Doctor Who: Shada (Video 2017) Poster

(2017 Video)

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8/10
This updated Shada is a bit of a classic.
Sleepin_Dragon12 April 2018
Shada is quite a complicated story to follow, doesn't matter how many times I watched the VHS or blu ray I never quite got it. Having the gaps in the production made it nigh on impossible to follow. However the production team have worked wonders, putting Shada together with a mix of old and new material, and doing it in an almost seamless way.

City of Death apart, I wasn't really a fan of the Douglas Adams era, I always thought Tom got away with a little too much, too many laughs, too much nonsense, the balance in City of Death was spot on, and for the most part the balance is spot on in Shada too. Watching it in this new format it now feels like Shada could have been somewhat of a classic, ultimately superior to Creature from the Pit, Horns of Nimon etc, it has so much going for it, Cambridge, Time Lords, a giant killer ball and of course the excellent Skagra, a villain way before his time.

Christopher Neame is great as Skagra, he is a clever, matter of fact villain, he's not laughing maniacally or over the top in a silly manner, he's clear, single minded and sinister, a great foe.

I am also stunned at the Blu ray transfer, the original material looks fantastic, it bodes well for the classic series releases on BD.

It's still a confusing plot, but I enjoyed this updated version enormously.
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7/10
At last, Shada
Prismark1010 February 2018
Douglas Adams Shada has arrived a little bit later than advertised. Actually 37 years later.

The uncompleted Tom Baker Doctor Who story has been lauded since it remained unfinished from 1980. Now the BBC has reconstructed it by animating the missing sequences, reuniting the living actors and including a new bonus scene at the end.

The production crew wanted something epic like the City of Death broadcast in early 1979. The story had extensive location shooting in Cambridge and Tom Baker was in his pomp.

Shada is a prison planet created by the Time Lords. The evil genius Skagra wants to create a universe with his mind controlling it. He needs to get there to release a notorious prisoner whose mind control functions he requires.

Meanwhile the Doctor and Romana visit an old professor friend at St. Cedd's College, Cambridge. Professor Chronotis has called out to the Doctor but cannot remember why. However a mislaid book creates danger, Skagra is after the book which contains coded Time Lord secrets.

First let me get the shallow stuff out of the way. Just how gorgeous was Victoria Burgoyne in this who plays Clare Keightley, the girlfriend of Chris Parsons.

I do feel that at six parts the story is overlong. I much preferred the shorter webcast that starred Paul McGann. Some of the Cambridge scenes were there just to show off the fact that they were filming in and around the university buildings. Christopher Neame is rather one note as Skagra. The special effects for the orb and the invisible spaceship were not wholly convincing. (It does not help that Star Trek 4: The Voyage Home, did a parked invisible space ship better in 1986 and my mind kept going back to that.)

However it is a joy to see Tom Baker again in a new story of Doctor Who. It just reminds me how much I loved his Doctor as a kid and he just makes it look so easy, never mind that in later years I read just how difficult he was to work with.
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8/10
Classic Doctor Who Revisited
dormesher-2156516 August 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Shada was an episode that was supposed to be released during Tom Bakers era in Season 17 but was cancelled and most of the footage shot was missing which has been finished using animation with the old footage merged together.

This story is very interesting and a great story for 70s Doctor Who. The ideas about the book that came Gallifrey which immense power was very interesting and made for some really cool moments in the story especially the scene where it blows up an XRay machine. And this book also has secret codes to find Shada which turns out is a prison build by the Time Lords which they forgotten about,

The villain Skagra was a very cool villain to add to Doctor Who law with an interesting goal of taking peoples thoughts and memory and eventually finding an old Time Lord criminal called Salyavin so that he can control minds without the machine he uses and start a new universe under his control is pure 70s Doctor Who and works for Tom Bakers era.

There is a brilliant twist in this story when the professor and old Time Lord friend of the Doctor who left Gallifrey to live in peace actually turns out to be Salyavin who has escaped from Shada and used his powers to make everyone forget about it so he could be good but he took this book by mistake which kicks of the whole story such a great twist that i didnt see coming and had me shocked love it.

Tom Baker is always a pleasure to watch in Doctor Who he plays the part so well and always looks like hes having fun in he has a line in this episode which i just love and its pure Tom the Professor offers the Doctor him some Crackers by saying "Crackers" and The Doctors response is "Well Sometimes" thats just pure Tom Baker right there and always makes me laugh a joy to watch him.

Romana 2 is also in this episode she was the companion during this time and she is brilliant in this episode she still remains my favourite classic Who companion and i love Lalla Ward in the role she is beautiful actress and plays this role perfectly i love her scenes K9 who is also a fun character to see in Doctor Who.

The animation to complete the scenes that where missing is really well done. Completed by the same people who did Power of the Daleks this adds alot to this episode because we can finally see these scenes in action and the style of the animation still makes it feel like a 70s produced episode of the show giving it that authentic feel.

