Fantasy

With this movie, Pixar match the consistently high standards set by the previous Toy Story instalments, and I absolutely loved it.

Even though Toy Story 3 was released in 2010 - 15 years after the first film and 11 after the second, the sharp writing and the way the mythology is blended together makes it seem as if the creation of 3 films was the studio's plan from the start.

It seems to me that this was made not just for children but also fans like me who grew up with the previous films and are now older - watch for references to the 1st film, such as the brilliant opening Wild West action sequence, and the familiar song on the soundtrack that started it all - You've Got a Friend in Me, which is somehow now tinged with real sadness. Randy Newman's music is super.

No longer the child of the first 2 movies, Andy is now 17 and preparing to go to college, and has to decide what to do with all his old toys, Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz (Tim Allen) and the gang. His plan is to put them in the attic.

Unfortunately, they all end up getting accidentally donated to Sunnyside Day Care Centre, presided over by a pink bear named Lotso (Ned Beatty), who appears soft and huggable but is not all he seems....

I actually had a thought that, as if to emphasise the increasingly darker tone of each film and the fact this movie explores how a young person moves on in life - the daycare centre was more like an old people's home, not a happy place but more like somewhere where the toys would go if they weren't wanted by their owner. If this qualifies as social commentary from Pixar, it's just another example of how and why they elevate animation beyond simply "children's films" to a higher plain and produce films for everyone to enjoy.

As the toys find out Day Care isn't what they envisioned they all try to escape and break out, to find their way home.

There were some hilarious moments in this movie (highlights include when Buzz accidentally speaks Spanish, and one of the new characters, thespian hedgehog Mr. Pricklepants), various exciting action set pieces when the toys are trying to flee, and some scary, genuinely moving and heartbreaking moments as well which touch upon complex ideas of abandonment and even death, but also show the true meaning of friendship.

This is not just a great film in its own right but also a superb conclusion to the Toy Story Trilogy which ties the story up nicely. It's such a lovely, touching film. I think the film shows that however painful moving on and letting go is, it's something we all go through and it's shown in such a sensitive and mature way.

Pixar has crafted an exceptional motion picture which isn't really about anthropomorphic toys, but if truth be told, about PEOPLE and human emotions.

All I can say is - thank you Pixar. Thank you so much.
The film truly does look fantastic on Blu Ray with bright and colourful images. I could pick out subtle details like the feel of some of the clothing, the wood grain of Andy's bedroom floor, even the texture of the cardboard box the toys are put in, which looks incredibly lifelike.

The film is on one Blu Ray disc, with lots of extras on the other.

These are divided into 2 main sections, "Family Play" and "Film Fans", and include a commentary track with the filmmakers, a few interesting making of featurettes and Pixar's anecdotes about making the movie (known as "Studio Stories") and, in the Publicity section, some American and Japanese teasers and trailers. By far the oddest extra is a couple of adverts for the Lotso Huggin' Bear toy that are treated to make it look as if they're genuine commercials from the 1980's which are quite funny.

I love this film, I think its one of the best animation shorts ever made and one of my all time Christmas favourites. Based on Raymond Briggs' classic children's book, it tells it's story entirely through animation which looks like coloured pencil/pastel drawings.

I think this animation would definitely lose something if it had any spoken dialogue. The music (which is composed by Howard Blake) compliments the images so well, from the little boy running downstairs to go out to play in the snow, playing a game of dress-up with his new friend in his parents bedroom, to the boy going on a motorbike ride, but one truly memorable sequence is the Walking in the Air song with the boy and snowman flying through the air, which is amazing.

In fact, this song is the only time any words are heard throughout the picture.

Interestingly, though Welsh choirboy Aled Jones scored a UK hit with the song, the version in the film is actually sung by Peter Auty.

Once the film even breaks the fourth wall as the Snowman sees a little figurine on a cake that looks exactly like him, which I thought was a cute touch.

I'm not ashamed to say I cried at the end. It was so sad and beautiful.

It was nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Short Film in 1982.

This US DVD contains the original, unedited introduction, featuring author Raymond Briggs' solemn narration that I remember from when I was growing up. Nowadays, the version most available on DVD (and shown on TV since 2002) has a new animated opening, with Mel Smith (as Father Christmas) introducing the film. Having the author introduce it is much more meaningful.

