Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20071 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-09-20
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 75 minutes

Synopsis
In 1883 the Doctor takes Ace to a house called Gabriel Chase in her home town of Perivale. Josiah Samuel Smith lives in the house but he turns out to be the evolved form of an alien who was brought to Earth in a stone spaceship which is in the basement of the house. Another member of the house is Redvers Fenn-Cooper who is out of his mind with what he has seen but Smith wants his help in killing Queen Victoria and restoring the British Empire to its former glory. Ace releases the spaceship's true owner - a powerful alien known as Light - who originally came to Earth to compile a catalogue of its species. This was the final 'Doctor Who' story to be made even though it was shown second in the final series.

Customer Reviews

ON IT'S KNEES....
Basically the series was really on it's knees by now! The worst ever Doctor, the most juvenile companions and some of the lowest budgeted episodes conspired to bring about the end!
The special FX and sets, throughout the McCoy era, had degraded to a level that was far, far below the work seen as far back in the Pertwee (early 70's) era. Seriously, it reminds at times of BBC2's whimsical, The Adventure Game!
People tend to be more polarised about Sylvester McCoy's take as the Time Lord than any of the other actors. You'll either love him or hate him!
Nothing personal aginst the man, he's a nice guy in interviews & I am sure he tried his best but sorry, not for me! To be fair, he couldn't really be blamed for BBC's fiscal problems back then, and the rot was actually setting in during Colin Baker's stint. The Baker & McCoy eras for me were the absolute pits!
If you are new to Who, then start with Pertwee & Baker (the CLASSIC years), then maybe Peter Davidson and then skip the next 20 odd years to Eccleston & Tennant.
My apologies to McCoy lovers, but fans of the 2005 + stories will surely find the production values & performances cringeworthy.

Mental As Anything
What to make of Ghost Light? When it was originally broadcast I hated it but watching it again after all these years I find my animosity has dwindled - to a degree.

The plot? God knows. Something to do with evolution, assassinating Queen Victoria and a dark secret from Ace's past. Or something.

"Restraint" is not a word that could ever be associated with Ghost Light - much of the acting is horribly OTT (Sylvia Syms is a notable and welcome exception) and in combination with the bizarre plot it sometimes resembles a deranged, drug-fuelled pantomime.

Good points? Well, it's certainly original - the makers could never be accused of treading water. And unlike atrocities such as the Two Doctors, Ghost Light does at least work some of the time.

The very best thing about Ghost Light, however, is the way it looks. Much of late 80s Who was horribly over-lit, making the sets look even cheaper than they were. But Ghost Light is beautifully lit, and the sets are wonderful - it really does look, and feel, like a creepy Victorian mansion.

Ghost Light hints at greatness - with a more coherent script and a more restrained approach it could have been rather special but as it stands it's an interesting but, ultimately, failed experiment.

Huh?
By 1989 Doctor Who had become strained. The writing was getting weaker and BBC bigwigs were losing their patience with the 900 year old time traveller. So it was a shame when the series was cancelled after a bonafide renaissance. Ghost Light is a fantastic and complex tale, taking Doctor Who in a new direction with amazing results. The acting is excellent, the dialogue is witty and the story is immense. What was it all about? Even now i'm not completely sure, but I know that Ghost Light is the best story from the Doctors final years.