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Doctor Who - The Key to Time - The Complete Adventure

Doctor Who - The Key to Time - The Complete Adventure

List Price: $124.98
Your Price: $99.98
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Key of Time Box Set a Masterpeice
Review: This Box set of the Key to Time is fantasic. I would have givin it 5 stars however it was a little slim on the special features. I was delighted to find out that we got it as an exclusive from the UK. To any Dr Who fan who is lucky enough to have a DVD player i would definatly recommend thisDvd set. Its better in this package if you want to own all six stories in one shot like I did.I had all of these on tape however My Copy of the Pirate Planet was poor and unwatchable.These Dvds in The Key To Time a true Gem. I highly recommend this.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Set!
Review: This is a very exciting story arc over several very well done episodes. The introduction and changing of Romana is very interesting. This will be a wonderful edition to my slowly growing Dr Who dvd collection. We want more, please!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: What a wonderful set!
Review: Watching the Key to Time series in one piece really fills in alot of blanks for those of us not fortunate to have seen enough Doctor Who episodes to get a sense of the whole. Not that you'll get much of a history of the Time Lords or understand from this series alone why Doctor Who is on the adventure he is on, but it's still a great place to start, not to mention that this series contains two of my all-time favorite Who episodes, The Pirate Planet and The Androids of Tara. The search for the Key is really just a convenient excuse to send the Doctor off on a series-long adventure. Some of the episodes barely make mention of the Key, while others focus on it more intently.

This series comes from the Tom Baker years, and shows both the scarcastic wit and the caring that made these years so popular with viewers, especially in America, where Baker has been by far the favorite of the doctors. These years also featured K-9, the robotic dog who has more personality than alot of the humans in the Doctor Who worlds and whose near demise in the final episode is surprisingly moving. It also features the beautiful Mary Tamm as Romana, the youngish time lord who is foisted on Doctor Who against his will but becomes his treasured companion. Tamm is fabulous, holding her own wonderfully against Baker and managing to convey intelligence, beauty, humor and compassion consistently. Although you can read about each episode in more detail on the reviews for the individual episodes, here is my quick rundown of each:

The Ribos Operation: 3 stars, not the most interesting Who episode, not the worst either. Introduces the White Guardian and Romana and sets up the search for the key, but is otherwise pretty run of the mill. Nice hammy turns by the co-leads, one a tyrant out to buy a planet to use as a staging post for reconquering his world, the other a con man trying to hustle him on the sale of the planet, a backwards world with religious symbols that look awfully Catholic.

The Pirate Planet: 5 stars - very cheesy, very funny, very intelligent episode about one of the greatest crimes against humanity ever committed. One of the best Who episodes, written by the late, great Douglas Adams of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" fame.

The Stones of Blood: 2 1/2 stars -- Worst episode of the bunch, a silly, slow-moving take on Stonehenge and goddess-worshipping cults.

The Androids of Tara: 5 stars - Fabulous episode that plays on "The Prisoner of Zenda." The Doctor and Romana get caught on opposite sides in a battle for the throne of Tara. Another one of those stories in which one of the leads (Romana) is a dead ringer for a principal on the other world (right down to the little scar in the middle of her forehead). Overlook that small detail, though, and this one's a winner from the beautiful scenery and costumes to some of the best acting in a Who episode.

The Power of Kroll: 3 1/2 stars - not a great episode, but still entertaining. Anthropology stars here as one race risks exterminating another out of corporate greed, only to be foiled by a giant squid.

The Armageggdon Factor: 4 stars -- the longest episode (at six mini-episodes instead of the usual 4), and the wrapping up of the Key saga, takes place on a planet on the brink of annihilation following a nuclear war. Also introduces us to the princess whose shape Romana will assume when she undergoes her first transformation.

This series is both a must for serious collectors and a great intro for the first-time Who viewer. It's not necessary to view these in order (for years I'd only seen two of them), but it's a nice treat if you can afford it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: What a wonderful set!
Review: Watching the Key to Time series in one piece really fills in alot of blanks for those of us not fortunate to have seen enough Doctor Who episodes to get a sense of the whole. Not that you'll get much of a history of the Time Lords or understand from this series alone why Doctor Who is on the adventure he is on, but it's still a great place to start, not to mention that this series contains two of my all-time favorite Who episodes, The Pirate Planet and The Androids of Tara. The search for the Key is really just a convenient excuse to send the Doctor off on a series-long adventure. Some of the episodes barely make mention of the Key, while others focus on it more intently.

