Stars: Peter Davison

Director: Peter Moffatt

Summary: In 'The Visitation' the Tardis arrives in the 17th Century instead of the 20th and the Doctor finds that three prison escapees intend to wipe out all life on Earth.

Peter Davison is the Doctor, and tries to drop Tegan off at Heathrow Airport in the 20th Century but the Tardis takes them back to England in 1666. It's the time of the Great Plague, and with his fellow time-travellers Tegan, Nyssa and Adric in tow, they discover they're not the only newcomers to the village--three Terileptil escapees are on the loose after their capsule had crash landed on Earth. They evade capture until a fire breaks out near their hideout on London's Pudding Lane...

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Doctor Who: The Visitationis a routine adventure from the show's 19th season, beginning with Peter Davison's Fifth Doctor trying to return air hostess Tegan (Janet Fielding) to Heathrow Airport but materialising the TARDIS just as the Plague is ravaging 17th-century England. Three stranded Terileptils (humanoid-reptilian-fish hybrids in laughable costumes) are planning to wipe out humanity, while the local population have accepted the invader's puzzlingly camp robot for the Grim Reaper incarnate. There's much running around, being imprisoned and escaping again, but little substance in the story bar a return to the original series concept of tying the plot to elements of real history. Trying to find something for all the companions to do stretches the material thin, with the best entertainment coming from Michael Robbins' memorable turn as Richard Mace, an out-of-work actor turned charmingly genial highwayman. The "surprise" ending is predictable, Matthew Waterhouse's Adric as earnestly tiresome as ever and Tegan still tediously grumpy. Sarah Sutton as Nyssa is left too long building a sonic weapon which can vibrate a robot to pieces but doesn't harm the TARDIS or herself, yet Davison goes a long way to redeeming the tale with a charismatic intensity the yarn just doesn't deserve.

On the DVD:Doctor Who: The Visitationis presented in the original 4:3 aspect ratio with a good if variable picture. There are numerous unavoidable light trails on the video-shot studio material and some visual distortion on a few scenes. The mono sound is good and extends to an optional isolated presentation of Paddy Kingsland's musical score, a feature complemented by a new 16-minute interview with the composer by fellow Whomusician, Mark Ayres. Of greater general interest is a 26-minute reminiscence by director Peter Moffatt covering all the six Doctor Whoadventures he helmed. There is a good feature on Eric Saward and on the writing of the show, five minutes of extraordinarily dull Film Trims, detailed Information Text and an automated photo gallery. There are subtitles for both the episodes and a commentary that finds Peter Davison, Janet Fielding, Peter Moffatt, Sarah Sutton and Matthew Waterhouse having great fun bantering their way through the four episodes, a feature that proves far more enjoyable than the serial itself. --Gary S Dalkin

Aspect Ratio:	4:3
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Commentary, Music Only Option, Extended And Deleted Scenes, Director Featurette, Writer Interview, Composer Interview, Picture Gallery
Year:	1982
Release Date:	January 19, 2004
Runtime:	100 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	B B C D V D 1329
Keywords:	Who, General, Doctor, Fiction, Science, Tv, Horror, Sci, Fi, Visitation
Genre:	Science Fiction