Doctor Who - Dreamland (UK - DVD R2)
The Wilson Bros watch Doctor Who's Dreamland - isn't that in Margate?
A mysterious stranger enters a hole-in-the-desert diner, on a causal trip to the area. When introducing himself as ‘The Doctor’, the waitress and a Native American have no idea of the chaos about to unfold around them, with aliens, spacecraft, and a plot to destroy the world at hand. Yes, not only does ‘50s America have Reds under the bed, but it seems that Uncle Sam’s military has made a very curious alliance with the Viperox, a deadly race of war-hungry insects, to take care of the imminent threat from the Soviet homeland.
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We’ll keep the specifics of the story mechanics scant, as this is one which passed many people by, and there are a lot of pleasures to unfold before you. We’ll concentrate on the individual elements, rather than blowing one of the last gasps of Tennant’s appearances as the Doctor.
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A prime example of the otherwise quality writing is a nice nod to stories past, which sees the Doctor in a position where he has the chance to completely eradicate a rampaging, malignant species from the face of time, but faces a crisis of conscience. Most reading will know that he refused to ‘pull the trigger’ in Genesis of the Daleks on the grounds that alliances form against them, with the universe a better place with them in it, but here he hesitates for different reasons. Can the imminent threat of the Earth being destroyed be the final straw which persuades him to commit genocide?
Tennant gives a good reading of his dialogue, but there are a couple of times where he briefly does just that: reading them. When interacting with other characters, he’s fine, to the point where he underplays it nicely. Bugging us during his time on the show were Tennant’s OTT exclamations, giving the dignity of previous incarnations a swift kick whenever he would rattle off a ‘Ooooowwwhhhh!!!’ at every realisation which hit him. This was toned down over the course of time, but this element is mercifully diminished in Dreamland. Sticking Tennant into a recording booth and depriving him of visual representation works very well, focusing him on delivering a more focused, dialogue-driven performance.
One of the real surprises comes in the form of Cassie, hallmarked by a nicely invisible return for Georgia Moffett, she who was the centre of the ‘cheat’ story, The Doctor’s Daughter. There have been a number of attempts to bring America into the British institution, with varying results. There will always be those who hate Peri, and let’s just try to forget Peter Purvis’ horrible stab at a redneck earl on in The Chase, but Moffett manages it nicely. She doesn’t try too hard, and is assisted by deft writing which steers clear of the usual forming of a cocoon of clichés around the performer, which many a British attempt to crystallise Americana.
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There is an ambition to Dreamland’s storytelling which is unleashed by using CGI. It’s a nice example of what could be achieved in live action on the show with the grace of a larger budget. There are many who would be put off just by the fact that it is CG. One of our Missus’ scoffed at the thought of watching it, even though she has enthusiastically watched all of Nu-Who. She can cook, though. Whatever their reasons for letting it slip past them, it’s clearly their loss. Now, how does the disc look?
Video
The 1.78:1 anamorphic image is a very nice rendering of the source material. Colours look particularly strong, with a pleasing level of detail which showcases the work put into the CG animation. Blisteringly hot Nevada deserts look terrific, while the moonlit streets of ghost town Solitude keep its eerie secrets firmly in the shadows. An excellent job.
Audio
The 2.0 audio provided decodes very nicely into a satisfying surround experience, with booming explosions and careening ships bringing a smile to the lips. Dialogue is robust, but with audio recordings playing a key role, they weren’t going to slip up on that one. Murray Gold’s score is in no way diminished by the animated nature of the project, and this is true of the sound as a whole. Well done, guys.
Extras
The extras are confined to a secondary disc, and it is unfortunately here that we have to pack up our box of superlatives for this review. Grouped in the bracket of ‘Doctor Who Greatest Moments’, they comprise of:
* The Doctor
* The Companions
* The Enemies
We’ll lump them all together, as this is essentially what the BBC are happy to do with all of their publicity material for the show. These are talking-head shots interspersed with clips from the programmes. We put all three shows in the SKY+ over Christmas, and ended up watching them all on fast-forward. They are strictly self-congratulatory in nature, not only concentrating on Nu-Who, but almost shutting out Christopher Eccleston from the proceedings. Well, OK, he appears a couple of times, but only because either Billie Piper or John Barrowman were the focus of what they needed. The only bridge comes in the form of Elisabeth Sladen and strictly through association. This was the woman who criticised the original show (and her character) in a radio interview when she was brought back for School Reunion, but The Sarah Jane Adventures ain’t that crash-hot, honey. The correct title for this collection should have been the David Tennant Memorial Service.
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Overall
There are a lot of people who missed the TV broadcasts of Dreamland, mainly because it was shown during kids’ programming, or poorly scheduled on BBC HD. Many are still unaware that you originally watched them as a mini-series by ‘pushing the red button’ on the BBC. The DVD represents a golden opportunity to see a story more satisfying than a lot of episodes from the last three years, and shows the Doctor in a completely foreign landscape from the rest of the of the run. If only there could be more of these things. Recommended.
Review by the Wilson Bros
Full review here.