Review: DVD: Doctor Who: The Davros Collection

The creator of the Daleks sees all his classic adventures (bar one) collected together…

This box set includes the previously released discs of Genesis, Resurrection and Revelation of the Daleks as well as a copy of the simultaneously issued Destiny of the Daleks. The new material comprises a Special Edition of Remembrance of the Daleks, a new documentary, as well as a compilation disc of the Big Finish audios which includes a new story.

The Special Edition of Remembrance includes a Dolby 5.1 mix, which has some very interesting moments in it. The pre-credits sequence separates out all the contemporary quotations to different speakers, so for the first time you can clearly hear the Duke of Edinburgh! The Daleks trundle round the sound field, and the spacecraft landing in the school playground really feels earth-shattering. The new documentaries emphasise how many of the cast are no longer around, and there are some nice memories retold, as well as a chance to see some classic clips, some of which look in astonishingly good condition – perhaps a hint of what’s to come soon on DVD.

The Davros Connections documentary charts the Dalek creator’s life following his chronology rather than appearance order. This puts the Big Finish audios I, Davros front and centre for a large part of the time, and there are some CG recreations of scenes from the episodes which come as a surprise. A shame there wasn’t more input from some of the other I, Davros writers, or a mention of the events of the Davros Mission audio, but this is a well put together piece.

The new audio, The Davros Mission, is set between Revelation and Remembrance of the Daleks, showing how the captured Davros turned the table on his captors with some unwitting assistance. Written and directed by Nicholas Briggs, it works well even if a couple of the supporting characters are a little irritating!

The missing adventure? The dire War of the Daleks novel, which many fans wanted to ignore within seconds of finishing reading it. With the Big Finish stories gaining ‘canonicity’ in this set, maybe once and for all that novel can be ignored!

A fine collection of the creator’s adventures which will set you up for his return in The Curse of Davros! 8/10

Paul Simpson