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November 10th, 2020 1,806 comments

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Doctor Who The Collection Season 12

Available to order while stocks last from www.zoom.co.uk


The second edition of Doctor Who – The Collection: Season 12 will be released on 2nd March 2020.

Season 12 was first released as a limited edition on Blu-ray in February 2018, and is being re-released by BBC Studios to bring the total number of copies in line with other seasons in the classic collection.

Available to order while stocks last from www.amazon.co.uk (sold out)

Also available to order while stocks last from www.zoom.co.uk, and www.zavvi.com. (all sold out)

Please see below for a full summary – All content, extras and artwork will remain the same as the 1st edition.

Season 12 features five stories over 20 episodes, including The Ark in Space and Genesis of the Daleks. The Doctor is accompanied by Sarah Jane Smith (Elizabeth Sladen) and Harry Sullivan (Ian Marter) and was first broadcast on the BBC between December 1974 and May 1975.

BBC Studios have confirmed replacement discs will be included with this release.


Sold as Tom Baker Season One in the USA in std packaging and available to order from www.amazon.com #ad


Original Press Release:

BBC Worldwide has announced that Doctor Who: The Collection – Season 12 will be released on Blu-Ray on 2nd July 2018.

For fans of Doctor Who and collectors of Classic Who seasons, the Blu-Ray has limited edition packaging with artwork by Lee Binding and has been restored and up-scaled to HD by Peter Crocker and Mark Ayres. The new release also has a wealth of new bonus content.

Russell Minton, Executive Producer at BBC Worldwide says : “We are doing our very best at BBC Worldwide to restore and bring as many Classic Who titles out on Collector’s Edition Blu-ray, and this starts with being able to confirm one of my favourites, Tom Baker’s first season. We will also endeavour to include additional archive material and exciting newly-shot features where possible.”

Season 12, Tom Baker’s first as the Doctor, features five stories over 20 episodes, including The Ark in Space and Genesis of the Daleks. The Doctor is accompanied in this season by Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen) and Harry Sullivan (Ian Marter) and was first broadcast between December 1974 and May 1975.

The new Blu-Ray release includes existing bonus material from the original DVDs as well as the brand new features below:

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

Doctor Who: The Collection – Season 12 will be released on Blu-Ray from Monday 11th June 2018.


The American and Australian sets available from www.amazon.com #ad and www.amazon.com.au


You can see all DVD, Blu-ray and Steelbook releases in our Interactive collectors lists.

Click Here for The Classic Series List or Here for the New Series List.


Categorised under: Blu-ray, DVD

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1,806 comments

  • THE ERGON

    March 7th, 2018 - 5:31pm

    I,ve a feeling this might just be another fad in the making, like those steelbooks. I,m hanging on for the long term to see how this pans out. The packaging alone is less than impressive. If the BBC want to keep milking the fans then they,d better pull out all the stops and show some serious long term commitment before i shell out again.

    Reply
    • Gordon

      March 7th, 2018 - 7:35pm

      If people buy enough they will make more. If people don’t they won’t

    • THE ERGON

      March 7th, 2018 - 9:13pm

      I,m sorry but i cant go on just that proviso. They also need the ‘classic’ logos for ‘classic’ doctors not marking it as one brand to coincide with the forthcoming season. If they could announce that they will be doing other seasons as well that would help. Doesn,t brim me with confidence on their part as it stands.

    • Gordon

      March 7th, 2018 - 11:24pm

      Bbcww are a business though. They aren’t going to say that they are going do the lot until they find out whether or not there is enough of a market for it to be affordable to do more and they can’t find that out until the set is out. It’s sensible business. Imagine if they had said they had plans to do the lot and then this release tanked and they had to cancel future releases. Fans would be up in arms about it. When the dvd range was starting they never anouced plans to do more until after the five doctors came out. The word collection implies more and they called it season 12 instead of tom baker’s first season is also a good sign they have long term plans for it.

