Full Circle
E-space is shorthand for exo-space, and is a sort of smaller sub-universe inside of the normal universe. In Full Circle, the Doctor and Romana are sucked into e-space when they accidentally pass through a charged vacuum emboitment, or CBE. (According to information provided in the extra materials, there may actually be some scientific basis for this kind of thing, but not in a narratively satisfying way that allows people to fight space vampires and marsh men.) When the Doctor and Romana discover that, though their instruments tell them they are on Gallifrey a quick look outside tells them they're not, they venture out to explore. Soon, they discover that they are on the planet Alzarius. This is an Eden like planet, where happy folks gather fruit, swim and perform routine maintenance on their crashed starliner, with no apparent worries. However, every few decades Mistfall comes. This is a bad thing, since along with the mist come marsh men, who look suspiciously like the Creature from the Black Lagoon. These marsh men are mute, but vicious, and kill the defenseless people of Alzarius without apparent provocation or reason. For this reason, every Mistfall everyone retires to the starliner, locks it up and stays put for a few years.

As might be expected, everything is not as it seems. A first clue is Adric's amazing ability to heal from serious wounds, discovered by Romana soon after their first meeting. It turns out that the marsh men, the humanoid Alzarians and the red eyed spiders that burst out of the marsh fruit may be connected in some deep way. It is up to the Doctor to save the Alzarians from the marauding marsh men, overcome the institutional secrecy of the Deciders, and figure out how to pilot the starliner, which information has been lost over time, with a little genetic research thrown in. At the end, Romana is recovering from a mind altering viral infection, the Doctor is unscathed, and Adric has stowed away on the TARDIS.

State of Decay
State of Decay is a riff on the classic tale of the small village ruled with an iron fist by the evil vampire that lives in the castle on the ridge. Of course, in Doctor Who the castle is an ancient spaceship, the rebels use decrepit electronic scanners and the boss vampire is a powerful alien.

After arriving on the unnamed planet, the Doctor and Romana set off exploring, not realizing that young Adric is hiding on the TARDIS. They quickly run into the local constabulary and, as suspicious characters, are taken to The Three Who Rule in the castle. Adric meanwhile, wanders into the inn and is taken in by the headman of the village and his wife, whose son was taken from them recently during a Choosing. (A Choosing is where young men and women are taken from their families to the castle to be employed as maids, guards, or other vaguely described uses, which generally result in their total exsanguinations and disappearance.) The Doctor and Romana meet Zargo (William Lindsay) and Camilla (Rachel Davies), the king and queen and Aukon (Emrys James) the sort of castellan or majordomo, who seems to carry more authority than the putative monarchs.

The two Time Lords quickly discover that these three are more than just oppressive autocrats, and that an insidious plan is about to come to fruition, which may very well result in the death of billions all across the universe. They are held captive by the three, who look an awful lot like classic Hammer vampires, and set to sleuthing. Adric, in the meantime, is found out as the genius level intellect he is and taken to the castle and designated one of the Chosen by Aukon, who has a telepathic link with the massive, blood drinking creature living in the bowels of the castle. Rescues, rebellions and morphological investigations ensue.

In terms of story, characterization and acting, State of Decay is a big leap forward from Full Circle. Part of this is due to having Doctor Who veteran Terrance Dicks as the writer, as opposed to the then teenaged and first timer Andrew Smith, who wrote the previous story. The direction is also more confident, and several very accomplished stage actors are employed to fill out the cast, including Thane Bettany, father of Paul Bettany. A creepy mood is maintained throughout, and the set design and costumes are gorgeous. The effects, particularly the climactic death of vampire creature, are a bit of a step down from the previous installment however.

Warrior's Gate
The last of the e-space stories, Warrior's Gate is set in the "nowhere" area of the intersection between e-space and n-space, or normal space. Both the Doctor and company, and an interstellar slave ship have been caught in the intersection and are trying to figure out how to escape. Unlike the Time Lords, the slavers can't fly through time on their own, and so use time sensitive creatures called Tharils to navigate. Unfortunately, this is not something that the Tharils do voluntarily, which gives rise to the slave trade that this ship was engaged in when it became trapped.

It is difficult to describe the plot of Warrior's Gate because of the nature of the story. Events overlap in time and are experienced by characters before and after they happen, from different perspectives. Because of where they are, a linear plot line does not work. In summary, the super heavy dwarf star alloy that the slavers are using to hold the Tharils is causing the small pocket universe they are in to collapse in on itself. This intensifies everyone's efforts to escape, and the Doctor's attempt to rescue the enslaved, but not totally blameless Tharils. The story of Warrior's Gate is by far the most inventive and interesting of the three in the set, and stacks up very well against Doctor Who stories overall with its heavy Alice in Wonderland and Jean Cocteau influences. Having said that, the effects available at that time with the budgets available to the BBC are not at all up to the task of realizing the concepts of the story.

