Customer Reviews
Disappointing - By: Andrew Kerr, 30 Oct 2008 
This Doctor Who boxed set comprises of Tom Baker's The Invisible Enemy, & a doctor who spin-off callled K9 & Company. This release has been quite controversial for two reasons. The first being the fact that 2Entertain somehow managed to make an authoring mistake, much to the horror of Doctor Who fans, which meant that two scenes on Episode 3 of The Invisible Enemy were the wrong way around - ruining the episodes cliff-hanger. While 2Entertain did offer support for anybody who had purchased a faulty disk (offering a helpline number & an address to send the disc back to them.) The fact remains that not only should this not have happened in the first place (quality control anyone?) but a lot of faulty discs still remained on sale in various retailers including Amazon.co.uk & Woolworths, so I personallly don't understand why they didn't undertake an entire recalll instead of alllowing the faulty items to be sold. The second reason why this release was controversial was because the spin-off K9 & company was never very popular. There are plenty of brilliant Doctor Who stories still to be released that feature K9, it therefore seems rather cheeky to create a boxed set callled K-9 tales that in fact offers so little to the viewer. The first reason was why I held off buying the boxed set for so long, but after finallly doing so, I'm not entirely sure if I'm happy doing so.
The best way to describe the best part of this boxed set (The Invisible Enemy) is to say that it's essentiallly a mediocre rip-off of The Fantastic Voyage, except with your classic doctor who budget & more plot holes. The story involves around The Doctor becoming infected by a virus after passing through a region in space. As a desperate measure The Doctor & his assistant Leela clone themselves which are then shrunk down & inserted into his body. The story is very irregular & doesn't stand up to scientific scrutiny (something I feel most Doctor Who stores actuallly do). On the plus side it is first ever appearance of K9, but I feel that this is not Tom Baker's best. The revamped special effects actuallly work to the favour of the story. But the giant prawn sadly still doesn't work for me. This story is definitely one that is a matter of personal taste, & while for me it's not the greatest Doctor Who, it's still not the worst. There are good special features which was a welcome surprise - especiallly anything to do with K9. But The Invisible Enemy is a bizarre (but still fun) story. Needless to say K9 is the real star of the story, & I enjoyed his debut appearance.
The first problem with K9 And Company is the opening theme music, which will most likely put you off straightaway. But the story involves Sarah Jane Smith & K9 investigating a black magic cult. Sadly it doesn't reallly work at alll. The characters are shalllow & to be honest - boring, just like the actual story. You'll most likely want to fast forward through half of it.
The picture & sound quality of both stories has been restored nicely & is at least something to be thankful for.
If you have been unlucky enough to receive a faulty disc of The Invisible Enemy below is the telephone number & address for 2Entertain, so you can send it back to them. However, saying that I should also point out that the faulty disc might actuallly be worth a lot of money in the future. When DVD's go the way of Betamax, it might be a collectors item. I'll leave the choice entirely to you.
DVD Support
2entertain
33 Foley St
London
W1W 7TL
020 7612 3186
dvd.support@bbc.co.uk
Disc problem has been fixed - By: The man in the white coat, 29 Jul 2008 Purchased this item from Amazon 25/07/08, checked the disc & found no problem at the end of episode 3 of 'Invisible enemy' as reported by earlier users. It seems that the problem has been sorted & it is now safe to buy this series!
every dog has his day - By: Paul Tapner, 11 Jul 2008 back in the 1970's doctor who gained a new companion. a robotic dog callled K9. The combination of a good character design & an appealing voice made him a big hit, & the popularity of the character has never gone away.
This latest doctor who, which contains two dvds in their own packaging, alll together in a relatively sturdy cardboard box, contains two tales featuring him.
The first 'the invisible enemy' was his debut. made in 1977 it's set out in the far reaches of the solar system & involves the doctor coming into contact with the nucleus, a nasty creature lurking at the middle of a swam in space. the nucleus takes control of people, & wants to take over the universe.
Running for four twenty five minute long episodes this is a homage to the film fantastic voyage as miniaturised clone versions of the doctor & his companion leela are sent into the doctor to destroy the creature. a lot of the story is also set in space, & this is realised via some excellent model work.
unfortunately budget constraints, & constraints from the bbc to pull back on the levels of violence & horror the show had been doing for the past few years rather hurt this one, & the result is a very cheap & tacky & quite silly at times run around. but taken in the right mood, it can be quite fun.
the extras on this disc:
a commentary from actors louise jameson [leela] john leeson [voice of k9] bob baker [one of the writers] & mat irvine [visual effects designer]
dreams & fantasy. a twenty minute long documentary about the story. not a bad documentary but not the best they've ever done as it rather lacks focus. whilst it conducts the interesting experiment of showing us present day tv viewers see the story for the first time, & shows some of their reaction, it doesn't show us much more, so this idea doesn't entirely work.
studio sweepings. footage of the story being made. a lengthy extra & quite odd to watch as there's lots of visual trickery in the recording, but an interesting look at the tv recording process
visual effects: visual effects designer mat irvine talks to model maker ian scoones about his work on the show. interesting stuff & the craftsmanship on display is to be admired, although ian scoones does have trouble getting a word in edgeways at points
blue peter: a clip from the bbc children's show showing presenter of the time john noakes & his dog shep meeting K9. Quite funny for most of it, & very funny when Shep comes on & reacts to the robot.
