I’ve certainly been looking forward to reviewing this title. Ever since we heard last year that almost all of this story had been found in its entirety (although part 3 is still missing) I have been chomping at the bit to see it although, unbeknownst to me, it has been available on iTunes for a while - I think I lose timey-wimey points for missing that.
This adventure was certainly worth the wait and the effort that went into finding and restoring any footage for release has not been in vain. Patrick Troughton is on top form as The Doctor, although a cheeky holiday during the rehearsal and filming of Part 2 means that we are left with Jamie (Fraser Hines) and Victoria (Deborah Watling) to provide a point of reference for 24 minutes, which they do wonderfully.
What strikes me the most about this story is the quality of it. It is a loving jab at earlier Doctor Who episodes that the sets and costumes weren’t as robust as they could have been. But there is definitely no wobbling here and even the Yeti’s could be creepy at moments. Additionally, in watching this story, I was enchanted by just how theatrical the acting is, simply wonderful.We also get to meet Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart for the first time, although he is only a mere Colonel at this point. Watching his first strides in this role shows just how well constructed Nicholas Courtney built the character to make him the Doctor Who legend he is today.
My one tinge of disappointment with the DVD is that all you are getting is the adventure. I would have like to have seen – given the excited around the discovery – some sort of additional features looking at the discovery of the episodes and the work done by those who seek out and restore these missing episodes.
But priced around £13.99 (price taken from an online retailer at the time of writing this review) for this brilliant story, I don’t think you can really go wrong.
BLOGTOR RATING 9/10
Thanks to BBC Worldwide
Review by Philip Rowntree
