Doctor Who: Tom Baker Complete Series Two (Blu-ray)
Doctor Who: Tom Baker Complete Series Two (Blu-ray)
What is the connection between the legendary Loch Ness Monster and a stranded spaceship whose occupants can assume the appearance of anyone they choose? The Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) and Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen) had better find out the answer. before it’s too late, in “Terror of the Zygons.” When a scientific team on a world at the edge of the universe is attacked, the Doctor and Sarah Jane must deal with a deadly anti-matter creature, in “Planet of Evil.” “Pyramids of Mars” finds the Doctor and Sarah Jane in 1911 England, where an archeologist’s discovery unleashes a menace that stretches from ancient Egypt to the Red Planet and threatens all life on Earth. Next, thinking they’ve arrived in a quiet English village, the Doctor and Sarah Jane soon realize the townspeople are robotic doubles and the “village” is an alien training base readying for “The Android Invasion.” An alien scientist is keeping alive “The Brain of Morbius,” a sinister renegade Time Lord, and plans to transplant it into a new body. Can the Doctor keep his head on his shoulders as he and Sarah Jane try to prevent Morbius’ return? Finally, an Antarctic expedition uncovers a pair of alien pods that contain monstrous plant creatures. When a deranged millionaire plans to use one of the monsters to take over Earth’s plant life, the Doctor must nip his scheme in the bud, in “The Seeds of Doom.”26 episodes on 8 discs. 14 1/2 hrs. Standard; Soundtrack: English; Subtitles: English; documentaries; featurettes; audio commentary; interviews; more.
| SKU: | B0FG3HY3ZC |
So far I have watched the first episode on this. Needless to say I’ve watched all of these a hundred times, just not on Blu-ray. The Blu-ray has a slight defect in the first episode in part 3 only lasts about 10 or 15 seconds, but the picture goes all wonky and I’ve tried it in two different blu-rays so it’s definitely the disc and there’s no visible scratch. I do like all the extras that have come with this and aside from that the quality is excellent. If I run into anything else I will let you know.
I just received my US copy of this set today. If you’re looking at this item right now, you’ve probably seen many reviews here as well as on the Amazon UK site and via several videos online as to how “AI filtering” was used to improve the look of these episodes.
For what it’s worth – all these people are being OVERLY PICKY!!! I mean, ok, there’s evidence the filtering changed/straightened Tom Baker’s teeth in one or two scenes in “Android”. But for crying out loud, I never even noticed while I was watching it. I also see other reviews here stating that lettering is missing on the TARDIS sign, but I’ve seen no evidence of that at all. Missing fingers?? One, barely visible finger apparently got removed in a scene you’d have to zoom in on to even see. The “waxy faces” also didn’t bother me; much of that can be attributed to cleaner pictures rather than AI. I even went back to my “Zygons” DVD of episode 1 (the episode that’s got so many people’s undies in a twist) and realized much of the BluRay didn’t look that much different to the DVD, at least not to my eyes.
I’m writing here because I like the stories and the shows, not to have a hissy fit over the methods used to upgrade the quality. That’s making a mountain out of a molehill.
If you’re a fan, GET THIS. It’s one of the best seasons. I still prefer the clarity of BluRay over my DVD copies and would never forsake an upgrade for some digital cleaning up that you don’t even notice.
As some have pointed out, yes AI was used to restore some frames of the show. However, it is not as noticeable as some are making it out to be, and no new scenes were added with AI. It was used to cover gaps in the original film negatives which we damaged. Some say they should’ve just left them be, others say it’s a necessary change. Both views have their merits. In my view, the collection is very well made and presented and the stories are all time greats!