It was the end, but the moment had been prepared for. The well had run dry, and 2003 quietly trickled out the final Doctor Who stories yet to be released on VHS. VHS had become an outdated and inferior home viewing platform. DVD allowed higher picture quality, interactive menus, scene selection, special features, commentaries, special music, photo galleries, and took up far less space on the shelf. To celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the program, each of the VHS releases of the year featured a special 40th Anniversary badge as the DVDs would (the exception being The Reign Of Terror). The VHS releases were spread out across the 40th year. The BBFC ratings now adopted the 2002 style logos, and the internal advertisement for more Doctor Who products were all the same.
A section designed as the TARDIS roundels (a darker version to that of the one seen on the DVD range) promoted the DVDs for Hitchiker's Guide To The Galaxy and Red Dwarf. Another section advertised the 40th Anniversary logo along with DVDs (The Tomb Of The Cybermen, The Ark In Space, Carnival Of Monsters, Resurrection Of The Daleks and The Seeds Of Death), and VHSs (The First Doctor Collection, The Ambassadors Of Death, The Invisible Enemy, Underworld, and The Creature From The Pit).
The first release was The Mutants (17th February), retailing at £12.99 and labelled as BBCV7331. The tape ran for 2:27:14, and was rated as a PG. Black Sheep's covered showed the 3rd Doctor, Jo, Ky, Professor Sondergaard, the planet Solos, and the inscription. The internal notes discussed the Mutts, Christopher Barry, Bob Baker and Dave Martin, Geoffrey Palmer, costume designer James Acheson, and the variable quality of the episodes that only survived in NTSC format.
Meglos (£12.99) was released on 10th March. The story was labelled as BBCV7332 and ran for 1:28:30. The rating was a U and the cover showed Meglos as the 4th Doctor, Romana, and Lexa in the setting of Tigella. Meglos' internal notes discussed Bidmead's approach to Doctor Who, K9's treatment in the story, the title of the story, Terence Dudley as director, Jacqueline Hill's return to the series, the Scene-Sync employed during the story, and the various reuse of props seen in the story from older episodes.
The Horns Of Nimon was also charged for £12.99 when it was released on 2nd June. The tape was labelled as BBCV7334 and ran for 1:42:34. This PG rated tape featured the artwork of the 4th Doctor, Romana, a Nimon, and a green background showing a swirling black hole. The interior of the tape talked about Anthony Read's inspiration about the story regarding Theseus and the Minotaur, Graham Crowden, the Nimon, the story abruptly ending Season 17, and how The Horns Of Nimon brought about the end of an era for 1970s Doctor Who. This was the final VHS release for a Tom Baker story.
Invasion Of The Dinosaurs brought about not only the final VHS for the Jon Pertwee era, but also the last complete story to be released. The February 2004 release in Australia was the final VHS release of any Doctor Who VHS in the world. The UK release came about on 20th October, and ran for 2:31:58 as a PG for £12.99. BBCV7333 was left so late in the range because the attempt to recolourise Episode 1 was put back and back because the possibility to recolourise it was prohibitively expensive, as no other colour source could be used to return colour to the episode. The back of the tape pointed out that Episode 1 existed only in black and white. The cover showed the 3rd Doctor, Sarah Jane, a t-rex, and dinosaurs menacing the city of London in the background with an orange background.
An alternate cover (perhaps a promo cover) showed a verdant colour background with the 3rd Doctor and Sarah Jane being menaced by two pterodactyls. The internal notes described the use of CSO in the story, Malcom Hulke's ideas, the dinosaurs that appeared in the story, Jon Pertwee's new car, the announcement of Jon Pertwee's departure as Invasion Of The Dinosaurs went out, the beginning the end of the 3rd Doctor's era, various cast notes, and the condition that Episode 1 survived in. The notes also described how much the VHS had grown in over twenty years - as this was the last regular release of the VHS range. The tape opened with an epic trailer to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Doctor Who by Orbital recorded in 2001 along with clips from various stories. This trailer also appeared on the DVDs of Earthshock, The Two Doctors, The Curse Of Fenric, and The Three Doctors.
YOU ARE READING
Doctor Who: The Complete History Of The BBC VHS Range
FanfictionIn the 21st century, Whovians across the world are privileged enough to watch the adventures of their favourite travelling Time Lord on a host of streaming platforms, Iplayer, websites, and on other forms of HD content. Not that long ago, Doctor Who...
