Rewriting History

It seems naive to keep declaring every new "Doctor Who" DVD release the "best one ever", but I think "The Aztecs" actually fits the bill this time. I mean, compared to one of the earliest releases ("Spearhead From Space", about which I raved), this disc really seems to have an impossibly high numbers of features and improvements.

Most notably is frame-by-frame restoration of the story. Part and parcel of being a "Doctor Who" fan is accepting the show's poor visual look. Not poor as in aged special effects or wobbly sets, but poor as in picture quality. "Who" was always recorded on videotape, but the tape from the show's entire 1960s run has long since been destroyed, and those episodes are only available now on ancient, scratchy film transfers. "The Aztecs" DVD doesn't miraculously unearth the original videotapes... but it does run the film through a special restoration process which mostly restores the old video look. No scratches, no jumps, this time. Now you can see the original sets and flimsy decorations in all their harsh studio-light glare, and you can see those lights reflected in all the actors' foreheads.

Now, while I'm sure most people who still watch "Doctor Who" don't watch it for picture quality, these DVDs do serve an extreme niche market, and it's nice to know that someone on the DVD-production end is actually trying to put out a worthwhile product.

Apart from the story (which is so brilliant that I won't do it the injustice of a 3-sentence plot summary), the DVD also benefits from the inclusion of the original actors in the special features. The audio commentary track is a major disappointment. Actor William Russell (Ian) is so old that he doesn't seem to realize he's watching a younger version of himself. Carole Anne Ford (Susan) was on vacation for most of "The Aztecs", so her comments are limited to several variations on "Oh, that's pretty!". The star of the commentary is the show's original producer, Verity Lambert, though there was slightly less insight on "Doctor Who"'s beginnings than I expected. I do hope she'll be included on future Season 1 DVDs

Three actors from the "Aztec"'s secondary cast take part in a 30-minute "Remembering the Aztecs" featurette. Ian Cullen (Ixta) sits at a table in a garden, reading from a very visible script, although his glasses are off. Walter Randall (Tonila) and John Ringham (Tlotoxl, a name not pronounced the same way twice throughout the entire story) sit together on a couch, Randall with his shirt unbuttoned and navel revealed. What's up with that? Best of all, Randall and Ringham provide *new* character voices for a hilarious animated short ("Making Cocoa") done in South-Park style, and all three record in-character voice introductions when you select the "Play All" option. And look for the easter egg hidden on the Special Features menu.

There's also a nice 5-minute history lesson on the Aztecs, thrown in from a 1971 children's TV program. The half-hour interview with the episode's set designer, Barry Newbery, goes on a bit too long, but again, these DVDs are aimed at the kind of audience that might appreciate this sort of excess.

Happily, the usually interminable photo gallery now plays by itself, so you don't have to stab the "next" button on your remote every 3 seconds. The photos are mostly useless, but the color snapshots are fun, since you can see what the costumes were actually supposed to look like, before the 1964 story was recorded in glorious Black-&-White-O-Vision.

Who at its best!

Absolutely wonderful. That sums it up nicely. "The Aztecs" has long been my favorite Hartnell story (well... MAYBE a close second to "The Crusades", yeah, I like the historicals). Even when I had to watch it on a fuzzy 3rd generation videotape.

On DVD, it is amazing. The wonderful plot and acting is still there. (Only exception to the latter being, possibly, the actor playing Tltoxl, who even admits himself that he was pretty OTT.) The use (rare in DW) of time travel as an actual plot device, rather than just a means to getting the characters to their next adventure.
When you add to the mix a magnificantly cleaned up picture quality, some (FINALLY!) eminently worthy DVD extras ("Remembering the Aztecs", [an interview with several guest actors], a piece on the restoration process, and yes, even the Arabic soundtrack for episode 4, are especially interesting and welcome), the final package is a piece of Must-have WHO.

The DVD also includes the usual info-text, commentary by actors/producers, captions, and several other minor extras.

Keep up the good work, BEEB.

Oldest Doctor Who DVD story released so far. Excellent.

The Aztecs was the 6th storyline of the first doctor, William Hartnell. This was one of the Historical Doctor Who episodes, and a fascinating one at that. Watching this story, you can see the appeal of the doctor. He goes everywhere in and out of time and space. He has knowledge that only a time traveller of his caliber could possess. He wants to learn as much as he can about the places and people he visits. In this particular show the Doctor and his companions travel back into earth's time to when the Aztec culture was flourishing. It is a great story, and makes me wish that the oldest historical Dr. Who storyline: "Marco Polo" had survived. The DVD quality is excellent, and if someone wants to watch it with the quality it was originally aired, then they would need a Tardis in order to do that. But the rest of us who regret the fragility of the first two doctors' stories (over 1/3 are presumably lost forever), a disc like this is most welcome. "The Dalek Invasion of Earth" and "Tomb of the Cybermen" are also fantastic. Here is hoping that more of the first two Dr.s are released on DVD in such a respectful way!