The Doctor In The TARDIS

A slightly unusual review this time friends, as this been around for many years but it is now available for the ridiculous price of £3.13 on a certain website of which I will give you an anagram of (Amazno). This is an ever more remarkable price when you consider it is the soundtrack to (arguably) the greatest Doctor Who of all time.....


As if you need the blurb on this story but, my reviews have a certain rhythm about them so here is the blurb anyway...

Starring Tom Baker as the Doctor and Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane, this digitally-remastered edition of the classic "Doctor Who" TV episodes features a special vinyl-look CD and original LP sleeve notes. 'Doctor Who, with his travelling companions, Sarah and Harry, has landed on a desolate planet called Skaro. As he surveys the barren landscape, a Time Lord appears and tells him he has been brought there to try and avert the creation of the Daleks, and thus prevent them from being the dominant creature in the Universe...' With linking narration by Tom Baker, this condensed version of the original TV episodes includes one of the most memorable and dramatic moments in the history of "Doctor Who": the Doctor's moral dilemma about whether he has the right to destroy the Daleks forever. "Vintage Beeb": classic albums first available as BBC LPs, now reissued on CD.

When I was but a pimply youth waiting for The Leisure Hive to kick off Tom Baker's final season, my favourite uncle bought me this as a gift for my 8th birthday. It was an LP (Vinyl 12" album) and it soon became heavily scratched from overuse. This version of the soundtrack (the early progenitor of the BBC's missing stories collection) has a heavy sentimental value for those who remember what it was like being a Dr Who fan in the late seventies. Even the sound mix here is a direct lift of the master tapes but cleaned up by some clever 'button twiddling' from restoration guru Mark Ayres.

This might be regarded as a little bit of nostalgia, a reminder of the days when VHS and DVD were a thing that Michael Rodd would talk about in hushed tones on Tomorrows World. That would be to undersell the artistic side of things. This story works really well in the cut down 60 minute format and Tom Baker does a great job of reading what is a very sensible and well written linking narration. There are a few oddities and quirks on this recording - it is by no means a perfect replication of the original story, but I will leave you to discover them yourself.

And for £3.13 - it is actually not far off the price that my Uncle paid for that vinyl LP all those years ago! In value for money terms, this is not far off the best value Doctor Who product out there. So go and treat yourself to a slice of Classic Who and see the way we did it in 1979 :)

Genesis of the Daleks is one of my all time favourite stories and the audio, although cutdown and missing some of the larger story, is still brilliant. A lot of audios that are lifted from televised stories get lost in translation because you need the imagery, or at least description of imagery to go with it. Sometimes they are brilliant but sometimes they fall flat. This one however really works well.

I'm relatively new to the audio world so my opinion may not be of the highest standard, but this one is a corker for sure. I can't comment on it too much in terms of quality because I have only heard it on a tape that my dad recorded years ago (possibly from the original vinyl). He's the one who made me a Whonie :P

Saber, your opinion is extremely worthy and I think you are right on the money :) This works really well, especially when you look at the price it is on offer for! The quality has been cleaned up by Mark Ayres (who is the chief restoration bod) and I think if you bought this you would be pleasantly surprised :)

I've not heard this but I love the story. I'm going to see if I can get a cheap copy :)