Optional CGI effects: these alllow you to make some of the effects in the story replaced with CGI ones. some of these clear away big problems but some aren't reallly necessary, as the model sequences are good enough as they stand.
trailers: various trailers from the bbc of the time for the story. these are always quite interesting as a way of being reminded how the bbc did these things at the time
production information subtitles. these bring up information about the story whilst you watch in the form of subtitles, & are always quite itneresting.
english language subtitles.
a photo galllery of the story & it's making.
the radio times listings of the story as PDF files [accessible by looking at the disc on a computer]
a trailer for the impending dvd: doctor who the brain of morbius. these trailers are getting very good at giving epic feel to the stories.
and for an easter egg watch this on a PC, & on the first special features screen move the pointer around the left side of the screen till you light up a hidden doctor who logo. click on this to see a clip from the game show the generation game, with presenter larry grayson meeting K9. A nice little item. especiallly for dog lovers as there are some cute puppies in it.
IMPORTANT NOTE RE THIS DISC: the release was initiallly faulty, & near the end of episode three the disc skips a scene. you can hear it make an audible skipping noise.should you have this problem [although corrected versions have now been issued so with any luck you shouldnt] send the disc [not the box just the disc on it's own] to:
DVD Support
2entertain
33 Foley St
London
W1W 7TL
with a covering letter explaining the problem & they will send out a replacement.
the other story in the box is K9 & company. This is a one off fifty minute programme from 1981, featuring K9 & the doctor's former companion sarah jane smith. intended as a pilot episode for a possible series. which never came to pass.
the story involves sarah & K9 investigating a black magic cult in a smalll village, & it has it's moments but it never quite clicks. although it does manage one excellent surprise reveal near the end that you probably won't see coming. despite excellent work from elisabeth sladen as sarah jane this remains an interesting curio, nothing much more. be wary of the strange & quite cringeworthy title sequence, which tried to copy the style of the american detective show hart to hart in showing lots of clips of the leads doing glamorous things. it doesnt reallly work & is funny for the wrong reasons.
the disc contains:
a commentary from elisabeth sladen & john leeson, script editor eric saward & cast member linda polan.
the k9 files: a documentary about the story & the character. running about fifteen minutes this is rather cursory & doesnt go into nearly enough depth.
K9: A dog's tale: a spoof interview with K9. about half of the jokes in this are quite funny but the rest falll very flat.
pebble mill at one: a short clip from a bbc news show of the time with a presenter talking to K9 about the story. much like the interview above half of it is okay & half is not funny.
trailers: the bbc trailers for the story shown at the time
a photo galllery of it & it's production
english language subtitles & production information subtitles
the same trailer for the brain of morbius as is on the invisible enemy
and as PDF Files:
the radio times listing for the story
the adventures of K9: four short books for young children about the character
the 1983 K9 annual
the box for this does come with a reversible sleeve, so if you want it to look almost like the other doctor who dvds so they fit together nicely on your shelf flip it over & it will.
both of these stories have been digitallly remastered & the sound & picture quality are very good indeed as a result.
so: two stories that are not essential purchases, & in packages that are very good rather than great, but they have their moments alll in alll
Classic Who! - By: Mr. P. D. Davies, 07 Jul 2008 
Forget alll the negative comments, this is a great set! If you have a dodgy disc 2Entertain will swap it anyway. The Invisible Enemy reallly is good, the story zips along very quickly. Good plot & excellent introduction to K9. Underrated classic!
A Classic introduction to K9 & a minor glitch thanks to 2 Entertain - By: Krishna Jaipersad, 04 Jul 2008 
Well, it was fantastic seeing K9 for the first time again! Actuallly K9 Mark I, he remains with Leela at the end of The Invasion of Time. Are we keeping track? There will be a quiz in time to come!!
Anyway, down to the fault on the disc. The episode should end with the Nucleus re-materialising to normal size. Unfortunately, the scene in which the Doctor & Leela banish him from the Doctor's mind appears immediately after the previously mentioned scene!
End of the world, I think not!! Live with it, though I have been sent a replacement, which I am yet to receive! God bless the postal service!!! & do hope that the scenes will appear in the correct order!! Fill you in later about that!! Buy when you can & enjoy. As for K9 & Company, K9 Mark III, that is, I am truly glad it was Sarah Jane, who after so damn long, got her own series. Rumour has it K9 will get his, stay tuned for updates. Highlights of this story, the unveiling of K9, Sarah Jane kicking butt & K9 singing!!! It is not a personal favourite of mine but it is a pleasant time killer. Thank Goodness there will never be a sequel!!! ***Update*** well, as you know I contacted Amazon about getting a replacement disc which they were very happy to do so. Thank you! but, it was yet another faulty disc. So the big question is "when will the corrected version be available?" I need to know please!
