Doctor Who: Shada

I have a friend who was involved in the commissioning of these hybrid animation versions of the old missing or incomplete "Dr. Who" series' and I think my scepticism was probably borne out with this rather curiously spliced story. With industrial action hitting the production with a week's worth of filming still to do, the animators have tried to visualise the gaps whilst the "Doctor" (Tom Baker) and "Romana" (Lalla Ward) have returned to revoice the additional bits as the story takes us to the planet of "Shada". It's a prison that holds - well it used to hold - the devious "Skagra" (Christopher Neame) who has escaped with quite an uniquely cunning plan. He wants to round up all the brains he can find and pool them into a great database of galactic knowledge. The best and worst of us all under his control! Thing is, only the Time Lords know where the place is, so when he discovers the retired old "Chronotis" (Denis Carey) living peaceably as a university lecturer on Earth, he sets off, replete with his ominous flying sphere, to incorporate his mind into his cerebral hub too. "Skagra" hadn't counted on he old chap still having enough of his wits about him to send for his favourite student - and so you know who and his pal and his dog duly arrive to combat his evil. I thought this a pretty weak story and Neame hadn't the slightest degree of menace as he prances around in his silvery cape. It does present us with quite an interesting look at just how the series was filmed, though, with the animated gaps illustrating the sort of batch-filming approach that was used before the edit - leaving no real rhyme nor reason to the absent bits. It's all watchable enough, but more as a curiosity and testament to some restorative imagination rather than because it's really very good.

Firstly, this is a big update on the previously available version of this great lost 'masterpiece', including new model work, subtly polished effects, and a few newly filmed live action scenes, all joined together by pleasing digitally animated 'comic' style sections that fill in all the missing acted bits, which also serve to open up the settings far more than I'm sure the BBC would have been capable of achieving originally.

If we're being honest, the story itself isn't exactly the best ever, it plods a teeny bit in places and gets rather too silly in others, but overall it works and the dialogue is typical Douglas Adams in that there are many fun to and fros between the characters which keeps you entertained regardless, and there are lots of enjoyable moments that carry it along quite adequately with a twist and a turn at the end.

I enjoyed it tremendously, but any new classic Who is good Who when you're a fan, and it's worth it just for the delightful newly added live action scene right at the very end that will both delight and leave a lump in the throat of every whovian on the planet. It certainly did me.

Between that and the most campily dressed villain ever brought to screen (seriously, it's jaw dropping), I highly recommend a viewing.

Douglas Adams Shada has arrived a little bit later than advertised. Actually 37 years later.

The uncompleted Tom Baker Doctor Who story has been lauded since it remained unfinished from 1980. Now the BBC has reconstructed it by animating the missing sequences, reuniting the living actors and including a new bonus scene at the end.

The production crew wanted something epic like the City of Death broadcast in early 1979. The story had extensive location shooting in Cambridge and Tom Baker was in his pomp.

Shada is a prison planet created by the Time Lords. The evil genius Skagra wants to create a universe with his mind controlling it. He needs to get there to release a notorious prisoner whose mind control functions he requires.

Meanwhile the Doctor and Romana visit an old professor friend at St. Cedd's College, Cambridge. Professor Chronotis has called out to the Doctor but cannot remember why. However a mislaid book creates danger, Skagra is after the book which contains coded Time Lord secrets.

First let me get the shallow stuff out of the way. Just how gorgeous was Victoria Burgoyne in this who plays Clare Keightley, the girlfriend of Chris Parsons.

I do feel that at six parts the story is overlong. I much preferred the shorter webcast that starred Paul McGann. Some of the Cambridge scenes were there just to show off the fact that they were filming in and around the university buildings. Christopher Neame is rather one note as Skagra. The special effects for the orb and the invisible spaceship were not wholly convincing. (It does not help that Star Trek 4: The Voyage Home, did a parked invisible space ship better in 1986 and my mind kept going back to that.)

However it is a joy to see Tom Baker again in a new story of Doctor Who. It just reminds me how much I loved his Doctor as a kid and he just makes it look so easy, never mind that in later years I read just how difficult he was to work with.

Shada is quite a complicated story to follow, doesn't matter how many times I watched the VHS or blu ray I never quite got it. Having the gaps in the production made it nigh on impossible to follow. However the production team have worked wonders, putting Shada together with a mix of old and new material, and doing it in an almost seamless way.

City of Death apart, I wasn't really a fan of the Douglas Adams era, I always thought Tom got away with a little too much, too many laughs, too much nonsense, the balance in City of Death was spot on, and for the most part the balance is spot on in Shada too. Watching it in this new format it now feels like Shada could have been somewhat of a classic, ultimately superior to Creature from the Pit, Horns of Nimon etc, it has so much going for it, Cambridge, Time Lords, a giant killer ball and of course the excellent Skagra, a villain way before his time.

Christopher Neame is great as Skagra, he is a clever, matter of fact villain, he's not laughing maniacally or over the top in a silly manner, he's clear, single minded and sinister, a great foe.

I am also stunned at the Blu ray transfer, the original material looks fantastic, it bodes well for the classic series releases on BD.

It's still a confusing plot, but I enjoyed this updated version enormously.

This story was not completed during its original recording for season 17 of the classic series due to industrial dispute interfering with the schedule. It has since been released as an audio version, as a reconstruction with narration for missing parts, as an audio and animated remake with the 8th Doctor instead of the 4th Doctor and finally this reconstruction with restored original footage and animation for the previously missing portions (which also has an added scene at the end with Tom Baker reappearing as his much older self.) In my opinion this most recent animated reconstruction gives the best depiction of the original story despite limitations with the animation. It allows us to fully appreciate Shada in all its glory.

The story involves the Doctor and Romana arriving at Cambridge in order to see the Doctor's friend and fellow Time Lord Professor Chronotis just as evil scientist Skagra is also looking for him in order to acquire a stolen Gallifreyan book which has the power to release Time Lord criminal Salyavin who has the power to implant his mind into others. Skagra who already has the means to extract people's minds intends using Salyavin's powers for himself.

The adventure is thoroughly absorbing, intelligent and fun. There is very funny humour, quite dark moments and loads of charm throughout. Denis Carey is magnificent as Professor Chronotis, one of the great guest characters both in the idea behind the character and the performance. It is a pity he never appeared again. Other guest characters are all good and Romana is a great companion but above all that is Tom Baker who is at his magical best as the 4th Doctor. He is electrifying to watch and listen to. So funny, so intriguing and so entertaining. This story lets him have a real showcase and that is one of the reasons it is an absolute classic. It is awful that it was not finished and released at the time. Fans were denied this for so long.