    • THE ERGON

      March 8th, 2018 - 1:04am

      I will wait. I,m sure it will sell but the packaging as it is for me personally, is very offputting and not keen on the Bluray 4:3 ratio, although that can,t be helped. Quite happy with the DVDs and the Special Edition releases. I may jump on the bandwagon if there are further releases to Bluray further down the line but don,t want a mismatched collection. I understand what your saying but like other collectors we spent 13 years plus getting those individual titles in original format, Clumped in one box makes them somewhat less special albeit a few extra pixels. Also how about the people who have already bought individual titles like Spearhead etc..? was there no confidence in these because they feel it would take forever to release them this way?

    • Nuallain

      March 9th, 2018 - 12:19pm

      The idea of a ‘classic’ logo is a misnomer. The DVD range used the 1996 logo because it was the current logo when it was launched in 1999. The Collection is using the 2018 logo because it’s the current logo when it’s being launched in 2018.

      Really, a release of episodes from 1974-5 using the 2018 logo is no less ‘wrong’ than those episodes having the 1996 logo on them.

      I remember being people very upset when the 1996 logo appeared on The Five Doctors and Robots of Death DVDs, but now people find it unimaginable that 20th century Who is getting released with anything else on it. Give it a couple of years and people will be finding the 2018 logo just as cozy and familiar and linked to The Collection, and be very protective of making sure it continues to be used.

      It’s odd to call the Steelbooks a ‘fad’, too. They’ve been very successful for them and are continuing to be released, with the next out in the next couple of months.

    • THE ERGON

      March 10th, 2018 - 8:40pm

      Yeah but a lot of people aren,t happy with the artwork for series 3 apparently and has put people off and more than likely only cater to the 2005+ series’ before the next thing comes along. Which is the reason i,m holding on to see if these blu-ray releases are altered in form. Even if they could doubleside the sleeve with logos of choice.

    • booboo

      March 10th, 2018 - 8:54pm

      they are (understandably) altering the series 3 artwork – they won’t alter this, its doing fine – by a VERY long way

    • Mr DVD

      March 14th, 2018 - 8:55pm

      Should have the appropriate logo used for each Doctor or series it’s representing. So this being Season 12 should have the diamond logo. The spines won’t match if they do more releases. As I doubt they will use the same Tom Baker image, I would like consistency, and rather have the image of Tom Baker from the opening titles. Already this collection will look all over the place and not consistent.

  • Philip

    March 7th, 2018 - 4:56pm

    I love the cover design and want it now, yes I have each story on various formats already, but I’m a fan!

    Reply
    • Philip

      March 7th, 2018 - 4:59pm

      My only minor gripe is it should be ‘series’ 12, I hate when we are ‘Americanised’!

    • TIMELORDTC

      March 7th, 2018 - 5:16pm

      You see I always consider the classic season titles to be season 1-26 then I consider new series to be series 1-…

    • DoctorFan

      March 7th, 2018 - 5:28pm

      Whereas I consider series 1 as series 27

    • Anonymous

      March 7th, 2018 - 6:17pm

      I’ve got these on different formats, too, but for some reason I am quite excited and am looking forward to this. Hope there is more to follow.

  • Paul Loveday

    March 7th, 2018 - 4:55pm

    Why does it not say how many units its limited to. This will give the coustumer a good idea of if it will be of value or not. I got the steelbooks for new who series 1 and 2 and they were meant to be limited but yet they are still for sale on Amazon at the same price so it’s no incentive for the collector to think they have something that will rise in price over the years. A good example is dr who series 9 steelbook on sale on eBay for between 250 and 300 pound. When does limited mean limited? I got the German coffee table 7th doctor book and DVDs and that was I believe limited to a 1000 units. When a new limited edition comes out please bbc worldwide let the coustumer know how many it’s limited to.

