In the late 21st century the human race has become totally dependent on T-Mat, a revolutionary form of instant travel. The Doctor, Jamie and Zoe arrive on Earth just as T-Mat is suffering a malfunction. Sinister Ice Warriors from Mars have seized the lunar T-Mat Station to launch an invasion of Earth. Their preliminary plan is to transport deadly seedpods that will unleash a fungus capable of absorbing the world's oxygen. The Doctor must race against time to defeat the invaders - or the human race will be doomed to suffocation.

DVD Features:
Audio Commentary
Biographies
Deleted Scenes
Featurette
Production Notes

Average Customer Review: ( 23 customer reviews )
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.

Actually made around the time of the ninth anniversary in November 1972 and first aired almost eleven months before the tenth, The Three Doctors is a hugely disappointing story in an otherwise strong season. It was pretty routine during the Pertwee era of the show to have some stories weaker than others, but it is such a shame that it was this very special adventure that drew the short straw. Inherently, the plotline itself is not bad at all, but the script and execution are woeful. The dialogue is not only cheesy but exceptionally cheesily delivered. The normally reliable Nicholas Courtney (The Brigadier) and John Levene (Benton) in particular are both made to look like bumbling pantomime characters as are the supporting cast of Dr. Tyler and Mr. Ollis. Of course, the production was plagued with problems right from the beginning as Producer Barry Letts and Script Editor Terrance Dicks explain in the very engaging commentary. Although he was very enthusiastic, ill health meant that the first Doctor, William Hartnell, was simply not up to playing a very active role in the show at all. His part was drastically scaled back and limited to filmed inserts. Patrick Troughton, the second Doctor, makes a very welcome and energetic return to the show and certainly goes a long way to stealing the thunder of the incumbent Jon Pertwee. Rewrites to accommodate the changing availability of the cast and plot could be one reason the show just doesn�t work, but there�s no real excuse for the cheapness of the production. The sets are limited to four with some bland location work in the standard gravel pit added. The set for Omega�s domain is truly dreadful, as are his Gellgaurd minions. Quite how anyone thought the design would work is mind-boggling. The time lord control center is littered with left over props from Carnival of Monsters (not yet broadcast, but recorded earlier), as are the time lord costumes. Everything else takes place in the standard Tardis or the UNIT lab sets. It�s all so gaudy and hammed up by the actors that there�s no way it can be appreciated as the classic adventure it should be. Even the normally very reliable Katy Manning (Jo Grant) is weak, but in fairness, like the two lead Doctors, she�s merely trying to cope as best she can with dreadful lines.

Rather surprisingly, the better of the two releases is the earlier Troughton epic The Seeds of Death, one of the first stories to make it onto VHS in the early eighties. Made at the end of 1968/early 1969 this six-part adventure in black and white hardly holds classic status in the series canon. But surprisingly, and thanks in part to a very, very intensive clean up and restoration, the story does stand up very strongly. Well, at least in comparison to the Three Doctors anyway. Marking the second appearance of the much-loved Ice Warriors, there is enough in this story to keep viewers enthralled throughout its six episodes. True, it could have been much better had it only stretched to four, but the padding is not as obvious as other longer adventures. The most striking feature for me is the design and direction. Marking it clearly as a late sixties show, the set has some terrific touches that help the production stand out. There�s a very well put together supporting cast, even if the three regulars are a bit below par. This was intended to be Frazer Hines� (Jamie) last appearance in the show, but as it was announced during it�s broadcast that Troughton would be leaving the role of the Doctor at the end of the season, Hines was persuaded to stay on until then and leave at the same time, as ultimately did Wendy Padbury (Zoe). Hines and Padbury join Director Michael Ferguson and Script Editor Terrance Dicks to provide a hugely enjoyable commentary soundtrack, which is very insightful into the production of the story. As both teams say on both releases, it�s such a shame that neither of the two Doctors featured are around to provide their own thoughts.

Both discs provide many, many extras, in the case of the Seeds of Death on an entirely separate disc. There�s some genuinely interesting features dragged from the archives, including a completely bizarre interview with Patrick Troughton recorded in 1973. There�s also a newly made mini-documentary featuring the actors who played the Ice Warriors.

It�s all very enjoyable stuff, and any fan of the show will of course be delighted to add to the growing DVD collection of stories. I�m not sure how casual viewers would react to these two stories, but I hope it won�t put them off future releases.

4 of 4 found the following review helpful:

The Ice Warriors come to DVD.Apr 12, 2004
By Joel Henderson
The Seeds of Death was the very first black & white Doctor Who story released on video, it was also the only one to be released in a movie compilation format. The fact that the new dvd is presented here complete and uncut is just one selling point. That it has been fully vidfired and now looks absolutely astounding is the big one. Only the sound quality of the story should clue you in to the fact that it isn't a transfer from the original video tapes Seeds Of Death isn't quite on the same level as other season 6 stories such as The Invasion and The War Games, but it does pack it's own little dramatic punch. The extras are a bit slim for this release and one wonders why they even bothered with the second disc. Still, this is a required purchase for any fan of Patrick Troughton's doctor.

13 of 17 found the following review helpful:

End-stage TroughtonApr 03, 2004
By Jason A. Miller
I made up my mind to leave Ohio in January 1999, and moved six weeks later. I somehow got wrapped up in a very intense relationship during those six weeks, knowing quite well in retrospect that it was never going to work once I left the state for good. However, she was a "Doctor Who" fan, and so was I. You just don't let these rare connections drift by. We spent a good portion of our time together watching my Season 6 Patrick Troughton videotapes (getting far as Episode 4 of "The War Games" until the inevitable happened). The only disagreement we ever had (apart from the move) was on the quality of "The Seeds of Death". She thought it was enjoyable fun. I thought it was a dull slog. Maybe that's why we didn't last. Was I being too critical?

