On to Disc 2 of the Season 21 Blu-ray box set, and The Awakening also offers viewers the chance to watch with new VFX. But if you're expecting any new Malus - big or small - you're in for disappointment. The only new effects concern the apparitions, getting rid of the blocky BBC Micro computer graphics and replacing them with twinkling lights. The phantoms also fade in and out in more satisfying fashion - but that's your lot. There's not a lot you could have done with the big face in the church, other than to give it more expression, but I did think they might have replaced the smaller creature which appears in the TARDIS. Even the church's destruction remains intact from the broadcast version - a none too bad model sequence.
This two-parter had a larger than usual percentage of location filming, and this is where this new remastered version really impresses. The footage looks great, and there's not really much more to say about this one - other than I think it is the best of the three Davison two-parters.
As the Behind the Sofa teams say, everyone really looks like they enjoyed making this. After the overly-lit studio work in the season opener, we have a lot more atmospheric lighting in the secret passages and church crypts designed by Barry Newbery - his final contribution to the show after joining it for the very first story back in November 1963. The BBC always excelled at historical costume drama, and this little story certainly benefits from that expertise.
Keith Jayne, who played Will Chandler, joins the Fifth Doctor sofa line-up for this one. Sadly he doesn't contribute much. Waterhouse and Padbury get competitive as to who was the greater genius - Adric or Zoe. It's a shame no-one pointed out to Padbury that writer Eric Pringle had Peter Bryant for an agent - the producer who cast her as Zoe.
This disc is the new home to The (TV) Centre of the Universe - originally split across two DVD releases.
A highlight of this disc - and of the set as a whole - is the Matthew Sweet conversation with Mark Strickson. Fascinating mainly due to the fact that he has led such an eventful life. As with all these items, there isn't a great deal of talk about Doctor Who, but in Strickson's case this is no big deal as his career, and personal life, have been so full of incident - especially his later vocation as a wildlife filmmaker. Definitely one of Sweet's more memorable interviews.
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