    Reply
    • booboo

      March 7th, 2018 - 5:00pm

      its because its probably undecided at this stage, the 50th anniversary blu ray set run was increased because of huge pre orders and even then it sold out quickly

      Ltd edition in this case probably means that once the final figure is decided and the run is compete – that’s it – no more

  • Grant

    March 7th, 2018 - 3:57pm

    I know some people are saying they can’t release the box sets for Drs 1 & 2, but there’s a few ways they could. #1 is if the box set sales do really well, there is a chance they’ll invest in more animated episodes or at least decent telesnap recons with narration this time (Since Underwater Menace 1 & 4 are basically unwatchable without narration). or
    #2 way of doing it (unlikely) would be to release the seasons and leave disc spaces for additions later on.

    Reply
  • Grant

    March 7th, 2018 - 3:57pm

    I know some people are saying they can’t release the box sets for Drs 1 & 2, but there’s a few ways they could. #1 is if the box set sales do really well, there is a chance they’ll invest in more animated episodes or at least decent telesnap recons with narration this time (Since Underwater Menace 1 & 4 are basically unwatchable without narration). or
    #2 way of doing it (unlikely) would be to release the seasons and leave disc spaces for additions later on.

    Reply
  • Tim M

    March 7th, 2018 - 3:06pm

    Fair enough if fans want to buy this, it is number bestseller boxsets on Amazon already! But however they repackage, re-release, spruce up, add extra’s etc, I just cannot bring myself to purchase ‘The Ark in Space’ for a Fifth time! Yes…Fifth! I bought the original movie length version on VHS, then the unedited 4 part reissue on VHS, then I bought the original DVD release, then the special edition DVD release years later. I am not continually buying the same stories over and over again. I’m happy enough with the ‘Special Edition’ DVD. I don’t need another version.

    Reply
  • Grant

    March 7th, 2018 - 2:00pm

    Ive preordered it on Amazon, but keeping an eye out on Zavvi. They occasionally have preorders cheaper than Amazon for some reason.

    Reply
    • booboo

      March 7th, 2018 - 2:07pm

      Amazon always start at full retail then usually drop in line or lower at release date, not always but for the most part.

  • Anonymous

    March 7th, 2018 - 1:57pm

    Very disappointed in this is ok for new fans or people who want it on Blu ray but for old fans and people like everything how its meant be then this pointless sorry if fell different it how I fill

    Reply
    • Matt Parker

      March 7th, 2018 - 2:10pm

      How is this not for ‘old fans’?? I’ve been a fan for best part of 40 years …collected the videos, then the DVDs……there’s no other way these could be released other than in a format that has already been released. I’m excited by it and the prospect of future ‘season box sets’

    • Anonymous

      March 7th, 2018 - 4:26pm

      So I guess as I said your a person who just wants everything that’s ok it’s just not for me and for some other people as we already got it and never gonna truly all be in HD so its bit pointless

    • Gordon

      March 7th, 2018 - 11:38pm

      In other words because you think it’s pointless therefore nobody else should be able to have it. Am I right? Doesn’t quite works like that.

      It’s far from pointless. The idea of putting them onto Blu-ray as upscales to HD is a sound one. DVD compression is very lossy and blocky, so upscaling to HD and harnessing more modern codecs at high bitrates means that the episodes can be presented as near to studio quality as possible for a domestic format, plus the audio will be uncompressed rather than AC3. New and some of the older DVD extras made in HD will appear in better quality too.

  • Matt Parker

    March 7th, 2018 - 1:29pm

    Fantastic. I hope this is the first of another decade or so run of releases. I presume they’ll just be discs inside one box rather than 5 different boxes? Too early to guess at that I presume.
    Interestingly I spoke with a friend 2 weeks ago about having not watched Tom Baker Years for over 20 years but having very happy memories of an utterly perplexed Tom Baker not having a clue what he was watching at some point……please i’ll be able to see it again, it’s a great laugh.

