Product description

Doctor Who - The Mind of Evil [1963]

Price: £24.99
RRP: £16.99
Average customer rating: 4.0

Binding : VHS Tape
EAN : 6014106636128
Label : 2 Entertain Video
Manufacturer : 2 Entertain Video
Publisher : 2 Entertain Video
Release date : 1998-05-05
Title : Doctor Who - The Mind of Evil [1963]
Actor : Array
Audience rating : Universal, suitable for all
Format : Array
Languages : Array
Number of items : 2
Original release date : 1963-11-23
Running time : 147
Studio : 2 Entertain Video
Theatrical releaseDate : 1975-09-29
Number of discs : 1

Customer reviews

review by: abyoung_2002 date: 2008-05-16 rating:

Delgado is THE Master!
This story from Jon Pertwee's second season as the Doctor, is the second story to feature his arch-nemesis the Master. In it, the Master attempts to hijack a nerve gas missile and blow up a peace conference. In his efforts to stop him, the Doctor must first figure out how to deal with a strange parasite creature which feeds on the evil thoughts of others, growing stronger all the time.
One disappointment in this story is the characterisation of UNIT, who, for a major military taskforce are picked off rather too easily by the prisoners who steal the missile. In addition, it can be argued that the plot is a little convoluted. The success of the Master's plan depends on him being able to get his hands on a missile at the exact time that a peace conference is taking place.
Nevertheless, the story works well in spite of these issues. The Master's debut story, `Terror of the Autons' introduced us to the character of the Master, and this story cements his reputation. Roger Delgado is excellent, playing the part as a Mafia-style boss, and the interaction between him and Pertwee is a delight to watch. There are also some wonderful tense moments each time the creature makes an attack. Check out the scene at the end of episode 3 when the Doctor is strapped into a chair and being haunted by many of his enemies from the past.
Only the black and white prints of this story remain. There are only a few minutes of colour footage surviving, and these are included at the end of the tape. Hopefully, they'll be able to colour this one in and get it out on DVD soon. Here we have a good piece of drama from the Seventies, which makes for entertaining viewing today.

review by: mattieboyz date: 2007-09-07 rating:

Your darkest fears...
It's a shame the previous reviewer wasn't actually paying much attention when watching this story. The Keller machine yes; Krendler machine..? Afraid I've never heard of it!
This is another highlight from the Barry Letts/John Pertwee era of Doctor Who. Having previously only read the Target novelisation I wasn't quite sure what to expect but was pleasantly surprised. The insidious Master has, using an alter-ego, created a machine that supposedly 'cures' violent criminals and makes them fit for re-integration into society. The Brigadier despatches The Doctor and Jo Grant to witness the first demonstration of the machine in action and they see a hard-core thug become a seemingly sweet and gentle man.
Of course, The Doctor is rightly suspicious, and when people who have been near the machine begin dying unnaturally he unearths The Master's diabolical plan...
Whilst the action is spread somewhat thinly over the now unimaginable six half-hour episodes, there is plenty going-on and it actually gives space for the burgeoning relationship between The Doctor and his assistant to flourish. How I bet Gordon Brown wishes he had access to such a machine - just imagine all the 'hoodies' and knife-wielding maniacs transformed into top-of-the-class do-gooders..!

review by: Fangg date: 2003-09-27 rating:

Sub-standard, I'm afraid
Hmmm. This one was a bit of a disappointment, I'm afraid. I was expecting this to be just as good as Pertwee's other opening episodes, but it failed to do so. It has its plus points, of course, earning it the 3 stars. UNIT get to run about in proper military fashion and raid a prison, which is cool, Roger Delgado is The Master, a role which can't go awry no matter what you do, and Jon Pertwee is the Doctor, again, flawless performance. But the problem is nothing happens for a long period of time. The first four episodes seem to drag for ages, and only when the Krendler Machine starts to operate properly and the plot shifts up a gear in the final two parts that this story shows the potential it had. Not really bad, just not as good as it should have been.

review by: date: 2001-07-02 rating:

Non Stop Action
The Master returns for his second outing, which contains plenty of enjoyable moments.The eerie and effective noise that The Keller Machine emitts, is the most brilliant thing about it. There are superb performances from all the cast, and some excellent characters portryed. If you haven't seen this yet, then I advise you buy it!

Simon Bannister

review by: date: 2000-03-17 rating:
Prison will never seem the same again!
A very good and effective story line - Frankenstein meets Dr Who. The concept of mind control in 1971 was not new, even for Dr Who (the Mind Robber). However, this story line allowed Pertwee to excercise his natural superiority to its full. His flipant dealings with the so called experts at the start, his natural assuming of control at the prison plus his typical condesention of the Master come thru very pertly in this story, as they do in most Pertwee story lines. I think the best part of the story (as I recall even from 30 years ago) was firstly, the creepy idea of a machine (or intelligence) causing one to face up to ones most horrid fears (and lose) and then secondly, to find that the good Doctor himself was subject to the same! I couldn't sleep for days after that!

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