"Seeds of Death" has always been on the lower region of my own "Doctor Who" rankings. On paper I should love it: I'm a fan of "The Ice Warriors" and "The Curse of Peladon", two other stories featuring the same villainous Martian marauders. I similarly have great fondness for the Season 6 Doctor/companion pairing. Fraser Hines almost never embarrassed himself as an actor during three long seasons. Wendy Padbury, of course, is a doll. Archaic word, but it actually fits. Cutest face ever.

Each of Patrick Troughton's stories -- whether you're watching on TV or merely listening to the surviving audio -- is a seminar on how to play "Doctor Who". You can always count on Troughton for a riveting mixture of physical clowning and top-tier problem solving -- usually at the same time. "Seeds of Death" is notable for a shockingly well-directed madcap chase sequence in Episode 3, as Troughton runs back and forth down the same lone corridor set, making it seem as if he's running for miles. He slips and slides, turns and twists, and does comic double-takes at every distorted mirror reflection. Finally, when the Ice Warriors have him cornered... he talks his way out of it: "Your leader will be very cross with you if you kill me.... I'm a genius!"

However, "Seeds of Death" itself never tickled my imagination the way other stories did. The Ice Warriors, let's face it, aren't well-used here. Slaar (Alan Bennion, who played three different Ice Lords across the years and gave each of them distinct shadings) is only allowed to stand around a control room on the Moon and terrify a dwindling cast of stock BBC actors. The most interesting of these (Harry Towb) is killed off after ten minutes. There's a lot to be said for Terry Scully's nebbishy performance as Fewsham, the moonbase technician who turns traitor to save his own life until he finally summons up the courage to redeem himself with a noble act of self-sacrifice. However, we've seen this performance many other times across the years, so the hurdle is set high. His best moment is the scene in Episode 5, after Fewsham's already made up his mind to betray the Ice Warriors: he's seen standing alone, frowning, wringing his hands, waiting for Slaar to find him. That's quite a good shot.

The DVD builds up a solid case that this story is a neglected Troughton gem. The crowded commentary track features the companions (Hines and Padbury) making cogent remarks about the action -- when they're not busy laughing at Troughton's clowning or about their own slips and line fluffs. Much is made of Jamie's frequent groping of Zoe. You can always count on this reaction when someone asks what it was like to work with the late Troughton: "Ohhhhh" (Similarly, when asked what William Hartnell was like, the reaction is a less enthusiastic "Well..."). Director Michael Ferguson delivers a good account of how he direct ed the story. Since he's speaking 34 years later, it's impressive that he remembers what he does. Script editor Terrance Dicks should be allowed on every commentary track, even for the stories he didn't oversee. The commentary picks up intensity once he shows up for Episode 3. If you don't have time to listen to two hours of actor ramblings, the one episode to listen to is Episode 4, where Ferguson and Dicks discuss the story alone.

A long featurette, amusingly called "Sssowing the Ssseeds", describes how the Ice Warrior costumes were made, and three actors tell us what it was like to work in them. Speaking of costumes, the VidFIRE process that restores the episodes to their original videotape look, works so vividly that you can actually count the paint brushstrokes on the Ice Warrior helmets. The other extras on the bonus disc do not pertain to "Seeds" specifically, but provide archival footage from a dozen other "Troughton" stories that no longer exist.

I find the production-note option increasingly tiresome when Richard Molesworth is the writer. His formula seems to be: provide all the other acting credits of all the other actors in the guest cast; give us the day and the location of the filming of all the model shots; and describe the originally conceived plot of the episode. Only the last of those three items interests me. It's possible to provide fresh text commentary for decades-old "Doctor Who" stories -- see Martin Wiggins' contributions -- so I think Molesworth could depart from the formula without hurting anyone.

At this point in my life, with new "Doctor Who" a year away, I am never going to fall in love with "The Seeds of Death". I may never watch it again. However, the DVD series, with their focus on what *works* (and, more importantly, by getting the story's actors and production team to laugh at the shortcomings), serve the important task of rehabilitating the less-remembered stories, and work hard to dispute the notion that "Doctor Who" was always done on the cheap, without thought. Fair enough. Job well done. Next DVD, please.

7 of 9 found the following review helpful:

Great Jumping JellybeansMar 29, 2004
By Joseph J. Reinemann "jjreinem"
Okay, so the title's not that great.
Fortunately, the DVD is.
This was one of the first Troughton episodes I remember seeing, and it was certainly an enjoyable experience. It introduces the T-Mat, Doctor Who's version of Star Trek's Transporter, and provides an interesting commentary on what happens when we get too comfortable in our lives. Not to mention that the technology became one of the few examples of continuity through most of the series. There's some great moments for the Doctor here as well, especially one scene where he is rapidly trying to prevent a "seed" from bursting by pouring just about everything in a beaker he can get his hands on as fast as he can. While some of the acting is a bit flat and the special effects were dated even when the episode was new (It's kind of hard not to giggle when someone appears on the T-Mat and the entire scene jumps a few inches to one side), the script is reasonably solid and most of the performances are quite enjoyable. Because of the technical flaws it's probably not the best story to start out with if you've never seen the series, but if you've already learned to love the second Doctor you probably won't be disapointed with this in your library.

See all 23 customer reviews on Amazon.com