    Reply
    • MJS

      March 7th, 2018 - 1:55pm

      It’s something called a ‘mediabook’ whatever that is

    • Mb

      March 7th, 2018 - 8:26pm

      A media book is basically a little hardback book with info about the film or tv show. The first and last pages having dvds on them. Most I’ve seen is 2 discs on each page so 4 disc. So I presume that some episodes will be on the same disc.

  • TheFanatic

    March 7th, 2018 - 1:19pm

    Never been too interested in Blu-Ray myself. The DVD’s will do for me. However, I do see the appeal. Don’t see what the fuss about the logo is about, though.

    Reply
  • AViv8

    March 7th, 2018 - 12:23pm

    Not a fan of the new logo being used on the classic series and I’m not keen on the ‘season’ 12 wording, it’s ‘series’ 12 surely!? I blame the influence of Netflix for re-branding everything as the US ‘season’ when UK has traditionally been ‘series’. Will pass on this release.

    Reply
    • MIKSK89

      March 7th, 2018 - 1:13pm

      Even in reference materials and official BBC Guide Books ‘Classic Who’ has always been listed as a season, where Netflix used to list a serial as a singular season of the classic era. It’s only since 2005 has Doctor Who been referred to as ‘Series’ as opposed to Season…

    • Anonymous

      March 7th, 2018 - 2:38pm

      Actually “Series” was the original term, “Season” was brought in by JNT in the early 80s. Nobody in the UK television industry would use “season”, it was a marketing tool to appeal to American viewers.

  • Gordon

    March 7th, 2018 - 10:59am

    Heard not all extras will make it to this set. The tom Baker Belfast footage from the ark se won’t as it will be a better fit on a potential s15 set as it was the time period he visited. The doctor forever documentary cheques lies and videotapes will be moved to a potential s26 set as it fits better there. It’s a good sign that they are already planning where extras are going. Hopefully it will happen. Also noticed it’s down to £39.99 already

    Reply
  • GallifreyanKnight

    March 7th, 2018 - 10:58am

    I was debating whether or not to get this last night, especially since I finally finished collecting all the DVDs late last year.

    But, it would be nice to clear up space on my sagging shelf. Buying this and recycling the DVDs would accomplish that, especially if the BBC plan on doing this for almost the entire classic series (can’t be done with William Hartnell or Patrick Troughton as there’s still 97 episodes missing)…

    Reply
    • Beevers Master

      March 7th, 2018 - 3:33pm

      Season 2 can be released they just need to animate crusade episodes 2 and 4

    • GallifreyanKnight

      March 7th, 2018 - 5:03pm

      I doubt it’ll happen to be honest.

    • Beevers Master

      March 10th, 2018 - 11:45am

      Well I mean its only 2 episodes so thry wouldn’t need to do too much

  • Thomas

    March 7th, 2018 - 10:50am

    It’s a bit pointless if you’re already collecting them or have them.

    Blu-Ray is just a cash grab & expensive.

    Keep to DVD for the classics, is what I say. Cheaper & quicker/easier to get.

    They should have started with the 1st Doctor.

    Reply
    • GallifreyanKnight

      March 7th, 2018 - 10:57am

      The first Doctor and second Doctor stories won’t get released like this as there’s still 97 missing episodes. Those missing 97 episodes probably won’t get animated just for a blu-ray release either.

      And DV/Blu-ray has been effectively dead for years. The fact that this is being done at all is a small media miracle.

    • bryan

      March 7th, 2018 - 11:10am

      Hi Thomas. Imagine the difference from a scratchy ,popping crackling LP to CD or even VHS to DVD, for those who understand and enjoy Technical upgrades, the Difference can be astounding .(considering the source material).

      Many people will spend much more on a Blu Ray machine, because they want Bose, Bang & Olfson Quality. Many buy a mid range machine. There is already a new market product, in 4K Blu Ray , which wont play on a blu ray player.

