June 29th, 2009 10 comments

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The Black Guardian Trilogy

The Black Guardian Trilogy ( 10th August 2009 )

Mawdryn Undead (Part 1): Earth 1983. The mysterious Black Guardian hovers over the shoulder of English public shcoolboy, Turlough, determined to enlist his aid in his deadly scheme – the assassination of the Doctor.

Meanwhile the TARDIS is trapped inside a huge space ship in perpetual orbit, a permanent resting place for the miserable Mawdryn and his eight fellow scientists, all condemned to a state of perpetual regeneration. Only the Doctor’s life force can free them, but ast a deadly cost – the price of his powers of regeneration.

With Nyssa and Tegan stranded in the time zone of 1977, and the Black Guardian closing in, the Doctor faces a terrible dilemma…..

Extras on Mawdryn Undead:

Commentary – with actors Peter Davison, Mark Strickson and Nicholas Courtney, script editor Eric Saward.

Who Wants to Live Forever? – cast and crew look back at the making of the story. With actors Peter Davison, Nicholas Courtney, Mark Strickson, David Collings and Lucy Benjamin, director Peter Moffatt, script editor Eric Saward and plastic surgeon Dr. Simon Withey. Narrated by Floella Benjamin.

Liberty Hall – a new drama. Journalist Phillip Clarke (Simon Ockenden) travels to Brendan School to interview Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart.

Deleted and Extended Scenes

Film Trims – film trims from the location filming, including clapperboards and cast and crew setting up and performing various takes.

Out-takes – the producer’s blooper reel.

CGI Effects

Continuity

Photo Gallery

Set Photo Gallery – set design photos from the story.

Isolated Score – option to watch the story with the isolated music score.

Coming Soon

Programme Subtitles

Subtitle Production Notes

Terminus (Part 2): Thanks to the combined efforts of the treacherous Turlough and the Black Guardian, the Doctor and his companions are in terrible danger. The TARDIS is breaking up and the outside world has begun to break through.

Can the TARDIS’ fail safe mechanism save them all by docking with another ship? It seems unlikely when the nearest vessel is a carrier of plague victims destined for the infamous Terminus, the time-bomb planet ticking at the centre of the universe….

Extras Terminus:

Commentary – with actors Peter Davison, Mark Strickson and Sarah Sutton, writer Stephen Gallagher.

Breaking Point – cash and crew look back at the making of the story. With actors Peter Davison, Mark Strickson, Sarah Sutton and Martin Potter, director Fiona Cumming, wrtier Stephen Gallagher, designer Dick Coles, camera supervisor Alec Wheal and sound supervisor Scott Talbott. Narrated by Floella Benjamin.

Origins of the Universe – Sir Patrick Moore and, Dr. John Mason take a llok at the science behind the Big Bang and the origins of the universe.

Original Storyboards – production storyboards for the spaceship sequences, plus how the shots were realised on screen.

Unused Model Shots – a selection of unused takes from the model effects shoot, taken from a timecoded production tape.

CGI Effects

Photo Gallery

Isolated Score

Coming Soon

Programme Subtitles

Subtitle Production Notes

Enlightenment (Part 3): The White Guardian warns of impending danger and directs the TARDIS to what appears to be an Edwardian sailing yacht, the SS Shadow, but is actually one of a number of spaceships taking part in a race through the solar system. The first prize is Enlightenment – ultimate wisdom to gain one’s heart’s desire – and some of the more devious crews will stop at nothing in order to claim it. But as the Black Guardian’s evil mesh draws tight, it looks as though the Doctor might not live to cross the finishing line.

Extras on Enlightenment:

Commentary – with actors Peter Davison and Mark Strickson, writer Barbara Clegg and director Fiona Cumming.

Winner Takes All – cast and crew look back at the making of the story. With actors Peter Davison, Mark Strickson, Janet Fielding, Keith Barron, Christopher Brown and Leee John, director Fiona Cumming, writer Barbara Clegg, costume designer Dinah Collin and camera supervisor Alec Wheal. Narrated by Floella Benjamin.

Casting Off! – an actor’s view of working on Doctor Who. With Peter Davison, Janet Fielding, Mark Strickson, Keith Barron, Christopher Brown and Leee John, with director Fiona Cumming.

Single Write Female – writer Barbara Clegg looks back on her career and the writing of ‘Enlightenment’.

The Story of the Guardians – the Guardians have appeared in Doctor Who as far back as Tom Baker’s era… but who – or what – are they? With Robert Luckham (son of the late White Guardian, Cyril Luckham), Sarah Leppard (daughter of the late Black Guardian, Valentine Dyall), Doctor Who Magazine editor Tom Spilsbury and Doctor Who Adventures editor Moray Laing.

Storyboards – a dual-angle feature, in which visual effects supervisor Mike Kelt uses the original Storyboards to explain how he went about planning and shooting the model effects sequences for the show.

Photo Gallery

Isolated Score – option to watch the story with the isolated music score.

Coming soon

Programme Subtitles

Subtitle Production Notes.

Enlightenment special edition

Other places of interest…

BBC Black Guardian Trilogy guide.

BBFC classification information

Wikipedia entry.

Doctor Who locations guide

Doctor Who Restoration Team

Brendan Sheppard Trailers/showreals


Original VHS Covers

Categorised under: Doctor Who DVDs, DVD