We Must Prepare Ourselves For... The Ark

[SiHart]

The Ark cleared by the BBFC: http://www.bbfc.co.uk/ATAVV154281 so expect it sometime next year, hopefully.

Si xx

[Stephen Morgan]

Ooohhhh!! Nice one. Wonder what kind of extras we're likely to get on it.

[SiHart]

Hopefully a Peter Purves commentary at the very least... maybe Jackie Lane too?

Si xx

[Rob McCow]

Excellent! We must prepare for the main landings!

Personally I think this is a rather watchable, fun and under-rated gem. It's never going to blow anyone away, but it's an entertaining 90 minutes none the less.

[MacNimon]

I'm looking forward to this one!

[P-Bal]

I'll bet one of Mrs Miggin's finest that there's no Jackie Lane on that DVD.

[Lissa]

Eee bah goom that's a reet shame guv'nor.

I wonder if Lesley Scott is still with us?

[Stuart Wallis]

I'll bet one of Mrs Miggin's finest that there's no Jackie Lane on that DVD.

It can be arranged... Mind you, it's hard to see who else they can get other than her and Peter.

[Larry]

be very pleased if this is released I've always liked The Ark, a story I consider to be very under rated.

[Rob McCow]

[Jason Thompson]

It's never going to blow anyone away,

It is, but for all the wrong reasons. It has some good stuff in it. The concepts, the division of the story, the trial, the throwaway effects that a couple of years previously would have been massively emphasised. On the other hand, the dialogue is dire, and no-one deduces anything. The humans learn of the Monoids' plans because the Monoids are obviously enjoying their newfound power of speech too much and keep talking about them loudly! My favourite bit is when a Monoid gives itself away and Dodo asks if they're up to something, and he says: 'err.... no.'!

Oh, and a security kitchen? That's even more ludicrous than keeping a prisoner in a corridor because it is easier to guard them. Still, it is in keeping with the Monoids' general common sense to lock up their prisoners in a room full of knives....

[Stephen Morgan]

Awesome cover Mr. McCow. Awesome cover.

[Si Hunt]

It's a mystery to me why Hartnell's like this, a perfectly acceptable, enjoyable monster tale from a little-existing era of the show, are left until the end of the range each time, when anything by Troughton (even if dull or incomplete) is rushed out immediately. There's still loads of Hartnell left to release on DVD and they don't seem to be in any hurry! This is a good step though, "The Ark" is great.

Si.

[Antony Cox]

Mmm...

I think it's perfectly understandable to stagger the releases from each Doctor. I wouldn't say that the Troughtons were 'rushed out'; we've just had the penultimate complete release (which most people don't rate very highly), and the last one is one of the worst Troughtons of all.

And there aren't that many Hartnells left to go, in fact only three complete stories and two more with one or two episodes missing.

[Si Hunt]

With the videos, everything Troughton came out immediately - even the shit ones. But "The Edge of Destruction", "The Sensorites", "The Ark" and "The Gunfighters" were all among the very last to come out, almost like they were an afterthought. And again, with the DVD's, it's been a little better but basically everything Troughton came out pretty promptly, with the exception of "The Dominators" (which is now out) and "The Krotons" (because I guess they wanted to save one up) yet we still have "The Tenth Planet", "The Gunfighters", "Edge", "The Ark", "The Sensorites" and "Planet of Giants" still to come for Hart!

1 Trought left and 6 Hartnell's still to release says to me someone considers the original (and better) Doctor inferior.

Si.

[SiHart]

Did the Troughtons really come out promptly? I think we've pretty much had one a year haven't we?

Tomb 2002
Seeds 2003
Mind Robber 2005
The Invasion 2006
The War Games 2009
The Dominators 2010

That's hardly all at once at the beginning of the range.

Si xx

[Jason Thompson]

It's a mystery to me why Hartnell's like this, a perfectly acceptable, enjoyable monster tale from a little-existing era of the show, are left until the end of the range each time, when anything by Troughton (even if dull or incomplete) is rushed out immediately.

I'm not sure where that perception comes from, Si. Complete Troughton stories have been released in 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2009 and 2010. There was almost three years between The Invasion and The War Games! On the other hand, 2008 and 2009 both featured two Hartnell releases.

We have five Hartnell releases still to go and two Troughtons. Considering the different numbers of available stories to release, I'd say they've done a very good job of spacing them out evenly over the years of the range.

There's still loads of Hartnell left to release on DVD and they don't seem to be in any hurry!

How would you define 'in a hurry'?

[Jason Thompson]

yet we still have "The Tenth Planet", "The Gunfighters", "Edge", "The Ark", "The Sensorites" and "Planet of Giants" still to come for Hart!

Edge was released in The Beginning box set.

1 Trought left and 6 Hartnell's still to release says to me someone considers the original (and better) Doctor inferior.

Two Troughtons. The Ice Warriors hasn't seen release yet.

And as I said, there are far more Hartnell stories than Troughton ones to begin with. 19 Hartnells versus 7 Troughtons for stand-alone releases. That ratio fits quite nicely with the number of stories left from each to release.

[Si Hunt]

Oh well, at least it gave you the chance to prove me wrong again Jason!

Si.

[Jason Thompson]

Indeed, Si. It's been too long.

I agree with you about the VHS range though. By the time I started collecting the videos The Dominators, The Mind Robber, The Krotons, The Seeds of Death and The War Games were long since deleted. Couldn't find them anywhere for love nor money. Only when eBay entered the world was I finally able to plug those gaps in my collection.

[Antony Cox]

With the videos

Si.

Ah, well you didn't mention anything about videos in your original post...

[WhiteCrowNZ]

Doctor MOO???

[SiHart]

Doctor MOO???

http://www.planetskaro.org.uk/forums...read.php?t=154

Si xx

[WhiteCrowNZ]

http://www.planetskaro.org.uk/forums...read.php?t=154

Si xx

Almost before my time. I still stand with my Doctor Moo pun though!

[SiHart]

BBC America have a list of extras for this story:

• Audio Commentary
• All's Wells' That Ends Wells
• One Hit Wonder
• Riverside Story
• Photo Gallery
• PDF materials: Radio Times Listings
• Production Notes Subtitle Option

Si xx