Doctor Who: Planet of Evil (Story 81)
by David Maloney
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Elisabeth Sladen, Ian Marter, Tom BakerDirector: David Maloney
Brand: Warner Brothers
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Mono; English (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Mono
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC, Original recording remastered, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 94 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-03-04
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: BBC Worldwide
Product features:
- When a distress call draws the Doctor and Sarah Jane to a scientific outpost at the end of the Universe, the Doctor suspects dark planetary forces are behind a series of sinister deaths.Running Time: 94 min. Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION Rating: NR Age: 883929004881 UPC: 883929004881 Manufacturer No: 1000036283
Movie Reviews of Doctor Who: Planet of Evil (Story 81)
Movie Review: "We buy our privilege to experiment at the cost of total responsibility."
Summary: 5 Stars
In this compelling "Doctor Who" adventure at the edge of the known universe we have a perfect example of this show's gift for flirting with mediocrity only to come out shining. "Planet of Evil"--even the title sounds like a bad direct-to-video B movie. But don't let that fool you. Many a plot element shows visible traces of influence from prior tales in the genre, most noticeably "Doctor Jeckyll and Mister Hyde"--elements that with the slightest mishandling could end up as trite, corny, plagiaristic, and, well, plain dull. But worry not. They are carefully and subtly invoked, reworked, and integrated into a thrillingly original and well-written story with consummate creativity and flair, not to mention a bit of the alchemist's touch for turning lead into gold.
The story is given quite a bit of depth and atmosphere by its convincingly rendered bizarre setting: Zeta Minor, a dangerously remote planet on the furthest fringes of the known universe as of the 37000's AD, a spookily surreal jungle world that makes Yoda's Dagobah look like your average backyard garden in comparison, and right in the midst of this lies an abyss linking our familiar cosmos of matter and being with one of antimatter and non-being. Something not to be trifled with lightly, which is of course just what happens, setting the story in motion. Civilization has exhausted its energy sources and is near collapse, and so a geological expedition led by a certain Professor Sorenson has come to this uncanny place in hopes of harnessing the supposedly limitless power of antimatter, enraging a mostly invisible but monstrous being from the other side and poisoning Sorenson himself in the process. And into this devolving disaster are dragged both a military rescue ship and (of course) the Doctor and Sarah Jane in the Tardis.
Here again as is often the case the writers for "Doctor Who" show an unusual talent for painting the portrait of a whole society of the future in all of its complexity with only a few deft lines of dialogue woven unobtrusively and organically into the script. There is also inherent in this adventurous tale an understated but definite ecological fable examining the responsibilities of the scientific enterprise in a manner delightfully neither preachy nor burdensome. Sorenson himself is the very archetype of the obsessed mad scientist, but what could have been a tired stock character is brilliantly enlivened and fleshed out by fine acting of the very first order. This is mostly true of the rest of the supporting cast as well: the stern but increasingly unhinged commander of the rescue ship, his quietly professional but compassionate second-in-command, and the guy always grumbling on the job. As for the main character, Tom Baker is in his heyday here as the Doctor, juggling humor and seriousness perfectly and sucker-punching a man without giving the impression of violence, and his rapport with Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane is also at its peak--the wittily barbed yet friendly banter between them throughout the story is priceless. Finally, special effects are never a deciding factor in "Doctor Who" but the semi-invisible antimatter creatures and the make-up for the mutated version of Sorenson are cleverly rendered through good old fashioned professional craftsmanship without the benefit of CGI and hold up remarkably well still; as for the spaceship model, well, okay, you can tell they tried.
This is not a pivotal tale. Nobody regenerates, no companion joins or departs, there are no Dalek invasions nor revelations of Gallifrey. But in a way that's all for the better. Instead, "Planet of Evil" is a stellar example of just how enjoyable and entertaining "Doctor Who" can typically and reliably be on a regular basis.
Summary of Doctor Who: Planet of Evil (Story 81)
When a distress call draws the Doctor and Sarah Jane to a scientific outpost at the end of the Universe, the Doctor suspects dark planetary forces are behind a series of sinister deaths.Similar DVD Movies
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