Doctor Who : Bred for War – The Sontaran Collection (The Time Warrior / The Invasion Of Time / The Two Doctors / The Sontaran Experiment) [1973] [DVD] Reviews
Doctor Who : Bred for War – The Sontaran Collection (The Time Warrior / The Invasion Of Time / The Two Doctors / The Sontaran Experiment) [1973] [DVD]
The Sontarans blasted back into the world of Doctor Who in 2008 after a prolonged absence, and immediately introduced a fresh generation to some of the most uncomplicated, yet dangerous villains that the Time Lord has ever had to face. Honourable warriors, and yet deadly to the last, this Bred For War boxset brings together the four stories featuring the Sontarans from the classic era of the show. We’ll get the weakest one out of the way first. The Invasion Of Time is too long, and sees the w
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A Great Boxset for Sontaran Fans,
If you’re a regular buyer of the classic ‘Doctor Who’ DVD range, ‘Bred for War’ is unlikely to have much to offer you – this is a simple repackaging of four earlier releases, comprising every story from the classic series featuring the Sontarans, one of the Doctor’s most fondly remembered enemies.
‘The Time Warrior’ stars Jon Pertwee, with Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah-Jane Smith, in an adventure that sees the Time Lord propelled back through time to the Middle Ages, where robber-baron Irongron has struck an uneasy alliance with a powerful Sontaran warrior named Linx, who is kidnapping scientists from the future in order to repair his damaged spacecraft. Although not one of Pertwee’s best stories, this is a hugely enjoyable romp nonetheless, with some fantastic location filming and a good eye for period detail. Meanwhile, 1975′s ‘The Sontaran Experiment’ is a two-part adventure from Tom Baker’s first season as the Doctor, set on a barren future Earth after humanity has fled to the stars. A survey team is being menaced by a mysterious assailant, who is conducting terrible experiments to assess the feasibility of an invasion. This is a particular favourite of mine – it’s an exciting adventure, with a small cast of characters and a memorable performance from Kevin Lindsay as the Doctor’s Sontaran nemesis, Styre.
‘The Invasion of Time’ from 1977 also stars Tom Baker, with Louise Jameson as Leela. The Doctor has apparently abused his position as President of the Time Lords to enable an invasion, but all is not as it seems. The Sontarans are absent until the final third of this six-part epic, but despite that, it’s still an entertaining tale, and one that’s notable for building on Time Lord mythology. Finally, Colin Baker and Patrick Troughton team up for 1985′s ‘The Two Doctors’, in which the Sontarans are embroiled in a plot to steal the secrets of time travel. Again, their appearance is overshadowed somewhat by other elements, specifically the meeting of the two Doctors, but it’s good to see them back one final time.
In common with all the ‘Doctor Who’ range, all four stories are accompanied by a wealth of bonus features, including the usual commentaries, documentaries, snippets from the archives and suchlike. In addition, ‘The Time Warrior’ and ‘The Invasion of Time’ feature the option to view the episodes with new CGI special effects, which help to enhance both stories, particularly the latter which suffered more than usual with budgetary restrictions. Also of note is the inclusion on ‘The Two Doctors’ of ‘In A Fix With Sontarans’, a special ‘mini episode’ from BBC TV’s ‘Jim’ll Fix It’, in which young ‘Doctor Who’ fan Gareth Jenkins gets to beam aboard the TARDIS and help Colin Baker’s Doctor fight off some unwelcome Sontaran intruders. It has to be seen to be believed.
Although there’s nothing extra to recommend the box set above the individual releases of these stories, and they’re not exactly ‘Doctor Who’s finest hour, this set represents good value for money, and an opportunity to collect every classic Sontaran story in one go. Definitely worth it if you don’t own any (or even most) of these stories already.
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|A great collection,
Some of the reviewers seem to have little knowledge as to why the boxset is being released or what it even contains, and therefore beware of such reviews.
