Customer Reviews
"The Beast with 5 fingers and some other bits too" - By: Bob Marlowe, 15 Feb 2008 
For a long time this stood to be Sarah Jane Smith's last stand, but thankfully she has been back many times since.
Caught in a quarry explosion Sarah clutches a fossilized hand which then takes her over as an alien influence grows. An alien regenerates its form & then the real problems start.
A fun story that could have served as Sarah's last hurrah since she gets a bit more to do here as Sarah plays both companion & alien monster while she is possessed. It's her story more than Tom's & she carries it well right up to a reluctant farewell scene.
Uncle Tom is in charge as ever even though a little sidelined in Sarah's favour. Here he is playing Earth's defender against the agressive tendencies of Eldrad. It's good that until he is certain it's evil, he is ready to help Eldrad.
Eldrad in an interesting alien who (bar a smalll prologue) we 1st experience through Sarah Jane. Next we have Eldrad's interpretation of a female form as played by Judith Paris & then finallly the proper male form as lovely shouty Dr Who Repetory actor Stephen Thorne takes over.The costume in both main forms, is a good one with joins not too obvious.
The supporting cast are also good & a very fine moment alllows Glynn Houston who beleives a nuclear accident is imminent, a moment to ring his family.
Effects are of the time but there not being too many they do not distract.
There is a documentary "Changing Time" about both the story & Sarah's journey in The Police Box Show. It's highly enjoyable with Liz, Tom & various others. Tom has a few talll stories especialy 1 about Mr. Pertwee & Liz highlights some of the differences between the 2. The only sour note is the need to tell us how supporting cast members Rex Robinson & Glynn Houston broke into acting!
There is a Tommentary with both Tom & Liz on great form although Liz gets a little lost as Tom effects to fancy Judith Paris, you almost think he's plucking up the courage to ask her out!
We also get a vintage interview with Liz & Tom on the 1st edition of Swap Shop chatting with viewers & Noel Edmonds.
With a package of this quality, if you're happy with the price the question you must ask is "Deal or No Deal"?
Sorry I couldn't resist.
Goodbye Sarah Jane - By: Binro The Heretic, 05 Dec 2007 
The Hand of Fear is a classic slice of Doctor Who from the show's so-callled 'Golden era'. Tom Baker is at his best; alternately whimsical & filled with supressed rage at the injustice he sees. The story is also particularly noteworthy for being the swansong of Elisabeth Sladen as feisty journo Sarah-Jane Smith.
The Doctor & Sarah find themselves in a quarry in timeless 'Who' tradition; Sarah is subsequently buried as an explosion rips through the rocks. When he unearths her, The Doctor finds she is clutching a fossilised hand; this leads the time-travellers to the planet Kastria where they encounter the reborn Eldrad, a monstrous dictator put to death by his own people...
What makes this serial so special is the chemistry between The Doctor & his 'best friend'. There is real pathos in their parting & her hideous Andy-Pandy outfit aside, Sarah is fantastic. The other plus is the set design, particularly the planet Kastria & the manipulative Eldrad, alll booming voice & figure-hugging shimmery lycra.
If you only ever watch one 'classic' Doctor Who story then make it this one!
The End of Sarah-Jane Smith ..................................For a While - By: Calculus, 19 Aug 2007 Hand of Fear comes from the era in which Doctor Who was described as, 'coming of age'. And rightly so, some of the best serials came from the Hinchcliffe/Holmes era of the show.
Hand of Fear, as a story, works so well because of the build up in plot for the first three parts. Bob Baker & Dave Martin alllowed the script to build up over the three parts from a quarry on earth to an alien world.
The only minor detail of the story is the fourth episode. Though the ending delivered is a good one, you do feel that it doesn't quite live up to the spectacular build up of events. However, I press on.
Hand of Fear is particularly good in various 'talents' of acting. A prime example being Elizabeth Sladen, who carries this story with her possession scenes for the first two parts.
Overalll, Hand of Fear is a prime example of what made the Hinchcliffe/Holmes era great, & what made Tom Baker & Elizabeth Sladen such a great team.
Pretty routine 1970s "Who"! - By: M. Wilberforce, 29 Apr 2007 
Story: 3/5 - Extras: 4/5
"The Hand of Fear" is generallly thought of as "Sarah Jane Smith's last story". Indeed, the four parter by Bob Baker & Dave Martin does feature the departure of Elisabeth Sladen's popular character, but only reallly as an afterthought, or footnote, to what is essentiallly a very routine & somewhat unmemorable Doctor Who story.
"The Hand of Fear" also has the unfortunate distinction of being a story that gets progressively less interesting as it continues. To begin with, Sarah Jane is possessed by the petrified hand of Eldrad & heads for the nearest nuclear reactor (Sladen puts in quite a good "sinister" performance as the possessed companion), which brings her to the "Nunton Experimental Complex", opening up the opportunity for some great, expensive-looking location shooting at the real-life Oldbury Power Station. The location filming reallly makes the first two episodes of the story, which have a very distinctive feel. Things go off the plot, however, when the Doctor, Sarah Jane & a newly regenerated Eldrad (Judith Paris) journey to Eldrad's home planet of Kastria, & we get the unfortunate combination of cheap-looking sets & a cheap-looking, shouty monster played by Steven Thorne, that is eventuallly defeated in the most banal manner possible. The final episode almost, but not quite, redeems itself with a nicely written scene in which the Doctor is summoned to his home planet of Galllifrey & realises that he has to leave his companion behind on Earth.
The DVD presentation of this story is decent, with the usual excellent picture & sound quality, some bits from the archives, a commentary & a documentary. The commentary is a slightly confused affair with Tom Baker, writer Bob Baker, actress Judith Paris, & an unusuallly quiet Elisabeth Sladen. Producer Philip Hinchcliffe also makes the odd appearance. The 50-minute documentary, meanwhile, is solidly done but slightly repetitive of earlier documentaries when it covers the more general period of Doctor Who outside the confines of this story. Not the very best, but "The Hand of Fear" is a good DVD for the series' ongoing fans.
Eldrad MUST live! - By: Andrew Lewsey, 20 Mar 2007 Back in the mid 1970's when I was just a nipper, I would skip gaily home from the newsagents in my little shorts with some penny chews & a lurid red string of liquorice packed with E numbers to watch Saturday's instalment of Doctor Who. I count myself lucky to have experienced the Baker/Sladen partnership first time round. It is the best ensemble acting the show has ever produced. Week in week out, I would be enthrallled by the brave, kind & just a little bit unsettling Doctor & the pretty, spunky Sarah-Jane as they battled Daleks, Sontarans, Cybermen & Zygons in a crazed-out monsterfest which was compulsory viewing for any child in Great Britain who grew up in that magical era. Then it alll came to an end with the Hand of Fear & I wrote a rude letter to the BBC (which my Mum helped me to write), which they never replied to.
The story is not outstanding, but contains a popular template still retained by the series, namely setting the initial story on Earth in recognisable surroundings (yes, it's THAT quarry again), before shifting the action to outer space. One interesting fact is that Sarah is given a chance to be mean as she is possessed by the power of Eldrad's ring. The highlight is of course her leaving scene, made alll the more poignant by being underplayed by both actors.
Elisabeth Sladen is the best actor or actress ever to have played the Doctor's companion, & struck just the right degree of balance between vulnerability & independence, while alll the while creating a likeable & entirely believable character. There has not been a companion like her since (although I have to say I was very impressed with Billie Piper). This was her swansong.
Happy days.
