Written by Peter Grimwade and Sydney Newman
Directed by Peter Moffatt

Doctor Who is a British science fiction television series which has been around off and on since 1963. The main character is just known as “The Doctor” and is a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey. This means he travels through time to various places. One of his favorite places to visit is Earth. Typically, he has a companion traveling with him, usually female, sometimes male, sometimes one of each. He travels in a time machine known as a TARDIS which is disguised as a British Police booth.

A Time Lord can regenerate if fatally wounded, which has accounted for all the different actors who have played The Doctor throughout the years. In this story arc, the Doctor is portrayed by Peter Davison. He is traveling with two companions.  Tegan (portrayed by Janet Fielding) is a flight attendant from Earth who sort of accidentally ended up in the TARDIS with him.  Nyssa (portrayed by Sarah Sutton) is from the planet Traken and decided to join the Doctor on his adventures.

Mawdryn Undead was the first of three story arcs that made up The Black Guardian Trilogy.  In it, we are introduced to the character of Turlogh (portrayed by Mark Strickson), a college student who’s waylaid by the Black Guardian, the Doctor’s nemesis from The Key to Time series.  The Black Guardian wants Turlough to kill the Doctor in exchange for help with his own issues. Turlough is a student at a prestigious school where Brigadier Letrhbridge-Stewart (portrayed by Nicholas Courtney) is an advisor. Turlough’s background is a bit mysterious.

The Doctor is dealing with a whiny Tegan, nothing new there. While arguing about whether or not she should return to Earth, the TARDIS is pulled into a distortion caused by a fixed object in space. The Doctor escapes by materializing the TARDIS on the ship causing the distortion and it’s there he first encounters Turlough, who has found his own way on the ship from Earth.  Unaware of the threat that Turlough poses, the Doctor brings him into the fold.

When the Doctor and the Brigadier finally meet up, the Brigadier has no memory of him.  The Doctor finds himself trying to round up all of his companions in two different time zones, as well as straighten out the issues that the disturbance in time is causing, all while completely unaware of the threat right by his side.  There are also the mutating aliens led by Mawdryn (portrayed by David Collings) to deal with.

The four-part story-arc Mawdryn Undead is pretty good as a story. It’s a serious story that isn’t afraid of challenging the audience to pay attention and keep events straight.  With all the events going on in two different time periods, it gets confusing at times.  The usual complaints when this many people are traveling with the Doctor seem valid here.  There doesn’t seem to be enough for all of the companions to do, particularly since The Black Guardian story arc seems to focus on Turlough.  Tegan and Nyssa once again seem to get cast aside.  I can understand it with Tegan since she never struck me as that strong of a companion, but Nyssa deserved better.  Any time there seemed to be more than two companions traveling with the Doctor it seemed that it weakened the overall story, and this is no exception.  Add in some well-deserved moments with Nicholas Courtney and there’s a lot of material and storyline spread pretty thin.

Mawdryn Undead struck me as an adult story.  The complications with the varying storylines can be confusing at times.  The younger members of the audience might have issues with it.  There’s not as much fun and good alien moments as there are in other Doctor Who serials.

What makes up for all this are the actors.  Bringing back Nicholas Courtney was simply brilliant and he’s a lot of fun.  Sarah Sutton is underused as Nyssa but always delivers.  Peter Davison is excellent as the Doctor, and he moved up a great deal in my eyes watching him carry material that wasn’t always easy to deal with.

The effects here are typical of the early 1980s.  Though not quite as bad as the pre-Star Wars years, they could be better.  The issue was budgeting and making do, and it shows.  Still, that’s part of the charm that kept fans returning to the show throughout the years.  It was cheesy and we loved it.  Mawdryn Undead is no exception.

The DVD itself is excellent.  Restored nicely, the picture and sound are excellent.  As always, these are chock full of extras.  The commentary alone is worth watching Mawdryn Undead a second time.  Add in a bunch of featurettes and specials, and this is definitely worth having for the classic Doctor Who fan.

Mawdryn Undead is not a bad story-arc.  I think Tegan could have been jettisoned before the story and it would have been stronger overall.  The story challenges viewers, but in a good way.  Bringing back the Brigadier was a stroke of genius, especially to those fans who knew him the first go-round and it would bring them back to the series again.  Now with all of it available on DVD, it makes the show that much more credible for drawing on its history.  I enjoyed it, although there was definite room for improvement.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

• Commentary with Peter Davison, Nicholas Courtney, Mark Strickson, Script Editor Eric Saward
• Info Text
• Who Wants To Live Forever?
• Liberty Hall
• Deleted and Extended Scenes
• Film Trims
• Out-takes
• CGI Effects
• Continuity
• Photo Gallery
• Set Photo Gallery