Lets make this clear, the boxset is being released to coinside with the upcoming appearance of the Sontarans in the new series, and as such is there as a catch up release for those who have seen them in said episodes and wish to be able to see sll their previous stories at a reduced price. The boxset contains nothing that hasn’t been released before for this exact reason. Indeed the only new thing to come with this is the slipcase to hold them together and if people want to buy these again just for a cardboard box then more fool them…
As the the actual dvds, seperate reviews can easily be found for each dvd, but I would advise fans that do not yet own these titles to pick this release up as it is a fine collection. while the later 2 stories are nowhere near the quality of the first two, its still worth seeing them. The extras are interesting, particularly on TTW and the documentary ‘Bred for War’ on TSE is one of the best extras to appear on the classic series dvds.
A must own release for fans who as of yet do not own the previous outings of the Sontarans.
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|DOCTOR WHO: BRED FOR WAR – A Great Boxset for an old enemy,
For A Show that had low production values, The Early Encounters with the Sontarans proved to be some of the finnest produced for Television
First before i review all 4 of the Serials in this Boxset i would like to make a point that back when these stories were made they did not have the production values that the current series has and the script writers that has become known in Dr. Who’s long legacy… Yet the Sontarans are more fearsome in these 4 Serials than they where in the 2-Part Adventure that Aired This May (I Admit “The Sontaran Stratagem” and “The Poison Sky” had a great story to it. The Problem i Had was the Writers turning the Sontarans into an Intergelactic Rugby Team – complete with their own chant: SONTAR-HA-HA-HAAAA Don’t Make Me Laugh…)
Now to the reviewing:
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“THE TIME WARRIOR” Starring Jon Pertwee. (1973-1974)
This was the First Story of Season 11 – John Pertwee’s Last Year (“Planet of the Spiders” is my favourite, Despite my Fear of Spiders
and featured many firsts for the show – Sarah Jane Smith (Elizabeth Sladen) Began her adventures with the Time Lord in this story and ended her tenure with Tom Baker in “The Hand of Fear” (1976) Making her the longest serving Companion in the Shows History and would later tackle the Sontarans twice more – in the 3rd Serial of Season 12 “The Sontaran Experiment” and in the first Serial of The Sarah Jane Adventures Second Series “The Last Sontaran” (2008).
Speaking of the Sontarans, it also happens to be their first outing in the show.
As Well There is the first mention of the Rutans who would be refrenced in most future Sontaran Stories and would appear as a green blob in “The Horror of Fang Rock” (1977).
Also there is a first for the Doctor as Well… The Name of his Planet, Gallifrey, is first heard in this story.
setting the standards for the next 2-3 years of Doctor Who, “The Time Warrior” is not only a great piece of story telling, but shows that an alien can be scary just by showing his tounge…
“THE SONTARAN EXPERIMENT” Starring Tom Baker. (1975)
For Season 12, there were originaly 2 6 Episode Serials planned, One Becoming the following serial “Genesis of the Daleks”, it was discovred that a 2 Episode slot was more efiicent instead of having one 6 Episode Serial followed by another.
so they came up with this neat little story that has all had all the hallmarks of Dr Who’s next few seasons – A Gothic feel to the stories that gives the show a darker edge.
as well as that the show is clearly unique due to the fact that it is one of the few Doctor Who Shows that has been entirley filmed on Location rather than in studio.
All in All a great Adventure. Tom Baker (or his Stunt Double x-0.) at his best…
“THE INVASION OF TIME” Starring Tom Baker. (1978)
The Adventure that is shunned for it’s use of location and quick story writing has everything that a fan could want, the shock of thinking you know a Character and then (GASP!!!) The Doctor’s A BAd Guy and his helping a Time Lord Enemy. Whats Going on?
Well the cover of this DVD Gives away who the villain is (Both The Single and and the Boxset Release (A MAJOR Giveaway!!!)). But it is also one of the best story peicews considering they had to write a more cost effective episode and they have managed to do that really well.
“THE TWO DOCTORS” Starring Colin Baker and Patrick Troughton. (1985)
For a 3 Part adventure “The Two Doctors” is not what you’d think as the anniversary show happned a little over a year before this episode had aired. Instead you have a dark adventure – with influnces in Cannibalism and Violence. Though i am not a huge fan of Colin Bakers Doctor this is quite possibly one of his finest adventures…
and there ends my review.
Please Enoy these especially if your a first time Classic Doctor Who Viewer. and make your decision – Which Sontarans are better: Classic or New? You Decide….
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