      For many this release will be an improvement, depends if your Tv is set up with your BR player properly,for some it will e the Extra Extras, and for some it will space saving and upgrade all in one.

      plenty of Room for DvD (not even the same quality as originaal broadcast for new HD programmes) Blu ray which is HD or 4k BR which is Cinema quality.

      best wishes

      bryan

    • cyberman12

      March 7th, 2018 - 11:23am

      Its a marketing racket. Theres no difference.BUT fans will get it with unfortunatly the latest titles

    • Alvin

      March 7th, 2018 - 12:33pm

      I don’t see it as being a marketing racket, I think its a great idea, its bringing the classic series into the modern age.

    • Alex

      March 7th, 2018 - 1:45pm

      Plus you’re assuming that EVERYONE has the DVD’s. I don’t have all the DVD’s from that season. I have two, but not all. So yeah, this is a boon for me because it’s all of them in one package.

    • Gordon

      March 7th, 2018 - 7:33pm

      No far from a cash grab.There is a lot of technical improvements that just wouldn’t be possible on dvd technology due to constraints. The idea of putting them onto Blu-ray as upscales to HD is a sound one. DVD compression is very lossy and blocky, so upscaling to HD and harnessing more modern codecs at high bitrates means that the episodes can be presented as near to studio quality as possible for a domestic format, plus the audio will be uncompressed rather than AC3. New and some of the older DVD extras made in HD will appear in better quality too. For other seasons where film inserts exist, these can be included in true HD. If done wrong (tv movie springs to mind) it’s a cash grab however if done right (and signs are that it is) it is very worthwhile doing. As for keeping classic who on dvd well with the rebrand everything is under the same umbrella. There is NO classic who line any more. Plus it’s going to look silly in 3 years time when rose becomes the same age as survival was in 2005

  • J45ON96

    March 7th, 2018 - 9:55am

    I don’t have an issue with the new logo, to be honest, I love it, but I don’t think it’s really right for classic releases.

    Say the new range of these Blu-Ray releases go on for 8 years, releasing Seasons 1, 2, 5-26 in this format (The most “complete” missing seasons) at a rate of 3 a year. The “current” logo might well be in the past, meaning using them on a period of the show that didn’t use this logo is instantly dated, and out of place with the collection as a whole.

    Better to stick to the “classic” logo used everywhere (the silver version used by Big Finish would look nice) or use the period logo, in this case, the Diamond logo. Just my thoughts!

    Reply
    • J45ON96

      March 7th, 2018 - 10:27am

      Then again, I don’t absolutely hate the new logo on there, it looks clean and classy.

  • Gordon

    March 7th, 2018 - 9:53am

    It is mentioned on the press release 5.1 mixes on ark and genesis. Nice 1

    Reply
  • The Surgeon

    March 7th, 2018 - 9:17am

    Love the new logo on it. Makes it feel like this is a proper rebrand, and what we have now isn’t just the logo for the new Doctor, but for the show as a whole. I think it’s a great move personally, because with the Capaldi logo being used sometimes, and the Pertwee logo for everything else was just too strange. It helps that I love the new logo anyway

    Reply
  • Richard Chalk

    March 7th, 2018 - 9:01am

    Wonder what the standard pack looks like. This looks gorgeous though…

    Reply
  • John

    March 7th, 2018 - 8:53am

    Looking forward to this. Ordered.

    Reply
  • Tim M

    March 7th, 2018 - 8:46am

    Classic series blu ray with modern logo? What a mess, and already a growing collection would not be consistent. This release doesn’t interest me at all. I’m happy enough with the DVDs.

