Serial D: Marco Polo - A Journey to Cathay

So, there we have it - the fourth serial. Once again it's been rather an up-and-down experience, with my episode ratings all over the shop and the averaged ratings coming out, er, average. And that really does sum up my opinion of the story as a whole. There's a lot to like in it but it doesn't advance the story of the travellers like serial C, or excite like serial B. Most of the time we're just wandering along admiring the (admittedly fine) scenery. The story really takes off in the final episode, but that's a bit too late.

OK, confession time: I said when I started this serial that "I've never properly experienced this story before". The word "properly" was important, because in one sense I had seen it! Before I say more, I'll just take a brief diversion to talk about the currently preferred medium for the distribution of the classic series:

DVDs, Part 1: The Beginning
Not, in fact, the beginning of the DVD range, but rather of the program. In fact, this box set of the first three serials came out in January 2006, nearly halfway through the release schedule (which began with The Five Doctors in November 1999 and is due to end before the 50th anniversary in November 2013).

We Whovians are lucky with our particular hobby because the DVDs are packed with more extras than the average release. There's a lot of stuff on these discs - documentaries, production subtitles, sketches, photo galleries, Radio Times billings, commentaries - as well as restored versions of the programs. My grumble about this particular set is that most of the episodes lack commentary, something almost unique in the range. Still, it's a minor complaint.

2006 was my first year of buying the TV stories in any form (I skipped VHS, for reasons I will get to much later), and this was one of my earliest purchases. I hadn't yet figured out that the best way to appreciate them was to spread them out over a decent period, and I gorged myself on early Who. By the time I got to the final substantial extra on the DVD of The Edge of Destruction, I wasn't really taking much in. And that extra is the reason I'm bringing up this DVD set now:

The BBC 30 Minute Reconstruction of Marco Polo
I've now watched this again, and I have to say I don't know who it's aimed at. The casual DVD viewer is unlikely to sit through half an hour of telesnaps and would probably have preferred a photo gallery, while the completist is going to want the full story. Actually, I'd have preferred a photo gallery too, since the images are higher quality than in the full recon I've just finished writing about.

I'd thought the fact that I could remember virtually nothing about Marco Polo despite having watched this was due to the gorging mentioned above. That is a factor, but actually the story as presented is pretty incoherent. Too much has been cut out to get any real sense of what's going on, or of the mood invoked. The map is also pretty rudimentary, and more importantly lacking that pulp feel. It's far less impressive than the "amateur" Loose Cannon version. In some ways, this recon is worse than nothing.

Finally, I'd like to thank Play.com. They put the 1964-5 Lost TV Episodes Collection on their website for the wrong price (£8.79). Originally they said they couldn't honour the deal - understandable given that they would have made a loss - but then they changed their mind and sent it to me anyway! Excellent customer service, and worth advertising. I have bought from them since then despite finding a slightly cheaper price elsewhere, and will continue to do so; they may even get their money back on the deal eventually. Anyway, without them, this marathon would not have taken place. I doff my cap.

Rating:
Abridged, Single Sitting: 1/10.
Episodic: 6/10.
DWM Mighty 200: 74.01%, 65th.
2011 Gallifrey Base Non-Dynamic Rankings: 8.54, 17th out of 222.

Next Time:
A diversion into print with The Sorcerer's Apprentice.

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