Since Shada was cancelled in 1979, various fans and groups have tried to create their own 'complete and definitive' versions of the story. In 1992, a reconstruction was released on VHS which combined the original footage with new footage of Tom Baker at the Museum of the Moving Image. Tom Baker's narration fills in the gaps and his scenes could make you believe he is the retired Curator from The Day of the Doctor. An audio version of Shada was released by Big Finish in 2003 which was probably my least favourite as I could never warm to the new cast. The last was a novelisation released in 2012 and written by Gareth Roberts which I never read but heard is pretty- good. This 2017 release is the latest and I suspect not the last. This one combines the original live-action footage from 1979 with new animated footage to fill in the gaps.
The actual story is a decent one. The Doctor and Romana are summoned to Cambridge by the eccentric retired Time Lord, Professor Chronotis, who resides there as a lecturer. He wants the Doctor and Romana to recover a book titled 'The Worshipful and Ancient Law of Gallifrey' and return it to Gallifrey. However, the book is also being sought out by the mysterious Skagra who needs it in order to find the ancient Time Lord Prison of Shada. The whole story has a grand sense of scale, spanning Cambridge, several Space Ships, a Space Station and the prison planet of Shada itself. Douglas Adams fills the story with great characters and very witty dialogue.
Tom Baker is at the top of his game as the Doctor. He is known for being funny in the Graham Williams years but is surprisingly sombre and works well as the straight man against the more eccentric Professor Chronotis. He certainly sells the drama when it is needed. Lalla Ward is really good as Romana, getting a lot of funny lines. David Brierly is good as K-9 with an impersonation for the animated scenes.
The guest characters are also quite fun. As Chronotis, Dennis Carey gets the right balance between eccentricity and grave seriousness. Daniel Hill is witty enough as Chris Parsons, a character filled who stands in as a Douglas Adams type. Christopher Neame was good as Skagra in the live action footage but the animated scenes show us the more suave and sophisticated side to his character. Only the character of Claire Keighly doesn't shine much but she serves the plot purpose well.
The animation in this feature is the best of all the animated episodes released so far. It is similar to the style used in the 2016 release of The Power of the Daleks but with a lot more fluid animation. I was worried that the transition between live action footage and animation would be jarring but it actually works rather well. Some new live footage of the Krarg is used and there is also a new live action footage scene at the very end of the tale but I don't want to spoil it as it is marvellous.
The music by Mark Ayres is a vast improvement over the score that Keff McCulloch composed for the 1992 release. Mark's music uses similar instruments to those of Dudley Simpson and quotes City of Death at certain points. Keff McCulloch used late 80s synthesizers and had an annoying tendency punctuated funny scenes with unnecessary dramatic music. It's a pity John Nathan-Turner didn't get Mark to do the 1992 version in the first place.
One element of this release that has caused some controversy amongst fans is the decision to release the story in an omnibus format. There are no cliffhanger breaks and no 'episode select' option. Although some fans are annoyed at this decision, it does makes sense when you consider that this version is comprised of unedited footage. If Shada had been broadcast then things would have been cut anyway but cutting things here would lead to fan complaints anyway. If it's choice between cutting out footage to create 25 minute episodes or getting the whole experience, I know I choose the latter.
There are plenty of extras and this is a 2 disc release. The main feature is accompanied by a commentary by Toby Hadoke which features contributions from various cast members. Unfortunately the sound quality is not too good but it is better than nothing. The main disc also includes different drafts of the scripts and an annual available as ROM content. They are allfun to read. The 'Extras' disc includes the live action footage with Tim Bentnick from The Archers standing in for the Fourth Doctor.
The presentation of the release is mostly good but not perfect. The cover artwork by Lee Binding is good, as is the text sleeve, but it should be noted that the DVD version of this release has some unfortunate letterboxing issues on television screens. This is the only real flaw in an otherwise great package and I would recommend purchasing the Blu-Ray version if you can.
This version of Shada is probably as close as we'll get to having a 'definitive' version of the story. I got this for Christmas and it was certainly an enjoyable gift. If you're a fan and you haven't seen it yet I recommend it now. Just make sure it's the Blu-Ray version!
9/10