My favourite scene in the story is the climax battle between Skagra and The Doctor which is a battle of the minds such a great scene and really animated and acted shows how powerful the Doctors mind can be. i Also love the scene when The Doctor takes control of Skagras ship by confusing it to believe he is dead so if he is dead he is no longer a threat and the ship and give him information such a great moment for the 4th Doctor and a joy Tom Baker me silly but incharge of the situation which a great part of his character during this era.

The creatures that Skagra creates the Krargs are really interesting creatures made out of diamonds very interesting design. However they look way better in the animation parts which a bit annoying because they look really silly in the actual footage and its very distracting but still a very interesting design and see K9 fight them was very fun.

Verdict 8/10 a great Doctor Who that is finally been released always a joy to watch Tom Bakers era of Doctor Who he plays part really well and the animation adds to the story really well still feeling like a 70s story of Doctor Who.
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A rather enjoyable classic Who romp with Tom Baker in full flow.
DoctorThotcer5 January 2018
Firstly, this is a big update on the previously available version of this great lost 'masterpiece', including new model work, subtly polished effects, and a few newly filmed live action scenes, all joined together by pleasing digitally animated 'comic' style sections that fill in all the missing acted bits, which also serve to open up the settings far more than I'm sure the BBC would have been capable of achieving originally.

If we're being honest, the story itself isn't exactly the best ever, it plods a teeny bit in places and gets rather too silly in others, but overall it works and the dialogue is typical Douglas Adams in that there are many fun to and fros between the characters which keeps you entertained regardless, and there are lots of enjoyable moments that carry it along quite adequately with a twist and a turn at the end.

I enjoyed it tremendously, but any new classic Who is good Who when you're a fan, and it's worth it just for the delightful newly added live action scene right at the very end that will both delight and leave a lump in the throat of every whovian on the planet. It certainly did me.

Between that and the most campily dressed villain ever brought to screen (seriously, it's jaw dropping), I highly recommend a viewing.
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10/10
SHADA!
umutcevik29 April 2018
Excellent Blu Ray version of Tom Baker's story. The animation is fantastic and the picture quality is brilliant. Loved all the extras and the story presented as a complete story in one programme. Mark Ayres 70's styled incidential music is a nice homage to Dudley Simpson.
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10/10
About Time (in more ways than one)
A_Kind_Of_CineMagic3 December 2018
This story was not completed during its original recording for season 17 of the classic series due to industrial dispute interfering with the schedule. It has since been released as an audio version, as a reconstruction with narration for missing parts, as an audio and animated remake with the 8th Doctor instead of the 4th Doctor and finally this reconstruction with restored original footage and animation for the previously missing portions (which also has an added scene at the end with Tom Baker reappearing as his much older self.) In my opinion this most recent animated reconstruction gives the best depiction of the original story despite limitations with the animation. It allows us to fully appreciate Shada in all its glory.

The story involves the Doctor and Romana arriving at Cambridge in order to see the Doctor's friend and fellow Time Lord Professor Chronotis just as evil scientist Skagra is also looking for him in order to acquire a stolen Gallifreyan book which has the power to release Time Lord criminal Salyavin who has the power to implant his mind into others. Skagra who already has the means to extract people's minds intends using Salyavin's powers for himself.

The adventure is thoroughly absorbing, intelligent and fun. There is very funny humour, quite dark moments and loads of charm throughout. Denis Carey is magnificent as Professor Chronotis, one of the great guest characters both in the idea behind the character and the performance. It is a pity he never appeared again. Other guest characters are all good and Romana is a great companion but above all that is Tom Baker who is at his magical best as the 4th Doctor. He is electrifying to watch and listen to. So funny, so intriguing and so entertaining. This story lets him have a real showcase and that is one of the reasons it is an absolute classic. It is awful that it was not finished and released at the time. Fans were denied this for so long.
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1/10
What in the world...?
XueHuaBingYu29 April 2019
What did I just see? I'm a big fan of Doctor Who. I always watch and love it. But this one is kind of a complete mess. It is a combination of classic Doctor Who, animation Doctor Who and etc. I tried to watch it, but after a few minutes passed, I couldn't bear it anymore. So, I stopped watching.

As for me, I'd say it'd be the worst Doctor Who film ever. Hence, I wouldn't recommend it.
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Super boring!
RodrigAndrisan16 May 2018
Probably for children up to 10 years of age it's a joy, for me, definitely not. I have been living in the UK for 11 years now, and I did not know anything about Dr. Who's "cult" series. I didn't get a job at a store in central London selling DVDs among other things, because the interviewer asked me who, what actors played the main character. That was 11 years ago. I had no idea. I do not know now, for me it was and it's not a priority. And, the instinct did not cheat me, I did not lose anything. Childish, puerile, babyish. Nice musical theme though.
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