It is not that the effects artists and technicians are not giving it their all. They are, but at every point the metaphorical wires are showing. The only things that look decent are the models of the eponymous gate and the slave ship that are destroyed at the end. It is sad that such a unique story could not have been made at a time when much of what was attempted could be accomplished with ease. Still, it represents an achievement of remarkable scope and ambition, whatever the technical failures. Even the startlingly abrupt departure of Romana and K-9 at the end does not diminish this.

The DVD

Video:
The video on all three discs is full screen 4:3, and the quality varies slightly but is never terribly good. The BBC has done its best to present the image in as pristine a condition as possible, but the largely video recorded source material from the early eighties precludes a truly good looking product. There are very occasional tracking lines and more common light trails or washout with brightly lit objects. Luckily, the poor video quality is expected, and does not dramatically reduce the entertainment value.

Sound:
The sound is Dolby 2 channel, and is also not terribly good, but also not terribly important. The sound is flat, but the dialogue is clearly audible throughout. Not much else can be said either pro or con. English subtitles are available, but no alternate language tracks are available. An isolated score track is available on all three discs.

Extras:
As usual, the BBC has larded The E-Space Trilogy with extras, some of which are incredibly interesting and some of which bear only a tenuous relationship to the source material and carry only limited entertainment value. These extras are:

Information Text
Functioning as a subtitle option, informational text is available on all three discs. The text provides behind the scenes information, viewership numbers and technical details pertaining to the events unfolding on the screen. This is one of the most valuable extras provided, and is standard with BBC Doctor Who releases.

Making of Featurettes
All three discs have making of featurettes, All Aboard the Starliner for Full Circle, The Vampire Lovers for State of Decay and The Dreaming for Warrior's Gate. All of these are quite interesting, and provide loads of behind the scenes information. What is most striking, and comes out both here and in the feature commentaries, is the amount of tension and conflict going on during this time. Tom Baker and Lalla Ward, who were in a relationship at the time and later married, were often quarreling. Script editor Christopher Bidmead, though himself quite laid back, often had conflicts with writers. Producer John Nathan-Turner clashed with directors, who in turn rubbed actors the wrong way. These events occurred far enough in the past that all those involved are able to discuss them with no ill will or bitterness, which provides a sharp insight into what was going on at the time.

Commentary Tracks
Commentary tracks are also available on all three discs. On Full Circle we have actor Matthew Waterhouse, writer Andrew Smith and script editor Christopher Bidmead. On State of Decay we have Waterhouse, writer Terrance Dicks and director Peter Moffat. On Warrior's Gate we have Bidmead, actors Lalla Ward and John Leeson, director Paul Joyce and visual effects designer Mat Irvine. Like the making of documentaries, these are interesting, and often funny, and reveal a lot of information and shed some light on the tensions abounding in Doctor Who during this time. The only disappointment is that Tom Baker does not contribute.

Miscellaneous Extras
As is usual with classic Doctor Who releases, the BBC has included lots of material that is only incidentally related to the e-space stories. Some of them, such as Lalla's Wardrobe, The Boy with the Golden Star and E-Space - Fact or Fiction? are interesting, at least from a fanboy perspective and provide information and unique insights on the material. An extended discussion of the scientific theories that support the concept of e-space or a retrospective of the clothes that Lalla Ward wore as Romana are fun as far as they go; not essential but beneficial. Other material, such as Leaves of Blood (a rundown of vampires as they appear in literature with lots of horror authors aiding the discussion) or The Blood Show (a discussion with anthropologists, butchers, Goth club promoters and various others about the significance of blood in society) seem merely tacked on, or an effort to increase the volume but not the quality of the extras. There are also several pieces of interest to hardcore fans, such as the original audio lead ins and transitions to the episodes as they aired, deleted scenes and a contemporaneous appearance of Matthew Waterhouse on a teen fan show called Swap Shop.

Overall
Overall, there are more than enough significant and valuable extras included on The E-Space Trilogy discs to make up for the barely related or insubstantial material. The shotgun blast approach of the BBC makes for a lot of material to wade through, but ensures that enough high quality product is present to please all but the most rabid fans.

Final Thoughts:
Even though The E-Space Trilogy does not represent Tom Baker's Doctor Who at its best, it does provide some interesting and enjoyable diversion, laughs, thrills and simple fun. Most people, including this reviewer, do not watch Doctor Who for technical perfection and flawless presentation. The show is great because of the unique and interesting story lines, odd ball humor mixed with action and pathos and the wonderful characters whom the viewer grows to love and root for. The E-Space Trilogy provides all of this, plus buckets of extras to appease the hard core Who fans. For those that already love Doctor Who, particularly Tom Baker's iteration, this collection is definitely recommended.