THE INVASION REVIEW

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I watched my old video for this story a while ago and found it to be lacking, especially as the Cybermen barely feature in it! Instead, we get Kevin Stoney talking to a big food processor with a lightbulb in it, which is installed behind a wall. Not to mention the truly awful music score and huge battle scenes taking place off screen.

Having said that, however, I'll still buy the DVD just for the extras and the new animation. Here's hoping that animation is something that catches on...

I've been waiting anxiously for the US release of this DVD.
I'm very curious about the animation and it sounds like a
good idea. Besides, Patrick Troughton is in it and he rules!!

So, why was the first posted edited and wiped away? I'm curious about this DVD and story since I've never seen it.

My system glitched on me one night. was there any specific detail you wanted to know about the review?

Hehe, it glitched again I was mostly curious about the quality of the animated parts. Was it akin to an online flash cartoon, with "paper cutout" characters moving around (not really done in the traditional animation format every thinks of), or was it "honest-to-God" frame-by-frame animation?

Also, rplath says that the Cybermen barely feature in it. Was that due to an older release lacking the missing parts? Something that the animation filled in?

The episodes that are missing are 1 and 4 and the cybermen do not appear until the end of 4. If you saw the scream of the shalka that is the style it is using. It isnt hanna barbera full frame movement except when they are talking. BUt it is still impressive and shows the potential for releasing other missing stories. Like the Moonbase. There is enough reference material from that so that it would be a great reproduction and the cybermen feature more in that one in the missing two episodes.

Rogue wrote:

I was mostly curious about the quality of the animated parts. Was it akin to an online flash cartoon, with "paper cutout" characters moving around (not really done in the traditional animation format every thinks of), or was it "honest-to-God" frame-by-frame animation?

Rogue,

Check out some of these comparison shots using stills from the actual episode. The animation looks wonderful. Unfortunately, not all of the missing episodes from the Hartnell and Troughton era have surviving sound tracks that are up to par for using on a DVD release like The Invasion. However, some of the missing episodes do have existing usable sound...this opens up the door for more of these releases to follow.





This is easily one of my most anticipated DVD releases to date. My copy won't arrive for a few more days, but I'll be happy to post my thoughts as well when it does!

Thanks! I just had the thought that I should check Youtube for a clip or two. I had seen a small preview of the animation somewhere, before the DVD was released in the UK. But it was brief and didn't show much other than the Doctor's expression on his face and the Cybermen marching.

I agree, this does open up many possibilities for those "lost episodes." I wonder if they could reconstruct a story like "Shada" by getting as many of the original actors together to do the voice-overs? Or is that out the question since there's supposed to be an update of that story featuring the 8th Doctor...?

The animated episodes of THE INVASION are terrific. While the story itself is not my favorite (as mentioned in an earlier post), the new animated episodes are superb and worth the price for them alone.

The animation is of a high quality, with only the occasional stiffness of a group of people trying to "walk" at once reminding you that it's a cartoon. Otherwise, the work is superior to the filmed version, as the direction, cameral angles, picture composition and special effects are far better than what the live-action budget could pull off. Picture composition and little touches like Vaughn's eyes glowing briefly really turn the episode's tension up a notch or two.

Hopefully this is a success to be repeated. With Troughton animation already in place, it seems likely that his Doctor will receive the bulk of material for a bit. Since The Ice Warriors is missing only two episodes or so, it's a good choice, though I'd very much like to see the kind of animation applied to Episode Four of The Tenth Planet. Fully animated stories are probably cost-prohibitive, and Daleks are expensive, so I imagine we won't see Power of the Daleks anytime soon ...

I actually enjoy The Invasion quite a lot...it might even be my favorite Cybermen story! Though it takes some time for the Cybermen to actually show up, I've long felt that the meticulous pacing of those first few episodes drives home just how long the Cybermen have been planning the titular invasion. Once their attack gets underway, we don't see much in the way of battle scenes (though there is one terrific shootout between UNIT troops and a squad of Cybermen), but the scenes of the Cybermen marching through the streets of London are so dramatic, so chilling...some of those shots are definitive of the B&W period of the show.

As far as the DVD release goes, I loved the animation; it was just stylized enough to forgive its limitations, just realistic enough to do the material justice. I would love to see more "lost" episodes reconstructed this way.