BBC Worldwide: Difference between revisions

BBC Video began its life as division of [[BBC Enterprises]], the forerunner to [[BBC Worldwide]]. It was tasked with releasing ''Doctor Who'' onto home video cassette. Fans attending the [[1983]] [[Longleat]] convention were polled to determine the first title to be released. ''[[The Tomb of the Cybermen]]'' topped the poll, but, as that story would not be recovered till [[1992]], BBC Video elected to release another [[Cybermen]] adventure instead. Thus, ''[[Revenge of the Cybermen]]'' became the first ''Doctor Who'' adventure released to home video.

While ''[[The Five Doctors (TV story)|The Five Doctors]]'' had an illustrated cover, the releases up to and including 1989 were primarily photographic in nature. During the [[1980s]] the stories released were also edited into a movie-length format (similar to the version of the series usually aired by the [[Public Broadcasting Service]] in the US at the time), and sometimes contained other minor cuts. For instance, until the late [[1990s]], the early [[William Hartnell]] stories would also be edited to remove the 'Next Episode' captions that led into the next episode. ''[[Carnival of Monsters]]'' was accidentally released with the [[1981]] edit instead of the unedited [[1973]] version and the episodic version of ''[[Death to the Daleks]]'' released in [[1995]] was also slightly edited. These edits prompted complaints from fans.

In the earliest years of the [[21st century]], the BBC were looking for a partnership to allow them to release their video content, whilst reducing their overhead and providing a legal liability shield. Accordingly, they approached the retail distribution giant Woolworths to create 2 entertain. In the terms of the original 2004 incorporation, 2 entertain was a 60/40 partnership between BBC Video and Woolworths. The largest division of the 2 entertain Group became 2 entertain Video, which in turn was created by the merger of VCI Video — then controlled by Woolworth — and BBC Video. As part of the terms of the merger, [[BBC Worldwide]] — BBC Video's parent — achieved the controlling stake in 2 entertain Video. BBC Video nominally retained its corporate identity as a division within 2 entertain Video.

Beginning with the [[March]] [[1992]] release of ''[[Terror of the Autons]]'', BBC Video formed an alliance with the independent [[Doctor Who Restoration Team]]. The Team were at first focused on the singular goal of restoring colour to certain episodes of the [[Jon Pertwee]] era which had come to exist only in their monochromatic form in the BBC Archives. After successfully restoring ''Autons'', ''[[The Dæmons]]'', and ''[[Doctor Who and the Silurians]]'', the Team turned their attention to other ways in which they could improve the master tapes within the BBC Archives. These improvement projects — which ranged from offering a slightly extended cut of ''[[Battlefield]]'' to wide-ranging cleanup of most black-and-white episodes to the insertion of updated special effects shots —were commissioned by BBC Video. The relationship between BBC Video and the Restoration Team continued after BBC Video began releasing DVD versions of its stories.

With the advent of 2 entertain, the Restoration Team continued to be contracted for each new DVD release of the 1963 version of ''Doctor Who''. It is now generally expected by fans that each new DVD release will offer a "better" copy of the adventure than when originally aired. Even episodes which were substantially restored for VHS release typically undergo a further "cleaning" when re-released on DVD. 2 entertain have also been a bit more aggressive about the inclusion of new special effects shots provided by the Restoration Team. Even Earthbound stories like ''[[The Time Warrior]]'' have been allowed a budget for special effects enhancements by 2 entertain.

So far, in all cases where new effects have been created for a story -- for example, ''[[The Ark in Space]]'', which had new computer-generated shots of [[Nerva Beacon]] created -- viewers have been given the option of watching the story with these enhanced effects, or with the original effects.

Bonus material has been included on every ''Doctor Who'' DVD, even if just audio commentary and an "info text" subtitle track. These features were a part of BBC Video's budgets, and continue to be a part of 2 entertain Video's plans for the ''Doctor Who'' line. 2 entertain, however, have arguably been more aggressive in their pursuit of bonus material. Since 2004, almost every [[serial]]'s DVD release has contained at least one newly-produced documentary. It is usual for this documentary to be a short film which explains the making of that particular serial. However, many DVDs released by 2 entertain have included additional material, perhaps giving an overview of a [[companion]]'s tenure on the show, or a species' various appearances. With the releases of ''[[The Time Meddler]]'', ''[[Black Orchid (TV story)|Black Orchid]]'', ''[[Delta and the Bannermen]]'' and ''[[The War Games]]'', 2 entertain have embarked on a 7-part documentary detailing the history of ''Doctor Who'' comics. Sometimes, explanations of particular aspects of production, such as set design or musical scoring, are included.

Nevertheless there have been a few serials released by 2 entertain which have not included an original documentary, such as ''[[Four to Doomsday]]''.