The Black Guardian Trilogy - Mawdryn Undead

One of my earliest memories of watching Doctor Who as a young boy, was 1983's Mawdryn Undead. I had obviously been into the show for a while as I recall being familiar with the characters and the premise, but this was the first time I remember being genuinely scared - and the scary person in question was the ginger-haired, pale gangly new schoolboy companion, Turlough, played sarcastically and brilliantly by Mark Strickson.

Actually, what scared me was Turlough's crystal, through which he communicated with the Black Guardian - and it was that whole combination, particularly Valentine Dyall's menacing stare and gruff voice, that had me heading for the protection of the sofa.

Anyway to the story - the new DVD version comes with the much loved option of new CGI effects, which work wonders, bringing the look of the story up-to-date and not out of place. The moments of horror, such as the burned body of Mawdryn still stand up, and the whole episode just looks wonderful. Turlough sneaks around, controlled by the Black Guardian, on his mission to kill the Doctor, and Nicholas Courtney plays two versions of the Brigadier perfectly.

Mawdryn Undead is not only a great story, but a Doctor Who adventure I never tire of, not because it's great, but for the sheer delight of remembering the impact it had on me, aged 5!!

The DVD comes with plenty of extra features, such as your usual making-of, a fun little "interview" with The Brig, reminiscing about his time working as a teacher, plus out-takes and even some rare film trims. Above all, Mawdryn Undead is one of those stories that shows 80s Who at it's best, and proves wrong any sceptic who claims that era was crap - and let's face it, they probably weren't even born then!