"Full Circle"

Full Circle
Disc 1 of the "E-Space Trilogy" Box Set
(DVD)

 

Starring Tom Baker
4 Episodes
1980
96 minutes (color)
Single Disc


"E-Space Trilogy" Box Set



 

 

Production Notes
Doctor Who
Tom Baker

Romana
Lalla Ward

Voice of K9
John Leeson

Adric
Matthew Waterhouse

Written  by
Andrew Smith
Directed by
Peter Grimwade

Produced by
John Nathan-Turner

Original Airdate
Oct 25, 1980 - Nov 15, 1980

R1 DVD Release Date
May 2009

Warner Home Video
#3000021381

U.K. Box Set Cover


U.K. Individual Cover


 



Cover Blurb
Attempting to return home to Gallifrey, the Doctor, Romana, and K-9 find themselves on the planet Alzarious.  As the local inhabitants retreat in terror to their marooned spacecraft, the Doctor sets out to investigate, and a group of young rebels take Romana hostage in the TARDIS.  Besieged by the reptilian creatures rising from the marshes, the colonists of the Starliner face a bleak future without the Doctor's help.  Can he uncover the dark truth about Mistfall before it is too late?



 

 

 

DVD Features

  • All Aboard the Starliner:

 A "making of" featurette for "Full Circle".  Included in the documentary are Lalla Ward (Romanar), John Leeson (voice of K-9), George Baker (Decider Logan), and Bernard Padden (Tylos).  Also contributing are Christopher H. Bidmead (script editor), Andrew Smith (writer), and director Peter Grimwade.
 

 
  • K-9 in E-Space:
 A (very) brief look at the final stories of K-9 through the E-space arc.
 

 
  • Swap Shop:
 Matthew Waterhouse (Adric) makes an appearance on the popular British show during his debut story "Full Circle".
 

 
  • E-Space - Fact or Fiction?:
 A glimpse at the science behind the science fiction of alternate universes.  Contributions for this 14 minute featurette come from the production side of Doctor Who as well as astronomers.
 

 
  • Continuity Announcements:
 Continuity announcements from the original broadcast in 1980.
 

 
  • Photo Gallery:
 Once again we are treated to many rare production stills and quite a few behind the scenes ones as well.
 

 
  • 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.
 

 
  • Radio Times Listings:
 Accessible from any computer with a DVD drive, a PDF of some of the original Radio Times press clippings.
 

 
  • Audio Options:
 The first option is to listen to an audio commentary.  The participants on this commentary are Matthew Waterhouse (Adric), Andrew Smith (writer), and script editor Christopher Bidmead.

The second audio option is the isolated soundtrack.  With this feature you will hear the excellent score composed by Paddy Kingsland composed sequentially as it appears in the episode.  This does mean that there are long gaps of silence in between music cues.
 

 
  • Easter Eggs:
 None.  For a full list of known Easter Eggs and screen grabs of them click HERE.

 
     



 

 

 

Additional Notes
  • "Full Circle" begins what is commonly known today as the E-Space Trilogy.   It is a series of 3 stories which detail the TARDIS and her crew falling into an alternate universe, the smaller E-Space.  By the end of the trilogy, the Doctor and his crew make it back to N-Space (or normal space).
     
  • The other two stories in the E-Space Trilogy are "State of Decay" and "Warriors' Gate."
     
  • A new companion joins the crew in this adventure, Adric (played by Matthew Waterhouse).   Adric stows on board the TARDIS before it departs.
     
  • Although technically this is Matthew Waterhouse's first story with Doctor Who, he had already filmed "State of Decay" before this story in order to give Waterhouse time to acclimate to the character.  Much the same thing was done for Peter Davison (Doctor #5) in his debut story "Castrovalva."
     
  • "Full Circle" was originally written by a 19 year old Doctor Who fan.   However, the story needed much reworking and by the time the finished product was done it had little resemblance to its original.  However, credit is given to the original writer.
  • As with all of the DVD releases to date, the Doctor Who Restoration Team did extensive work on this story.  More information on the restoration of this story can be read at their website HERE.