October 5th, 2015
205 comments
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The Underwater Menace DVD Full Details
Available to order in the UK from www.bbcshop.com
Also available to order in the UK from www.amazon.co.uk
Available to order in the USA from www.amazon.com #ad
Doctor Who, Underwater Menace
Featuring the imitable Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor and packed with wealth of un-missable extras, Doctor Who: The Underwater Menace will be available on DVD from 26th October.
The Underwater Menace is the fifth serial of the fourth season, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 14 January 1967 to 4 February 1967. The story introduces Jamie McCrimmon’s (Frazer Hines) on his first journey with the Doctor as a travelling companion.
This special release will contain the two re-mastered existing episodes, with the two missing episodes represented with restored audio and surviving stills, as well as over an hour of extras.
Extras
Commentary – For episode 1, Interview with actor Michael Troughton Part 2 (from Ice Warriors). For episodes 2 and 3, a commentary with actors Anneke Wills, Frazer Hines and Catherine Howe, special sounds supervisor Brian Hodgson and floor assistant Quentin Mann. For episode 4, archive material featuring Patrick Troughton, directors Julia Smith and Hugh David, and producer Innes Lloyd. Moderated and linked by Toby Hadoke.
A Fishy Tale (Feature, dur. 28’ 30”) – cast and crew look back on the making of the story. With actors Anneke Wills, Frazer Hines and Catherine Howe, AFM Gareth Gwelan, production assistant Berry Butler and new series writer Robert Shearman. Narrated by Peter Davison.
The Television Centre of the Universe – Part Two (dur. 32’ 10” ) – Yvette Fielding continues her tour of BBC Television Centre in the company of actors Peter Davison, Janet Fielding and Mark Strickson, with contributions from former colleagues along the way. With senior camera supervisor Alec Wheal, AFM Sue Hedden, former BBC producer and writer Richard Marson, exhibitions assistant Bob Richardson, production assistant Jane Ashford and videotape engineer Simon Anthony.
Categorised under: Doctor Who DVDs, DVD
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Zygon63
September 1st, 2015 - 7:33pmMaybe this whole thing was a publicity stunt…? (The cancellation, then the wait, then the release)
PedroPete
September 1st, 2015 - 8:08pmYeah, that’s what I was thinking. It all seemed odd though – why would the BBC have kept the publicity stunt going after the ME rumours started about it?
Anonymous
September 1st, 2015 - 7:16pmJust when I lost hope you do this to me bbc worldwide!
The Sons of Skaro
September 1st, 2015 - 7:11pmAbout freakin time!
Doctor Rules
September 1st, 2015 - 6:06pmDo you know what I think? I think there were no issues with the animation at all. I think the BBC found episodes 1 and 4 and went up to the animating team and said ‘look we have found the missing episodes, we don’t need the animation anymore’. So the animation was scrapped, the BBC said the DVD was cancelled so fans wouldn’t get to suspicious and have been busy cleaning up the tapes of episodes 1 and 4 explaining the delay.
booboo
September 1st, 2015 - 6:07pmwell i hope you right, time will tell
this has come out of the blue admittedly
Number 6
September 1st, 2015 - 6:34pmLet see if your theory is right. I have a feeling there is something going on. I thought there must be more missing episodes found. It is just I got a feeling in my guts. I thought it was cancelled but it was more than that. Be patient, the time is coming…
76 Totters Lane
September 1st, 2015 - 6:44pmIn DWM a few months back it said that the company animating the episodes for them had gone bust and they hadn’t finished all of the animation, so they decided to scrap it.
booboo
September 1st, 2015 - 7:03pmprobably telesnaps, should know soon
Anonymous
September 1st, 2015 - 7:15pmThe rumour at one point was that the DVD had been cancelled because “the episodes had been found” but then the BBC realised it was a hoax. By that point the damage had been done and animation wouldn’t be possible so they kept it off. Probably isn’t true but that was the story doing the rounds.
Sean Bassett
September 1st, 2015 - 9:20pmSomething’s definitely changed for it to go from ‘cancelled’ to ‘due for release in a month’.
Anonymous
September 2nd, 2015 - 12:14amIt’s been sitting there almost ready for release for months on end. Nothing drastic needs to have happened.
