Ambassadors OF DEATH coming to DVD in 2012 +Cover added+

[Andrew Curnow]

So what's the restoration like? The most recent DWM 'Coming Soon' was at pains to point out that it was never going to be brilliant, only that it would be better than it's been since the originals were lost - but how good/bad is it?

[SiHart]

It's good... for the most part. Part One looks amazing, but then it would, it being the only one to exist in its original form. Parts of the other episodes looks wonderful, but I think you can always tell which bits are the colour recover bits. The picture quality drops a little and the colour looks smudgier and less clear- at times for instance the Doctor's jacket looks almost black rather than its deep blue. Don't get me wrong, it's wonderful to see it in full colour for the first time, but if you're expecting it to be absolutely pristine quality, you will be disappointed. There are still moments in the recolourised sections (ie those from the VHS NTSC episodes) where you can see the artefacts of the rainbowing effect, but I guess that was to be expected too.

To me though, it's still amazing that we've even got it looking like this!

[Si Hunt]

It looks to me like the VHS - unfortunately the best quality we've got thanks to the BBC's reckless vandalism.

Si.

[Anthony Williams]

I'm looking forward to seeing this - it's a shame that they couldn't have something that worked out as well as Ep 3 of Planet of the Daleks, but I guess that that one had a LOT of special treatment. I'm glad that we've now got this in colour - even if it is a little ropey at times.

I'm excited for when mine arrives

[Richard Brinck-Johnsen]

Well Dan Hall said on Sunday that whilst a lot of work has gone into making these episodes the best quality they can manage if they'd been able to wait for another few years for technology to improve we'd no doubt have been able to get an even better level of restoration. At least we've now got it back in colour and whilst not perfect it is lot better than the VHS version looked.

[Si Hunt]

Colour aside, the story grows on me every time I see it. Episode 1 is marvellous - there's a warehouse shoot-out, including a really quite tense moment when it looks like the Brig actually thinks he's going to get shot and then the thug changes his mind and drops the gun, a good bit of "reporter" narrative, some sinister business in Space with the capsule opening and all the great stuff with Pertwee and the signal. My only complaint is that stuff with Liz and the Doctor popping forward in time at the start has absolutely nothing to do with anything else in the story!

Si.

[Anthony Williams]

Just watching Episode 1 right now... doesn't it look absolutely gorgeous!?

[Si Hunt]

It does! Earliest episode which survives on its original videotape. Once, they all existed in this clarity.

Si.

[Jason Thompson]

Just watching Episode 1 right now... doesn't it look absolutely gorgeous!?

It does, but that's probably not the one to get excited about, since that one still exists on its original videotape. It's the others that will show the quality of restoration work.

Sad that it's the only one of that entire season to survive on its original video (though Spearhead From Space survives on its original film), and that nothing from earlier than this episode in the show's history does. Even after this, there are only three episodes from season eight on their original video, and eleven from season nine. Only by season ten do we get to the point where more than half the season exists in its original format, and only from season 12 onwards does everything survive in the format it wwas transmitted from.

[Anthony Williams]

You know, after this took so long to come out, I was hoping for better quality on the remaining episodes than we got. Perhaps my expectations had been raised by what we got from Planet of the Daleks (Episode 3), but the colour here is blotchy and there's a lot of bleed-through.

I suspect that this may be a candidate for a revisitation in five years' time (or so), when the technology has improved, or they have more of a budget for manual clear-up.

Cynical? Perhaps...

[Richard Brinck-Johnsen]

Well this release did get to the stage where unless they were to put it off for another few years until the technology to make further improvements becomes cheaper/ more readily available we wouldn't have got this story out before the anniversary.
Unfortunately the company who did the Planet episode have subsequently priced themselves out of contention which is why they haven't been employed on any subsequent releases.

[Dino]

Dispatched! Oh yeah! Can't wait.

[Dino]

Delivered! Now to see if I keep my discipline of only watching two episodes a day... or just stay in and watch it all in one!