This latest dispatch from the Reeltime Pictures archive revisits the Tom Baker era, still probably the most popular period in the history of ‘classic’ Doctor Who, the era that properly imprinted the series into the bedrock of British culture. This second Baker release follows the familiar Reeltime format but Disc One is of particular interest as the three lengthy interviews with Baker-era alumni are of more recent vintage, despite the episodes under discussion being themselves well over forty years old. First up is  Philip Hinchcliffe, the only surviving producer from the original Doctor Who series, chatting amiably with Nicholas Briggs off-stage during a 2008 convention. Even now (or then, if you prefer), deep into his retirement, Hinchcliffe takes his career and his work and its legacy quite seriously and it’s always fascinating to hear one of the architects of the show’s most creatively-fruitful periods talking about how he crafted one of the best-remembered eras of Doctor Who, moving it away from the rampaging rubber-monster image it had gained during the Pertwee years and ensuring that it appealed to the adults in the audience with some grittier, tougher stories. Interviewed in 2006, script editor Christopher H. Bidmead – often a controversial figure when discussing his time on the show at the tail end of Baker’s era – is as candid as ever, explaining how he came to work on the show without really knowing what a script editor actually did and how he wrenched the show’s writing style away from what he felt was the ‘hackwork’ of some of its more seasoned writers into something a little more challenging as the series struggled into the 1980s. Disc One is rounded off by a 2022 interview by the affable Robert Dick with director John Black who steered the Baker era to its close with The Keeper of Traken before moving on to work on Peter Davison’s first recorded serial Four To Doomsday.

Disc Two digs deeper into the archive with a  vintage chat with FX designer Mat Irvine at his home in 2000. The story of his rise through the ranks of the then in-house BBC FX department in interesting enough but we were captivated by the exploration of his storeroom, piled high with boxes and crates full of long-abandoned props and models, old Doctor Who rayguns, battered models and an original Liberator model from Blake’s 7 looking much the worse for wear as its components are lifted out of an old box for inspection. Disc two is rounded out by more convention panels. Gary Russell moderates a 1988 panel – the original show was still in production and the upcoming (and final) season is discussed – with costume designers June Hudson, Dee Robson and Roland Warne along with Richard Gregory who redesigned the iconic Cybermen for their 1980s rebirth. Finally, incidental music legend Dudley Simpson is on stage with sound effects supremo Dicks Mills for a 1980s convention, which is interesting in itself but both men have already featured on individual pieces on earlier Reeltime releases so many of their anecdotes are inevitably a little familiar.

We’ve said it before but it always bears repeating. Not only do these releases deliver over five hours of stimulating and fascinating behind-the-scenes Doctor Who chat from many creatives no longer with us, but they provide a massive and comprehensive visual record of the making of one of the most popular and enduring TV shows in the world.