Extras kick off with a commentary from cast members Peter Davison, Janet Fielding, Sarah Sutton, Matthew Waterhouse and director Peter Moffatt carried over from the original DVD release. If you haven't had a chance to hear it before, it's a good one. There's a jovial sense of humor behind much of the talk but so too are there some interesting stories to be told about their collective experiences on this particular serial. There's some good natured ribbing as the actors discuss their characters and having to interact with certain props in ways that might make sense to the viewer, while Moffat discusses his dislike of the score and his appreciation of some of the characters and story twists. This is a fun listen, with the cast members and director obviously enjoying this stroll down memory lane and having a good time relaying some fun anecdotes.

From there we move on to the featurettes, the first of which is Directing Who: Peter Moffatt and, as you could probably guess, this is a piece in which the director's career is put under the microscope. We learn how he came on board to start with the series, what he did to stick with it for a while and what it was like working on the series. Of course, Moffatt himself is on hand to share some stories about the different actors that he worked with on the series, Colin Baker and Peter Davison in particular, and how he feels about his work on the show years after the fact. He comes across as a very relaxed, calm and nice man and he seems to look back on his work here with some genuine affection for it. Writing A Final Visitation is a talk with writer Eric Saward who talks about how he was brought on board to write this story and why. He makes some amusing observations about sequined robots, character twists and the fate of the sonic screwdriver. It's an interesting discussion and getting Saward's input on this particular storyline is something worth indulging it. Scoring The Visitation is a discussion between this serial's composer, Paddy Kingsland, and fellow musical contributor to the series, Mark Ayres. The two discuss Kingsland's style and what he was able to bring in terms of uniqueness to the series. They also make some interesting comparisons to the scores used in the James Bond films, how it was easy to go too far with the dramatic music used in the show without realizing it. Kingsland also has very complimentary things to say about director Moffatt and generally seems quite pleased with his legacy on the series' universe.

So that's already a lot of supplemental material, but there's more... a lot more - Grim Tales spends forty five minutes with Peter Davison, Janet Fielding, Sarah Sutton and Mark Strickson as they explore the locations used in this serial. Arriving by TARDIS, this is done very tongue in cheek style but it's quite interesting not only because it shows off the locations as they are now but because it's been edited in such a way as to allow for input from those not on location. So additionally we get input from Eric Saward and Michael Melia as well. After the locations are explored, those on location sit down for a discussion that revolves around their enjoyment of a special cake provided to them! It sounds kind of corny when you read it in text but it's a well done piece, a nice reflection back on this story and the friendships that evolved out of their working together. From there check out the thirty-two minute long The Television Centre of the Universe - Part One, in which Peter Davison, Janet Fielding, Mark Strickson and Yvette Fielding as they tour the BBC television center. It's interesting to hear their reactions to how things have changed around the building since the time they spent there together and a few surprise guests show up as they basically explore the whole thing. It's as much about the BBC as it is about Doctor Who but it's surprisingly interesting. Also worth checking out is Doctor Who Forever! The Apocalypse Element which is a twenty-seven minute segment in which we once again explore what was done in the Doctor Who universe between the time in which the series was cancelled and which it was revived. Colin Baker, Russell T. Davis and others chime in here about the audio stories that were being created with different characters.

Rounding out the extras are an isolated musical score, a few minutes of outtakes from the forth episode in this serial, a still gallery, trailers for a few other Doctor Who serials, and an optional information subtitles track - basically a fun trivia text track that plays out as you watch the episodes. Menus and episode selection are also included. For the DVD-Rom equipped, there are also some PDF materials you can dig around through if you like.

Doctor Who: The Visitation is a good one, widely regarded, and understandably so, as one of the better entries in the Peter Davison run with the character. It's a good mix of adventure, humor and suspense with some fun sci-fi trappings and a game cast. The BBC have really rolled out the red carpet for this one, loading up this two disc set with scads of extras and presenting the four part adventure in the best possible condition. Highly recommended.

Ian lives in NYC with his wife where he writes for DVD Talk, runs Rock! Shock! Pop!. He likes NYC a lot, even if it is expensive and loud.