The first of the Season 21 stories to have had a Special Edition release on DVD with lots of extras, so Resurrection of the Daleks covers Discs 4 and 5.
On the first we have the original two part, 45 minute episode version - necessitated at the time due to the BBC's coverage of the 1984 Winter Olympics.
The four part version - how it was meant to be screened had it not been for Torvill & Dean - is on Disc 5. Whichever version you choose to watch, the option to do so with new VFX applies to both.
The most noticeable changes are that the Dalek battlecruiser and the prison space station have been replaced, so the brief attack by the former on the latter looks much better. Their final destruction is also new.
Other than that, new effects work is light - mainly weaponry energy beams. The Daleks now have a slight blue outline added when hit by a gun - suggesting some sort of forcefield or the energy is simply bouncing off their armour.
The Supreme no longer appears against a bright white backdrop on the TARDIS scanner. It's now backed by the red-lit control room.
Leela has now been included in the flashback sequence as the Doctor's memories are being drained.
Resurrection of the Daleks is a story which was fairly rapidly reappraised after being repeatedly voted second best of the season (after The Caves of Androzani, though one Australian fan poll placed it top).
It was popular for being the first Dalek story for several years, the new iteration of Davros, and lots of action. It was always claimed it had more on-screen deaths than The Terminator.
However, it soon began to be looked upon less favourably - mainly due to the script. It simply had too much crammed into it, with subplots which weren't terribly well developed - the main one being the sudden plan to have a duplicate Doctor assassinate the High Council of Time Lords.
The violence isn't really an issue - even though it includes the use of non-fantasy pistols and machine guns. The toxic gas effects are a different matter, however.
Eric Saward has himself claimed it's the worst script he ever contributed to the series. (In the new documentary he steps back a bit from that comment).
Watching it again (the two part version) some of the violence does stand out, and not always in a good way - and you can see problems with pacing and those non-starter subplots.
Tegan's departure isn't terribly well set up. It's a lovely scene, but there's just no build-up to the moment - it just comes out of nowhere. Fielding herself now claims to be okay with it - arguing that motivation for actions often lies beneath the surface, and only seems to spring from nowhere.
The Behind the Sofa is on Disc 4, and the guest viewer for this one is Rula Lenska, who played prison medic Styles.
They all comment on the fact that one of the characters is seen smoking. There's regret from Padbury, Waterhouse and Sutton that they never got to do a Dalek story - but then they are all pleased to see themselves included in that flashback sequence.
This disc also has a brand new Making-Of documentary (50 mins), with Davison and Fielding interviewed at the Butler's Wharf location. "Terror on the Thames" includes contributions from Saward, Mark Strickson, Terry Molloy, director Matthew Robinson and surviving guest cast members, plus an archive appearance from JNT.
The rest of the material is a collection of brief TV spots. One of these is the odd Walrus piece - a BBC Wales series, in which a housewife talks with the Dalek Invasion of Earth Supreme.
A compilation of clips from Saturday Superstore all deal with JNT's threatened scrapping of the Police Box TARDIS.
Disc 5 is given over to Janet Fielding, this being her final story. As well as a couple of archive interviews we have her in conversation with Matthew Sweet. The most interesting part of this is the story of her journalist ex-husband and his arms dealing. There's also much talk about her days with experimental theatre companies. She speaks about her cancer diagnosis, though this is covered more in the latest Toby Hadoke "Weekend With..." feature. Usually recorded over a weekend as the name implies, Fielding only had limited time to film this so it's simply "48 Hours of Fielding".
Recorded in and around her current home town of Ramsgate, she introduces Hadoke to some of her friends oveer coffee, visits the local wildlife sanctuary, and they pay a call on the youth club which she is involved with. There's a bit more mention of Doctor Who this time.
I've been critical of Fielding in the past, but this has been when she has been part of a larger group - on the sofa, in documentaries, or as part of the DVD commentaries, especially if Peter Davison is also present. She tends to dominate in such settings and others - notably Sutton - tend to be frozen out.
I enjoyed a lot more seeing her speak just on her own - showing more of a vulnerable side. Like her companion co-star, it's a remarkably eventful life she has led.
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