STARRING Tom Baker as the ever-popular Fourth Doctor and Louise Jameson as Leela (not forgetting John Leeson as the voice of K-9), this four-part story from the series’ fifteenth season was originally broadcast during November and December 1977.
The Doctor and Leela arrive on Pluto in the distant future to find that it isn’t a cold, lifeless world and in fact has been colonised by the people of Earth.
Warmed by a ring of artificial suns, the Doctor finds that the warmth is only being enjoyed by a select few and that the majority of the population is being both over-worked and over-taxed by the elite, led by The Gatherer (played by Richard Leech) and The Collector (a tour-de-force performance by Henry Woolf).
A band of rebels has been formed and The Doctor has to join them in their attempt to fight the oppression.
This is in reality a thinly veiled attack by writer Robert Holmes against the taxman and the BBC, coming after a period of social unrest in the country.
Also, this is one of Louise Jameson’s favourite adventures and stars Michael Keating, who went on to star as Vila in Blake’s Seven.
There are the usual extras, including a making-of documentary and the second part of a feature on composer Dudley Simpson.
To be honest, the Photo Gallery only shows images of the sets and the Outtakes section only feature one scene, but everything else is as we’d come to expect from a Classic Doctor Who release.
Release date: August 1st 2011.
Catalogue No: BBCDVD2955.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article