The re-issued Doctor Who: The Collection, Season 12 boxset was briefly available to re-order this week; however this window appears to have lasted only between Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning.
Several fans were able to pre-order copies but, as of Wednesday, Amazon was once again showing stock as unavailable. This appears to be because Amazon released the set early, while the official announcement is due today. Both HMV and Zoom appear to be about to offer it as well.
Fans may remember that the ‘limited run’ reissue was first confirmed at the London MCM Comic Con on 28th October last year. The set includes all the stories from Tom Baker’s debut year, upscaled and restored for high definition: Tom’s first story, Robot; the legendary The Ark in Space; The Sontaran Experiment; the even more legendary Genesis of the Daleks; and the rather less-than-legendary Revenge of the Cybermen. In Liam Brice-Bateman’s review of Season 12, he enthuses:
“Whether he is expounding the virtues of humanity or shouting at Harry Sullivan (Ian Marter), the Fourth Doctor holds your attention. His charisma reaches out of the screen and grabs you, making you watch. It’s sometimes hard to tell where the Fourth Doctor begins and Tom Baker ends. His boggle-eyed madness is so otherworldly that you easily believe that he is a 2-hearted alien.”
Besides the stories, there is a trove of special features, including all the bonus items from the original DVD releases, plus new material such as a Behind the Sofa (Who’s answer to Gogglebox) segments for each story. These feature Tom, Philip Hinchcliffe, and Sadie Miller (daughter to the late Lis Sladen). A true highlight is Dr Matthew Sweet’s extended conversation with Tom Baker. The set also includes, for the first time since its VHS release in the mid-90s, The Tom Baker Years, in which the man himself watches clips from all his stories and says whatever comes into his head (this is worth £40 by itself).
This reissue will come as particularly good news to Luke Setterfield who, back in August last year, petitioned BBC Studios for a re-release. The set soon sold out at its original price, while eBay scalpers were offering the few remaining sets at prices as ludicrous as £950. Let’s hope Luke has snapped up his copy of the reissued set.
Doctor Who: The Collection, Season 12 should be available to pre-order today and will be available from 2nd March. Get in there before the scalpers do.
List of special features:
- Existing bonus material from the original DVDs.
- Tom Baker in conversation.
- Behind The Sofa – classic clips from season 12 viewed by Tom Baker, Philip Hinchcliffe, Louise Jameson, Janet Fielding, Sarah Sutton and Sadie Miller.
- New making-of documentaries for The Sontaran Experiment and Revenge of the Cybermen.
- Optional brand new updated special effects for Revenge of the Cybermen.
- Genesis of the Daleks – omnibus version.
- The Tom Baker Years VHS release on disc for the first time.
- Production archive material and scripts from the BBC Archives.