    Reply
    • Gordon

      March 7th, 2018 - 9:08am

      It’s all under the same brand now. No classic no new series. It’s all doctor who. It’s no more stand out than having an unearthly child dvd with the TV movie logo on the front cover

    • booboo

      March 7th, 2018 - 9:15am

      still going to be interested in how far they push it, stuff announced just yesterday using the “classic” logo

    • Tim M

      March 7th, 2018 - 9:11am

      I’ve never understood the big excitement about HD. It doesn’t improve the actual story or plot, and I just don’t see how the original episodes can look much better. Surely there’s a limit to how much the classic episodes can be tweaked. In a few years season 12 will be available in 5K, with a CGI interview with Tom Baker, new flying Daleks in ‘Genesis of the Daleks’, and a commentary from 100 year old Mrs Maggs who remembers watching ‘Robot’ on her black and white cathode ray tube tv back in 1974. 🙂

    • Huffer1975

      March 7th, 2018 - 9:12am

      It’s not the final artwork

    • booboo

      March 7th, 2018 - 9:14am

      I doubt it will change much if at all to be honest

    • Tim M

      March 7th, 2018 - 9:21am

      It would take a great many years to release every classic series on Blu- Ray, and good luck with the Sixties, especially season 4! So unless Jodie Whitaker remains as the Doctor for the next twenty years, and they keep with the same logo for the next twenty, then I would imagine we can all sleep well knowing they won’t keep changing the logo on the packaging.

    • Gordon

      March 7th, 2018 - 9:23am

      @tim m: The idea of putting them onto Blu-ray as upscales to HD is a sound one. DVD compression is very lossy and blocky, so upscaling to HD and harnessing more modern codecs at high bitrates means that the episodes can be presented as near to studio quality as possible for a domestic format, plus the audio will be uncompressed rather than AC3. New and some of the older DVD extras made in HD will appear in better quality too. For other seasons where film inserts exist, these can be included in true HD.

    • Tim M

      March 7th, 2018 - 9:28am

      It still doesn’t improve the actual story. The look on the DVDs is absolutely fine by me. I understand the jargon but I don’t see how I’m going to be blown away by it being further upscaled.

    • Gordon

      March 7th, 2018 - 9:42am

      But that’s pretty much true with 99 percent all stories when going from dvd to blu ray. It’s never going to improve the story but it will make the story look better due to technical aspects unavailable on the dvd format

    • Nuallain

      March 7th, 2018 - 9:46am

      I don’t see much difference between a release of 1974-5 episodes having the 2018 logo or having the 1996 logo. They’re both equally ‘wrong’.

      And don’t forget that the split between ‘classic’ and ‘current’ logos was a comparatively recent idea. The 1996 logo was used on stuff for 22 years and for the majority of that it was because it was the *current* logo and the only reason they didn’t change logo on the DVDs in 2005 was because there were only a handful of releases left and the fans asked them not to change it at such a late stage and let it finish out. It was only after that the idea of the 1996 logo as the ‘heritage’ one took hold.

      There’s no reason this should be any different. The 2010 logo lasted eight years. If the 2018 logo lasts as long then, if they do 2-3 seasons a year, they’ll get most of the way through the 20th century seasons before the current logo changes again. Things are up in the air of course (this release may tank and no more be made at all) but there’s no immediate reason to think “The Collection” will wind up changing logos along the way.

  • Judooning

    March 7th, 2018 - 7:30am

    Am I the only one who thinks the new logo fits really well with this? I love it.

    Reply
    • Philip

      March 7th, 2018 - 7:43am

      I don’t mind the logo, I think it will grow on us. I didn’t like the 2005 reboot logo at first as it looked like a taxi sign but got used to it. It looks a bit dated now though!
      As for the box set can’t wait love Tom’s first 3 seasons as I personally think that they are some of the best episodes ever of Doctor Who.

    • Ian zygon

      March 7th, 2018 - 8:03am

      I like the logo on it too. Doctor Who fans always have something to moan about its not changed in my 44 years of being a fan. If you want it buy it buy it. If you don’t don’t. End of the day it only a TV series.

