Inferno

         
  "Listen to that! It's the sound of the planet screaming out its rage!"

Inferno is without doubt the best (or equal best with Spearhead from Space) story of the Pertwee era. Everything about it is perfect and works well (I can even live with the Primoids. And Benton's transformation into one in episode six is horrifying). One thing that struck me watching this was how well Douglas Camfield cast his productions; every actor is perfect for their roles. The other thing was that at seven episode the story doesn't drag at all (not something you could say of other stories of this era). If you wanted a story to introduce someone to Doctor Who for the first time you couldn't do worse than show them Inferno.

Out of the extras on this DVD the one that stands out is The Doctor Forever: Lost in the Dark Dimension which chronicles what happened to Doctor Who after it was taken off air in 1989. I cheered when Gary Russell said that some of the attempts by fandom to get the BBC to bring the show back in the early nineties (including attempting to launch legal action against the corporation - I kid you not! It's what caused me to turn my back on fandom) was just plain bonkers and did no one any good at all (so it wasn't just me that thought that after all). And then there's David Burton (who I'd forgotten about) and his claims to have been cast at the Doctor in the early nineties. I think this is the first time this gentleman has spoken on the record about his "time" and his statements that no footage exists of the episode he shot existing makes his claims to be somewhat dubious. But nice to have on the record anyway. Oh, and the fact the everyone at Gary Russell's 40th birthday party was trying to keep the news that Doctor Who was coming back from him is quiet funny too.