Hand of Fear

[becki_sarah4doc]

I just bought this on DVD and i absolutely loved it. The ending had me crying when they said goodbye to each other and the commentary was amazing, seeing Lis Sladen and Tom Baker talk about their characters, the Doctors relationship with Sarah and about filming the goodbye scene.

What does everyone else think about the episode?

[Llin]

I adore The Hand of Fear. The story is quite good, but it's all the sweet little moments between Sarah and the Doctor that really make it for me, you can really see how close they've become, and that just makes the ending all the more sad and lovely.

[Stardoe]

Always loved it. I have been able to quote the entire final scene since it first aired. The DVD was good and so was the commentary and interviews. Tom Baker is a scream of a man. My only disappointment with the DVD is that Lis was not on the commentary for part of either the 3rd or 4th ep. THe bit where the Dr goes into the  factory and makes her stay at the gate but she pushes her way in and follows him anyway. The Eldrad woman made comments about that and Tom did too but I really would have liked to hear Lis comment on it. It's one of my favourite scenes. I love all the commentaries, especially those with Tom Baker but as interesting as it is to listen to producers and directors tell us about things we would not usually have known, I do think there isn't enough talk from the actors about what is happening on screen. It's all about the guest actors, sets, makeup, lighting etc. I have the Planet of Evil DVD and it is nice to listen to Elisabeth finally get a chance to talk about the relationship between her and Tom and how that spilled over to enhance the relationship between the Dr and Sarah. There are alot of times when what the actors are doing and talking about on screen, you can't hear, because directors/producers are talking about some obscure technical thing when all I really want is to hear the actors speak about that funny line, or this funny blooper or who adlibbed and what that look really meant etc. I have all the DVDs and it is interesting to see how much more relaxed the actors have become and I find with Lis and Tom, they do talk more about the characters and things they did rather than the official stuff. One funny part in the Planet of Evil commentary is Tom yelling "Look look, there you are adoring me, Lis" So funny. But back to Hand of Fear......it is one of, if not the best of the DVDs so far, in my opinion anyway. I also see that  a latest release is Tom Baker reading an audio of the Brain of Morbius. I wish they'd do the DVD on it because it is one of his favourites. I am just pleased about the fact that he is embracing all the DW stuff now and doing the interviews and commentaries.

[sarah_janesmith]

i love hand of fear, it was the first sarah dvd i bought.

i was a bit dissapointed that she dissapeared off the commentry for a bit too, but oh well.

great story.

[Revolutionaren]

Hand of Fear was the first Who DVD I bought (and I haven't stopped since). I really enjoy it, it's not my favourite Sarah story, but it's a good 'un.
I think the whole trip to Kastria bit let it down though, they could have disposed of Eldrad sooner and had a longer goodbye scene.
Never the less, the ending is wonderfully underplayed and was so sad, really.


And then it turns out he dumped her in Aberdeen, I love how that joke was finally delivered thirty years later...

[Dr. Dasha]

I just recently watched this DVD.  Either in the commentary or in one of the extras, Elisabeth Sladen mentions the name of the shop where the costumers got the Andy Pandy outfit.  Although the store is now closed, as far as I understand, those of you searching for vintage Andy Pandy duds may find it useful.

Is anyone else out there annoyed that all Tom Baker ever seems to talk about on his commentary tracks is how attractive he finds his female co-stars?  It is really bugging me.  I know he's an actor, and maybe playing the "dirty old man" is his shtick right now, but honestly!  Why doesn't he ever talk about how good an actress Elisabeth Sladen (or Judith Paris, or Mary Tamm, etc.) is, instead of just talking about her body???

Thank goodness, on her commentary Elisabeth Sladen seems unafraid to mention how good her acting is.  She does this in a very classy way.  She doesn't sound conceited at all.  She'll just say something like, "Ooh, that was a good bit," and then go on to explain what her mindset or inspiration was as she was acting that particular bit of the story.

This is still my favorite Dr. Who story, but if I ever listen to the audio commentary again I am going to tune out Tom Baker.

[becki_sarah4doc]

i have to admit that when i was watching the commentry for this and any others where Tom Baker was on it, i found it abit annoying and i now view him as abit of a dirty old man. It ruins it abit because i really want ot hear what Lis is saying about a scene or even her outfit and Tom just goes on about how cute so and so was

[phileverest]

Yes, I too liked this episode.
I agree the end was moving and I think Lis in the dvd commentary was correct in highlighting what wasn't said between her and the Doctor  that was resonant.

Clearly for the era in which it was made, the producers couldn't go to far, which stand in contrast to the criticisms of the era (by some) that the '70's were 'anything goes' and 'too liberal'.

Here in Australia, there were tears and an unconscious willing of more to be said between them and in 'School Reunion' this was again open and the tears freely flowed even amongst the fellers who as men today, were boys at the time.
Sarah Jane will always be the iconic assistant and worthy of costarrng in her own right as she progressed in the show, she became a double act that people wanted to watch as much as the Doctor.
The widespread view is that the mid '70's were a much more simpler, stable era which although with its share of problems in the U.K and Australia, at least there was greater community coherence and less weight bearing down from 'governements' and their mad cronies.
Shows like 'Life on Mars' and the popularity it engenders here and elsewhere, confirm that
we've lost something in the 30 + years since the "Sarah Jane" era.

Here in Australia, the view is that we've gone backwards societally, especially in the past 25 years and moreso since 2001 with governments pushing us around in unwanted directions .
The world didn't change, only a minority did, dragging the rest of us along in unwanted directions.
The Hand of fear end, reminds us of a more humane time where there was still more hope
and care.
Besides it was a pleasure to see a show that by that time resonated with success and energy, people here eagerly looked forward to the next story in that era.
Hand of fear marks the end of a very successful era.
Someone should try to recapture that spirit of the time in future .

Thanks for the discussion and your time
Phil in Australia.
 

[phileverest]

I recently found the Hand of fear book by Terrance Dicks in a second hand book shop here in Hobart

I also found this item too on the conditions during filming at the time
http://archive.thenorthernecho.co.uk/2001/7/5/166513.html

If you look at the dvd, you can see from the outset just how hot it was as the air has that shimmering heat look in the background scenes.
Friends from the UK here and living there then and now, tell me that 1976 was a real scorcher as this article hints.
In the dvd you can also see how dry the  grass is (brown) but at some point during filming they must have had a downpour  in Gloucester near Oldbury power station .

With an interest in the weather, my research reveals that the dry spell actually started in '75 as for instance the Android Invasion filmed in Oxfordshire looks similarly sunny and very light.
Here in Tasmania, we're used to hot weather, but the  consistant heat in the UK in '76 seems beyond that what even we're used too, but I know my mainland friends would say  we get it easy in Tasmania and the rest of Australia really cops it with horrid heat over time during summer.

Still interesting background for the filming and its no wonder Lis swallowed a fly during filming!.

See you in Cromhall quarry
Phil