Simeon
September 2nd, 2015 - 1:53amThe animation was to be done by Planet55. They haven’t gone bust but basically got a better offer and began working on an animated series. I believe they only really did Who for cheap to build up a portfolio of work.
As to why it was scrapped. When Dan Hall left there was no one pushing the range, no one really cared. The animation had fallen through due to the above reasons and they were left with an incomplete release. With the fan petition, a multitude of letters and perhaps persuasion from the likes of DWM I think BBC Worldwide were convinced to finally release it.
That’s my inference of the situation anyway. I wouldn’t get hopes up for more found episodes just yet. I’ve no doubt Phil Morris has found more lost TV but even if there is some Who amongst that, would this really be how it was announced?
Stike
September 1st, 2015 - 5:52pmAt last! A closure to this brilliant DVD range, hopefully they will find some missing episodes one day and a new classic doctor who DVD will grace the shelves of shops again.
CJ
September 1st, 2015 - 5:19pmFinally! Cannot wait to watch this 😀
Anonymous
September 1st, 2015 - 5:17pmI’ve only started collecting the classic stories. Can anyone recommend some good classic stories ( maybe like a top 5)
Daniel Whitaker
September 1st, 2015 - 5:21pmCity of Death
Day of The Daleks
Earthshock
Vengeance on Varos
Inferno
PedroPete
September 1st, 2015 - 5:27pmThe Tenth Planet
The Web of Fear
Terror of the Autons
The Seeds of Doom
The Five Doctors
The Two Doctors
Delta and the Bannermen
The Movie
Castrovala
September 1st, 2015 - 5:53pmPedroPete has watched all 813 episodes, if you count recons! 🙂
Me Too. Loose canons recons
PedroPete
September 1st, 2015 - 6:08pmYeah, they’re the best! 🙂
bryan Simcott
September 1st, 2015 - 6:12pmAn Unearhtly Child (still the best episode one in the history of the programme)
Masque of Mandragora
Time Warrior
Mark of the Rani
Warrior Gate ( surreal but excellent)
Rooners
September 1st, 2015 - 7:03pmFor me, the stories I enjoyed the most in each Doctor’s era are:
The Space Museum – the first real “timey wimey” story – but as with most classic who, the 2 and 3 episodes have too much padding
The Mind Robber – wonderfully surreal
The Carnival of Monsters – probably a controversial choice, but I really enjoyed it – it was also a nice break from the Home Counties, UNIT and the Master.
The City of Death – there was a shortage of Classic Who stories that actually dealt with Time Travel…this one makes up for that shortage…great story
The Caves of Androzani – epic
The Attack of the Cybermen – just a great story.
The Remembrance of the Daleks – oooh, you little manipulator, Doctor!
JellyBaby100
September 1st, 2015 - 7:09pmAccording to the most objective source there is (The Doctor Who Magazine 50 years poll), that is as much as opinions on TV shows can be objective, the top five (classic stories) are:
Genesis of the Daleks
The Caves of Androzani
City of Death
The Talons of Weng-Chiang
Pyramids of Mars
Whilst these are all excellent stories, four of them are Tom Baker ones, which doesn’t give you a very broad scope of what the classic series has to offer. So here’s a top five from the same poll, but with no repeating Doctors:
Genesis of the Daleks (Tom Baker)
The Caves of Androzani (Peter Davison)
Remembrance of the Daleks (Sylvester McCoy)
The War Games (Patrick Troughton)
Inferno (Jon Pertwee)
And finally, if you want the best from each Doctor, you should go with these (presented in chronological order rather than order of quality):
The Daleks
The War Games
Inferno
Genesis of the Daleks
The Caves of Androzani
Revelation of the Daleks
Remembrance of the Daleks
The Enemy Within (The TV Movie)
Hope that was useful.
I’m….
September 1st, 2015 - 7:49pmI’ve seen every episode, too!:
The Daleks
The Gunfighters
The Tenth Planet
Power Of The Daleks
The Enemy Of The World
Fury From The Deep
Inferno
The Sea-Devils
The Three Doctors
Carnival Of Monster
Planet Of The Spiders
The Ark In Space
Terror Of The Zygons
Pyramids Of Mars
The Seeds Of Doom
Robots Of Death
Horror Of Fang Rock
The Sunmakers
The Pirate Planet
City Of Death
Shada
State Of Decay
Logopolis
Earthshock
Snake dance
The Caves Of Androzani
Vengeance On Varos
Revelation Of The Daleks
The Mysterious Planet
Paradise Towers
Remembrance Of The Daleks
The Greatest Show In The Galaxy
Season 26 – All Of It!
