Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4472 in DVD
• Released on: 2002-04-08
• Rating: Universal, suitable for all
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 98 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Tom Baker's second outing as the renegade Time Lord is a solid entry in the Doctor Who saga. Fan favourite Robert Holmes penned "The Ark in Space", which places the Doctor and his companions Sarah (Elisabeth Sladen) and Harry (Ian Marter) on a seemingly deserted space station many years in the future. Station Nerva is not as empty as it appears, though, since on board are the cryogenically preserved survivors of Earth's destruction, as well as an insect-like alien race, the Wirrin, determined to use the humans--and the Doctor--as hosts to grow their monstrous larvae. Holmes' well-paced script (which, like Alien, bears a resemblance to the AE van Vogt story "Black Destroyer") allows Baker to flesh out his well-loved take on the Doctor, as well as considerable suspense.

On the DVD: "The Ark in Space" DVD's obvious highlight is an audio commentary track featuring Tom Baker, Elisabeth Sladen, and producer Phillip Hinchcliffe. Though Baker's contributions to the track are sporadic, his participation is valuable nonetheless, considering that his involvement with the series since his 1981 departure has been infrequent at best. The full-frame mono presentation also includes two interviews, one with Baker on the set of another episode in 1975 and the other with designer Roger Murray Leach, who discusses his long involvement with the series. Also included is the episode's BBC1 trailer, an unused title sequence, new CGI special effects produced by the BBC's visual effects department and an optional information track, which provides running background information and trivia that should prove valuable for series completists. A trio of Easter eggs reveal Baker's typically eclectic promotions for the Doctor Who exhibition in Blackpool. --Paul Gaita, Amazon.com

Special Features
4:3
DVD 9
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital Mono English
Dolby Digital Mono
Commentary
Original Trailer
1974 News Interview
Unused title Sequence
Replacement Model Sequences
Effects Roll
Tardis Cam Feature
Featurette
3D Schematics
Photo Gallery
Easter Eggs

Synopsis
In this feature-length space story the Doctor, Harry and Sarah arrive on an artificial satellite where the survivors of Earth lie in cryo-genic suspension, waiting for a new life. But the Doctor soon discovers there has been a sinister intrusion and some of the survivors are not now what they seem...

Customer Reviews

"Attack of the Killer Space Wasps"
After a shaky start in Robot, this is the story that for many made Uncle Tom, the Doctor. He gets lots to do, joining his mind to the Wirrn, reasoning with a xenphobic and later mutating leader and delivering a tribute to the entire Human race. A great performance where the humour that would occasionally dominate later on is the icing on the cake here.

Harry and Sarah are great support. At times Harry is a comic foil for Uncle Tom but Ian Marter steers clear of a caricature performance.
Sarah always works well doing stuff that scares her and is particularly effective on a creepy journey through a service duct. Lis Sladen goes for it and plays her scared.
The supporting cast offer good turns with a frosty Wendy Williams and a dangerous but sympathetic Kenton Moore. His metamorphosis is played so real that it transcends the limitations of the day.
The Wirrn are a good monster, accompanied by a moving tentacles sound effect and making a pitiful cry when electrocuted. For its time, a good design too and a really horrible concept of the laying eggs inside humans to eat them from within as they hatch!
Uncle Tom even offers them the chance to just leave, as happens so often in the current version of "The Police Box Show". That's an excellent touch to a fine story with mostly high production values (especially the sets) even if Wirrn larvae and puppets offer the occasional wobble.

You can upgrade the effects if you want but on the whole they don't add much.

There's a welcome featurette on designer Roger Murray Leach that is very enjoyable.

We get a dreary Tardis cam short which is a bit "so what?"

Uncle Tom gives a subdued interview during the shooting of "Revenge of the Cybermen" that is quite interesting.

Best by far is one of the 1st and funniest Tommentaries. Ably supported by Producer Phllip Hinchcliffe and Lis Sladen, he covers wanting to go to prison due to "Porridge", defrocked priests as monsters and much more. Listen to the howls of laughter as a Wirrn falls out of a cupboard and Tom's positive review of his buttocks at the time!

Recommended for all fans.

Stop humping the gun with no laser!
Ok, uuuh. I usually enjoy Dr Who. Have already bought the superior "Pyramids of Mars", and the very good "Horror on Fang Rock".
I decided I wanted to try this one. Well, I must say I wasn't too impressed. The acting is as usual, quite excellent, but with the other two Dr Who flicks mentioned earlier, I didn't even bother checking which year these were made. But The Ark In Space, well, hit 1963 in my face like a brick of green goo. At one scene the staff are pointing guns at the monsters, and obviously firing. But I had to guess at what they were doing, because no lasers were coming out of the guns.
Yes, of course you say, this is 1963, but still, the scene involved A LOT of shooting with toy guns, so the fact that no lasers were coming out of the guns made it look like some guys with weird hairdues pointing toy guns at another somebody in a green sleeping bag.


So it all looked rather silly, kind of like when I was a boy and playing cops and robbers, and imagining bullets coming out of my toy gun. But you can't really imagine lasers onto a screen. Sigh. Ah well. My wife loved it, since she is into space flicks, good and old. I guess this time, my experience with Dr Who was one special effect too short of letting me enjoy Doctor Who - The Ark In Space. Ah well, maybe I'll give it another go on a later time, and imagine REAL HUGE BLUE RAYS coming out of the toy guns!! Yeah!

On one last note, Tom Baker has his charm as always, and it was good to see him throw some more humour into the mix than usual.

Good DVD release
It is strange to me that this story was released so early, especially when so many other options were available. Nonethe less, this is a sory that has many nice features. It is clear to see the humour emerging in Tom Baker's era and it is very refreshing. The special effects of the story leave something to be desired but you can't help but admire the effort that went into the creation of the wirrn. This is a solid story. The special features are only average but the real highlight is the Tom Baker Interview. This is very entertaining. The Murray Leach feature is interesting too. The model sequences are a bit dull. Overall though there is a reasonable effort to make this an interesting release. The commentary is a highlight. It is so nice to hear Tom Baker, especially since so many of his releases do not have this luxury. He doesn't speak enough, but who cares when he is so entertaining.

This is worth buying, but don't expect the ultimate classic. Merely a good, simple, and effective story.