This series comes from the Tom Baker years, and shows both the scarcastic wit and the caring that made these years so popular with viewers, especially in America, where Baker has been by far the favorite of the doctors. These years also featured K-9, the robotic dog who has more personality than alot of the humans in the Doctor Who worlds and whose near demise in the final episode is surprisingly moving. It also features the beautiful Mary Tamm as Romana, the youngish time lord who is foisted on Doctor Who against his will but becomes his treasured companion. Tamm is fabulous, holding her own wonderfully against Baker and managing to convey intelligence, beauty, humor and compassion consistently. Although you can read about each episode in more detail on the reviews for the individual episodes, here is my quick rundown of each:

The Ribos Operation: 3 stars, not the most interesting Who episode, not the worst either. Introduces the White Guardian and Romana and sets up the search for the key, but is otherwise pretty run of the mill. Nice hammy turns by the co-leads, one a tyrant out to buy a planet to use as a staging post for reconquering his world, the other a con man trying to hustle him on the sale of the planet, a backwards world with religious symbols that look awfully Catholic.

The Pirate Planet: 5 stars - very cheesy, very funny, very intelligent episode about one of the greatest crimes against humanity ever committed. One of the best Who episodes, written by the late, great Douglas Adams of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" fame.

The Stones of Blood: 2 1/2 stars -- Worst episode of the bunch, a silly, slow-moving take on Stonehenge and goddess-worshipping cults.

The Androids of Tara: 5 stars - Fabulous episode that plays on "The Prisoner of Zenda." The Doctor and Romana get caught on opposite sides in a battle for the throne of Tara. Another one of those stories in which one of the leads (Romana) is a dead ringer for a principal on the other world (right down to the little scar in the middle of her forehead). Overlook that small detail, though, and this one's a winner from the beautiful scenery and costumes to some of the best acting in a Who episode.

The Power of Kroll: 3 1/2 stars - not a great episode, but still entertaining. Anthropology stars here as one race risks exterminating another out of corporate greed, only to be foiled by a giant squid.

The Armageggdon Factor: 4 stars -- the longest episode (at six mini-episodes instead of the usual 4), and the wrapping up of the Key saga, takes place on a planet on the brink of annihilation following a nuclear war. Also introduces us to the princess whose shape Romana will assume when she undergoes her first transformation.

This series is both a must for serious collectors and a great intro for the first-time Who viewer. It's not necessary to view these in order (for years I'd only seen two of them), but it's a nice treat if you can afford it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Perfect Addition To Your Doctor Who Collection
Review: What a great way to own the entire season in one complete boxed set! The audio commentaries are very informative and at times hilarious, wait for Tom's classic line 'Who's That???'. The prints are perfect and the episodes themselves are very entertaining. Tom Baker and John Leeson make a great team with their contibutions likewise Mary Tamm and the other key personnel. Actor Bruce Purchase has some interesting comments as well.
A must for Who and Baker fans alike.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: My Favorite Doctor Who Episodes
Review: What's your favorite Doctor Who episode? The one you go back and watch over and over and over again, of course. That makes my all time favorites: "The Ribos Operation" and "The Pirate Planet", and those are closely followed by "The Armageddon Factor". I have not seen the DVD yet. Unlike Doctor Who, I cannot travel into the future, view it, and then return to the past and write a review on it. I'll buy it as soon as I can and then I'll watch it over and over and over again, of course.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Certainly the Doctors' LONGEST adventure...
Review: When an actor such as Tom Baker stays with a show like Dr. Who for seven years, it's inevitable that the show will undergo a few changes and the biggest changes were the different producers. Phillip Hinchcliffe produced Bakers first three seasons, the best of the entire history of the show, in my opinion, which focused on the gothic horror elements of sci-fi and was top notch. John Nathan Turner produced Baker's last year, featuring a slightly more sedate and possibly more tired Doctor as he neared his regeneration into Peter Davison's version (also, Baker was in ill health for a stretch during the final season which accounted for his changed physical appearance). But Baker's 4th thru 6th seasons were helmed by Graham Williams, who had the unenviable task of veering away from the popular, scary and brilliant Hinchcliffe stories and had to go in a more slapstick, dumbed-down direction for the kids. Well, he succeeded. There are some nice elements in some of the different Key to time adventures and it was a bold move to do an entire season under the umbrella of one idea---the quest for the six segments to the key to time. I think I may have liked it even more if I hadn't been so used to the magnificent Hinchcliffe era shows. Williams era had a lot of silliness and of course, K9. It also featured some of the very lamest Who such as "Horns of Nimon". All in all, the Key to time is a good addition to the DVDs although I would have voted for many more early Hinchcliffe/Baker episodes to come ouot before these.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: PETER DAVISON RULES
Review: WHILE I AGREE THAT SEASON 16 WAS A WEAK POINT I MUST EXCLAIM THAT DOCTOR WHO WAS JUST BUILDING UP TO SOME MAJOR GREATNESS IN IT'S 17TH AND 18TH SEASON. SEASON 18 LED INTO THE 5th DOCTOR FOR CRYING OUT LOUD. PETER DAVISON RULES!


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