Matthew Jones

I'm not sure why two stories from different seasons have to be released together just because they are set on Peladon and so mess up my DVD shelf order - however! The Curse of Peladon is one of my earliest memories of Doctor Who and one of my favourites. One of the highlights is the range of aliens, Alpha Centuri is wondrous to behold (and listen to) and it never crossed my mind it looks like anything risqué. Arcturus is like a pickled walnut but has a real character and the more you listen to it, the more you appreciate Terry Bale's vocal nuances. The King and Hepesh conflict is believable and we can see where both men are coming from. And both are right up to a point. Much is made of the Ice Warriors being goodies but I think Hepesh is marked out as the main advisory throughout and the 'revelation' that it is Acturus not Izlyr helping him doesn't seem too important.The Monster of Peladon is not quite such a good story. The Ice Warriors with a feeling of inevitabilit y are back as the villains, albeit a rogue group. The unmasking of Eckersley is a nice twist and Alpha Centuri is back providing comic relief and continuity. A Queen gives us a different power balance to a King, and Ortron is not, thank goodness, a pale copy of Hepesh but comes right when the chips are down. The main fault is the story is too long and the miners boring.But the best thing by far in both stories is Alan Bennion. What a master of subtle acting. Just listen to him in Curse as the noble, intelligent general first suspecting then trusting the Doctor in a mirror of the Doctor's own attitude. Then watch him as the callous, plotting old style campaigner with delusions of grandeur in Monster. For me every minute he is not on screen is a wasted opportunity, particularly in Monster which needs him more than the more robust Curse.Extras. Jon and Katy - nice if a bit brief. Peladon Saga - the usual documentary we've come to expect on a Doctor Who DVD and nicely done as us ual. I remember thinking Queen Thalira was very pretty when I first watched her all those years ago. Now I look at her here and realise I was right. This lady can still hold my attention!And thank goodness for an array of actors on the commentaries to supplement the technical crew. Though I love Barry Letts and Terrence Dicks much of what they have to say has been said before. Actors, especially seasoned ones, love to come up with anecdotes and joke about the good old days. Which brings me to the fan commentary. Although it was interesting I'm not sure I want it, even if it had been as an alternative. Even if I had heard of more than one of these people I do not value their opinions more than my own. If I want to chat to fans about a show I'll go online, a DVD is where I want to hear from the informed people involved. And I would hate for the DVDs to feel like an extension of fandom.I assume Ysanne Churchman is no longer with us, though I don't think this is clarified even o n the subtitle notes, as we only got a very short archive interview with her. She and Stuart Fell are a brilliant double act as Centuri and as is pointed out, it's hard to imagine it is two people performing the role not one. Thanks to both of them for one of the highlights of both stories. (And in the next story Ysanne Churchman is equally great fun as Lupton's power crazed spider - only on Doctor Who!)On Target on Dicks. For my money (usually 30p or 35p) the best books were the earlier ones and Terrence Dicks wrote both early, middle and late, the latest being little more than fleshed out scripts while the earlier books well fleshed out stories. It was an interesting feature and certainly worth acknowledging Terrence Dicks' impact on the world of Doctor Who now and then.The only naughty is the inclusion of interviews already on the DVD for Seeds of Death and not acknowledging the fact. These are Sonny Caldinez, Alan Bennion and the recordings of Bernard Bresslaw.