Arguably the most well known actor to ever portray the Doctor in the BBC series, Tom Baker returns to narrate this previously missing adventure from his heyday as the scarf wearing, grinning Fourth Doctor. 'Shada' was originally produced as part of the 1979-1980 season of the scifi programme-and would have been the final story of that year-but was cancelled mid way due to strikes. With Producer Graham Williams' departure and incoming replacement John Nathan-Turner desiring to move the series into a new direction, 'Shada' was consigned to storage and largely forgotten.... until 1992. Sylvester McCoy had been playing the mysterious seventh incarnation of the wandering Time Lord for three full years before the BBC decided to sell the show to an independent company over financial concerns. Spending the next two and a half years searching for someone to do this, the BBC grew despondent finally cancelled the long running programme. So with the sudden demand for Dr Who stories being released on VHS for commercial use, former producer Nathan-Turner, in one of his last acts as 'caretaker' of Doctor Who, authorized the release of the 'Shada' story on VHS with Tom Baker being hired to narrate the missing bits that were not completed in 1979 and presenting this rare gem to a new generation.
Review of Doctor Who: Shada
