The Invisible Enemy has something of a bad reputation amongst Doctor Who fans, being as though some love it or some hate it with more passion than they can muster, and most of that strong emotion stems from the introduction of a certain robot dog which this boxed set is all about. The funny thing is, most of the documentaries on the disc seem to spend time apologising for the story when in fact, if people hate K9 they wont but this set, so only those that love the story will actually pick it up. Them and the completist fans like me, and who cares about them? Well, clearly those creating the DVDs are that's who the apology seems aimed at. It does of course, completely miss the point (although one documentary touches briefly on this) that the story is not aimed at those 30+, it's aimed at those 8-11. And those guys will love this story, if only for the fact it has a robot dog.
The story revolves around a virus that infects a spaceship crew, who then infect those on the Titan base, even as the Doctor himself is infected and forced to travel to a hostpital where he meets the delightfully bonkers Professor Marius and his crazy dog K9. K9 may have been created by writers Bob Baker & Dave Martin, but like the Daleks, the real heroes of K9 are Tony Harding who designed the creature, and John Leeson who provides the fussy little voice. It's a voice that is easily imitable and the design is easily drawn. How can it now appeal?
In order to fight the infection, the Doctor and Leela are cloned and shrunk and injected into the Doctor's body in what is obviously Doctor Who ripping off Fantastic Voyage. This story is seriously for the kids because it requires enormous suspension of disbelief. But once you do that, and once you immerse yourself into this crazy world of Doctor Who now under the aegis of Graham Williams, you can't help but love it.
K-9 & Company: A Girl's Best Friend is actually the very first spin-off of Doctor Who, and it's quite interesting to see that produce John Nathan-Turner has got his finger on the pulse. Like the newly created Sarah-Jane Adventures, Sarah is assisted by a knowledable young boy, Brendan, and a very brilliant computer, K-9. Unfortunately, the biggest problem with this was JN-T's decision to have the programme's only fantasy element being K-9. And that is a big problem. No matter how hard you might try, Midsomer Murders is not going to work with a robot dog.
The plot itself is a little bizarre as it stems from a mistake made by Sarah's Aunt and turns into uncovering a witches' coven. To be honest, the mind boggles at how the series could have possibly progressed.
The extras are all quite interesting, but the commentaries are positively dire. On The Invisible Enemy, special effects guru Mat Irvine bores everyone to tears as he rabbits on about how he made effects, talking over the top of anyone anytime they seem to say something interesting. Elisabeth Sladen controls the commentary on K-9 & Company, and she spends the entire time moaning about how slow it is. OK, Lis, we get it. You have a new show that is great and everything in the 80s was crap.
I can't help but start to get a little bored with the "All 80s Doctor Who is shit" motif that is running through the DVDs and it would be nice for someone to present, if nothing else, at least a balanced account of what happened in that troubled period.
"C+"
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