Doctor Who: the Key to Time Collection

Doctor Who: The Key to Time Collection is the only box set to contain an entire season of the classic Doctor Who series. This 6-DVD set contains all 26 half hour episodes (6 stories--five 4-parters and one 6-parter) of Season Sixteen, which ran from fall 1978 until spring '79. The entire season revolves around the Doctor's (Tom Baker) quest to find the Key to Time. He is seeking the Key at the request at the request of the White Guardian (Cyril Luckham) so he can restore the balance of the Cosmos. The Key is broken into segments, which are disguised and scattered throughout space and time. The Doctor, along with his computerized sidekick K-9 (voiced by John Leeson) and new Time Lord companion Romanadvoratrelundar (Romana for short), played by Mary Tamm, are to gather the segments and assemble for the White Guardian, and to ensure the Key does not fall into the hands of his evil counterpart, The Black Guardian (Valentine Dyall).

Here's a rundown of the stories of Season Sixteen:

"The Ribos Operation" A strong season opener as the White Guardian commissions the Doctor to find and assemble the Key to Time. Romana is introduced and the quest begins on Ribos, a backward, medieval world rich in jethrik, and a rare mineral, which is used for achieving warp drive. Enter the Graff Vynda-K (Paul Seed), the deposed ruler of Levithia. The Graff wants to buy Ribos for its jethrik, and to use the planet to stage his plans to reclaim Levithia. Iain Cuthbertson plays Garron, a con man out to swindle the Graff on the sale of the planet. Great start for the quest for the Key to Time.

"The Pirate Planet" (4 parts) Written by "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy " author Douglas Adams, "The Pirate Planet" is very funny and very well-written. The Key's tracer locates the second segment on Calufrax, but the coordinates bring the TARDIS to Zanax, a hollowed-out world fitted with engines to trans-mat through space and materialize around other planets to plunder their resources. The shrunken husks of these planets are kept in a "trophy room." Bruce Purchase makes an excellent villain as the Captain.

"The Stones of Blood" (4 parts) The 100th DW story, and the runt of the litter for Season Sixteen. The third segment of the Key is on Earth, which gives us a story with a Druidic cult, bloodsucking rocks, and an alien prisoner posing as a goddess.

"The Androids of Tara" (4 parts) One of the stronger stories of the season. Great 'Prisoner of Zenda ' send-up. The Doctor, Romana and K9 are caught up in a struggle for the throne of Tara. Peter Jeffrey shines as Count Jeffrey, another great villain. Michael Hayes also does a great job directing this story.

"The Power of Kroll" (4 parts) The worst story of the season, which is sad, as it was written by Robert Holmes, who has turned out some of DW's greatest stories. The Doctor & company arrive on the swamp world of Delta Magna where the locals are fighting against the crew of a refinery, trying to drive them off the planet.

"The Armageddon Factor" (6 parts) The search for the sixth segment of the Key to Time brings the Doctor to Atrios, a planet at war with her twin sister Zeos. This story is a strong finish to the season as the quest for the Key wraps up.

My only complaint for this collector's set is the minimal bonus features: commentary tracks are included, as well as a photo gallery and the pop-up production notes and Who's who. But there are no featurettes on the making of any of these stories, no cast interviews, deleted scenes, outtakes or BBC trailers. This is a fairly good DVD set of Doctor Who stories, but the inclusion of more bonus features could have made it a GREAT set.