DVD Extras include:
- Audio commentary
- "Into the Wild" making-of featurette
- Behind-the-Scenes film trims
- Louise Jameson (Leela) interview
- Louise Jameson appearance on "Swap Shop"
- "Tomorrow's Times - The Fourth Doctor" press coverage featurette
- Pop-up Production Note Subtitles
- Photo Gallery
- 1976 Toys & Tea ads
Buyers' Guide Review
by Martin Izsak
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(A more in-depth analysis, containing "SPOILERS" and intended
for those who have already seen the program, can be accessed
here.)
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Season Fourteen continues its run of excellence with this highly
imaginative story. Writer Chris Boucher makes an impressive debut,
presenting viewers with an ingenious puzzle that contains uniquely
sci-fi elements at its core. A typical Doctor Who atheist theme is
brought up as well, as science neatly makes sense of many a superstitious
ritual and opens up new possibilities for all the characters involved,
but as no real spirituality is shown in the religious characters,
the story can remain tasteful and on safe ground when putting them
down a bit.
The Doctor makes a most satisfying entrance, with the police box
getting a full materialization, the sound effect being nearly clean
and used in its entirety. Nothing of the interior is shown today,
perhaps a blessing if it's going to be the dark secondary control room
again.
"No More Janis Thorns"
The Doctor meets Leela quite early in the first episode, and perhaps in
large part thanks to her expulsion from the Sevateem tribe, they immediately
fall into a typical fully-functioning Doctor/companion routine. It's
hard to believe her future as a new full time companion wasn't a certainty
from the start. Leela is refreshing in the sense that she's not only
eager to jump into new adventures with the Doctor, but she's combat-ready
on top of it, often even more so than he is. The Doctor spends much
time restraining her, encouraging her to use her mind a little more.
She's rather like a low-tech Steven Taylor or Jamie McCrimmon, only
more violent. His forbidding her to use any more deadly-poisonous
Janis Thorns is an absolutely correct moment.
Jameson throws herself into the role really well, and has fun with it.
The childlike qualities she exhibits at times help to make the character
and her origins that much more believable.
Tom Baker also deserves kudos for his insistance on changing a scripted
knife into a jelly-baby. Not only does it put the Doctor's character on
far greater moral ground, it showcases his talent for brash bluffs and
quick thinking, and it's one of the most entertaining and humourous moments
in the entire fourteenth season. In fact, it's simply one of THE classic
moments of the entire series.
Pennant Roberts also makes his debut as director on the show. He often
strikes me as being a bit too ambitious for the production limitations
imposed on the program. As someone who has struggled to add visual beam
lasers to a personal copy of
"Warriors of the Deep" (story no. 131,
also directed by Roberts), I can attest that
the footage Roberts shoots is more suited to expensive post-production at
Industrial Light and Magic than the BBC's modest electronic effects of the
mid-1970's, with cameras and actors constantly moving gunpoints and targets.
While this makes life hard for the post crew, the dynamics in the shots are
usually good for the story, so there's always a bit of a trade-off.
In "The Face of Evil", Roberts puts his ambition to good use. The film
sequences are excellent, particularly some of the invisible monster moments.
Roberts also delivers visual beam effects in this story
that are quite impressive for the time in which they were done, and notice
the movement in the footage during beam effects too, adding extra challenges
for the electronic effects supervisor. I'm pleasantly surprised the laser
fire of this
story turned out as well as it did. The sound effect isn't half as powerful
as that of the Gallifreyan weapons from the last story, but it will do.
Xoanon's inner chamber is also
a very impressive use of CSO effects, helping to emphasize the purely
mental and schizophrenic aspects of the story. The program continues
to boast one of its oldest strengths here, in using highly creative
atmospheric sound to support the story.
Other post-production elements are not all they should be; the
superimposed revelation at the climax of Part Two goes too easily
unnoticed unless one is
looking for it - its colour is too similar to the set behind it for it to
stand out as it should, and a close-up of it would seem to be a natural
addition to help the sequence as well. Other effects seem to be thrown in
rather gratuitously... I'll keep my example restricted to the
In-depth Analysis version of this review
though.
The jungle set, though not as colourful or elaborate as that for
"Planet of Evil" (story no. 81),
is equally disappointing for the same
reasons. The
foreground is lit for day, while the background is black as though it
were night. Too bad the budget didn't stretch a little more, to allow
for location filming. Using the same spot as used for inside the Matrix
in the previous story would have been nice. I even prefer the indoor
jungle sets of
"Kinda" (story no. 119),
because at least the daylight is
convincing. "The Face of Evil" is too dark in the jungle.
David Garfield, who also appeared in
"The War Games" (story no. 50),
is particlarly
enjoyable in this one as Neeva, where he has the unenviable task of
balancing rituals and superstitions and power-plays with sudden
insight, discovery and mental resistance. Thankfully he pulls it off
satisfyingly in the end. Leslie Schofield also makes his character
Calib worthy of deeper scrutiny.
"Two Days?! I haven't got time to be lying around for two days!"
It is notable and refreshing that the climax happens early in part
four, while plenty of time is given to the aftermath of the story, wrapping
up all the loose ends at a fairly relaxed and believable pace. Notice
how no screen time is devoted to the Man of Sleep while he is sleeping,
and no blubber scenes for Leela either. Screen time is for waking,
productive moments. :-)
"The Face of Evil" shines bright on the whole thanks to good
writing. It's a true sci-fi mystery, and one of the most original ones
Doctor Who was ever blessed with.
This story is currently on VHS video, and coming to DVD soon:
Region 1 NTSC DVD version
coming soon....
Mar. 13, 2012.
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DVD NTSC Region 1
for the North American market:
in the U.S.
in Canada
NEW for
Mar. 13, 2012
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DVD PAL Region 2
for the U.K.
NEW for
Mar. 5, 2012.
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VHS Video
NTSC
A
in North America
NTSC
B
in North America
PAL
for the U.K.
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