Doctor Who Shada LIMITED EDITION Blu-ray [2017] [Region Free] (Steelbook Version)

Already owned this on DVD but was fascinated by the webcast story with Paul Mcgann which was not easy access on DVD so got the story on Blu ray in this lovely steelbook.It's fascinating to watch the story fully animated and broken down into it's 6 parts and then the contrast of watching Tom Baker in not only animation but all film footage from untransmitted story was certainly worth the wait this classic from Douglas Adams who died never seeing it come to fruition.If a fan of Classic Doctor Who and to see Paul Mgcann in animated form be the doctor in webcast then this is a must see. Knowing how hard it was to get this steelbook I highly doubt you'll be able to get it unless someone is selling for a crazy price.

The story is fun! And the animation is excellent! What's not to like?!

Great film Great seller great service

A new Doctor Who dvd. For the uninitiated: Shada was scheduled to be the last story of Tom Baker's sixth year in the role, back in 1979. Written by then script editor Douglas Adams, of Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy fame, it would have been a six part story, also featuring Lalla Ward as Romana and K9, voiced by David Brierley. Set in Cambridge, the script saw the Doctor summoned there by a message from his old friend Professor Chronitis, who needs help dealing with a book he has in his possession. A very dangerous one. If anyone bad got their hands on it, the universe would be under threat.Which is why is a man called Skagra wants it, because he has a plan for universal domination...In those days, tv shows would do the location filming first. Then all the indoor stuff back in the studio. Shada had completed the former, and done some of the latter, when industrial action stopped bbc productions for a short while. And once that was sorted there was no space in the schedule to resume Shada. It was never finished.For years, people called it a classic story. Largely because they'd never actually seen it. Save for two short moments used in the 1983 story the Five Doctors. Then in 1993 the bbc released a version of it. Which used the footage that was shot and linking narration from Tom Baker.After which, everyone stopped talking about Shada and considering it a classic. But it was the best they could do at the time. It's a perfectly decent tale, just not an exceptional one. And the video was the best they could do at the time.Shada has reappeared in other forms since. Such as an audio version which re wrote things slightly to put the eighth doctor in the story instead. And a novel version.But now, here's another go. Which uses animation and fresh cast recordings to fill in the gaps.You might assume this would be six episodes of animation - which is why it's not helpful for people to write reviews before they've got the dvd! - but it's not. This uses the completed footage - but tidies up all the visual effects to make them work - and uses animation to fill in the gaps, rather than the linking narration as before. The cast did get together to record the dialogue for the animation sections.As with the vhs, the jump between two styles takes a little getting to used to, but as with that as well, there's far more live action early on, but that fades away as it progresses. So you do get used to it. The animation is decent in quality. And the cast recording is great. So it's very easy to forget and take for granted the effort that has gone into this.But making it one long story of over two and a quarter hours does highlight the problem of six part stories of old. Most were written to fit that slot and were a bit too long as a result. So this is a long haul at times and you can find your attention going at some points.However there are great bits in the animated scenes dialogue wise, so if you simply take the pleasure of hearing these for the first time then there is a lot to enjoy.A definite four star release. A pity it's not the format you might have hoped for, but it does have very good points and is worth a watch. Especially the very final scene.The disc has the following language and subtitle options:Languages: English.Subtitles: English.The dvd box does have a reversible sleeve, the other side of which is in the style of all previous Doctor Who dvds, so will fit in with them nicely on your shelves.The production notes booklet isn't, but it does contain a lot of interesting and useful info.Disc two has various extras:Taken Out of Time: A twenty six minute long documentary about the making of the story.Now and then: twelve mins looking at the Cambridge locations and how they have changed over the years.Strike strike strike! twenty seven mins about the industrial action.All the above are very good and watchable. And anyone who got the last attempt at doing Shada on dvd in 2012, a reissue of the vhs version, will have seen these on that.What's new:Studio sessions 1979: forty four mins of film of the studio recordings. Very long, and those who don't like flashing images beware at one point. But quite interesting to watch, subtitled with lots of interesting info as well. And you get to see the very last bit of Doctor Who filmed in the 70's.Dialogue recording: fourteen mins of film of Tom Baker recording the dialogue for the animation. A bit slow as a watch, but has fun moments.Studio sessions 2017: six mins of film of the sets being made, and Tom Baker shooting one scene. This part is fun. Do watch it till the very end.Model filming: four mins of people building models.Deleted scenes: the recording of two audio bits that didn't get animated. Short and nothing major.Title sequence: four mins of the title sequences from the 70's without text just with music.Live action reference footage: two mins of actors doubling for the cast working against greenscreen.1979 gallery; four mins of old photos. This was on the previous dvd as well.2017 gallery: two mins of new photos.Rom content: put the disc on a computer for original production paperwork, and lots of other documents.A good dvd. And a good package of extras.

