Doctor Who: Four to Doomsday (Story 118)

Very little has been said about Four To Doomsday. Even the extras on this DVD release are slim. But if you are a fan of the chlostrophopic-trapped inside a spaceship story than Four to Doomsday is for you. In fact you could argue that the real stars of this episode are the sets. There is a nice mix of dark, shadowy hallways and vibrant colors throughout this story. The low, pulsating hum of deep space that permiate the backround noise in Four To Doomsday create an erie edge to this story that never lets up throughout the four episodes. As for the stars of the show,Peter Davison is still new to the role at this point and boy does it show. Only his second story Four To Doomsday was actualy filmed first which I belive to be a mistake in hindsight. Davison's performance has that feeling my way around quality to it which should be reserved for the first story of a new doctor. That being said it gives the doctor an extended feeling of "newness" left over from Castrovalva. Janet Feilding and Mathew Waterhouse are at thier series lows here. Not realy their fault though as they are forced to spill out mind numbingly dumd lines like, "Could you pass the sodium chloride please"? and Tegan's "too right this and too right that". Sarah Sutton slowly starts to shine in this episode as her character becomes more entangled in the capture's web. An of course there are the Frogs: Monarch, Elightenment , and Persuation. Thank goodness the later two are only seen in frog form for one episode. These were not the worst monsters in the show's history but they certainly were not the best. I could ramble on about the rest of the faults with this episode but anyone who reads this review will already be well aware of them. The fact of the matter for me though is that I am glad they released this episode when they did. Most fans of the show probably had this episode pegged as one of the last to be released on DVD (just as it was on VHS). Kudos to the restoration team for dropping this slightly off centered "GEM" right in the middle. I have always had a fondness for this story because of it's "Doctor Who-e-ness". Cheesey aliens, colorful sets and costums, crazy, non-plausable story arc and dialog that would make william Shakesphere turn in his grave. If I could only have one Peter Davison episode for the rest of my life I would of course take Mawdryn Undead....but if I could have two I would take the little episode that almost could: Four To Doomsday.....Anybody could watch Caves of Andrazani.

"Four to Doomsday" enjoys a reputation as one of the weakest of the 5th Doctor stories. And while I would agree with that assessment, my overall fondness for Davison's portrayal means that it's still a fairly entertaining way of spending 90 minutes.The Doctor and his full-house of companions, enroute to Heathrow to drop Teagan off at her job, materialize instead of a giant space ship 4 days from Earth. The ship is populated by 3 frog-like humanoids (2 of which later shape-shift into human-types), plus an assortment of what appear to be actual humans kidnapped from various times and places on Earth. The Doctor's attempts to discover exactly what is happening, and save Earth from certain disaster make up the overall plot. Some of the content is pretty laughable (the famous cricket ball manouver, Teagan's bizarre attempts to fly the Tardis to earth and 'warn them' (does she REALLY think she can pilot the Tardis?), and the 'recreationals' that stop the action dead on a frequent basis. But the acting is fine, (except for that delivered by a certain young male companion who shall remain nameless) the special effects well done (for the time and budget) and all told, it rates about a B- for entertainment value.The real value on this disc comes in the extras. I have always loved the commentaries offered by this foursome (Davison/Sutton/Fielding/Waterhouse. They seem to be having a wonderful time, and while Fielding's constant bitching about her hair gets tiresome after half a dozen listens,(she does this on EVERY disc) the rest is highly entertaining. Other worthwhile extras include an absolutely fascinating look at a recording session -- we spend 30 minutes watching Davison's very first studio recording session (not counting the 2 minute change-over in Logopolis, of course), as the Doctor -- and come to understand how it can take several days to record ONE 24 minute episode. ("Can we do that again? Sorry, there was a boom in shot.") Also entertaining is Davison's appearence on a talkshow, where we learn about his early years in the industry, and watch him make a milkshake. More expendable extras include a photo-gallery and a very annoying music video of the title sequence.If you're a fan who buys DVDs just for the main content, this one should probably not be high on your list. But if you like the extras (I always go to them first thing), this is a must-have.

Some people suggest Doctor Who: Four to Doomsday was not one of Peter Davidson's best episodes but in my humble estimations it did not have to be. First off I loved Peter Davidson even in this incarnation of our beloved Doctor Who. However Peter Davidson was helped out by the Monopticans. The omnipresent hovering supposedly all seeing black eyeballs that followed everyone wherever they went were a blast. What made the Monopticans truly halarious was the toungue and cheek way the Doctor interacted with them. Saying things like "Oh there you are, well come along then!"I enjoyed the discriptive names of the aliens. I found Four to Doomsday interesting on many levels. Being autistic myself I enjoyed that taken so much of the humor in this episode appeared only if you take everything literally. I enjoyed how the aliens had an almost autistic take on their meeting with The Doctor and his cohorts. I love how the aliens called the life support technology incumberances. I love how the aliens dailed up an earth type oxygen atmosphere for his visiting guests as if he were ordering fish and chips at a local take away shoppe! There was so much to love about Four to Doomsday that I could go on and on about. the humor in Four to Doomsday was very subtle so its no wonder many might miss it.Being autistic I get fascinated by the strangest things and for me the true objects that stole my fancy were the monopticans those black roving floating eyeballs. I have a few top Doctor Who stories I love and this is definitely among my top ten most loved Doctor Who episodes of all time.

"Four to Doomsday" is a classic Doctor Who tale, of about typical quality for the classic range. If you already know you like fifth Doctor stories, then you should check it out!If you're just getting started with classic Doctor Who, it's probably better to look elsewhere for your first taste. "City of Death", "Time Warrior", "Caves of Androzani", are three good choices.

One of my favorite fifth doctor episodes. Must for fans of the old series, newer fans might be put off by the terrible special effects

Great DVD

Thank You