City of Death
(DVD)

 

Starring Tom Baker
4 Episodes
1979
100 minutes (color)
Double Disc




 

 

Production Notes
Doctor Who
Tom Baker

Romana
Lalla Ward

Written by
David Agnew

Directed by
Michael Hayes
Produced by
Graham Williams

Original Airdate
Sept 29, 1979 - Oct 20, 1979

US DVD Release Date
November 2005

Warner Home Video
#E2399

U.K. Cover


 



Cover Blurb
The Doctor and Romana's plan for a peaceful holiday in Paris soon goes wrong.  Cracks are beginning to appear in the fabric of time, indicating that dangerous time experiments are under way.  Even the well-beaten path to the Louvre leads the Doctor deeper into mystery, much of which revolves around Count Scarlioni (Julian Glover), a sinister figure who has six Mona Lisa paintings stashed in his cellar - and they're all originals!
 

 

 



 

 

 

DVD Features
 

Disc One
All 4 episodes as they were originally transmitted in 1979.

 
  • Information Text:
 An incredible amount 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.
 

 
  • Audio Options:
 Commentary is provided by Julian Glover (Scaroth/Scarlioni), Tom Chadbon (Duggan) and Michael Hayes (director).
 

 
  • Easter Eggs:
 There is 1 egg located on disc one and a further 4 on disc two.  Scroll further down to see a list of all known eggs for "City of Death" along with screen grabs.

 
 

Disc Two
The remaining DVD bonus features.
 

  • Paris In The Springtime:

 The main documentary featurette for this title.  This documentary runs for 45 minutes and features interviews with Douglas Adams (writer), Julian Glover (Scaroth/Scarlioni), Catherine Schell (Countess Scarlioni), Tom Chadbon (Duggan), Michael Hayes (director), and Anthony Read (script editor).  Both the story "City of Death" and the life of Douglas Adams, it's writer, are prominent.  Also contributing is writer David Fisher who penned "A Gamble with Time", an early version of this story that ultimately led to "City of Death".   As part of this featurette, "A Gamble with Time" is recreated using new illustrations.  Other contributors include Pennant Roberts (director of "The Pirate Planet", Adam's other Doctor Who episode), and writers for the new 2005 series of Doctor Who - Steven Moffat and Rob Shearman.
 

 

  • Paris, W12:

 A rare glimpse of the behind the scenes filming of this story in the studio.  The featurette runs approximately 20 minutes and includes black and white footage of newly discovered studio material.  A mixture of fluffs, technical blunders, and a rant by the star of the series.  Interesting stuff.
 

 

  • Prehistoric Landscapes:

 Original model footage shot for the story that, ultimately, didn't make it into the transmitted version set to sound effects used in the story.
 

 

  • Chicken Wrangler:

 Raw footage from the less than successful attempts to create the chicken aging effects seen in the story.
 

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

 

  • Eye On... Blatchford:

 A "mockumentary" along the same lines as "Oh Mummy" from the "Pyramids of Mars" DVD and "Global Conspiracy" on "The Green Death" DVD.  This tongue-in-cheek documentary follows the life of the second-to-the-last Jagaroth... Sardoth as he tries to lead the quiet life in Blatchford.  Sadly, the laughs are few and far between on this one.
 

 
  • 1980 Doctor Who Annual:
 Accessible from any computer with a DVD drive, this comes in the form of a PDF file.
 

 
  • Easter Eggs:
 There is 1 egg located on disc one and a further 4 on disc two.  Scroll further down to see a list of all known eggs for "City of Death" along with screen grabs.

 
 



 

 

Easter Eggs

#1. ORIGINAL BROADCAST TRAILER FOR "THE CREATURE FROM THE PIT"


Disc One
Let the credits play to the end during episode 4 and the egg will play automatically

 

 

 

#2. JAGAROTH SPACESHIP ADVERTISEMENT SPOOF

 

Go to the 'Special Features' menu on Disc Two
Click on the hidden Doctor Who logo to the left of 'Paris In Springtime'

 

 

 

#3. DOUGLAS ADAMS INTERVIEW CLIP

 

Go to the 'Special Features' menu on Disc Two.
Click on the hidden Doctor Who logo to the left of 'Chicken Wrangler'

 

 

 

#4. BAD WOOLF CLIP

 

Go to the 'Special Features' menu on Disc Two.
Click on the hidden Doctor Who logo to the left of 'Eye On... Blatchford'

 

 

 

#5. TOM BAKER/JOHN CLEESE COMEDY SKETCH

 

Go to the 'Special Features' menu on Disc Two.
Click on the hidden Doctor Who logo to the left of 'Doctor Who Annual'

 

 

 

 

 

Additional Notes
  • A classic among fans, "City of Death" was credited to David Agnew.  In reality that was the pseudonym for script editor Douglas Adams and producer Graham Williams.
     
  • This story is one of the few filmed outside of the U.K. (in this case Paris, France).
     
  • Watch for famous British actor Julian Glover to play the principle villain, Scaroth/Count Scarlioni/Captain Tancredi.  Glover also appeared as Richard the Lionheart in the 4 part historical adventure "The Crusade."
     
  • Also watch for a guest appearance by Monty Python alumnist John Cleese.  Apparently a fan of the series, Cleese requested to do a cameo and got one.  He appears in a humorous scene in episode 4.
     
  • This story very nearly made the top list in a recent poll conducted by Doctor Who Monthly.  The winning story in the poll would be released on DVD in 2004.  As it turns out "Pyramids of Mars" narrowly beat out "City of Death."  Now it is "City of Death's" turn.
     
  • This title is one of the few to be released almost simultaneously in both the U.K. (Region 2) and in North America (Region 1).  Because of this, little is yet known about the contents of this DVD until we get closer to the release date.  Some early hints of content include a documentary on the work of Douglas Adams (writer) as well as a featurette on the Paris locations - perhaps using Tom Baker (Fourth Doctor).  It has also been confirmed that neither Tom Baker (Fourth Doctor) nor Lalla Ward (Romana) are going to record a commentary for this story.