Ok, I know I suggested this thread ages ago and it has taken a while for me to get up and running (CBB kind of got in the way but...'Rose, I'm coming to get you!')

Right: The Ark In Space

Was a bit disappointed. I remember the Wirrn being kind of scary when I watched this as a kid but now they seem as scary as, well, bubble wrap.

Tom, Liz and Ian (RIP poor Ian Marter) are on excellent form though but it to me seemed a bit like three charaters searching for a plot.

But then I always preferred Earthbased rather than off-world eps.

All in all - 5/10

Anyway - thanks Tesco.com for the lend. I sent it back a few days ago and today The Curse of Fenric popped through my letterbox.

5/10? Er - HELLO??!!

The SFX in The Ark In Space ain't that brill 30 or so years on - but the story is fantastic and Episode 1 in particular rocks. OK, so there's the whole bubblewrap thing, but the plus points sofar outweigh everything else that it fades into insignificance. Hell, you could even watch it with some new effects! And the commentary is v. good.

All SO much better than the over-rated Curse Of Fenric - a garbled bunch of set pieces which might be exciting on their own, but actually don't make very much sense when put together ...

Ark in Space is brilliant but it's a slow burner.

I take it you didn't watch it with the new CGI effects switched on?

I really like caves of androzani. The story is one of the best, and Davison is REALLY funny on the commentary.

I agree entirely. I can only imagine that the original poster is fairly young and has grown up on a diet of special effects. A good story, and 'Ark in Space' is a VERY good story, is more important that special effects (as shown by the 'Star Wars' prequels which have the latter but not the former) any day of the week. I can't believe that anyone would seriously give 'Ark in Space' only 5/10!

I'd also give 'Ark in Space' a better rating than that, but...
Curse of Fenric... over-rated? You heretic!!!!
It's a great story, one of the best!

It's one of the best McCoy stories, but that's not saying much, is it? McCoy's are the only DVDs I won't ever buy.

Can't say I really blame you - the only McCoy story I've ever seen is Remembrance of the Daleks but even then I was put off at the outset by the truly awful title sequence. Then again I think I have the same credentials as the person who started this thread. As a 22 year old new fan brought to the show by the Eccleston era I've been buying a few of the classic DVDs and trying to educate myself in the history of the show in order to not just be one of those people who thinks that sci-fi didn't exist before CGI. There have been some stories that I've seen that have completely captivated me and forced me to watch the entire thing in one sitting (Earthshock for instance) but to be honest The Ark in Space was not really one of those stories (I do mean to revisit it though because my mind was rather on other things when I saw it).

Umm...I'm 37 and have been a life long DW fan. I'm not a huge sfx fan (Talons of Weng Chiang is one of my all time favourite stories) and do prefer a rollicking good narrative over everything else.

I just didnt think The Ark in Space was particularly original or gripping - maybe it was at the time but well....sorry but t didn't rock my boat. Or Ark.

I do admit that mentioning the bubble wrap was a cheap shot though.

As for Fenric - I only ordered it to see if the McCoy era was as pantomime as I remembered. And so far, after watching ep one, - yes it sure is Shame because the story has real potential.

Pacewise Doctor Who from this era is a very different donkey to current Who's racehorse, but I do feel that the tense atmosphere of Ep1 as they get their bearings - and the brilliant use of only regular characters - makes for great viewing.