7thwhovlogs
September 1st, 2015 - 9:53pmRemembrance of the Daleks
Seeds of doom
The 5 doctors
The 3 doctors
The curse of Peladon
Tomb of the Cybermen
The moonbase
Talons of Weng Chiang
Earthshock
Revelation of the Daleks
Grand Moff Moffat
September 3rd, 2015 - 8:40pm1st- The Aztecs, The Beginning, The Dalek Invasion of Earth
2nd- Tomb of the Cybermen, The Web of Fear, The War Games
3rd- Dr Who and the Silurians, Inferno, The Daemons
4th- Genesis of the Daleks, The Robots of Death, The Talons of Weng-Chiang, Terror of the Zygons
5th- Earthshock, The Five Doctors, The Caves of Androzani
6th- Attack of the Cybermen, Vengeance on Varos, Mark of the Rani
7th- Remembrance of the Daleks, The Greatest Show In The Galaxy, The Curse of Fenric
Alan
October 4th, 2015 - 7:43pmTry genesis of the daleks or the daemons or inferno…
skaroman
September 1st, 2015 - 4:53pmI KNEW IT!!!!!!
I personally wrote to the BBC pleading them to release this!!! All of us pulled together and our prayers have been answered!!!! Our DVD libraries shall be complete!! Whether the missing episodes are reconstructions via telesnaps, we are all happy!!!!!
Anonymous
September 1st, 2015 - 4:40pmIn my opinion, this is a very weak story and from what scenes I have scene, the production is weak too…. so I will wait to hear on the extras before buying this.
Anonymous
September 1st, 2015 - 5:30pmIt’s hardly a masterpiece, but the recovered episode is certainly a lot better than the other one we’ve had all this time which has given the story a worse name than it deserves.
JellyBaby100
September 1st, 2015 - 7:17pmI agree, but many people love this story and it would be an injustice to them not to release it purely because due to the fan consensus. Also many fans (myself included) need to see their collections completed.
mark Belsom
September 1st, 2015 - 4:39pmJust pre-ordered underwater meanace from the BBC,exciting can’t wait.
Anonymous
September 1st, 2015 - 4:26pmThis is all very well & good, but what do we know about it? After the bare-bones release of Web Of Fear & The Enemy Of The World I fully expect them to be re-released as Special Editions again later. I’m wondering if that is the case here? Not that it will stop me from buying it & then the follow-up Special Edition(s)
Simeon
September 1st, 2015 - 4:33pmI’m pretty sure Enemy and Web won’t be getting special treatment any time soon. I think we were lucky to get them restored!
It’s not been confirmed on the listing but Audio Commentary, Production Subtitles, Making of, Tales of TV Centre Part 2 (is that what it was called?) as well as restoration were originally prepared for this release so one would assume all would make an appearance.
SomeFunnyDrWhoReference
September 1st, 2015 - 4:33pmThey have already recorded commentaries and possible extras as far as I am aware. The only thing unconfirmed is whether they got the animation started/finished or if it will be telesnaps or something else
JellyBaby100
September 1st, 2015 - 7:26pmDoctor Who Magazine 488 – Page 55 – “[The Underwater Menace DVD] has sadly been abandoned, despite bonus features and sleeve artwork for the disc having been completed more than a year ago.”
So my question is why did the BBC give 2Entertain budget for a proper release of Underwater Menace and not Web of Fear or Enemy of the World?
Anonymous
September 2nd, 2015 - 12:04am@ JellyBaby100
I agree. Don’t know if this involved the collapse of the BBC’s 2Entertain Distribution Company? Just feel that the treatment for these last three titles has been very shoddy (and suspicious?) Will just have to wwwaaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt for a presumably long time before we get any SE.
GallifreyanKnight
September 1st, 2015 - 4:20pmFinally.
