Doctor Who: Delta and the Bannermen - Story 150
by Chris Clough
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DVD details
Actor: Bonnie Langford, Sylvester McCoyDirector: Chris Clough
Brand: Warner Brothers
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 1.0; English (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 1.0
Format: Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 73 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2009-09-01
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: BBC Worldwide
Product features:
- With high hopes, the Seventh Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) and Mel (Bonnie Langford) embark on an intergalactic tour bus for a prize trip to Disneyland, 1959. Their luck begins to change when the ship collides with an early satellite and everyone winds up in a Welsh holiday camp. Includes guest cameos by veteran variety performers such as England's Ken Dodd and American Stubby Kaye Format: DVD MOVI
DVD Reviews of Doctor Who: Delta and the Bannermen - Story 150
DVD Review: The nadir of "Doctor Who" is not just the 24th year but the 3rd story within:
Summary: 3 Stars
The year was 1987. Forget about fictional Buck Rogers being frozen in time, to wake up 500 years later only to bad disco, spandex, scantily clad bimboids, some equally dim himbos, and of course that oddly shaped robot adored by children everywhere (it's a robot, how many kids DON'T like robots?)... if real life involved Earth being nuked and was reborn with the mission to tell these "advanced" people about boogying, I'd want to commit suicide. But that's another TV series, thankfully, so let's get back to "Doctor Who"...
At the time, 1987, my local PBS affiliate aired the "Doctor Who" episodes. I did not know that Colin Baker, my favorite Doctor at that point, was unceremoniously fired and replaced with Sylvester McCoy. When "Time and the Rani" (the season premiere) aired, I thought "Well, this is okay... looks great... a real drop in story quality... hope things get better...".
As this season, "Doctor Who"'s 24th progressed, it quickly became apparent how my hope was misplaced.
"Delta and the Bannermen" was the third of four stories to comprise the 24th season. By this point, I was wondering why I was still watching. The music was awful, the storylines had potential but were produced with as much pompous camp as could be shoved in... apparently for comedic effect, as the BBC executives did not want horror or suspense as audiences deemed such scenes "too graphic".
And right down to the new Doctor's costume- the question mark pullover vest, umbrella, calling card... ? symbols everywhere. Yuck. Just yuck. The show's a self-aware pastiche of a parody.
But back to "Delta and the Bannermen"; as further season 24 stories are released, I'll be more than happy to comment on them, and they aren't all as depressing as this story...
The story begins with some alien nasties tooting a horn and killing a bunch of people wearing green outfits. Except Delta, who's obviously a white humanoid with a great set of thighs and bad hair. (It WAS 1987...) She manages to escape the clutches of Gavrok, leader of the Bannermen, intent on committing genocide and wiping her and her people, the Chimeron, off their planet for good. (Sounds violent, doesn't it?) She's chased to a galactic starport and climbs on board an alien tour agency, that plan to go to Disneyland. The Doctor and Melanie arrive at the starport too. The starport features a machine that changes beings from their native form into human form. Don't worry, there are no relevant details to the process or for how long they remain in human form until they revert to their original form. If you watch this story, you'll see why I refuse to describe what the aliens, the Navarinos, look like. Unintentional or otherwise, it's gross.
*sigh* They take off, with the Bannermen in pursuit.
Of course, the ship hits a satellite and crash-land in Wales. No Disneyland for anybody today...
There are a couple of Americans who have been tracking the aforementioned satellite. Just think "horrendous stereotypes" and don't be bothered. Stubby Kaye guest-stars as one of these Americans. A bit of a shame, that...
There's another lady of interest in this episode, Ray. Her character was to replace Melanie as the companion. Don't worry, that never happened.
There's yet another companion named Billy. See, your typical chap from the 1950s, who sees a pretty woman giving strange food to a strange oddly-shaped baby thinks that, overhearing the exposition that eating this strange food will turn oddly-shaped babies into pretty girls, now believes that he will turn into an alien (but retain his pretty human male shape and function) by eating this magical food.
Do I really have to continue detailing this rubbish of a story?
Oh, very well:
Annoying Americans get their satellite. Billy turns into an alien (but retains human form) and he, Delta, and the baby live happily ever after and repopulate the Chimeron species. Oh, Mel's screams kill the Bannermen. Ray stays behind to play with her motorcycle. And the Navarinos... well, I'm sure they went home and were more than happy to revert into their original gross appearance too.
I will say the story has a couple of bright spots:
* The 7th Doctor's true personality starts to appear
* At least the agony is only three episodes in length
* Keff McCulloch's recreations of 1950s-era music are done VERY well indeed (and the announcer in the story makes an obvious in-joke to this fact as well)
* The whole thing does have a 1950s whimsy feel to it -- if you like such a feel
* All of the actors play their roles seriously. That really is a plus. They let the viewer decide if it's campy or the best-ever episode or anything else
* The special effects are passable, but it's the star port set that took me by surprise - 22 years on, it still looks like money was put into it
Given the BBC's mandate to tone down horror and violence, it's amazing that a story centered around genocide even made it past their censors before heading into production. The 50s-jovial attitude of the production, combined with incidental music that, when not recreating 1950s songs, helps shroud the grim concept. But made another way, with more grit and fewer scenes featuring dumb people doing really dumb things that make zero sense, it otherwise would have escaped the holder of "Worst episode ever".
This story is either loved or loathed by fans. I obviously loathe it. It's silly, tacky, pretentious, serious ideas let down by a pantomime, self-parody of a feel to the proceedings (again, at least the actors play it straight -- if they broke the 4th wall with antics, it'd make this story 0 stars at best). It deserved to be so much more.
For the technical side, DVD compression is good, as usual, for a WHO release, and the video and sound quality are very good indeed. Excellent remastering, as usual. More TV shows deserve the same level of treatment and care.
And now to answer the question you're all thinking of: The reason why I gave it more than one star is because of the amount and quality of included extras - including an original 30 minute edit of part one, archive interviews, a great commentary, and some outtakes. And more. The extras alone make this DVD worth a purchase, even for the most ardent fans who otherwise loathe this scribble of a story.
And, indeed, ignore the gaffes in the story's logic, campy tone of the incidental music (save for the 1950s songs, which were very well realized), and just roll along with it with ZERO expectations, I can see why some people love this story. There is an atmosphere of "fun" to it. It's garbage, but it's fun garbage. At least for those who can find the fun in it.
Oh, an epilogue: Fortunately, the story that followed "Delta and the Bannermen", known as "Dragonfire", was a decent improvement, with the 25th season showing the show had plenty of life left in it. But that's a discussion for another time...
Description of Doctor Who: Delta and the Bannermen - Story 150
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