An entertaining festive short, spun off from the popular series of movies. All the main voice cast, including Mike Myers and Eddie Murphy, return and reprise their roles and they all do an excellent job.

Christmas is coming, and Fiona (Cameron Diaz) and Donkey are looking forward to Christmas with their family and friends. Unfortunately for Shrek, he just wants to be left alone and won't get things ready for the big day.

Not letting on to Fiona that he doesn't even know what Christmas is and hasn't bothered getting ready - in a great scene set to the epic music of O Fortuna, poor Shrek frantically rushes out into the snow and buys a guide book called Christmas for Village Idiots to help him prepare for the holiday.

The film that preceded this - Shrek the Third, was quite disappointing, but I was pleasantly surprised by this short, which was much better and funnier. I'm a big fan of the Shrek movies and since this was first shown on TV it's become a Christmas favourite of mine that I'll watch on DVD, when the holiday approaches.

There are some funny scenes that made me laugh, and the CGI animation and voice acting is excellent - of the same stellar quality as the main films, and the transfer is very good.

The story is simple, yet also heart warming and touching, and this movie definitely gets me into the Christmas spirit. Shrek may be an ogre, but it's not like he's actually evil. The Shrek babies are adorable.

The characters of Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) in particular steal the show, and are hilarious. Despite the fact Puss in Boots is played as a kind of feline Zorro character, he's still a pussycat at heart!

In Donkey's version of the Christmas story, he tells of a HUGE waffle Santa - the way it was designed in this scene was surely a reference to the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters.

Though the main characters have very modern sensibilities, the humans in Shrek seem to live in a kind of Ye Olde Fairytale world. The theme of the film is universal, Christmas may not always go exactly as planned, but it's a time for love and family.

The extras on the DVD include sing-along songs from other Dreamworks films, and a video game demo. Upon starting up the DVD, there are trailers for Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa and Kung Fu Panda which can be skipped.

This movie originally began life as a 1943 short story, by Philip Van Doren Stern called The Greatest Gift, printed on a Christmas card. After he did some script reworking and added his own ideas, the Director Frank Capra renamed it It's a Wonderful Life, and later cited it as his favourite film he made.

A man named George Bailey (an excellent performance by James Stewart) lives in a small town called Bedford Falls. He contemplates happy times, and adventures exploring, making a name for himself, and travelling with his love Mary (Donna Reed). But on Christmas Eve, because of intense frustration and an impending scandal - he contemplates suicide.

In a story strand that gives the film a sense of fantasy and supernatural, he is visited by a kindly old angel named Clarence (a lovely performance by Henry Travers) who shows him a parallel universe - a vision of what life in Bedford Falls would have been (or perhaps will be) like if he had never been born. Clarence is a 2nd class angel and he hasn't received his wings yet.

During the act with Clarence, the film becomes very dark. These scenes, where George is shown how different life would have been without him have the feeling of a nightmare and are genuinely disturbing. Bedford Falls is now called "Pottersvile" after the Scrooge-like Mr. Potter and James Stewart acts really well here, showing Bailey's descent into sadness, anger and despair when no-one recognises him, not even his mother. The people he loves have become distant, even mean and aggressive. The haunting score used in this act only adds to the sense of unease and desperation.

Everything is different and the whole town has a "bad" air. The bartender is a bad, unfriendly man instead of being personable, and the town is full of sleazy clubs. Even before Clarence shows up, we see George behave in a dark way (for him), shouting at his children, getting drunk and fighting.

Yet the underlying message of the film is simple and uplifting - "no one is a failure who has friends". Even though he appeared to have little significance outside Bedford Falls, George Bailey really was a completely selfless man, who thought himself a failure because he saw his brother Harry become a war hero and his friend Sam Wainwright achieve business success, but George gave up his dreams to help others and didn't realise he was so loved by his friends and neighbours. It shows the good character of a man is just as important, if not more so, than what he does.

I'm not as used to seeing older US films like this but its' still a lovely film, especially to see at Christmas. It probably even gave The Simpsons producers ideas because the horrible Scrooge-like businessman, Henry Potter (Lionel Barrymore) reminds me of the power plant boss, Mr. Burns in the cartoon. There was one episode called "When Flanders Failed" which parodies certain scenes too.

