Before we get on to the content of the discs, a word about the booklet which accompanies this set. I'm afraid that the proof reader must have been on their holiday this time as there are a number of silly errors evident in the text. Lesley Dunlop did not play a character named Norma in Frontios. Fiona Walker did not play a character named Karla in The Keys of Marinus. And Richard Maynarde in Silver Nemesis was most definitely not played by Gerald Taylor.
Anywho, on to the content. All four stories of Season 25 get the Special Edition treatment and, as I've looked at the stories as broadcast elsewhere on this blog, I'll be concentrating on them - plus the numerous new Extras (existing Extras such as the big Davros documentary and the original making-of's are ported over from the DVD releases). Not quite so many of them this time, compared to the 20th Anniversary season, but this reflects the somewhat diminished status of the series in 1988 as compared to 1983.
Remembrance of the Daleks has three versions to chose from - the original, the original with new CGI, or the 2024 Special Edition.
The SE has a few short scenes added - mainly character pieces between members of the Counter Measures Intrusion Group, some of which help sow the seeds of Mike's racism. One nice addition is the change of music playing on the jukebox when Ace first enters the café and meets Mike. It's now "John Smith and the Common Men", as listened to by Susan in An Unearthly Child.
The "I.M. Forman" sign on the gate has been amended to read "Foreman". Sometimes. The "E" comes and goes as the gates are opened and closed.
The main new CGI elements involve the Mothership and Shuttle, as well as Dalek ray effects. A pity they couldn't have painted out those clearly anachronistic buildings which keep appearing in the background of many street scenes.
The Dalek Supreme now melts, rather than disappears in a rainbow swirl.
The Happiness Patrol has the same three options, but this time the Special Edition has seen a major overhaul. There's around 15 minutes of extra material across the three episodes - roughly 5 minutes apiece. Some totally new scenes have been created as well as the inclusion of previously deleted ones, and they have re-edited some sequences. The big visual difference is the CGI expansion to many of the Terra Alpha street scenes, showing them in the context of the larger cityscape.
We see the Kandyman actually being swamped by the hot sugar solution in the pipeline, and the dialogue of the Pipe People has been taken back to the original studio audio so that it is slightly more intelligible.
Silver Nemesis actually has five different versions on offer. There's the broadcast one, the broadcast one with new CGI, the 1993 VHS version (with a few deleted scenes reinstated), the 2024 Special Edition, and a 55 minute omnibus of the 2024 Special Edition.
Truth be told, I'd go with the omnibus as it cuts out a lot of the pointless stuff from the original episodes (like skinheads and rich Americans). The new CGI effects are mainly the Cyberman fleet in space, and some of their shuttle craft scenes. Nemesis' return to the rocket sled in the third episode has been redone. The Special Edition not only has new effects, it has also been re-edited and restructured to make it flow a little more smoothly. They haven't stuck all of the deleted scenes into it. One scene I always liked as it provides a character moment for De Flores is the one where he talks to his mercenaries in the van. This has been excluded from the SE but is there as an extra.
Back in 1988, Mike Tucker had wanted to use Cybermats to overpower the policemen when the Nemesis first lands. This was vetoed by Andrew Cartmel, though we did get to see one of the new design on the anniversary documentary 30 Years in the TARDIS, menacing Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant near St Paul's.
They've finally got their scene in the SE.
Finally, The Greatest Show in the Galaxy also has the three options - as broadcast, as broadcast but with new CGI, and the 2024 Special Edition which once again includes previously deleted scenes as well as the new effects.
The main differences here are replacement video effects, though the first and third episodes have a few minutes of deleted material reinstated - which don't add much to the story at all.
Most of the archive material appears alongside the Dalek and Cyberman stories, as one launched the anniversary season and the other was the actual anniversary story. A lot of this material comprises short appearances on various daytime television shows. Whilst a lot feature McCoy / Aldred, there's another which concentrates on interviews with Jon Pertwee and Verity Lambert, with clips from the very first episode in November 1963. Open Air presents a piece from the "Space Adventures" exhibition by London Bridge, where JNT is interviewed surrounded by monster costumes - nice to see this relatively obscure exhibition.
As always, we have a convention archive feature - two different appearances from McCoy and Aldred at DWAS Panopticon events in the 1990's.
"Behind the Sofa" this time features three panels. Interestingly, the Doctor / companion one sees a guest from each story. McCoy and Aldred are joined by Karen Gledhill (Alison) for Remembrance, Sheila Hancock (Helen A) for Happiness, Mark Hardy (Cyber-Lieutenant) for Nemesis, and Jessica Martin (Mags) for Greatest Show.
Panel Two is Bonnie Langford and Nicola Bryant, and the third comprises Janet Fielding, Sarah Sutton and Wendy Padbury.
McCoy doesn't really say much, so Aldred leads their panel, whilst the third panel isn't heard from too much (which I'm happy about as I've always disliked Fielding's negativity - even if it is sometimes only in jest). The Langford / Bryant panel is quite entertaining, with some interesting impartial insights.
Bonnie obviously relates well to the circus-themed story.
The Dalek story gets a thumbs up, whilst the Cyberman one fails to impress. The Kandyman lets down the second story, as do the sets - though they're watching the broadcast version, obviously. The final story gets a positive response, with the third panel preferring it over the Dalek story.
Everyone agrees that the McCoy opening titles are rubbish.
Matthew Sweet has a busy time, with three "Conversations". The best is with Mr Cartmel. The one with director Chris Clough doesn't really touch on his Doctor Who work very much, whilst Aldred has already been interviewed - so her chat mainly deals with her return in The Power of the Doctor, along with some thoughts on the various contradictory timelines for Ace, post Survival.
The big new documentary this time belongs on Disc 2 - a biography of actor Dursley McLinden who played Mike Smith in Remembrance of the Daleks. A hugely promising theatrical career cut short by the onslaught of AIDS / HIV, he represents a whole lost generation. Friends and family are interviewed, and we see and hear from Dursley himself through home movie footage. Russell T Davies, who knew him, speaks about how he inspired the character of Richie in It's A Sin. Toby Hadoke presents, as one of his "In Search of..." features.
Rumour has it that it's Season 7 next.
