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 Tom Baker.  He’s travelling the universe with his fellow Time Lord, Romana (portrayed by Lalla Ward).

Partially through the eighteenth season of the original run of the series Doctor Who, three story-arcs were tied together in a series known as The E-Space Trilogy.  In it, the Doctor and Romana accidentally end up in an alternate universe and pick up a new companion along the way.  Released on DVD, the Trilogy was packed onto three discs with tons of extras.  No matter what your opinion of the actual stories contained within, kudos must go to the BBC for adding value to the series with all the extras, rather than just slapping the episodes onto DVD and figuring fans would lap them up.

Disc One – Full Circle

The Doctor has been summoned to Gallifrey, which Romana isn’t looking forward to.  As they discuss her reluctance to return to Gallifrey, the TARDIS is diverted into an alternate universe known as E-Space.

While the Doctor attempts to figure out what went wrong with the TARDIS, the audience gets to see a bit of the culture of the E-Space universe.  It is a dual society with some terribly afraid of the sciences while others are attempting to learn more.  Adric (portrayed by Matthew Waterhouse) is a young man who’s a bit of a social outcast among his people as he seems to be of much higher intelligence than the rest of them.  His brother has a place among those rebelling against the structure of their society.  An event known as Mistfall begins to take place, and everyone takes refuge on the downed ship, Starliner, to protect themselves.  Aggressive bipedal creatures known as the Marshmen rise up and take the TARDIS to use as a weapon to gain access to the Starliner.

This is a good classic Doctor Who story with a world that is ruled in a way we would consider to be antiquated and full of myths and false beliefs.  Into this comes science in the form of the Doctor and Romana, which casts doubt on the myths that the survivors believe to be true.  However, they are also at a crossroads and need the help that the Doctor can provide.  At the same time, he reveals the truth behind the history of the Starliner and the survivors.

Full Circle was really a good introduction for Adric, who became known as the Wesley Crusher of the Doctor Who universe.  He’s actually a pretty decent character here, and it’s only in later stories where he gets bogged down with other companions who are more annoying (cough Tegan) that he wears on me.  I actually like him a lot in his early appearances here.  I liked his introduction to the Who universe much better than Turlough’s in the Black Guardian Trilogy.

The aliens are typical of the rubber-suited aliens in the Doctor Who universe but are also a lot of fun.  This society and the story are well-developed, with enough depth that the cheesiness of the aliens is completely forgivable. 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

• Commentary with Matthew Waterhouse, Script Editor Christopher Bidmead, Writer Andrew Smith
• Isolated Music Track
• Info Text
• All Aboard the Starliner
• K-9 In E-Space
• Swap Shop
• E-Space Fact or Fiction
• Continuity
• Photo Gallery
• Radio Times Listing

Disc Two – State of Decay

The Doctor and Romana are trying to find other signs of life in the E-Space Universe when they happen upon a planet with a few humanoids on it.  It would seem that an Earth ship was sucked into E-Space 1,000 years before and the survivors are now on this planet.  The culture and technology seem to be devolving rather than evolving and are, in a sense, in a “state of decay.”

There were great vampires that were enemies of the Time Lords, and evidence points to the fact that somehow those great vampires managed to escape into E-Space.  Unknown to the Doctor and Romana, Adric stowed away on the TARDIS and now is also wandering around the planet.

State of Decay is representative of the great noir-style stories in Doctor Who.  Bringing in vampire lore works well and creates a humanoid enemy that doesn’t need to be cloaked in a rubber suit.  It’s the story that propels events here and does so very well.

It was interesting to listen to the commentary as it’s detailed how Tom Baker and Lalla Ward weren’t on speaking terms during this story-arc.  They were briefly married later on, but apparently, the tumultuousness of their relationship did occasionally bleed over into the working environment.  However, it doesn’t show on the screen where everything seems to be fine, even though if you really pay attention with this information in the back of your mind you might notice the way they avoid looking at each other, even when carrying on conversations.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

• Commentary with Matthew Waterhouse, Director Peter Moffatt, Writer Terrance Dicks
• Isolated Music Track
• Info Text
• The Vampire Lovers
• Film Trims
• Leavers of Blood
• The Blood Show
• The Frayling Reading
• Continuity
• Photo Gallery
• Radio Times Listings

Disc 3 – Warriors’ Gate

The Doctor, Romana and Adric are still trying to escape E-Space when they happen upon another vessel which appears to be doing the same thing.  This vessel has a navigator, though, who’s a prisoner and has some abilities similar to a Time Lord.

It seems the owners of the ship use time-sensitive people as navigators on their ships, but not by their consent. They have no qualms about enslaving humanoids who serve a purpose to them.  Romana inadvertently falls in with them.

The Doctor soon learns that this ship is the cause of the problems with the junction between our universe and the E-Space universe.

Warriors’ Gate is actually one of the best of the Doctor Who serials.  It has everything going for it, which is a great story and great drama.  The story propels itself nicely with well-fleshed-out characters in an intricately created setting that isn’t overly complicated to the viewers.  The Doctor, Romana, and Adric work well together here, even as they are separated for plotline purposes.  It’s a shame, really, that this is the last story-arc to feature Romana because the three of them really gel together quite well.

I won’t get into the inconsistency of K-9 disappearing at the end of this story-arc with Romana and then turning up later on with Sarah Jane, because it’s really just not worth it.


SPECIAL FEATURES:

• Commentary with Director Paul Joyce, John Leeson, Effects Designer Matt Irving, Script Editor Chris Bidmead, Lalla Ward
• Isolated Music Track
• Information Text
• The Dreaming
• The Boy with the Golden Star
• Lalla’s Wardrobe
• Extended & Deleted Scenes
• Continuity
• Photo Gallery
• Radio Times Listings



If you’re not familiar with the older Doctor Who universe, I don’t know that this is the place I would tell someone to start viewing it, although there are far worse places and story-arcs to start with.  The E-Space Trilogy really has a lot going for it, with some great stories and good acting.  Even Adric works quite well here, which is saying something, considering how many people were happy later on when he left.  Add in all the extras that the BBC gave us on these DVDs, and you will have a set that is a real necessity in any Doctor Who fan’s collection.