DVD budget so I decided not to buy this one and watch it by different means instead. I've seen half of ot, so far, and it's entertaining, mostly due to the Doctor. The story is fairly mediocre. Maybe it'll pick up a little towards the end. I assume the 'worst performance by a guest' is supposed to be that of Rick James, who plays the ill-named Cotton. I don't particularly mind that because I just assume English isn't the actor's native tongue or that he speaks a very weird accent.

 

[Whofan]

It's probably got the worst classic WHO soundtrack next to the Sea Devils....