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The Web of Fear DVD
tiggerpooh
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Bought my copy of The Web of Fear earlier today in my local HMV. Overall, I am pleased with it. The Restoration Team have done quite a good job of cleaning up the surviving episodes.
One thing I'm not that happy with, is episode 3. I don't really like tele-snaps that much at all. I much prefer animation. But, unfortunately, we have to put up with the picture stills.
Have many of you have got the WOF DVD? And what do you like about it?
One thing I'm not that happy with, is episode 3. I don't really like tele-snaps that much at all. I much prefer animation. But, unfortunately, we have to put up with the picture stills.
Have many of you have got the WOF DVD? And what do you like about it?
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You must've got there before 9am, then.
On another note, shame there aren't any extras on the DVD apart from a Enemy of the World 'available now on DVD' trailer.
Maybe they didn't have time. Perhaps the reason that Frazer and Deborah didn't do a commentry track is that they didn't think WOF was ever going to be found and be pretty much complete again.
It'll be tastier if you wait.
If you are watching DW from the very beginning, then I would wait until you get around to watching WOF, but so you are not totally away from the story, you should see this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPm6zcy_6j0
It's the official trailer that the BBC put together just before Christmas. To give viewers a hint of what is coming up.
At least Asda and Sainsbury's have it. No show at Tesco again and they are useless at getting new releases out of the boxes anyway.
For some reason Tesco in the past with the B&W Dr Who's seemed to get them a week later. Now they don't seem to bother.
Will watch it later tonight. Didn't remember the missing episode was telesnaps. Didn't care for the Galaxy 4 one on The Aztecs extras. Better to have something than nothing though.
Cheers guys, am going to try and hold off. It will be good to have something brand new on the rewatch.
I have managed to hold off with the moonbase, but as had already seen half of it, not to hard! This is the Web of Fear we are talking about, a legend! I remember reading the target book way into the early hours, and nearly falling asleep the next day at school! I'll give it a go, will try not to give in, but it will be hard with the dvd sitting on the shelf staring at me. I'll keep you posted.
I've just watched the first 3 episodes. Glad its only Ep 3 in telesnaps as I couldn't put up with much more.
Think I prefer it to Enemy of the World. Both fine enough though.
The picture is meant to. They're stills, and that means they don't move. I've seen episode 3 on my DVD of the story and that seems okay.
One thing that struck me was the battle with the soldiers near the end. You can really see the Pertwee/UNIT dynamic being born.
I have to say it is now my favourite serial of the Troughton era.
Ep3 in "recon" form reminded me why I have never persevered with recons in the past. It was hard work to keep on going, and I am surprised that Mrs Chuff lasted the whole 25mins without lapsing into a gentle snore.
Web is scary. The shot of the blackened corpse, as mentioned above, is really startling. There are lots of nasty screams and cobwebbed bodies. The shot of the webbed soldier being pulled out of a tunnel on a trolley is qutie distrurbing too.
The Intelligence's harsh, whispery voice is one of the best things in The Abominable Snowmen soundtrack CD. On the whole, that story bored me. Web is much better. The whispery voice again is very effective and scary.
There are plenty of believable characters. Anne Travers is great, and warmer than the other "token woman in base under siege" roles of the era (Miss Garrett, etc). Driver Evans is a fantastic creation, brilliantly written and played. Private Weems might win the "most handsome actor in a Troughton adventure" award. It's nicely played, that Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart might be the infiltrator. Sergeant Arnold is another well-written, well-played role. Debbie Watling is a bit less shrill than normal.
The tunnel and platform sets are great, but the walls wobble a bit too much for my liking in the fortress scenes.
The military scenes in Covent Garden are very strong and dramatic, and a definite forerunner of The Invasion, and of the Pertwee stuff (Spearhead, etc). Bazookas and grenades come as such a surprise: other than The War Machines, it's the first time that DW has seemed so real. Nice to spot Derek Martin too.
What a treat to see it! Following straaight on from Enemy, too.
It's a shame Episode 3 is missing but the fact that only one is a done by telesnaps doesn't ruin it for me, though I'd rather have had an animated episode. It's best to have just one telesnap episode and five live ones rather than the other way round as has been the case in the past.
I think all the characters are superb, even the minor ones. Private Evans is the superb balance between light relief and the obvious suspect to be working for the Intelligence. Jack Watling is just superb as the grumpier and older Travers(and when he possessed) and Anne fulfills almost a Liz Shaw sort of role with her scientific background and occasional sarcasm.
Troughton is just superb as The Doctor, though it's a shame it was this story he was given a week off as it meant we missed out on us seeing him meet The Brig(I know Colonel!) for the first time. Thankfully the novel covered this but you can't beat seeing it!
The sets are still quite convincing and the Yeti certainly look more menacing than they did before. All in all, I much prefer this to the Intelligence stories of the New Series, where I think The Intelligence being a shapeless non-entity suits it better, and that voice is just unbeatable.
I thought the incidental music was superb, really matches the gloom and creepiness of the tunnels, especially where Victoria was lost in Episode 2.
The only thing I was disappointed in was the shootout with the army and the Yeti. Not only did it remind me of those tedious shoot outs during the Pertwee Era, I was disappointed there was no web or mist here as I assumed it was all around the area that The Intelligence had covered, but it just seemed like an ordinary day. I thought maybe making it a bit foggy or misty would made it better but perhaps budget constraints stopped this.
I love those UNIT scenes for the reason that I'm a very restless person, and not prone to sitting watching TV for hours a a time, so they are an excellent opportunity for me to pace and stop concentrating for a while
Would that the tedious running about bits in the modern series were long enough to give me leg stretching time
Interesting point, Davey! I hadn't thought that Covent Garden really ought to be full of mist and web! I remember reading the book when I was approx 10yrs old, and walking to school on a foggy morning pretending I was hunting for yeti.
The recent "50yrs of DW" music CD contains a lot of the creepy Web of Fear music (some of it reused from the Troughton Cybermen stories). I can certainly recommend the CD: it's just wonderful to hear all that excellent music!
I can see why you love Season 7 so much. Out of 25 episodes they must have spent the equivalent of five of them firing at things, so you must be well settled watching them!
I did read the book when I was younger and I was certain it said that outside the tunnels it was mist and web???? Am I right on that?
I have listened to the CD as well, and maybe it was there that the mist was described?
Agree about the music. Always surprises me it crops up in The Shining as incidental music. Never can get over that one!
Although my mother (who was in and out of the room the whole time) has been walking around the house shrieking "JAMIE" quite a bit.
I think I'll keep her away from any more exposure to Deborah Watling, just to be safe.