"Castrovalva"

Castrovalva
Disc 3 of the "New Beginnings" Box Set
(Special Edition DVD)

 

Starring Peter Davison
4 Episodes
1982
96 minutes (color)
Single Disc


"New Beginnings" Box Set
 




 

 

Production Notes
Doctor Who
Peter Davison

Adric
Matthew Waterhouse

Nyssa
Sarah Sutton

Tegan Jovanka
Janet Fielding

The Master
Anthony Ainley

Written by
Christopher H. Bidmead
Directed by
Fiona Cumming

Produced by
John Nathan-Turner

Original Airdate
Jan 4, 1982 - Jan 12, 1982

R1 DVD Release Date
June 2007

Warner Home Video
#E4012

U.K. Box Set Cover


U.K. Individual Cover


 



Cover Blurb

The Doctor defeats the Master's plans to hold the Universe to ransom, but at a high personal cost.  After plummeting from the Pharos Project telescope, the Doctor regenerates.  The time travelers escape the Master's clutches, but the Doctor's regeneration is failing, and Adric goes missing in the depths of the TARDIS.  Only Nyssa and Tegan can save the day by steering the TARDIS to the city of Castrovalva, renowned for its healing powers.  But evil lurks at the heart of this simple paradise.

 

 



 

 

 

DVD Features
  • Swap Shop:
 A 20 minute segment from the popular show Swap Shop featuring a guest appearance by Peter Davison.
 

 
  • Blue Peter:
 A nine minute interview with Peter Davison at the time of this story's transmission.
 

 
  • Directing Castrovalva:
 Director Fiona Cumming discusses her involvement in Peter Davison's debut story.
 

 

  • Being Doctor Who:

 As you might expect, this featurette delves into the early days of Peter Davison's tenure as the Doctor.
 

 
  • The Crowded TARDIS:
 One of the major changes in direction for the series at the beginning of the 80's was the jump to multiple companions instead of just one.  This featurette examines those decisions and times.  Contributing are Tom Baker (the 4th Doctor), Peter Davison (the 5th Doctor), Sarah Sutton (Nyssa), Christopher H. Bidmead (script editor), and John Black (director).
 

 
  • Deleted Scenes:
 Two (very short) scenes that didn't make it into the final version.
 

 
  • Trailers and Continuity Announcements:
 Over 5 minutes worth of trailers as well as continuity announcements from the original broadcast.
 

 
  • Theme Music Video:
 A new remix of Peter Howell's version of the Doctor Who theme set to the opening/closing title star field.  There is an option to listen to this in stereo or Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound.  Nice!
 

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

 
  • 1982 Doctor Who Annual:
 Accessible from any computer with a DVD drive, a PDF of  the 1982 Doctor Who Annual (a mixture of Doctor Who fiction as well as science based reading for young Doctor Who fans).
 

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

 
  • Season 19 Sales Guide:
 Accessible from any computer with a DVD drive, a PDF of the Season 19 sales literature.
 

 
  • 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.
 

 
  • Audio Options:
 The first option is to listen to an audio commentary.  The participants on this commentary are Peter Davison (The Doctor), Janet Fielding (Tegan), Fiona Cumming (director) and writer/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 (rather than edited together as in the case of "The Five Doctors Special Edition" DVD).  This does mean that there are long gaps of silence in between music cues.
 

 
  • Easter Eggs:
 There is 1egg included in this release.  Scroll further down to find more details.    For a full list of known Easter Eggs and screen grabs of them click HERE.
 
     



 

 

 

Easter Egg

#1. DOCTOR WHO ON PARADE


 

From the main menu screen, press the left arrow button
to highlight the Doctor Who logo in the top left corner.  Now click on it.

   

 

 

 

 

 

Additional Notes
  • "Castrovalva" is Peter Davison's first appearance as the Doctor.  Davison is the youngest actor to take on the role (he was 29 at the time).
     
  • "Castrovalva" concludes the trilogy that began with "The Keeper of Traken" and continued in "Logopolis" that heralds the return of the Master.
     
  • Part of the impetus to bring back The Master to the series was to help transition the audience from the well established Tom Baker (who held the role for 7 years) to the new Doctor (Peter Davison).
     
  • Writer Christopher H. Bidmead was inspired to write this story by the artwork of M.C. Escher.
  • Although "Castrovalva" is the first adventure with the 5th Doctor, it was the fourth story to be filmed.  This was done to give Davison a chance to adjust to his role before he had to perform out of character (due to his regeneration).  An alternative explanation surfaced later stating that the original opening story was scrapped at the last minute and "Castrovalva" inserted in its place.  To give the production crew more time to prepare, filming was pushed back making "Four to Doomsday" the first one to be taped. 
     
  • Watch for Davison's amusing impersonations of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Doctors.
  • Playing Mergrave is none other than Michael Sheard.  Sheard's first role in Doctor Who was in the 1966 Hartnell story "The Ark" as Rhos.  5 years later Sheard would return as Dr. Summers in the Pertwee story "The Mind of Evil."  Sheard would again appear in Doctor Who, this time as Lawrence Scarman in the classic Tom Baker story "Pyramids of Mars."  Next up was the part of Lowe in "The Invisible Enemy."  4 years after his appearance in this Davidson story he made his final appearance in the 1988 Sylvester McCoy story "Remembrance of the Daleks."  He's a busy man...
  • This story is being released as part of the "New Beginnings" trilogy boxset. 
  • 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.