The collection will be complete, aside from the full stories that are still missing. 🙁
Zygon63
September 1st, 2015 - 4:10pmYES!!!
caolan mcCoy
September 1st, 2015 - 4:07pmyes
Doctor Rules
September 1st, 2015 - 5:00pmHope it’s animation. Excited for the DVD Cover.
JellyBaby100
September 1st, 2015 - 7:34pmThe DVD cover was completed over a year ago, and Doctor Who Magazine 488 claimed that this: http://tinyurl.com/UnderwaterMenace was that cover, but I only found that image in an unnoficial blog post from February (5 months before the magazine was published), which makes the pictures genuineness somewhat dubious.
Dem squiggles
September 1st, 2015 - 4:06pmFohahsjcguekciruwkfuwudt yaaaaaaaas
Davidh164
September 1st, 2015 - 3:58pmI was the first to review this product! NOZING IN ZE VURLD CAN STAP ME NAHW!!!!
“YOURE NOT TURNING ME INTO A FISH!” Brave words from Polly there.
UNDERWATER MENACE (FINALLY)
September 1st, 2015 - 3:55pmAHJFGFSHGKJSGTJGKJGKHJ!
CANT WAIT!
Dr Zaroff…Nozing in ze wurld can ztop me now!
September 1st, 2015 - 3:51pmStop! You’re making me giddy!
(The War Games, yes, but still, Huzzah!)
Dr Zaroff…Nozing in ze wurld can ztop me now!
September 1st, 2015 - 3:49pmFINALLY!!! 🙂 I have changed my username in honor of this!
I will buy this immediately!
bryan Simcott
September 1st, 2015 - 3:43pmRoobarbs forum reporting that the BBC Shop has been Hacked. I have Slapped in an order the worst they can do is Cancel it, or see how many people pre order and just delay it.
booboo
September 1st, 2015 - 3:44pmNever heard such Rubbish
We have spoken to them before we put this on its 100% genuine
I’ll tell you something for nothing if there were any doubt over this it wouldn’t be on here
Simeon
September 1st, 2015 - 3:58pmThat’s reassuring. I mean generally I trust a BBC Shop listing but didn’t want to get my hopes up. Especially seeing as it is currently lacking in a lot of detail and misspells ‘Menace’ in the description!
booboo
September 1st, 2015 - 4:01pmthey put this on very quickly i know
suspect a full press release at some stage
bryan Simcott
September 1st, 2015 - 6:15pmThats what I thought BooBoo. I pre ordered anyways, but one of the more respected members brought up the hacking. Shame he was being a fool
booboo
September 1st, 2015 - 6:18pmto be honest when i saw it the 1st thing we did was to check it wasn’t a “glitch” before putting it on.
JellyBaby100
September 1st, 2015 - 7:36pmThey’ve fixed the misspelling of ‘Menace’ now. Maybe they read your comment?
DalekAgent
September 1st, 2015 - 3:41pmJust pre-ordered it “NOTHING IN THE WORLD CAN STOP ME NOW”
DalekAgent
September 1st, 2015 - 3:47pmIncase your wondering, thats a quote from the end of Episode 3 of this Story
Simon W
September 1st, 2015 - 3:40pmYES, YES, YES. About time
Anonymous
September 1st, 2015 - 3:36pmOH MY GIDDY AUNT! Cant wait for this. Anyone got a promotional code?
Rassilon Productions
September 1st, 2015 - 3:34pmOMG!! YES! So happy about this! Hopefully the release date will stay.
whorules
September 1st, 2015 - 3:27pmordered it straightaway! about time too!
drwhofan4ever
September 1st, 2015 - 3:06pmOMG can’t wait to receive it.
thehostproductions
September 1st, 2015 - 3:05pmomg the campaigns actually worked? THAT’S A FIRST!
JellyBaby100
September 1st, 2015 - 7:38pmWhat are you talking about? Don’t you remember the excellent and highly successful record ‘Doctor in Distress’ that stopped the show going on hiatus in 1985?
Trenzalore
September 1st, 2015 - 3:01pmAbsolutely fantastic news, a lot of people are going to be REALLY happy! Hasn’t been much classic doctor who merchandise recently so this should definitely make up for it. Plus a release date that isn’t even far off, lets hope it stays that way 😀 😀
I am the doctor
September 1st, 2015 - 2:58pmSqueeee
booboo
September 1st, 2015 - 2:52pmGreat news order away!