This is the classic story that was infamous for being unfinished to to a strike at the BBC and due to new influences decided to scrap the story not even showing stuff already been filmed. The only bit we see is the famous punting scene with Tom Baker that was slotted into the Five Doctors anniversary special.The majority of the episode is everything that was filmed at the time with animation slotted in where needed and you get so into the story that for me I couldn't tell where live action stopped and animation took over it was so seamless and it was lovely to sit down and watch this timeless classic from Douglas Adams who sadly died never seeing the whole thing come together, I think he would be so proud of the whole team that was able to finish his last outing for Doctor Who.Tom Baker #SHADA is a must have for any Whovian who remembers this stories epic start, stop due to strike, cancelled and finally brought to dvd with new animation built round scenes still yet to film on original production. Was a long time coming but worth the wait and now Tom Bakers run of who stories on film is complete.

Shada is complete at last! This should have every fan of the classic series of Doctor Who jumping for joy. And the steelbook version of this release feels like the ultimate expression of this brilliant adventure. The artwork on the packaging both inside and out is beautiful and stylish. This three disc set includes the new edit of Shada complete with a new musical score and some really attractive animation to fill in for the scenes which were never filmed, due to strike action at the BBC when this story was being filmed. The main cast are back to lend their vocal talents to the characters they played and the whole effect is to give this story a cohesion that it previously lacked. The final scene of this new edit will have fans of this era of the show punching the air in triumph. Looking and sounding sharper than ever before, this new version of Shada is undoubtedly an unmitigated success and a pleasure to watch. This set also includes the 1992 release of the story with linking material filmed at the museum of the moving image. With a whole range of behind the scenes features both old and new, this is a collection no Doctor Who fan should be without.

A few years ago, I bought Shada DVD. It was good but for the gaps it used tele-snips(SP???). Not quite as good but it was ok. It was Shada something that was not seen before. Then I heard about this video of Shada. It has improved things greatly. This new Shada uses Animation mixed with the live action footage. It looks as if they finished the production on the surviving footage & tied with the Animation this made the episode very easy to follow. Also Having Paul McGann's full animation of Shada with Lilia Ward was also great too. It was a slightly different film than the Tom Baker version and that made it fun to watch. I would get the (2019?) Version of Shada for the Animation (Which replaces the photos with story read by Tom Baker) its a great purchase for Doctor Who Fans. Thank you for reading this review, I hope it helps.

Ein Muss für Dr. Who-Fans! Eine ganz wunderbare alte Folge, digital aufgearbeitet und mit animierten Sequenzen aufgefüllt, da wo Filmmaterial fehlte. Das Beste: Die Geschichte stammt von Douglas Adams. Absolute Empfehlung.

es perfecto es perfecto es perfecto antiqua doctor who!

Had Shada been completed and aired when originally scheduled it probably would be considered one of Tom Baker's best. Even without a well known "Dr. Who villain", the "bad guy" is compelling. A top notch story from Douglas Adams. The animation blends well with the live action scenes. As a fan of old school Dr. Who one expects 5 or 6 half hour episodes with the usual cliff hanger at the end of each episode. Such is not the case here as it is presented as one extended episode.

A great jump back in time.. a bit slow but that's what films were like back then. Cool buy for fans.