The Mind Robber

Review: Take a trip to the Land of Fiction.

With new Doctor Who soon upon us, there has been fierce debate as to just what original stories should be released on DVD to compliment it. While The Mind Robber may not at first be an obvious choice to attract new viewers, its self-contained nature, lack of continuity and imagination make it a sound one.

Sometimes Doctor Who is at its best when SOMETHING GOES WRONG - The Horror of Pebble Mill, The Greatest Show in the BBC Car Park, many stories have reached our screens when the production team have had to face a disaster. The Mind Robber is one such story; with the team facing the double whammy of the previous story running an episode short and Fraser Hines coming down with chicken pox.

Problem number one was solved by the creation of a prelude episode. Using just the TARDIS set, the three leads and a white set, the episode could have been a disaster, but fortunately that's not case. It's unsettling, tense and ends with the best cliff-hanger EVER.

Fraser's spots probably caused greater panic, but fortunately Peter Ling's script is so felxible - set as it is in a world created from books and fairy tales. With the Doctor forced to complete a puzzle of Jamie's face in a hurry, he forms Hamish Wilson's bonce instead. It's a stroke of genius and doesn't seem incongruous at all.

The rest of the story isn't bad either. Freed from the shackles of working on Crossroads, Peter Ling lets his imagination run riot taking elements from various novels and fairy tales and making them menacing or a fresh challenge to our heroes. Only in episode four does the pace seem to drag a bit, but then episode five pulls it all back, with the Master (Emrys Jones) and Doctor's battle of thoughts a delight.

His script is matched by a production team that is relishing realising the seemingly impossible - Medusa's deadly locks and gaze, a unicorn and walking toy soldiers. It also gives Patrick, Fraser and Wendy given the chance to flex their considerable acting muscle.

Extras include a sublime (if a bit bizarre) Abominable Snowman sketch from The Basil Brush Show. It's nice to see the second (scarier) Yeti costume in colour - not that he's scary here; he's a lovely little chap who saves Basil from an avalanche. Amusing yes, but what will non-fans, unaware of the two Doctor Who Yeti stories, will make of its inclusion?

Of considerable more relevance is the featurette The Fact of Fiction which manages to collect an impressive a number of personel from the production. What's more, they actually remember lots about their time working on the show despite it being some thirty odd years ago. There's also the joy of seeing Hamish Wilson in the flesh. He also contributes to the commentary, where Wendy Padbury cheekily explains her delight when he comes into life and disappointment when Fraser returns. The latter gets his own back though, with a whole featurette called Highlander.

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Chapman
Aweful. I watched this story last Saturday, and thought it was one of the most childish stories ever. however, Patrick Troughton just about holds the feeble plot together.

David
fantastic story...Any more complete Pat Troughton Stories in the pipeline? If so hurry up and release them!

damian ward
The Mind Robber is one of my favourite 60's stories - especially the trippy first episode. Loved the extras on this disc, especially getting to see Karkus/Cyberleader Christopher Robbie without a mask. Hope they release 'Revenge of the Cybermen' on DVD just so he can do a commentary. And how cool do the robots look in the Out of the Unknown photos?!

Brian Smith
After watching all the doctors (including the 9th) I would have to say that Patrick is my favoret doctor. and of his storys that are still around the Mind Robbers is one of the best. At first I was confused by the strange premise of all things fiction could be real, But after the first few minets I just went with the flow. I just wish they haden't made Zoe scream at the begining.

Kane
The Mind is excellent, most notably the first two episodes. The visually stunning white void (which clearly inspired Warrior's Gate) was a unique touch of mystery, especially when the White Robots turn up and add the feeling of menace and fear. When they finally arrive in the Land of Fiction the story continues to get weirder and weirder and keeps you guessing. There is even a good solution to Frazer Hines's absense, instead of doing something like making Jamie get lost, they change his physical appearance. This makes up a very bizarre episode. Also worthy of note are the great effects and perfect sets, and this helps build up the tension of the story. There are also the terrifying Clockwork Soldiers, being wonderfully creepy with their movements and sounds, and Gulliver is another brilliant character. In fact the only things I can complain about are the inclusion of some characters. The Karkus was extremely annoying and did little to develop the plot, while the appearance of those pirates was also quite irritating. These are the only flaws, and all in, The Mind Robber has to be one of the strangest and best of the Patrick Troughton era. Overall: 10/10

k scott
my dads very fav story and doctor i loved it i lafed wen the doctor was fitin the karkan and loved the toy soliders .more early doctors please kurt 10

Cory Eadson
A good, atmospheric, different serial. It is mysterious, and has some really good ideas. It really has a sense of scale. One of the best Doctor Who serials.

Mike Richardson
When I lent this from my library whenI was about 10 I thought this was absolutely fantastic and looked forward eagerly to this DVD. I was pretty dissapointed then on realising just how childish it is, it's repetitive, silly and the shorter episodes reinforce this. Having said this, it has original ideas like bringing in Hamish Wilson and you can clearly see that this was Pat Troughton's favourite story.

