A Matter of Time

Its funny, when you watch a special feature I think this reviewer likes to be educated, entertained and informed. Her we have a rather botched DVD Documentary and I have to say it slightly lowers the standard of this otherwise excellent range. It is the longest and most drawn out of documentaries and in places I actually started falling asleep. What is lacked in entertainment value it made up for in the educational department but I think there has to be a healthy mixture of both and her it was all fact fact fact and no entertainment. Now I happen to think that Williams era was actually not that bad and seeing here all the troubles he had this man was not to be envied. Here Ed Stradling shows his inability to make documentaries that viewers can watch, enjoy and stay with I actually found myself fast forwarding through bits I suspect this Producer doesn't know how to edit properly a skill he'll need to develop. The writing was pretty fluid and it started with a very "As Time Goes By" title sequence which was pretty weak even though the production values where high. But all this said it was not the worst thing about the extra's on this Key to Time Box Set, however it is just as well we are not buying this set for its extra's which I note Stradling had a lot to do with showing his inexperience as a producer.

Ed Stradling gets back to form with a seminal piece of work covering the tenure of the late Graham Williams as producer of Doctor Who.

Like Ronnie Bleasdale I like to be informed in DVD extras on Doctor Who. This extra does it in spades. There is so much to it that it really merits a second viewing. This is fascinating and the interviews come thick and fast.

This documentary really plays to Stradlings strengths, covering a top level issue and giving a detailed overview of a subject rather than an introspective on a particular story. Written by jobbing Big Finish actor Nicholas Pegg this is an affectionate look at a tumultuous era in the shows history and does it so well.