In the film, George is mostly such a nice, honest, friendly guy, who will help all his friends out. This is shown in the scene where he gives his honeymoon money away to help them, until the bank opens.

I did wonder sometimes if Clarence placed too much responsibility on George - I know the message the film wants to get across is more "cometh the hour, cometh the man" and the differences one person can make, but surely the whole town wouldn't have been so different just because of him? Weren't there other nice friendly people around?

But it is overall a beautiful film that has so much warmth and humility, and made me feel happy and sad all at once. It definitely moved me.

It's hard to believe that the film wasn't very successful on it's original release, and its only since its been repeated on TV (since sometime in the 1970's) it's been acknowledged as a classic of American cinema. It was nominated for 5 Oscars (including one for James Stewart as Best Actor) in 1947 but didn't win any.

There are some extras that have been repeated from earlier DVD versions - a making of featurette (in standard definition) and the theatrical trailer which is in HD. Also in this set, there's a colourised version of the film on a separate Blu Ray disc.

The transfer of the black and white version preserves the original 1.33/1 aspect ratio in 1080p, and is fantastic for a film so old.

In this film, the Wizard of Oz story by L Frank Baum is given a modern (well, 1970's) Motown makeover.

One problem with this, is by attempting to appeal to a new audience (at the time) any updating of the story means the film is rather "of its time" and conversely seems dated, whereas the famous 1939 MGM film was set in the 1900's and seemed timeless.

Adapted from the Tony award winning Broadway musical The Wiz which premiered in 1975, this nonetheless follows the template of the earlier film closely (though some details are closer to the original book than MGM's film was).

The Broadway musical was important because at the time it was one of the few lavish productions created by, and featuring a cast of African Americans.
The peerless 1939 version with Judy Garland is easily the much superior film, but this update is still feel-good fun and I enjoyed it.

Instead of being a young girl, Dorothy is now a grown up Kindergarten teacher (Diana Ross). She is celebrating Thanksgiving with her family. But like Judy Garland's Dorothy, she doesn't seem content with her life, even though she has a happy family. Her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry want her to take a job in a high school but Dorothy is happier teaching younger children.

One night, she is whisked away with her dog, Toto, in a snowstorm to a strange land called Oz and meets an array of peculiar characters, the Scarecrow (Michael Jackson) who wants a brain, Tin Man (Nipsey Russell) who wants a heart, Cowardly Lion (Ted Ross) who wants courage. Dorothy is told that her only way home to New York is to seek help from The Wiz (Richard Pryor).

The performances are very good. Given the fact Michael Jackson is no longer with us, it is very sad and poignant looking at the prejudice and poor treatment he suffers at the hands of the crows, who are so horrible. They belittle him and tell him he won't succeed. It was almost like he had been conditioned to accept their cruel insults and put downs. The crows are unappealing characters.

With this sequence, I think the film introduces social commentary about racism in America and the way black people were seen and treated as inferior. Right up to the 1950's and 60's there were a series of laws in America called Jim Crow laws which oppressed black people and didn't treat them as being equals to white people.

Michael's performance is excellent and energetic, on his film debut, and he's a great dancer too. I could easily sense how lonely and sad he was being alone in the field but Dorothy helps him and sets him free. The Scarecrow comes out on top despite facing barriers and problems and tries to better himself.

Nipsey Russell gives a fine performance as the Tin Man who had been rusting away for so long, and seemed like an aging movie or pop star, when he talks about his creator who gave him "dashing good looks, razor sharp wit and irresistible attraction to the wrong women".

The costumes are very cheesy and camp, often looking like they came out of an old dressing-up box. Then again, maybe that's the point.

While there's nothing that reaches the iconic heights of Somewhere over the Rainbow - I do think that some of the songs in the movie are very catchy and aren't given enough credit - the Scarecrow's song You Can't Win, You Can't Break Even, the show-stopping, memorable bluesy/jazz number Don't Nobody Bring Me No Bad News, which is performed by the Wicked Witch Evilline (Mabel King) and the other cast members with impressive gusto and energy. And not forgetting the funky Ease on down the Road.

