Number of Discs: 2
DVD Number: BBCDVD2871
Certification: PG
Duration: 196 minutes
Release Date: 7 Mar. 2011
Kinda
A beautiful, paradise planet, Deva Loka. Its inhabitants, the Kinda, are a gentle and seemingly primitive people. On the surface, a perfect place to colonise. But if it is so perfect, why are the colonisation team disappearing one by one? Unaware of this, The Doctor and his companions choose to rest on Deva Loka. Enchanted by the beautiful Chimes, “the place of dreams”, Tegan sleeps and falls prey to the Mara, a malevolent force out to steal her mind. But just what are its ultimate evil intentions? Meanwhile, The Doctor and Adric are captured by the surviving colonisation team’s officers, Sanders and the unstable Hindle. When Sanders disappears, Hindle collapses into a world of paranoid delusions and suddenly the security of the entire base is at risk. Can The Doctor rescue Tegan from the Mara and defeat it – before it pushes Hindle over the edge? And who is the mysterious blind woman who appears in visions? Will she help The Doctoror ultimately impede him?
Snakedance
Surely Tegan must have made a mistake when she set the TARDIS’ co-ordinates, because The Doctor certainly hadn’t intended landing on Manussa? But upon learning that Manussa was once home of the Sumaran Empire, The Doctor knows that their arrival has been no accident but has been orchestrated by a hostile force – a force which is rapidly gaining control of Tegan’s will. By first infiltrating Tegan’s subconscious mind, through strange and disturbing dreams dominated by the image of a huge snake’s skull, this force – the Mara – is planning on as a vehicle for its return to poweron the planet Manussa. So just as Manussa prepares festivities to commemorate the destruction of the Sumaran Empire by the ruling Federation, it seems that the Legend of the Mara could be about to come true. According to this Legend, the Mara was never destroyed by the Federation but merely banished. Furthermore, the Legend claims that the Mara will return in a dream – a precursor to its gaining control of all their minds… It is clear to The Doctor that the first steps in the Mara’s return have already been taken.
Kinda
- Commentary by Peter Davison, Janet Fielding, Matthew Waterhouse and Nerys Hughes.
- ‘Dream Time’ (dur. 34’05”)” cast and crew look back at the making of the story. With actors Janet Fielding, Nerys Hughes, Simon Rouse and Adrian Mills, director Peter Grimwade, writer Christopher Bailey, script ors Christopher H. Bidmead, Eric Saward and Antony Root, designer Malcolm Thornton, new series writer Robert Shearman.
- ‘Peter Grimwade” Directing with Attitude’ (dur. 22’57”)” a look at The Doctor Who careerof writer and director Peter Grimwade. With Peter Grimwade, actors Janet Fielding and Nerys Hughes, writer Christopher Bailey, script or Eric Saward, production assistant Margot Hayhoe, designer Malcolm Thornton, production secretary Jane Judge, script consultant Ian Levine, and Target Books or Nigel Robinson. Presented by Mark Strickson.
- Deleted and Extended Scenes (dur. 14’36”)” a fascinating collection of deleted sequences taken from timecoded domestic videotape copies of the story’s early s.
- Optional CGI Effects Sequence” option to view episode four with the original giant puppet snake replaced by a CGI snake. The disc should default to playing out the original effects. The CGI effects option should be turned on via a menu screen which should say:-
- CGI Effects Comparison (dur. 1’34”)” a side by side comparison of the original puppet and new CGI snake shots.
- Trails & Continuity (dur. 4’13”)” BBC trails and continuity announcements from the story’s original transmission.
- Photo Gallery (dur. 4’42”) – production, design and publicity photos from the story.
- Isolated Music” option to watch the story with the isolated music score.
- Coming Soon (dur. 1 min approx.) – a trailer for a forthcoming DVD release
Snakedance
- Commentary by Peter Davison, Janet Fielding and Sarah Sutton.
- ‘Snake Charmer’ (dur. 24’37”)” cast and crew look back at the making of the story. With actors Peter Davison and Janet Fielding, director Fiona Cumming, writer Christopher Bailey, script or Eric Saward, designer Jan Spoczynski, and new series writer Robert Shearman.
- Deleted Scenes (dur. 3’05”)” scenes from the original ending of episode four, courtesy of a timecoded recording kept by producer John Nathan-Turner.
- In Studio (dur. 6’12”)” a rare glimpse inside the studio during recording of effects sequences for the story, including the infamous ‘farting Mara’!
- Saturday Superstore (dur. 14’16”)” Peter Davison guests on the Saturday morning children’s show, where he plays cricket with Mike Read and John Craven and takes questions from callers.
- Photo Gallery (dur. 5’21”) – production, design and publicity photos from the story.
- Isolated Music option to watch the story with the isolated music score.
- Coming Soon (dur. 1 min approx.) – a trailer for a forthcoming DVD release.
- Radio Times Listings in Adobe PDF format.
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