Invasion Of The Dinosaurs is the 71st serial and it first played on tv in Britian from January 12 to February 16 1974. The first episode of the 6 had it's master tape erased and the only copy is a 16 MM print that has had color added. It doesn't look too good. The rest of the episodes are much better looking. It's a two disc set with a few extras. Nothing too exciting, just the usual interviews and a bit on the poor dino puppets in the serial.
The Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith return to London to find the city deserted and the streets filled with dinosaurs and soldiers. Not that there were many of them. They get arrested for looting but eventually the Brigadier finds them. UNIT doesn't have any idea what's happening. The Brig had been hoping that the Doc will get back to help. He does and soon the whole sorded story comes out. It's a pretty complex plot that envolves the erasing of the human race via timetravel, There will be a few that are saved. They are packed into hibernation in the space ships that are carrying them to a new home in the stars.
The Doc gets a new car that I hear Jon Pertwee bought himself. It's pretty silly looking but who can account for taste, huh. The dino puppets did a poor job in making me believe that they were dinosaurs. Add some poor color overlay work and it all only looks so-so. The dino puppets can hardly move. At one point the t-rex backs out of a scene without moving it's legs. The lack of money meets the writers imagination and kicks it in the nuts once again. I was still fairly entertained with the basic story. It reminds me that the writer of this serial, Malcom Hulke, had commented to script supervisor Terrance Dicks that the Doctor stuck on Earth only allowed for two plots; mad scientist or alien invasion. It would be Hulke's last work for Doctor Who. He had a bit of a falling out with Terrance Dicks and the BBC over this script titles. Oh well, the show survived. I'll see another next week.
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