THE DOCTORS, The Jon Pertwee Years: Behind the Scenes Vol. 2

Director: Keith Barnfather
Starring: Bob Baker, Dave Martin, Robert Sloman, Louis Marks, Tim Combe, Dudley Simpson, Sonny Caldinez, Shirley Cooklin, Prentis Hancock, David Spenser, Nicholas Briggs.

Country: UK

Running Time: 311 min 

Year: 1970’s

BBFC Certificate: E

This latest offering in The Doctors series hits the ground running. Boasting a definitive collection of interviews with the production team responsible for the Jon Pertwee era of Doctor Who. Ready yourself for this outpouring of goodies from Reeltime Pictures. Oozing with interviews that hardly fit in the box, step into volume two of “The Jon Pertwee Years, Behind The Scenes.

There are five documentaries crammed onto Behind the scenes volume 2. This time we have the pleasure of meeting writers Bob Baker, Dave Martin, Robert Sloman, and Louis Marks. Director Tim Combe and composer Dudley Simpson also make themselves available for grilling. Included is a special production featuring actors Sonny Caldinez, Shirley Cooklin, Prentis Hancock, and David Spenser. As always icing is added to the cake, with presenter Nicholas Briggs “voice of the Daleks”.

Made for the Whovian fanatic this romp through the history of The Doctor is a must-have for the most dedicated Sci-fi connoisseurs. This authoritative collector’s edition will take you on a trip through time with over five hours of footage. Its pure nostalgia will enhance your Dr. Who knowledge, providing a whole new insight into the series. 

Opening with Bob Baker and Dave Martin, creators of three of the Jon Pertwee stories, this in-depth interview is fifty-five minutes long. Covering “The Claws of Axon” along with “the Mutants” and “The Three Doctors”. This interview hails from 2000 although the writers had mainly enjoyed writing for television, Dave talks of his disillusion. Bob, on the other hand, enjoys his experiences more, becoming involved with the groundbreaking “Wallace and Gromit”.

Robert Sloman guides through the next chapter of Doctor Who history. giving his take on life in this forty-eight-minute interview. Sadly he died a year after giving this interview, making his reflections all the more poignant. To his credit, he was involved with “The Daemons.”The Green Death”, “The Time Monster” and “Planet of the Spiders”.

This first disc comes to the grand finale with a fifty-two-minute interview with Louis Marks. He wrote for William Hartnell and Tom Baker as well as “Day of the Daleks” for Jon Pertwee. This interview takes place in Louis’s home, where he reveals some of his thoughts concerning the Doctors.

The journey into disc two continues with a fifty-five-minute chat with director Tim Combe. He worked with Jon on “Doctor Who and the Silurians” and “The Mind of Evil”.Tim also can discuss William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton. The interview even contains convention material with editor Terrance Dicks and producer Barry Letts. We’re not finished yet, there are plenty more beans to be spilled as we meet composer Dudley Simpson in this 2005 interview. This section is rounded off as Dudley chats with fans at an Australian convention. 

The material continues to flow with another hour of fascinating information from the“Flight Through Eternity” convention in 2008. The list of those interviewed is long and prestigious including, Prentis Hancock of“Planet of the Daleks” and “Spearhead from Space” fame. The fun continues with David Spencer from “The Abominable Snowmen” and Shirley Cooklin from“The Tomb of the Cybermen”.Further appearances are made by Sonny Caldinez from“The Evil of the Daleks”,” Curse of Peladon” and the” The Monster of Peladon. The “Voice of the Daleks” does a marvelous job of facilitating the interviewees, to squeeze out a plethora of information.

The interviewees will delight you with tales of their escapades. Once again as with all of this series your Doctor Who knowledge will be greatly bolstered. The abundance of information is both informative and makes for a pleasantly relaxing trip through time and space.

This has been put together enthusiastically and is a labor of love. Warming the cockles of your heart this nostalgic release will entrance all those interested in The Doctors adventures. It’s a rich vein to be mined at your pleasure, giving you good value for money. THE DOCTORS, The Jon Pertwee Years: Behind the Scenes Vol. 2 is out now on DVD in the UK, released by Reeltime Pictures. 

I watched the DVD and found the sound and picture quality to be good, do bear in mind though that some of the footage does vary in age and quality. All in all it will be a welcome addition to your Doctor Who collection.