I think that a key to great musical songs is if you can remember or hum them afterwards, and these songs can certainly do that.

There are some interesting scenes and well staged songs, for example the subway that literally comes to life, the Everybody Rejoice/Brand New Day song and the Emerald City sequences are highlights. The subway scene isn't really "fun-scary" but instead seems darker and nightmarish. I felt this way during the confrontation with Evilline too.

The Wizard is played by US comedian Richard Pryor and just like Frank Morgan's Wizard in the earlier movie, there is definitely something strange about him.

I think that there is something satirical about the character in this version, making this film feel a bit more grown up than The Wizard of Oz, in some respects. I think it is a darker film too because of the things that happen to Dorothy.

At times the characters in Oz seem more streetwise rather than childlike, in my view because of their dialogue and actions, and this ties in not only Dorothy being an adult, but also because of when the film was made. Also, it seems to me The Wizard of Oz was about the young Dorothy realising home was where her heart was, with a great contrast between the colourful Oz and Kansas, whereas in The Wiz, Dorothy has to figure out how to move on with her life so she can hope to make a difference.

Interestingly, the screenplay for the film was written by Joel Schumacher (Falling Down) and it was produced by Rob Cohen (the biopic Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story), this is striking, because their later films would be so different in style.

The only extra on the DVD is the theatrical trailer for the film. While it isn't a classic by any means and I prefer the more celebrated MGM musical, I still enjoyed this movie.

I really enjoyed this film a lot, it is certainly a classic. This picture probably got made in part because of the success of Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and, like that film, it is a fantasy that has something for everyone and also a timeless appeal that we recognise even though it was made many years ago. Also like that film, it was a big challenge to make. It used lots of special effects, many of which hadn't been attempted before, such as the flying house in the tornado.

There were several directors on the film - Victor Fleming, George Cukor and King Vidor.
It looks fantastic on Blu Ray with a brilliant restoration (the switch from the sepia tones of Kansas to the Technicolor world of Oz is amazing). I think the use of a sepia tint makes Kansas seem old fashioned and quaint (even for 1939), thus making the jump into colour even more amazing. The original book came from about 1900 so maybe the use of sepia was an artistic choice by the film makers.

There are certainly many things to enjoy in the film, the memorable songs from childhood like We're Off to See the Wizard and Follow the Yellow Brick Road that have been ingrained in pop culture. I knew them from when I was young, but I hadn't seen the film then. The film is so seminal that it's inspired so many parodies and references over the years, in cartoons like Spongebob Squarepants and other films and TV shows, Broadway/West End shows like The Wiz, and Wicked - even a song by Australian folk-group The Seekers in the 1960's.
The Wizard of Oz has fantasy and fun-scary parts too (like the flying monkeys and Wicked Witch of the West).

The most iconic performance and song of all, I think, is when Dorothy sings the song Over the Rainbow to herself after her Aunt Em tells her to "Find yourself a place where you won't get into any trouble!" This is a song of longing, dreams and hope, as Dorothy wishes she were somewhere else more exciting.

Incredibly, this song almost didn't make it in the film because studio head Louis B. Mayer thought "it slows down the picture" and "our star sings it in a barnyard". But the writers including lyricist EY "Yip" Harburg, wanted it to stay. It paid off, as he and Harold Arlen won the Oscar for Over the Rainbow (Best Song).

It's interesting that over the course of the film, I think Dorothy learns to grow up and be more resourceful and stand up for herself. I think Judy Garland gives a very good performance. Her character and performance has a childlike, innocent quality (especially in the earlier stages of the film).

In fact, to make her appear younger than she really was, and not a teenager (she was really 16 at the time of filming), she was made to wear an uncomfortable corset style costume that strapped her down and tore some of her bust tissue.

As she grows braver, she also pours scorn on the Wizard, getting angry with him when she finds out he isn't all he seems....

Being whisked away to Oz itself, a strange land, plays on a child's fear of being in an odd, unfamilliar place and not being able to get back - which shows there is some darkness in the film as well as humour. Bert Lahr's voice as the Lion sounds like a cartoon character to me for some reason. I did really like the part when the Scarecrow tries to quote Pythagoras' theorem after getting a brain - except he applies it to an isosceles triangle instead of a right triangle. Guess he got a faulty brain from the Wizard.