    • booboo

      March 7th, 2018 - 8:22am

      This is essentially a new range and i think the logo is OK but i think people worry if this range continues they will change it again

      collectors like consistency i hated it when the changed the logo on the VHS releases

      to be honest the branding has been all over the place the last few years and some consistency is needed now

    • prototype dalek

      March 7th, 2018 - 8:44am

      Bit like the 3.75 range after wave 2 where we had the original blue style packaging followed by the orange yellow style. And also what they did with the classic figures as well with the orange blue packaging unique to the classic range which then changed to the diamond packaging used afterwards for a variety of products such as the Asylum of Daleks set. Sometimes i don’t understand why they change packaging styles half way through a range.

    • booboo

      March 7th, 2018 - 8:56am

      yes

      we have yet to see what the background style guide is for the new logo that will be interesting

      series 5b was way to bland and dark

    • Luke

      March 7th, 2018 - 9:04am

      I do agree with the comments regarding consistency – but when it comes to Classic Who I always think of the Pertwee and McGann logos, they’re just so iconic with the Classic Series now I think it’s a bit of a shame to stop using it.

      I’m mainly worried that if the logo changes when they’re making these, are they going to change it halfway through releasing them? Assuming this will cover all 26 seasons – which “The Collection” is hinting towards – it’s gonna take them a good few years.

    • Haza14

      March 7th, 2018 - 9:21am

      I think the new logo actually looks great on this if you take it in isolation. I completely get peoples concerns about consistency over time though and I think the classic logo for classic stuff worked okay. It certainly helped consistency. Makes me worry about the new series steelbooks as well now! They’ve been using the classic logo but presumably that could also change which I’d be very disappointed about!

      Agree that they need to have some clear guidance for manufacturers on this though as over the last 4-5 years the branding seems to have changed at the drop of a hat and manufactures couldn’t keep up! That also most effect brand familiarity as well.

  • 6sek

    March 7th, 2018 - 7:08am

    Is this going to be exclusive to Amazon?

    Reply
  • Rikki Krystal

    March 7th, 2018 - 3:52am

    AHHHHHHH, Get rid of that horrible logo.

    Reply
  • Andrew

    March 7th, 2018 - 3:40am

    Classic Who’s coming completely to Blu-Ray… well, a lot of them are going out of print and/or getting pricy, and at least the newcomers with incomplete collections (raises hand) might find this handy. Just wonder how well the quality boost will be, I know people were saying you could only amp them up so much. Spearhead from Space and the TV movie were the only “wholy on film” ones you could upgrade with the usual Blu-Ray tricks, and they only managed to do that with the former!

    Reply
    • Gordon

      March 7th, 2018 - 7:37am

      To quote Steve Roberts:

      The idea of putting them onto Blu-ray as upscales to HD is a sound one. DVD compression is very lossy and blocky, so upscaling to HD and harnessing more modern codecs at high bitrates means that the episodes can be presented as near to studio quality as possible for a domestic format, plus the audio will be uncompressed rather than AC3. New and some of the older DVD extras made in HD will appear in better quality too. For other seasons where film inserts exist, these can be included in true HD.

      I saw a couple of posts asking about upscaling. Theoretically it’s possible to put SD material onto Blu-ray and cram on more episodes onto fewer discs. However:

      * The Blu-ray Disc Association frown on this, as they want Blu-ray to be seen to mean High Definition.
      * The cost of, say, two discs in SD versus six in HD would still need to be the same, as the manufacturing costs are low compared to the clearance costs. So from a consumer point of view, six discs represents better value for money than two.
      * Putting the episodes on in HD means that the Restoration Team have control over the quality of the upscaling rather than your player or TV.

  • Andy

    March 7th, 2018 - 2:41am

    I sincerely hope that logo isn’t used on the final product. I find it actively off-putting.

    Reply
  • Grant

    March 7th, 2018 - 2:33am

    Love it, but they gotta change that logo. It’ll take them years to release all classic boxsets, the logo will likely change again before their all released, they need to just stick with the pertwee/mcgann logo as they have with a lot of merch.

