DOCTOR WHO SCREAM OF THE SHALKA BBC DVD review

The TARDIS lands in a Northern villiage in 2003, where the population are (very) quitely living in fear of an underground alien force, known as the Shalka.

With the help of the military and his new freind, Allison, the Doctor discover that the alien bridge-head is preparing to strip away the Earth's ozone layer ready for colonisation.

DVD CONTENT

STUDIO COMMENTARY - Paul Cornell, James Goss and Wilson Marcus
CARRY SCREAMING
THE SCREAMING SESSIONS
INTERWEB OF FEAR
SOUNDTRACK ALBUM - 27 MINUTES
PROGRAMME SUBTITES
PRODUCTION INFORMATION TEXT
PHOTO GALLERY
COMING SOON TRAILER - TERROR OF THE ZYGONS

COMMENT

Potential.

Yes, that's the word that ably describes the 2003 "webisodes" (I think that's what the BBC titled them) from Paul Cornell and BBCi, DOCTOR WHO - SCREAM OF THE SHALKA released for the first time on DVD on 16 September 2013.

If it wasn't the for the pesky interference (yes, I'm joking, dear reader) of Russell T Davies and Jane Tranter in their audacity in thinking that DOCTOR WHO could be revived on television then the potential of an animated series of stories, with a revelatory Richard E Grant as the Ninth Doctor, could have been wholly explored and realised to a greater depth.

Allison: What are you?
The Doctor: Mildly annoyed.

However, as we know too well, SCREAM OF THE SHALKA was an isolated project, mildly idiosyncratic yet highly entertaining, and, unfortunately, cannot even be regarded as "canon" and as such is archived on the same shelf as Peter Cushing's two movie outings (but, then again, I'm sure Grant would not be too dismissive of such legendary company as they gather eons of dust together). If, like myself, you come to this animated six-parter fresh, having avoided it for a decade, then embrace it and, by the final episode, you'll be enveloped by an enigmatically witty yet caustic Time Lord, a (and here's that word again.) potentially substantial TARDIS travelling companion, Allison (played by Sophie Okonedo - Liz 10 from SERIES 5's DOCTOR WHO - THE BEAST BELOW) and a traditional plot (Paul Cornell) that embodies the very DNA of the CLASSIC SERIES.

Overall, DOCTOR WHO - SCREAM OF THE SHALKA is, surprisingly, engrossing and I'm ashamed, as fan of the series, that I had ignored it for far too long, and with this release 'missing blanks' can be appropriately filled in even though some (fans) may consider the production as ".putting kittens in a blender."

In CARRY ON SCREAMING, the production team discuss the sometimes fraught genesis of the animated series (yes, this project was envisaged as a three-story 12-episode animated series) as seemingly circuitous BBC meetings to gain finance and to discuss Licencing Rights options would challenge a Möbius Strip for incomprehensibility and longevity. As the story's Executive Producers, James Goss states, ".we'd not have done it if they'd known if DOCTOR WHO was going to be brought back to TV (in 2005)" and Martin Trickey ".we asked everybody who we thought we had to ask." and even then the production was plagued with disinterest from the Corporation's Executives. One supportive voice was from its writer, Paul Cornell, who leapt (whilst remaining as cool as a frozen cucumber) at the opportunity to write for the broadcast series and to create a new version of the Doctor.

Unsurprisingly, Goss describes the dependable Cornell as ".bomb-proof as a seaside donkey." and he delivered in SCREAM OF THE SHALKA a timey-wimey-free linear adventure that gradually and unsuspectingly draws you in eventually assailing your senses. And you would not expect anything different from Cornell, would you? Long-time DOCTOR WHO author (including the 1995 DOCTOR WHO - HUMAN NATURE novel for Virgin New Adventures that was later developed for the NEW SERIES in 2007) not delivers an electrifying plot and a new alien menace but, in pre-dating Russell T Davies' ROSE (2005), the most 'everyday' (and that a compliment not a criticism) setting & scripting for a DOCTOR WHO story to date. The relationship between Allison and hapless boyfriend, Joe mirrors that of Rose Tyler and Mickey Smith, whilst there is a just a frisson of dangerous sexuality between Allison and her Doctor that will be eventually explored by Rose and her Doctor.

There are noticeable inclusion that have - or may have - influenced Russell T Davies in his own scripting of the NEW SERIES. Cornell deploys a "motor vehicle style central TARDIS locking 'click-click' scenario (see DOCTOR WHO - THE END OF TIME PART ONE) as well as his Doctor's predilection for "Hush" (see DOCTOR WHO - FEAR HER).

Furthermore, CARRY ON SCREAMING details how fans' mixed appreciation SCREAM OF THE SHALKA and the BBC's commitment to a 'live-action' new series effectively scuppered future endeavours but, graciously, the production team behind the first animated DOCTOR WHO story were resigned to the fact and, it would seem, were quite pleased not to pursue the project further.

In SCREAMING SESSIONS, the cast and crew - sans Richard E Grant - discuss their roles, being turned into animation (".you cannot polish a turd." and ".bigger boobs and smaller feet." were some of the statements from the actors to Cosgrove Hall Animation) and recording sessions. Whilst Okonedo describes Richard E Grant's Doctor as ".a perfect Doctor.", Craig Kelly describes him ".a quintessential Gentlemen." which might leave some fans saying "Why wasn't he cast as a television Doctor?"

In INTERWEB OF FEAR, we see the binary relationship that DOCTOR WHO has had with BBC's own online presence, and how a key moment in political world history saw a dramatic change in how the 'interweb' was going to be used and now important the BBC's online content would be (and how DOCTOR WHO would play a part within it). It's a fascinating featurette and demonstrates the exponential growth of the medium within a relatively short period of time.

The SOUNDTRACK ALBUM (in excessive of 27 minutes) is for true DOCTOR WHO aficionados who don't have two children to coordinate, a mortgage to pay, supper to cook, the car to wash, the lawn to mow. You get the idea. If you have the time, listen.

Wrapped up with PHOTO GALLERY, episode commentary from Cornell, Goss and the story's director, Wilson Marcus, and a heart-stopping COMING SOON TRAILER for TERROR OF THE ZYGONS, DOCTOR WHO - SCREAM OF THE SHALKA's release on DVD is not as eccentric as initially perceived.

Certainly, it's not a 'lost classic' but, if like myself, you have never seen it, it may just impress you.