J.B.
Wonderful to see more Troughton released on DVD! Can we have ultimate Cyberman adnevture "The Invasion" all vidfired and restored please?? Ahh.... I just need more Pat......

Adam Lewin
It's great to see more Patrick Troughton. Any chance of the War Games? I know it's long but what a classic story!

Gareth Stafford
The Mind Robber is one of the all time greats and has scrubbed up beautifully for DVD - well done to the Restoration Team for possibly the best example of VidFire yet.

Pete Sydek
This is probably one of my favorites Doctor who stories of all time, and there alot of them, but this one seems to stand out of it's story content, amd the fact that this one is true science fiction. I've had this video for years, and I always put this one as my favorite one

Charlie Keeble
This DVD certainly delights the imagination of the most ardent fans. I mean imagine the idea of yourself in this adventure in the land of fiction, where quite literally anything can happen! You could be in an adventure with all your sci-fi favourites all in one go!

Grant Mclanaghan
It's weird to imagine the thought of Jamie alongside the third Doctor as Frazer Hines alludes to in 'The Highlander' extra. And talking of Jamie, I thought Hamish Wilson's version was terrific. It could so easily have been embarrassing but he plays the part really well. I can picture a parallel world where Ron Moody is the Doctor and Hamish Wilson is his companion. Perhaps fighting old enemy The Master (of the Land of Fiction)?

Steve Corke
Episode 1 of this story is a true classic. Its a fantastic example of 'Dr Who' at it's most surreal. A welcome addition to the dvd collection!

Tim Ward
The ironic thing about there being an extra episode tagged onto the front of The Mind Robber is that, collectively, the five episodes underrun to such an extent that the material contained therein ends up the equivalent of a four-parter! I wonder how it would work re-edited as such? Good choice of story for release though as episode seven of the new series sounds like a modern reworking of The Celestial Toymaker and The Mind Robber, both of which could be described, affectionately, as Long Games!!!

Gazster
I had never seen this story before, and wasn't sure what to expect. It's brilliant! The best Troughton story to be released on DVD so far in my estimation. The more tedious sci-fi elements that occassionally squirm their way into the 'Who' formula (such as in Tom Baker's final season, and Peter Davison's first)are nowhere to be found. Instead we are treated to something akin to 'Alice in Wonderland'. This is a genuinely mysterious story, and the apparent backstage turmoil has not hindered it any discrenible way. I'm a 'born again' 'Who' fan. I grew up watching Tom Baker's portrayal. As I got older, it seemed to me that the series deteriorated in quality. After the sad death of Douglas Adams in 2001 however, my passion for the series was rekindled by the compulsive purchase of 'City of Death' on video. It's interesting to note how production problems occasionally result in an outstanding story, as was the case with 'City of Death'. Having now seen 'The Mind Robber', I would also add this to the list. No doubt there are other examples of this kind of serendipity in the 'Who' cannon. Perhaps longer-term fans might enlighten the newly converted and 'born again' fans like myself as to which other stories achieve such a triumph over adversity. If you have been, I thank you.

Joey Reynolds
It's not "The Mind Robber" without that shot of Wendy Padbury's ass! God bless you all!

Ben Ripley
'The Mind Robber' is the best example of an atypical Doctor Who story. The whole concept is totally 'out there' but it works on so many levels. If there was ever an example of a science fiction series reaching out to the extreme and succeeding, this is it. 10/10

Al Dobbie
Another winner from BBC DVD!! Seeing the old black & white Dr. Who stories cleaned up without the fuzz does make all the difference and helps an enjoyable story even more. The extras are a real bonus seeing Hamish Wilson and Peter Ling. Wendy's comments about keeping Hamish (with a straight face)is almost her way of getting back at Fraser. 'The Mind Robber' is a first class one-off story, perhaps the new series may like to do something similar in the second series?

Mike Hardy
Definitely Dr Who at it's best - very atmospheric, great sound effects and the "what's gonna happen next?" factor, make "The Mind Robber" a definite for the serious collector. But when are you going to release "The Daemons" on DVD, surely one of the best episodes ever?

Michael Sky
The Mind Robber is a very intricate story, and could have turned out disastrous, what with all the characters in it and the different plot twists. What makes this such a good story is the fact that it was pulled off - and not just to a good standard: it was to an excellent standard. And we'll take what we can salvage from the Troughton era...

Dan Ludlow
'The Mind Robber'is my favourite story of all time. I can remember seeing it in the early nineties as a small child and loving it. It has some of the best written dialogue of any Dr Who story; brilliant characterisations - the best being Bernard Horsfall's breathtaking role as Gulliver. The cliffhanger to episode one is as said a brilliant cliffhanger. It is a unique story and one that can stand on its own two feet and be brilliant.

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