The Claws of Axos
(DVD)

 

Starring Jon Pertwee
4 Episodes
1971
96 minutes (color)
Single Disc



 

 

Production Notes
Doctor Who
Jon Pertwee

Jo Grant
Katy Manning

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart
Nicholas Courtney

The Master
Roger Delgado

Written by
Bob Baker
&
Dave Martin
Directed by
Michael Ferguson

Produced by
Barry Letts

Original Airdate
March 13, 1971 - April 3, 1971

US DVD Release Date
November 2005

Warner Home Video
#E2398

U.K Cover

 

 



 

Cover Blurb
A mysterious object approaches Earth, alerting the Doctor and UNIT that they face another possible threat from outer space.  Are the gold-skinned aliens who claim to bring great gifts to humanity as peaceful and benevolent as they first appear?  If so, why is the Doctor's archenemy, the Master, on board their spaceship?



 

 

 

DVD Features

  • Deleted and Extended Scenes:

 Nearly 30 minutes of studio footage that gives a rare glimpse of the work that went on behind the cameras to produce the series.  Some of the footage contains scenes that were later removed from the final cut of the episode while other moments show missed cues, fluffed lines, and other technical snags.  A nice feature included is the ability to have a running text commentary.  This commentary is very informative about each scene included and provides further insight into the production of a Doctor Who story.
 

 

  • Now and Then:

 A featurette that highlights some of the locations used in the filming of this story and what they look like today.  Narrated by Katy Manning (Jo Grant)
 

 

  • Reverse Standards Conversion - The Axon Legacy:

 A featurette detailing the work done by the restoration team in achieving the RSC process (Reverse Standards Conversion) needed to bring this story up to visual snuff for DVD.  A bit on the dry and technical side for most of the featurette which then tips over into embarrassingly silly at the end.  You'll have to see it for yourself.
 

 
  • 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
 

 

  • Directing Who:

 Director Michael Ferguson is interviewed about his work on "The Claws of Axos."  Entertaining and informative.
 

 
  • Photo Gallery:
 A collection showing many publicity stills from the production of this story.  Many of the pictures are rare or even never before seen.  Photos of the commentary recording are also included.
 

 
  • Audio Options:
 An excellent commentary from Katy Manning (Jo Grant), Richard Franklin (Capt. Mike Yates) & Barry Letts (Producer).
 
 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

Additional Notes

  • Another Pertwee/Delgado classic, "The Claws of Axos" is the third story in an entire seasons worth of Doctor Who/Master storylines.

  • Curse those short skirts that the Doctor's companions always manage to find and wear.   "The Claws of Axos" introduces Katy Manning's knickers to millions of unsuspecting people around the world.  :)
  • Also evident in this story is what is known as WBWS.  That's Wobbly Brick Wall Syndrome.   It seems to strike 1 in every 4 Doctor Who stories.  There is currently no known cure, but we remain hopeful.
  • On location filming was dogged by bad luck.  Freak weather conditions meant that between shots they would have snow one minute and not the next.  This was explained away in the story as caused by the Axon spaceship.
  • Additional footage exists from this story via early edits of some of the episodes.  Some (but not all) of this footage has made it onto the DVD.
  • One old fan myth that has recently been challenged is a scene from Episode 4.  It can be seen during one of the action scenes between Captain Yates, Sergeant Benton and a rampaging Axon (set in a moving truck).  It was thought for years that close-ups of Yates inside the truck were filmed in the studio, set against a blue screen.  Later, in post production, some moving countryside could be added in its place.  Unfortunately that never happened, and so Yates is seen struggling with an Axon with an unconvincing blue backdrop.  Recent research has uncovered that the footage was actually recorded outside and that the blue is simply from a very clear sky.
  • The original title of this story was to be "Vampires from Space."  It was changed to "The Claws of Axos" in the late stages of production.
  • If you've seen the VHS version of this story, you will likely notice a drop in quality between episodes as some are the original broadcast tapes, while at others are copies of episodes screened in America (thus having gone through a conversion process to be able to be viewed in the U.S.), returned to the BBC when the originals were junked, reconverted back to the PAL standard, and then once again converted back to our NTSC version for this video release.  Needless to say, the quality of these episodes does suffer.  For the DVD release, a new process called RSC (Reverse Standards Conversion) was developed.  More can be read about this new restoration technique from the Restoration Team website by clicking HERE.