Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13444 in DVD
• Released on: 2002-07-15
• Rating: Universal, suitable for all
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 102 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
The Doctor Who adventure "Carnival of Monsters" finds Jon Pertwee's third Doctor and Jo Grant (Katy Manning) materialising on the SS Bernice in the Indian Ocean in 1926, on the very day the ship is about to give rise to a famous sea mystery. Passengers and crew, including Ian Marter (who would return as companion Harry Sullivan two years later), are reliving the same few moments over and over again, and there is a plesiosaur in the ocean.

Meanwhile two travelling show people, Vorg (Leslie Dwyer), and Shirna (Cheryl Hall), have arrived on the bureaucracy laden planet Inter Minor with an illegal Miniscope peepshow. In a variation on the miniaturisation plot of Fantastic Voyage (1966), and harking back to Doctor Who's own "Planet of the Giants" story from 1964, the Doctor and Jo have materialised within the Miniscope's compression field and are trapped inside. For company they have the ferocious alien Drashigs while outside the machine a potentially devastating conspiracy is afoot.

As the second story in the 10th season of Doctor Who, this fast-moving, witty and surreal adventure slots into series continuity between "The Three Doctors" and "Frontier in Space". A long-time fan favourite, the four-part thriller remains one of the most enjoyable of the Jon Pertwee era stories.

On the DVD: Doctor Who: Carnival of Monsters on DVD has an excellent 4:3 image and mono sound far better than was ever heard on the original broadcasts. Heading a massive range of extras is a commentary with Katy Manning being wonderfully enthusiastic and producer-director Barry Letts getting a little more technical. There are English subtitles not only for the episodes but also for the commentary, as well as a separate on-screen information text option. Also included are two extended and one deleted scene, Barry Lett's more tightly edited preferred ending, a trailer for a 1981 season of Doctor Who repeats and a never used arrangement of the title music. Additionally there is a compilation of visual effects test film, some studio shooting footage, a short computer animation of the TARDIS, a photo gallery and a demonstration of the CSO special effects technique. Anything more comprehensive would be hard to imagine. --Gary S Dalkin

Special Features
English
Region 2
Commentary
Behind The Scenes
Visual Effects Tests
Extended Scenes
Barry Letts Demonstartes CSO Video Effects
Alternate Opening And Closing Music
Easter Eggs Photo Gallery

Synopsis
When the Doctor (Jon Pertwee) takes the TARDIS on a test run, he finds himself trapped inside a miniaturised world and must face the ferocious Drashigs.

Customer Reviews

An overlooked gem
Witty, irreverent and a great deal of fun, Carnival of Monsters is one of the real jewels of the Pertwee era. Even those who despise the apporach taken by the production time during the 3rd Doctor's reign must surely admit that this is a cracking script (from the pen of the ever-reliable Robert Holmes) full of ideas and wry observations about the relationship between politics and the media. Both Jon Pertwee and Katy Manning are at their best here, proving what a great and underrated combination the 3rd Doctor and Jo Grant really were. They both give convincing, enjoyable performances and manage somehow to keep it all real when, in fact, this story is one of the most unlikely and surreal tales in the programme's history. The Drashigs are pretty cool, too, what with their terrifying roars and magnificent teeth - even the CSO isn't too bad. Great fun.

One of the best episodes ever
Definately not one of the scariest, but one of the best. The Doctor and Jo land on the miniaturised SS Bernice, where a plesiosaur lurks in the water, and they must encounter the carnivorous Drashigs. It is great, with a strange fascination to it. You are intrigued, and want to see what happens next. The cliff hangers are most unusual, and you are never expecting what happens next, like when the plesiosaur appears, and when a Drashig comes out of the water. It has a bit of humor to it, and the Drashigs have a chilling scream and are surprisingly scary. Worth buying. Flawless.

A Scope for a good DVD Release
Carnival of Monsters is one of those Doctor Who Stories that, without being a classic of the series, stands out quite well in its era. What is particularly noteworthy about this story is the use of colour separation overlay , a trademark of the series and it is probably this story that it was put to the best use in the whole series, other times (like in THE GREEN DEATH and PLANET OF THE SPIDERS) it is quite laughable and cringable. But here, it is quitewellusedprticularly worthy of note was the giant hand picking the TARDIS up at the end of Episode 1.Unfortunately age has affected that technology and these days probably doesn't look quite as good.
I like the Drashigs, they are well realised with the most unusual cry, very original, must go down as one of the best.
The moral aspect of the story is also well realised, showing that the Doctor has a concearn for all creatures, also a trademark of the series in the Pertwee era.
What I don't like is the script. there isn't much in it. I get sick of the going around getting caught bit on the boat. Mind you it is well acted by all those involved. As for the Inter Minor residents, bit of a laughable race aren't they?
By the way, I'm from Australia and when this story was aired on the ABC we got that aweful Version of the theme, I've got a copy of it on Video, glad they didn't use it ever again.
Apart from what I don't like about the story , it has a lot going for it and it is a very entertaining and refreshing story, not letting the viewer get tired with what's going on. It's great to have a simple plot once in a while. If you want to see a story with all the Pertwee trademarks (well almost, no Bessie) this is one to watch. Not a bad one at all.