Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3485 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-01-29
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Box set, Full Screen, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 3
• Running time: 300 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Reviews
A good value boxset that unites a loose trilogy of stories of varying interest from the back catalogue, Doctor Who: New Beginnings maintains the high standards set of late by the show's catalogue releases. Beginnings is the underlying theme, with the stories following the introduction of the late Anthony Ainley's take on The Master, the swansong of Tom Baker's Doctor, and the debut of Peter Davison in the title role.

The first story, "The Keeper Of Trakken", tells of a living statue that poses a threat to Traken World. It's quite a good tale, introducing Nyssa to the Doctor Who Universe, but more worryingly for the Doctor it also plays host to a resurgent Master. And it's he too who plays a crucial part in "Logopolis", Tom Baker's final story in the title role. It's the best story in the New Beginnings boxset, as the Doctor battles both The Master, and the potential end of the Universe when the mathematicians of Logopolis are threatened. Along the way, he also adds Tegan to the crew of the TARDIS for the first time, with the first appearance of Peter Davison as the Doctor, too.

Davison's first full story though, "Castrovalva"", is the weakest link of the set. Again it features The Master, and it follows the newly regenerated Doctor--in a very shaky state--as he heads for the supposedly peaceful retreat of the title, only to find, as you'd expect, that all isn't as it seems. Sadly, the premise isn't really realised, resulting in one of the more tepid stories of Davison's reign.

Ultimately though, Doctor Who: New Beginnings delivers two very good stories. Yet this being Doctor Who, each is backed up by enough extra features to paper over even the most telling of cracks, and there's plenty on offer to justify the asking price.--Simon Brew

Synopsis
This collection of episodes focuses on the transition of doctors played by Tom Baker and Peter Davidson, across three stories – 'The Keeper Of Traken', 'Logopolis' and 'Castrovalva'.

Customer Reviews

Very dissappointing
I was too young to see these stories when they came out so i bought them with no real knowledge about them. And what a mistake it was.

Every story is poor, and the only good thing about them is the DVD extras. But even they don't justify the purpose of buying the DVD.

The main reason i bought this was because the Master was in it. But what a dissappointment he was. I expected a head-to-head battle with the Doctor in each story - but you barely saw the master in any story. I expected a battle of wits like we saw in the brilliant Roger Delgado stories, but it just never happened. There was nothing wrong with Anthony Ainley, but all he seemed to do was give an evil laugh and then disappear again. It's a case of Roger Delgado 1, Anthony Ainley 0.

I would not recommend buying this DVD at all. Very poor.

3 of the best Dr.Who stories ever
This boxset contains 3 of the most important Dr Who stories ever made, and they also happen to be 3 of the finest. Keeper of Traken is one of the most beautiful stories ever made, with gorgeous set-design, costumes and music and successfully reintroduces old enemy The Master plus introduces new companion Nyssa. The momentous Logopolis is Tom Baker's final story and one of the most atmospheric, sombre and complex stories in the series history. Castrovalva is Peter Davison's first ever story and is highly imaginative and intriguing and Davison makes a good first impression. The extras are superb, with the highlight being the New Body At Last documentary, which is one of the best documentaries to have featured on the DVD's so far. Overall, The New Beginnings Box Set is an essential purchase and is, I think, the best Dr Who DVD release to date.

Good but not Great
When Tom Baker announced he would leave the series that had made him a household name it had a number of consequences. Baker is often regarded as the best actor to have played the odd man in the blue box but by his own admission his performances had became lazy, self-indulgent and distracting. He clearly had lost motivation but when John Nathan-Turner took over the role of series producer, in its 18th season, matters came to a head. This box set contains the last two stories of Baker's reign and the introductory story of Peter's Davidson's spell in the role.

"The Keeper of Traken" is great - tightly plotted, superb sets and art design. Admittedly, the acting is of mixed quality but it a far better story than many of the later part of the fouth Doctor's incarnation. (Compared it to "The invasion of Time" or, shudder, "Nightmare of Eden"!)
"Logopolis" and "Castrovalva" are both OK but they seem a bit bit faux- scientific and souless.

The Extras are okay but there simply isn't enough info about the transition between the 2 actors and how the show's production teams views series' change. Good but not great, overall.