The Underwater Menace DVD was a long time coming. Back in February 2013 it was advertised as coming soon on the Moonbase DVD, then it was pushed back to 2014, then it was cancelled, then there was the fan petition that looked like it still might not be happening, and then just a couple of months ago BBCWW announced it was finally coming out. What we have to ask after all that is was it really worth the wait?
On the whole of it I would say yes, as the DVD is a nice little package to finish the Classic series DVD range on, or at least pause until something else comes back.
Episode 3 had all ready been released in the Lost In Time set, but the clean up on the returned episode 2 is very good and up to the standard of the rest of the 60s DVD range. The parts that had been cut by the Australia censor have been nicely edited back in, handy that we got those edited clips back from Australia not to mention that we just so happened to get the very episode returned they had been cut from.
The extras on the disk are a nice collection to keep the fans interested. The Making of is nice and interesting as well as the second part to the documentary about the now closed down BBC Television Centre (Part 1 can be found on the Visitation SE DVD). There are the censor clips from episode 1 and 4 added on as well as a shot Photo gallery, this doesn’t seem to run for very long as I guess not many pictures were taken or survive from the story.
The Audio commentaries on the episodes are fascinating and fall under 3 groups. On the two surviving episodes we have the normal kind of commentaries that we have come to expect from the range featuring cast and crew from the story. On episode one we have the second part of an interview with Patrick Troughton’s son Michael (First part is on the Ice Warriors DVD) where he talks about his dad and what kind of man he was in private. The most interesting I would say is over episode 4. The producers of the DVD have found some past interviews recorded back in the 80s by fans with 3 people to do with the story who are no longer with us. First we hear from the Director Julia Smith and then Producer Innes Lloyd. For the most part though it is taken up by a very rare and fascinating fan interview with the second Doctor himself Patrick Troughton, talking about his time on the show.
Much has been said on the forums about the reconstructions for the missing two episodes. From my own point of view though, I’m not really a fan of recons so it didn’t distract too much from the enjoyment of the release. Yes they are just basically a slide show of the John Cura Telesnaps over the off air soundtrack of the episodes, but it does do enough to give an idea of what happened on screen in the episodes.
On the whole, I would recommend picking this story up. The two surviving episodes together are interesting viewing, having now seen Part two you can see how certain scenes are paid off in Part 3, and Troughton’s acting is wonderful.
And so ends the classic series DVD range. Not with a bang, but at the same time, not with a whimper, its just ends with a satisfying conclusion with possibly one of the more underrated stories from the series history.
Written by Nick Headley
EXTRAS:
Commentaries
Episode One: Interview with actor Michael Troughton (continued from The Ice Warriors DVD). Episodes Two and Three: Anneke Wills, Frazer Hines, Catherine Howe, special sounds supervisor Brian Hodgson and floor assistant Quentin Mann. Episode Four: Archive material featuring Patrick Troughton, directors Julia Smith and Hugh David, and producer Innes Lloyd. Moderated by Toby Hadoke.
A Fishy Tale (dur. 28’ 30”)
The cast and crew look back on the making of The Underwater Menace. With actors Anneke Wills, Frazer Hines and Catherine Howe, AFM Gareth Gwelan, production assistant Berry Butler and new series writer Robert Shearman. Narrated by Fifth Doctor actor Peter Davison.
The Television Centre of the Universe – Part Two (dur. 32’ 10” )
Yvette Fielding continues her tour of BBC Television Centre in the company of actors Peter Davison, Janet Fielding and Mark Strickson, with contributions from former colleagues along the way. With senior camera supervisor Alec Wheal, AFM Sue Hedden, former BBC producer and writer Richard Marson, exhibitions assistant Bob Richardson, production assistant Jane Ashford and videotape engineer Simon Anthony.