    Reply
  • Andy Ford

    March 7th, 2018 - 2:10am

    I hope the artwork isn’t final. I don’t know why they’re starting to put the new series logo on classic merchandise now. Doesn’t make any sense, and it’ll probably just confuse people.

    Reply
    • Anonymous

      March 7th, 2018 - 2:36am

      Universal branding, any “confusion” that could be caused by it is probably something they absolutely want to do.

  • thewhovianren

    March 7th, 2018 - 2:07am

    Very interesting. However I don’t like the 2018 logo on it, it just doesn’t fit, on the plus side however it states that the artwork is not official so we’ll have to wait and see. A little thing I picked up was if you look at the spine where it says season 12. It has a lighter grey box around it. Doesn’t it look like it’s meant to be lined up with some other blu rays? It also states in the description: ‘Build your own archive of classic Doctor Who seasons’. Sounds like our dream of owning entire classic seasons in box sets is finally coming true.

    As for special features, it’s great we’re getting new ones. The ones that look quite interesting are the making-of documentary’s for ‘Sontaran’ & ‘Revenge’, the new special effects for ‘Revenge’ & the most interesting, The omnibus movie version of ‘Genesis’.

    Anyway looking forward to it. 2018 looks like the rebirth of the Doctor Who DVD Range.

    Reply
  • Whovastron

    March 7th, 2018 - 1:58am

    Does this mean we’re gonna eventually get all the existing classic seasons?

    Reply
    • Gordon

      March 7th, 2018 - 7:38am

      If there is enough demand yes

  • Gordon

    March 7th, 2018 - 1:40am

    This overall package is excellent. They have really went all out on this. Well worth the money. The restoration team is involved which pretty much means it’s in safe hands and well produced to the highest standards possible. Definitely going to be better quality release than the dreadful TV movie blu ray. No involvement from the restoration team and it shows. The quality is better on the dvd and they couldn’t even be bothered to put disc 2 on blu.They just reused disc 2 of the dvd. Very lazy. This will be miles better.

    As for the new extras the 1 hour tom interview will be a blast. Hearing tom Janet and Sadie talk about season 12 should be fun. The Sontarn experiment documentary is needed as bread for war covered all 4 sontaran stories rather than just experiment (intresting to see if the section about fix is cut or not). Revenge already had a making ofdocumentary but i will happily take another with tom involved. Optional cgi for revenge is welcome depending on the quality. The years vhs and genesis omnibus versions will be a nostalgia fest for those that grew up in the 70s-90s. It’s currently £49.99 on amazon but will probably drop before release date which is the norm with amazon. Rumours are season 10 is next followed by 19. Hope it does happen

    Reply
    • The Gallifreyan Whovian

      March 7th, 2018 - 9:37am

      Where did you hear that Seasons 10 & 19 are next, just out of interest?

    • Nuallain

      March 7th, 2018 - 9:50am

      Gallifreyan Whovian, I believe that was the scuttlebut on GallifreyBase a good time back. Of course, while pure rumour at this stage it was those same rumours that claimed S12 was going to be the first release so…

    • Gordon

      March 7th, 2018 - 10:03am

      Heard over at Roobarbs forum. 1 of the members seems to have insider info on season 10 being next but was rather vague about. Same person said that 12 was first so he is right so far. Mathew Waterhouse said at a convention that he recorded something for a Peter Davidson release. Some speculated that it could be an earthshock se dvd but with this announcement it probably looks more likely that it is a s19 box set

    • booboo

      March 7th, 2018 - 10:07am

      I think its being made very clear that future sets are very much down to how the pre orders ago for this one, its unusual for a BBC release to be put up for order this far in advance.

    • Gordon

      March 7th, 2018 - 10:47am

      Absolutely. If it tanks they probably won’t do more. I just can’t see them doing just 1 to gage how well it sells. Some doctors are more popular than others

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