The Invasion of Time DVD - Out Now!

[Dirk Gently]

Cool.

[Si Hunt]

What's the betting they've re-done the Vardans?

Si.

[Antony Cox]

I was hoping they'd re-done the bits between the opening titles and the end credits. In all the episodes.

[Captain Tancredi]

It would have been odd if they hadn't done some kind of "making of" feature when you consider that the story's genesis is probably more interesting than the story itself. 'The Killer Cats of Geng Singh' (or whatever it was called) did reach the early stages of pre-production and there are some costume design drawings floating about at the very least (as luck would have it, I picked up the DWM with a feature on the story the other night).

[Simon R]

They could CGI that bloody stadium full of Killer Cats we've heard so much about!

The more extras the better on this turgid, TARDISy Tom!

[Paul Monk]

I hope there's a location feature. You might get to see where I used to live.

[Dave Tudor]

Look, Paul, I know you've played The Doctor, but you're taking things a bit far, making out that you used to live on Gallifrey....

[Paul Monk]

I did I tell you!

[Simon R]

I hope there's a featurette on the inflatable, PVC cushions.

[Pip Madeley]

The traditional RT article is up, and it's confirmed - 2 discs!

'The Invasion of Time' features a reasonable amount of 16mm location filming and although the original camera negatives no longer exist, the transmission print has been retained by the BBC library thanks to the ever-diligent Andrew Martin. As usual, we planned to re-transfer the film on the Spirit telecine to improve the resolution and maximise the available image area. However, when the print was put onto the telecine it was found to be quite faded and red - a common occurrence with colour films of this age as the unstable dyes change over time. A lot of detail seemed to be missing from the white end of the picture too, making it look somewhat white-crushed and bleached out - again a familiar problem with faded prints. Nonetheless, colourist Jonathan Wood was able to use the custom gamma curves on the Pixi colour corrector to pull a surprising amount of detail out of the whites, certainly as much as was visible on the original transfer from 1978, and was able to achieve a very good colour balance from the film despite the fading. The film sequences also provided an unexpected bonus, in that there were several minutes of unused scenes from the last two episodes incorporated within them.

Originally planned as a single disc release, the decision was made late in the day to go over to two discs to ensure better quality overall. Part of the reason for this was the sheer amount of alternative video effects that John Kelly had managed to put together for the release. The story has achieved a certain amount of notoriety due to the somewhat underwhelming nature of the original video effects (notably the Vardans) and John has done an excellent job in creating an alternative effects option which creates much greater believability whilst at the same time retaining a look and feel sympathetic to the source material.

Nice. So the full line up of extras is:

Commentary with actors Louise Jameson and John Leeson, script editor Anthony Read and visual effects designer Mat Irvine.

Producer Andrew Beech takes us Out of Time (dur. approx 16' 52"), as artistes and production crew recall the making of this story. With actors Louise Jameson, John Leeson, Chris Tranchell and Milton Johns, script editor Anthony Read and visual effects designer Colin Mapson.

A Deleted Scenes package (dur. 5' 54") was put together from additional material found in the film sequences for episodes five and six.

The Rise and Fall of Gallifrey (dur. 9' 57") looks at how the portrayal of the Time Lords and their home planet of Gallifrey changed over the years. With script editors Terrance Dicks, Anthony Read and Gary Russell and former Doctor Who Magazine editor Alan Barnes.

The Elusive David Agnew (dur. 5' 15") delves into the murky past of David Agnew, the writer of this story and other BBC dramas. Who was he? Why can nobody find him? Script editors Terrance Dicks and Anthony Read try to get to the bottom of the mystery…

The new alternative CGI Effects provide nearly 25 minutes of new effects, including replacement gunfire, enhanced model effects and a completely new look for the Vardans. For a sneak peek of the new effects, click here for the direct link.

BBC1 continuity announcements (dur. 3' 25") from the story's transmission provide a nostalgic glimpse of the 1978 Saturday night BBC TV line-up.

As usual there is a Photo Gallery (dur. 7' 04") featuring production, design and publicity photos from the story. However, for the first time this gallery also has an optional subtitle stream giving information about the photographs.

And as usual there's the Coming Soon trailer, Radio Times Billings PDF, Programme subtitles and Subtitle Production Notes.

Looks like it'll be a fine release, if you like IoT of course...

[Dirk Gently]

Is Mat Irvine going to be on every DVD we get from now on?

[SiHart]

Well maybe only the ones he worked on, perhaps? It's agood thing I think, as he was really good on the Warriors of the Deep commentary- he knows his stuff.

Si xx

[Si Hunt]

Wow, I actually feel excited about this release due to all the zippy extras! What's going on?

Si.

[Matthew T]

The new special effects look great! I think I'll actually watch the story when this comes out instead of just the extras.

[wayneupnorth]

I'm going to wait for the Sontaran box set in May and get Invasion with that as I don't have any of the others.

[Simon R]

I'm over "CGI" now. It all looks the same. Soft focus and blah.

The extra are making me glisten!

[Rob McCow]

The traditional RT article is up, and it's confirmed - 2 discs!

As predicted, eh Pip?
http://www.planetskaro.org.uk/forums...time#post89556

[Perry Vale]

(Yet more purple-ish) Cover art up here.......?

http://images.play.com/covers/5267099x.jpg

[SiHart]

Let's get some other colours used, please!

Not bad, but just goes to show there really aren't many decent publicty shots from Season 15!

Si xx

[Si Hunt]

Awful one to use of Louise Jameson. Looks like an out-take!

I like the lay-out, but why does everything seem so lo-res and look washed out?

Si.

[SiHart]

I like the lay-out, but why does everything seem so lo-res and look washed out?

Because there are no decent publicty shots from season 15!

Si xx

[Larry]

more bloody pinks and puples on the cover dose the guy who designs these covers only have pinks.purples on his fonts..

[Pip Madeley]

On his fonts?

[Si Hunt]

My fonts are a bit purple today. I think I overstretched myself at the gym.
Ooo-pardon!

Si.

[Rob McCow]

I reckon that Sontaran is a composite of 8 different photos!

F***ing vile that cover.