The Invasion
(Special Edition DVD)

 

Starring Patrick Troughton
8 Episodes
1969
200 minutes (black and white)
Double Disc




 

 

Production Notes
Doctor Who
Patrick Troughton

Jamie McCrimmon
Frazer Hines

Zoe Heriot
Wendy Padbury

Written by
Derrick Sherwin

From an story by
Kit Pedler
Directed by
Douglas Camfield

Produced by
Peter Bryant

Original Airdate
Nov 2, 1968 - Dec 21, 1968

R1 DVD  Release Date
March 2007

Warner Home Video
#E2856

U.K. Cover



 

 

 
Cover Blurb
Investigating the disappearance of an eminent scientist, the Doctor and his companions follow his trail to the London headquarters of International Electromatics, a global supplier of electronic equipment run by the formidable Tobias Vaughn.  Teaming up with the newly formed United Nations Intelligence Taskforce (UNIT) under the command of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, the Doctor soon suspects that Vaughn is working to his own sinister agenda.  As Cybermen invade in cities all over the world, can the Doctor convince Vaughn to help him defeat their plan for global dominance?



 

 

 

DVD Features
 

Disc One
The first 4 episodes as they were originally transmitted in 1969.
(Episodes 1 & 4 Reconstructed with animation and original off air audio recordings)
 
  • Flash Frames - Reanimating The Invasion:
 The same team that produces the Doctor Who Confidential episodes for the new series turn their attentions to the creation of the two missing, animated episodes.
 

 
  • Love Off-Air:
 What sounds to be an interesting examination of the efforts of early fans of the original series to make audio recordings as the broadcasted episodes played on their TVs.  Included in this featurette are interviews with David Holman, Gary Russell, Justin Richards, and Michael Stevens.  Also included in this featurette is a behind the scenes look of how composer and audio restoration expert Mark Ayres prepared these recordings for  the two animated episodes.
 

 
  • Character Design:
 This featurette shows examples of early test work done to animate characters and to bring each one to life.
 

 
  • Animated Trailers:
 Two animated trailers created specifically for this project.
 

 
  • Audio Options:
 Commentary is provided by a range of participants.

Episode 1 (Animated): Mark Ayres (audio restoration), James Goss (animation producer), and Steve Maher (animation director)

Episode 4 (Animated): Frazer Hines (Jamie), Wendy Padbury (Zoe), and Nicholas Courtney (Brigadier)

Remaining Episodes: A rotating mixture of  Frazer Hines (Jamie), Wendy Padbury (Zoe), Nicholas Courtney (Brigadier), and Chris D'Oyly-John (production assistant)
 

 
  • Information Text:
 Lots of trivia and tidbits of Whovian detail are provided.  The text appears intermittently along the bottom of the screen and is written by members of the Doctor Who Restoration Team.
 

 
  • Easter Eggs:
 There are no eggs included in this release.  For a full list of known Easter Eggs and screen grabs of them click HERE.
 
 

 
 

Disc Two
The final 4 episodes as they were originally transmitted in 1969.

 
  • Evolution of The Invasion:
 Narrated by Frazer Hines, this is the major documentary from this title.  This 50 minute featurette offers a fascinating glimpse into the making not only of this story, but of the production side of Doctor Who during the late 60's.  Includes contributions from actors Frazer Hines (Jamie), Nicholas Courtney (Brigadier), Wendy Padbury (Zoe), Kevin Stoney (Vaughn), Sally Faulkner (Isobel), Peter Halliday (Packer), Edward Burnham (Professor Watkins), and Ian Fairbairn (Gregory).  On the production side are contributors Terrance Dicks (script editor) and Chris D'Oyly-John (production assistant).
 

 

  • 1993 VHS Links:

 Specially recorded for the VHS release of this story, Nicholas Courtney (Brigadier) gives a brief synopsis of the two missing episodes (1 and 4).
 

 
  • Photo Gallery:
 Lots of rare and never before seen photos taken during the production of this story.  Very nice.
 

 
  • Audio Options:
 Commentary is provided by a range of participants.

A rotating mixture of  Frazer Hines (Jamie), Wendy Padbury (Zoe), Nicholas Courtney (Brigadier), and Chris D'Oyly-John (production assistant)
 

 
  • Easter Eggs:
 There are no eggs included in this release.  For a full list of known Easter Eggs and screen grabs of them click HERE.
 

 

 

 


 

 

 

Additional Notes
  • "The Invasion" is an 8 part story with only 6 remaining episodes in existence.   Episodes 1 and 4 are still missing (although they DO exist as off air audio recordings). 
     
  • In a first of its kind move, the two "missing" episodes have been professionally animated, with the original audio soundtrack from the two missing episodes used as the foundation for the project.
     
  • Originally intended more as a web broadcast, the two animated episodes are the first of their kind (but hopefully not the last).
     
  • The popularity of the new series of Doctor Who may be partly responsible for this development.  And certainly the prominent return of the Cybermen in 2006 didn't hurt either.
     
  • Nicholas Courtney (Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart) provided short narrating links for the two missing episodes when this story was released on VHS.
  • This story is the very first U.N.I.T. story ever done.  The character of the Brigadier had appeared the previous year, but as Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart.  At the time he was part of the British Army and helped the Doctor defeat the Great Intelligence in "The Web of Fear."  Apparently, after that incident, U.N.I.T. (United Nations Intelligence Taskforce) was formed and the Brigadier signed on.
  • This story served as a test for what would later become a standard of the Pertwee era, Earth/U.N.I.T. based stories.
  • Watch for the particularly effective cliffhanger for episode #6 as Cybermen emerge from the sewers and invade the deserted streets of London.
  • Although still tame by today's standards, Kevin Stoney gave a very sadistic and abusive (and effective) performance as Tobias Vaughn.
  • And, if you look closely, you'll see the first appearance of John Levene as Sergeant Benton (then a Corporal) who would later appear in most of the Pertwee/U.N.I.T. stories of the 70's.

  • All 6 original episodes have been VidFIREd.  VidFIRE is a process that returns the "video" look to the program as it was originally broadcast.  To learn more about this process you can read about it at the Doctor Who Restoration Team website.
     

  • "The Invasion" was given the usual expert cleanup treatment by the Doctor Who Restoration Team.  You can find the article HERE.