Hows this for a great sitcom idea? Gather up all of the surviving former Doctor Whos (the Bakers, Davison, McCoy, McGann if you like, Eccleston and Tennant) and plonk them together in a house in London. Then make their new next door neighbours a family of Daleks. It would be brilliant.
Sadly, due to various copyright issues as well as the fact none of the actors would ever want to do it, the series (working title: Doctors in the House) is unlikely to ever happen. In the meantime, heres a release of a classic Peter Davison Doctor Who story from 1984, one which actually even features an appearance by future sitcom star Jeff Rawle. The story, one of Davisons last as the Fifth Doctor, sees the Time Lord, accompanied by Tegan and Turlough (Fielding and Strickson), landing on the planet Frontios, where the last remnants of human civilisation are engaged in a battle for survival. Curiously, the colonys main problems seem to come from both above and below with Captain Revere, the colonys leader, being literally eaten by the ground early on. A more pressing problem emerges when the planet undergoes a meteorite bombardment, a matter of particular concern to the Doctor when it appears to destroy the TARDIS.
As Peter Davison makes clear in the oddly named Driven to Distractation making of feature included here, the story was subject to an entirely manufactured tabloid controversy when the BBC spread bogus rumours that the story would see the TARDIS destroyed forever. This was apparently never on the cards. The production of Frontios did soon provoke more genuine headlines with a number of misfortunes that would almost suggest the show was cursed. The production designer Barrie Dobbins quit early on after a breakdown, later committing suicide, while actor Peter Arne who was cast to play the character Range, was brutally murdered before he could take up the role.
In truth, however, this is only a mildly diverting example of 80s Who, enlivened by an impressive performance from future Drop the Dead Donkeys George, Jeff Rawle as the immature and villainous new colony leader Plantagenet and a memorably awful one from an incredibly wooden Peter Gilmore, then famous for his role in long running 70s period drama The Onedin Line.
Overall Verdict: Standard 80s Doctor Who shenanigans featuring an increasingly nuanced performance from Peter Davison.
Special Features:
Audio Commentary with Actors Peter Davison and Jeff Rawle, Script Editor Eric Saward and Special Sounds Designer Dick Mills
Driven to Distractation Feature
Deleted and Extended Scenes
Photo Gallery
Isolated Music Score
Coming Soon
Radio Times Listings in Adobe PDF Format
Reviewer: Chris Hallam