If the film has a moral, I think it shows that maybe you shouldn't take what you have for granted - Dorothy's life in Kansas seemed boring, with dull sepia tones, so she goes away to a fantastic land (in colour) but still misses her home, as she says as the film ends "There's no place like home", because she realises that Kansas was where she really wanted to be all along.

I think the film also teaches that, what you think you may want is always there inside you, you just need to look deep enough. Dorothy always had the power to go home, and the Wizard says that her companions always had a brain, heart and courage - they just didn't know it.

The Blu Ray set has some excellent extras, including lots of trailers, a very interesting 50 minute Making Of documentary, interviews with the surviving Munchkins (sadly, now they have all passed on I believe) and short subjects. One is a cartoon short from 1933 that while interesting, pales in comparison when placed against the much more lavish film. But it was the first screen presentation to show Kansas in black and white, and Oz in colour.

I enjoyed this a lot and can see why it's considered a classic, but it's not my favourite Disney. However, its impact on Disney and indeed, all cinema cannot be underestimated. This film was a milestone, it was the first full length cel-animated film in cinema history, as well as being the first full length animation produced in America.

Before Snow White, Walt Disney had mostly worked on animated shorts such as Mickey Mouse, and the Silly Symphonies series. The budget eventually ran to almost $2m - a massive sum for a film in 1937.

Some critics thought no-one would sit through an animated feature like this, calling it "Disney's folly" when it was in production. Some sequences are magnificent - the Queen in her castle at the beginning, the way the forest comes alive when Snow White tries to run away, and the part when Snow White (Adriana Caselotti)'s evil and jealous stepmother, the Wicked Queen (Lucille La Verne), makes the potion to turn herself into a beggar woman. These sequences of genuine darkness - which I think are what sets this apart from more modern Disney films - combine with cute scenes, comedy from the dwarves (each has their own distinct personality) and woodland animals, and timeless songs that I remember from when I was little and have passed into cinema lore, like Heigh Ho and Whistle While You Work.

Perhaps the darkness isn't surprising when you consider the source material was Grimm's fairy tales which could be quite dark and violent. Also there is some sadness and pathos in the film (at the time, considered unusual in animation) during Snow White's "sleeping death" sequence, when all the dwarves are crying when Snow White is lying in a gold coffin.

It's a shame also that the character of Prince Charming is rather bland - we never even find out his name.
I found Snow White's singing voice hard to get used to - maybe that type of voice was considered attractive in the 1930's but I found it very wobbly and thin. Her vocal style was very much "light opera" which was popular at the time.

While the build up and pacing of the film seems rather uneven (even at 84 minutes long, it takes a while to get going and also ends rather abruptly), I can see why it's so important. We must remember this was an early work for Disney that he was taking a gamble on. If the film had failed, the studio probably would have too.
The Blu Ray transfer is amazing especially considering the film is over 70 years old, with a beautiful restoration. I watched it with it's original Mono soundtrack.

The film was praised by film makers such as Charlie Chaplin, who immediately recognised it's impact (unusual for the time) - Sergei Eisenstein said it was the greatest film ever made. It even inspired MGM to make The Wizard of Oz in 1939, Snow White's massive success convincing them that a fantasy film appealing to both children and adults, could be popular.

Snow White won Disney a special Oscar "as a significant screen innovation which has charmed millions and pioneered a great new entertainment field". Disney received a full sized Oscar statue and 7 little ones, presented to him by Shirley Temple.

I really enjoyed the film.

In this review, I'll be talking about my favourite episodes from this season. I think Plankton episodes are often my favourite. In "Fear of a Krabby Patty", Mr. Krabs opens the Krusty Krab 24 hours a day which causes Spongebob to become unhinged and scared of making Krabby Patties.

Though ostensibly a show for children, I think there's plenty of humour for adults to enjoy too. I love the episode called "New Leaf" where Plankton becomes much nicer and throws in the towel, and he actually befriends Mr. Krabs... or does he? Perhaps much of the comedy comes from anticipation - you know Plankton will always lose even when he appears to win, but you're never quite sure how.

