Doctor Who: Underworld (Story 96)

I hadn't seen this episode since the mid-80s, so I was pretty eager to lay my hands on it when I discovered the BBC was finally going to put it out on VHS after a slight delay of, oh, 28 years. The few fan reviews I had read were pretty harsh, and my own memories of the episode were very few, but I kept an open mind when I popped the tape in.My first impression was that this episode had been done a great wrong. It was witty and seemed to have a mysterious and inventive premise. By the time I was finished watching, though, my main feeling was that this was a classic case of a "what might have been" story. Had it been directed by someone who knew how to use close-ups, had the cliffhangers been properly done instead of just happening with the abruptness of a guillotine, had the producers not elected to save a few quid by using horribly fake blue screen backgrounds of the caves instead of going on location as they did for "Revenge of the Cybermen," and had they actually done a second draft on the story, this could have been a real classic. Instead, we have an entertaining but cliche-ridden mess, that takes way too long to move the storyline, stumbles around the plot holes, and then wraps up so fast you have a feeling they forgot to shoot 20 or so minutes of the episode. Call it "enjoyable mediocrity."The plot has some nice window dressings that conceal a familiar story. Basically, the doctor must battle a demented computer which thinks it is a god, free a bunch of slaves from servitude, re-unite two branches of a race which diverged 100,000 years ago, and try to make amends for being indirectly responsible for the whole mess to begin with. This story was told previously, and much better, in "Face of Evil", and would be told again in "State of Decay." There are other self-plagarisms as well, and to get around these, the writers decided that it would be a good idea to simply not explain a lot of what happens. This works for David Lynch fans, but not for me: they should have added an extra episode, done a re-write and fleshed out what needed to be fleshed, instead of just cobbling this thing together. I'd tell the boys how I felt, but oh yeah, this was shot in 1975. I forgot time machines aren't real. What a nerd!So now you are thinking I hated it. No, I just had to vent. It is fun, particularly the first two episodes. The villain costumes are creepy, those shield-guns are cool, and the idea of planets forming around stranded ships, the computers becoming the gods of the crews, and the crews eventually turning into slaves of the computers is a fun concept, however many times it has been tried before (and again!). Overall, it is not an episode I would recommend to buy unless you are a hard-core fan, but if you aren't a hard-core fan, why the hell are you reading this?

I must admit, I'm a little biased over this one, because it was the first Doctor Who story I ever saw. Over the years alot of people have complained about the production values(it was shot almost entirely using CSO), and they also gripe about the plot being too close to "Face of Evil." So I watched it expecting it not to hold up, and you know what? It's still pretty damn good! Tom Baker is in his prime here, and so is Louise Jameson as Leela. The supporting players are very good here too. The story is loosely based on "Jason and the Argonauts." I very much agree with the Doctor Who writter's that Greek mythology is very rich source of inspiration. It is also a bit more fast paced than most 70's Who. There is a great documentary about how they made this story under impossible odds. There are all the elements here of any classic Doctor Who story, so give this one a second look.  Doctor Who: Underworld (Story 96)

I hadn't seen this since PBS had dropped the original Doctor Who series. It is one of my favorite episodes. At a time were the BBC was getting budget cuts the special effects are fantastic for a television series of the 1970s. Great space ship control centers sets and costumes for the aliens. Doctor Who Tom Baker art work is interrupted by a cosmic event and the Tardis is remateralized inside a space ship being buried inside a newly formed planet. The doctor and Leela find the planet is also inhabited and helping the Minyan race find their lost race banks left behind by the crew of the P7E. Those living on the planet has a secret of their own and only by helping one another out can the planet's slaves and the Minyan crew possibly succeed in their mission.Exras include a fantastic audio commentary, making of Underworld documentary, photo gallery, radio time listings and more.

Any1 fluent with Greek history and language will recognize the comparisons in"Dr. Who: Underworld" and the Oracle of Delphi and the collapse of the Spartans.BLUE-screen technology is recognizable thru-out the repetitious cave sequences of the episode.No CGI is necessary for the visual effects.Whoever did the SOUND effects for this episode knew what they were doing; it holds up even to "Star Wars: A New Hope"; that film also came out the same year (1977).The story stands the test of time.

I'll keep this short. Underworld is one of the very best Doctor Who stories of all time.Leela is at her best.The sci-fi concepts are amazing. The costumes are fantastic. The Doctor is loveable.Incidentally, if you're wondering why Tom seems to have white paint smeared on his face when he's on the Tardis in the first episode, wait until you watch the final scene of the final episode and you'll see that the scenes were filmed slightly out of sequence! :)

This is starting to get into my favorite era of Dr. Who. They were doing the Doctor version of old myths. Really makes for a good story.Ok onto what you want to know.1 disc containing 4 episodes and Special features:Special Features;~Into the unknown:~Underworld-In Studio~Photo Gallery~Audio Options= Commentary~Info Text~DF Materials;~Coming Soon

Nevermind that "the quest is the quest". The Minyons are idiots but Leela is hott as hell in her little leather dress and knee high leather boots. Oh, and the story...2 groups of humanoids separate to reach a utopian destiation; one becomes the center of a new planet which the other group discovers thousands of years later and both have to admit that they are different versions of the same people. blardey, blardey, blar...

Great DVD