Doctor Who: Shada

Doctor Who: Shada

2h 17m 7.0/10

Overview

The Doctor visits his old Time Lord friend Chronotis in Cambridge, 1979. But the ruthless Skagra has also arrived to retrieve a book that will help unlock one of the Time Lords' greatest secrets: what is Shada? Filming for this story was never finished, and in this version the unfilmed material is completed via animation.

Director

Pennant Roberts

Top Billed Cast

Christopher Neame

Christopher Neame

Skagra (voice)

Tom Baker

Tom Baker

The Doctor

Daniel Hill

Daniel Hill

Chris Parsons (voice)

Lalla Ward

Lalla Ward

Romana (voice)

Denis Carey

Professor Chronotis (archive footage)

David Brierly

David Brierly

K9 (archive footage) (voice)

Reviews

CinemaSerf

CinemaSerf

7/3/2024

6/10

I have a friend who was involved in the commissioning of these hybrid animation versions of the old missing or incomplete "Dr. Who" series' and I think my scepticism was probably borne out with this rather curiously spliced story. With industrial action hitting the production with a week's worth of filming still to do, the animators have tried to visualise the gaps whilst the "Doctor" (Tom Baker) and "Romana" (Lalla Ward) have returned to revoice the additional bits as the story takes us to the planet of "Shada". It's a prison that holds - well it used to hold - the devious "Skagra" (Christopher Neame) who has escaped with quite an uniquely cunning plan. He wants to round up all the brains he can find and pool them into a great database of galactic knowledge. The best and worst of us all under his control! Thing is, only the Time Lords know where the place is, so when he discovers the retired old "Chronotis" (Denis Carey) living peaceably as a university lecturer on Earth, he sets off, replete with his ominous flying sphere, to incorporate his mind into his cerebral hub too. "Skagra" hadn't counted on he old chap still having enough of his wits about him to send for his favourite student - and so you know who and his pal and his dog duly arrive to combat his evil. I thought this a pretty weak story and Neame hadn't the slightest degree of menace as he prances around in his silvery cape. It does present us with quite an interesting look at just how the series was filmed, though, with the animated gaps illustrating the sort of batch-filming approach that was used before the edit - leaving no real rhyme nor reason to the absent bits. It's all watchable enough, but more as a curiosity and testament to some restorative imagination rather than because it's really very good.

Similar Movies

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

8.0

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

2004

Terminator 2: Judgment Day

8.1

Terminator 2: Judgment Day

1991

Back to the Future

8.3

Back to the Future

1985

The Terminator

7.7

The Terminator

1984

Twelve Monkeys

7.6

Twelve Monkeys

1995

Back to the Future Part II

7.8

Back to the Future Part II

1989

Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery

6.6

Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery

1997

Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me

6.3

Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me

1999

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure

6.9

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure

1989

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines

6.2

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines

2003

Austin Powers in Goldmember

6.0

Austin Powers in Goldmember

2002

Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey

6.3

Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey

1991

The Forbidden Kingdom

6.6

The Forbidden Kingdom

2008

Star Trek: First Contact

7.3

Star Trek: First Contact

1996

Escape from the Planet of the Apes

6.4

Escape from the Planet of the Apes

1971

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III

5.5

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III

1993

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

7.2

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

1986