Poor old Sylvester McCoy. This four part 1987 adventure was McCoys first as the Seventh Doctor, following the unpopular Colin Bakers sacking as Doctor Number Six. But McCoys comedic interpretation of the Doctor scooting around, mangling famous proverbs, even sacrilegiously winking at the camera during the opening title sequence did not play well with the diehard fans. Within two years, the show had been cancelled. Thanks to McCoy, Doctor Who vanished from our screens for 16 years.
This is, of course, ridiculously unfair. The series was already under threat of the axe long before McCoy came along. Indeed, his casting was largely seen as a last desperate bid to save the ailing series, which had been declining throughout the decade.
Besides, as the revealing The Last Chance Saloon documentary feature included here reveals, he was rather thrown in the deep end. Baker had been sacked so abruptly that he refused to participate in the traditional regeneration scene, forcing McCoy to adopt a curly wig and hope nobody noticed he wasnt Baker under the iffy special effects. The plot centres on The Rani (not a race but one person played by Howards Way star Kate OMara) who takes over the peaceful planet Lakertya with a view towards building a rocket. To help her, she utilises a giant brain, partly created through stealing the minds of great Earth scientists (an unconscious Einstein is briefly glimpsed). Only the Doctor and his annoying scream queen assistant Melanie (Bonnie Langford, perhaps the worst ever Who companion) can stop him.
To be fair, OMara actually does a pretty good villain. In probably the most memorable aspect of the story she does a lengthy impersonation of Langfords completely dissimilar Melanie in a bid to outwit the befuddled Doctor who is still confused following his recent regeneration. OMara actually captures Langfords annoying perkiness well, something she admits caused some awkwardness on set.
But as most of the writers admit on the extras, this is hardly vintage Who. Baker had been sacked before his replacement had been found and the script had been hastily rewritten. No wonder, the end result is such a mess.
The bonus features are generally good though. While its arguable the featurettes 7D FX, Helter-Skelter (both focusing on the special effects) Lakertya (about the filming location) and Hot Gossip (mostly interviews with Kate OMara) could all have been merged into the main Last Chance Saloon documentary, this hardly matters. The commentary is dull, however. More interesting are a BBC Breakfast visit to the location from the time and a brief chat between McCoy and his former childrens TV co-star Janet Ellis on Blue Peter.
Blue Peter, is of course, 52 years old now and still going strong. But Doctor Who, then a mere 24, was already on its last legs, looking woefully obsolete in a world by then producing Star Trek The Next Generation and the Back To The Future films. Neither Sylvester McCoy nor BBC controller Michael Grade really killed Doctor Who. The Timelords greatest enemy in the end was time itself.
Overall Verdict: A snapshot of a long running series in terminal decline.
Special Features:
Audio Commentary with Actors Sylvester McCoy and Bonnie Langford and Writers Pip and Jane Baker
The Last Chance Saloon Feature
7D FX Featurette
Helter-Skelter Featurette
Lakertya Featurette
Hot Gossip Featurette
On Location Featurette
Blue Peter Clip
Photo Gallery
Reviewer: Chris Hallam