But sometimes this show can do sadness, even pathos as well as goofy humour and parody. "Have You Seen This Snail" is the episode where Spongebob unwittingly neglects to feed Gary (his pet snail), so Gary runs away, and winds up staying with a grandmotherly figure who thinks he's her long lost cat. This episode is both funny and also very touching, especially the sad song "Gary Come Home" with a heartbroken Spongebob looking for Gary (though even that isn't immune from 4th wall humour - the song appears to be playing on an old fashioned record, and Spongebob tries sky-writing) and a scene where Gary finds out he must escape from his Grandma captor, or else die like the other snails he finds that have been overfed. I got misty eyed during that song. When Grandma gives Gary a stack of fliers, he sees they are from Spongebob, and realises he does care about him.

On the face of it, the show repeats it's stories which often seem the same when you boil them down - Spongebob and Patrick annoy their eternally grumpy neighbour Squidward, Mr. Krabs wants more money, Plankton wants to steal the Krabby Patty formula, or they show farce/misunderstanding, but it's funny how they're done.

For example in the episode "The Thing" Squidward gets covered in cement, and Spongebob adopts him like a pet. In another episode, Patrick disguises himself as a girl called "Patricia" in order to avoid trouble... only for his new persona to catch the eye of Mr. Krabs.

"Karate Island" is a spoof of the Bruce Lee film Game of Death, in which Sandy the squirrel (Carolyn Lawrence) has to fight different opponents, to get to a top of a tower.

In the "Hocus Pocus" episode Spongebob receives a magic kit and tries to practice magic on Squidward - however, Squidward just wants to be left alone. He gets on a bus to take him far away when Spongebob's back is turned, just at the moment a kid throws a pistachio ice cream onto Squidward's chair.

Spongebob comes back out and thinks he has turned Squidward into an ice cream cone! There's a funny reference to The Wizard of Oz in this episode, where Spongebob and Patrick decide they have to visit "The Wizard" to change Squidward back (after following the Brown Tile road).

I like the Good Neighbours episode where Spongebob and Patrick annoy Squidward when he just wants to relax on a Sunday, so to stop intruders getting in his house, he installs a computer in his home that winds up destroying the town.

Selling Out is also good, where Mr. Krabs sells The Krusty Krab to a conglomerate who plans to turn it into a big corporate chain called Krabby O' Mondays. What I like most about this episode is the satirical way it shows corporate culture and those types of homogenised restaurants - Squidward is forced to keep to the "happy" image sold by the Krabby O' Mondays and go round with a fixed smile on his face, and instead of being freshly cooked by Spongebob, Krabby Patties are disgusting processed monstrosities literally made from grey goo. I think this sort of joke shows the cartoon can do more grown up humour, and it may be missed by a young child.

The "Krusty Towers" episode (where Mr Krabs turns The Krusty Krab into a posh hotel) is hilarious. Patrick comes in and asks for a Krabby Patty but Mr. Krabs says he has to order a room too which leads to Squidward acting as Patrick's porter and getting so annoyed. But the tables are turned when Squidward enters as a guest himself....

"Best Frenemies" is another great episode with Plankton, in this episode Mr. Krabs enlists Plankton's help to find out just what is in a new popular drink, the Kelpshake.
In "Squidbob Tentaclepants", an accident with one of Sandy's inventions leads to Spongebob and Squidward being melded together in the same body, Fly-style.

Sometimes I'm not quite sure why but I enjoy the series a lot, it can be very funny.

"The Beginning" is a BBC box set encapsulating the first three adventures of the First Doctor, played by William Hartnell.

This is where it all began, folks. From such humble beginnings: two school teachers Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton follow one of their pupils home. Susan seems out of sorts with the world around her: she has an in-depth knowledge of history but her knowledge of science dwarfs even Ians, yet she has hardly any street savvy and acts extremely mysterious, so much so that Ian and Barbara want to learn more about her. When she leads them to a junk yard on Totters Lane and walks into a discarded Police Telephone Box they are both bemused. They are surprised when she never comes out, and shocked when they force their way inside and are faced with the incomprehensible sight of an interior that is not only completely alien but also much larger on the inside. It is then that they are introduced to Susan's grandfather... The Doctor.

