“Planet of Fire” is an adventure of the twentyfirst season of “Doctor Who” classic series which aired in 1984. It follows “Resurrection of the Daleks” and it’s a four parts adventure written by Peter Grimwade and directed by Fiona Cumming.
The story
Kamelion is behaving erratically and the Fifth Doctor (Peter Davison) must try to understand what’s happening to the android. Meanwhile, he responds to a distress signal that leads him to Earth, in Lanzarote. There, Turlogh (Mark Strickson) rescues Peri (Nicola Bryant) while she’s struggling in the sea and brings her in the Tardis.
The Tardis leaves for the planet Sarn, where Kamelion falls under the control of the Master and Turlough, who discovered that the distress signal was coming from an artifact from his home planet, makes an unexpected encounter.
Extras
This DVD is rich in extras: in fact it’s a two DVDs edition. There are typical contents such as production subtitles, Radio Times Billings, a trailer about the next “Doctor Who” DVDs to be released and a gallery of pictures from this adventure.
There are comments in the adventure alternative audio track by protagonists Peter Davison, Nicola Bryant and Mark Strickson and director Fiona Cumming.
The Flames of Sarn. Cast and crew remember the production of this adventure. Note. This extra is not included in Region 1 DVDs.
Return to the Planet of Fire. Director Fiona Cumming and designer Malcolm Thornton return to Lanzarote to see the places where this adventure was filmed.
Design on Sarn. Designer Malcolm Thornton talks about the inspirations he had to design the sets for this adventure.
Alternate Edits, Deleted and Extended Scenes. Some alternative versions of various scenes and scenes cuts in part or entirely.
Feature Length Version. A version of this adventure reedited into a 66 minutes film with a new prologue, new special effects and an optional introduction by director Fiona Cumming. In my opinion it doesn’t add much to the original version.
Calling the Shots. A look at the production of this adventure with director Fiona Cumming.
Remembering Anthony Ainley. A remembrance of actor Anthony Ainley, who played the Master between 1981 and 1989.
There are also two “Easter eggs” but nothing really interesting.
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In 1982, an electricians’ strike led to a change in “Doctor Who” production schedule. Consequently, director Fiona Cumming went on holiday in Lanzarote. There she sent a postcard to producer John Nathan-Turner, who was interested in shooting abroad at least one “Doctor Who” adventure every season and had the inspiration of shooting one in Lanzarote.
As it often happened during “Doctor Who” production, writing the script, in this case of “Planet of Fire” by writer Peter Grimwade, was pretty chaotic because of various changes in the production and script editor Eric Saward made other changes.
The story that resulted is in some ways a bit chaotic because the plot needed to include various elements related to the Doctor’s companions and the Master. This is seen from the beginning, when the Tardis arrives first on Earth, where an object from planet Trion was just found and it’s never explained how it arrived there.
Actually, the stop on Earth is written to meet Perpugilliam “Peri” Brown, whose debut in the series in a bikini is one of the best remembered moments by many “Doctor Who” fans. 😀 Apart from her physical appearance, Peri’s debut is good because she shows a strong character and in the end she’s the one who wants to travel with the Doctor.
After Peri was brought in the Tardis by Turlough, the main story of “Planet of Fire” starts on planet Sarn, where a small population survives in spite of the dangers caused by volcanic activity. Among those residents, Timanov leads those who believe in the fire god Logar and is willing to kill anyone who opposes his faith.
This part of the story is good mostly because of the performace by the actor who plays Timanov: Peter Wyngarde, definitely the best among those who play Sarn’s people.
In the affairs of Sarn’s people the story of Turlough fits in and he leaves the Doctor at the end of “Planet of Fire”. About Turlough we knew that he was exiled to Earth, in this adventure we discover the events that led to his exile. He was a pretty good companion, maybe not particularly well developed because the impression is that after the end of the Black Guardian trilogy the authors didn’t know what to make of him. Still, Turlough formed a sincere friendship with the Doctor and coming after Adric he was certainly a big improvement.
Another companion at his last appearance is Kamelion. This android was a failed experiment and its inclusion in “Planet of Fire” was decided to put in the plot a way to get rid of him.
“Planet of Fire” was supposed to be the last adventure for the Master. The contract with actor Anthony Ainley was about to expire so this adventure included an ending in which the Master presumably died. The last phrase spoken by the Master was incomplete but it suggested that he and the Doctor were brothers. This idea was already considered a few years earlier but neither then nor later it was developed so that hint was really just a way to tease the fans.
Despite the need to bring together so many elements, the result is quite good, with a balance between the stories of the various characters. It’s not a masterpiece but it has its importance in the history of “Doctor Who” because of the changes in the Tardis crew.
In Region 1 countries, “Planet of Fire” DVD is sold on its own. Too bad the most important extra isn’t included. If your DVD reader plays Region 2 DVDs you may prefer to buy the “Kamelion Tales” boxset, which might even cost less than Region 1 “Planet of Fire” DVD if you find the right bargain, otherwise you can wait for a special offer.
In Region 2 and Region 4 countries this DVD is part of the “Kamelion Tales” box set, available on Amazon UK
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