This is a masterful introduction, full of mystery and intrigue and when we first see the TARDIS interior (even after 46 years) it's still a shock -and we know what to expect. Quite what this did to audiences back then is beyond me. The Doctor though is the real enigma. We are so used to the Doctor being a friendly and upbeat character that to see William Hartnell as an irascible and thoroughly unfriendly old man is a shock. In the early episodes of the series he is shown to be an unpleasant troublemaker and the story focuses on the plight of the two schoolteachers. This changes, of course, as the series progresses, but for these first three adventures we are witness to the growing tensions and disputes between the TARDIS crew.

The first adventure, "The Unearthly Child" has a rather forgettable storyline as the TARDIS crew are transported to the beginnings of time by mistake -due to Ian's meddling. However the storyline merely serves as a backdrop to the growing tensions between the two groups of characters: the school teachers and the time travellers. It's this tension that drives the story and means you can almost forgive the dodgy sets and special effects. However, one must remember that this was never envisaged being a cultural phenomena and none of the BBC executives had any idea what it would lead to. None of them could ever have dreamed it would become world renowned as one of the most popular science-fiction franchises.

The second adventure sees the TARDIS landing on an alien planet, which has been decimated by nuclear war. The Doctor wants to investigate further by Ian and Barbara want simply to go home. The Doctor deliberately sabotages the TARDIS so they will have no choice but to explore further, putting the whole crew at risk to radiation poisoning. On discovering a vast metallic city Barbara is separated from the others and trapped deep within where she is faced by something menacing and frightening. Something that would lodge deep within our collective subconscious and send child after child to the back of the sofa: The Daleks. I've often wondered about the reasons for their longevity - why they frighten people still. It could be because of their complete lack of emotion and their total single-mindedness. They are a faceless killer, one you can not reason with or emote against. They live to kill and destroy; annihilate and exterminate. And it is because of the Doctors meddling this time that the companions are threatened by this unimaginable evil.

With The Edge Of Destruction, the third episode in this box-set, the story focuses solely on the four characters and is centred wholly in the TARDIS. Something causes the TARDIS console to explode mid-flight, rendering the crew unconscious. When they all come to they're confronted by a TARDIS which behaves strangely: the main doors open of their own accord and tensions start to fray amongst the teachers and the time-travellers as they have to deal with the realisation that something very deadly might be going on. This is a tense and fraught episode, and a stroke of genius focusing on just the underlying conflict between the TARDIS crew. This is the type of story writing I feel is sorely missing from the recent episodes of Dr Who where they focus on either the big events happening at the cost of the interactions between the characters or focusing on minute details of the characters at the cost of the story.

This is where it all began, as I said at the start, and its easy to see why Dr Who has had such an impact on the imaginations of the thousands and thousands of lives its touched. It was a stroke of genius -as much as out of budgetary constraints, etc- for the writers to shroud the Doctor in mystery and led to the creation of one of the most enduring characters in popular culture of the last century.

This is, perhaps, one of the most lavish productions I've ever seen on the BBC and certainly the most visually stunning. It's quality all the way through - the cast is stellar with the likes of Christopher Lee, Stephen Fry, Richard Griffiths, Warren Mitchell, John Sessions and other sundry comedians (including Spike Milligan!); the script is sublime, witty and fast moving (without losing sense of the story) and the music is lush and suitably grand.

The thing I like most about Gormenghast is that it's tremendously quirky -all the characters have their own excessive idiosyncrasies and this highlights just how trapped they all are in their own little worlds. Their trapped by the weight of the past and tradition, whilst Steerpike, who hearkens from the kitchens, wishes he could be more like them. (the irony is that, if given a choice, they would probably wish to be free... or would they?)

Nothings ever what it seems to be - all the characters undergo dramatic changes, and those that are able to adapt to those changes are able to survive -and it's not always the obvious ones. The character of Steerpike is multi-faceted and Jonathan Rhys Meyers' performance captures all of these brilliantly. It's difficult to know whether to loathe or pity him. His actions are dastardly, but in relation to the yoke of tyranny that the Royal Family it becomes harder to judge.

This is a really great tv series and I'm really proud that the BBC gave the novels, by Mervyn Peake the treatment they so rightly deserved.