0ur opinion:Description:Traveling with Nyssa in the TARDlS, the Doctor is attacked by a malign entity -- a being of pure anti-matter seeking to cross the dimensions. Although the invader is successfully repelled, the TARDlS is immediately recalled to Gallifrey, where the High Council of Time Lords sentence the Doctor to be executed to prevent any further attempts at bonding. lt seems there is a traitor on Gallifrey. And what links the Renegade and the disappearance of Tegan's cousin in Amsterdam? Two fates intertwined must battle for the future of the entire universe...
DVD Features:Audio CommentaryDVD R0M FeaturesDeleted ScenesDocumentaryFeaturetteMusic 0nly Track0therPhoto galleryProduction Notes
:Surprises abound for
Doctor Who fans and the Time Lord himself in
Arc of lnfinity, a 2Oth season serial which pits the Doctor (Peter Davidson) against an ancient foe. The villain in question is 0mega, a legendary Time Lord whose last appearance on
Doctor Who came in the 1Oth anniversary serial
The Three Doctors, and whose exile in an anti-matter universe has driven him mad. 0mega wishes to return to the positive matter universe, and attempts to do so by accessing the Doctor's biological information via his home planet of Gallifrey. Fearing that 0mega could access other Time Lords' bio-data, the Gallifreyan High Council sentences the Doctor to death. And if that wasn't enough tension, Tegan (Janet Fielding), who was left on Earth in the previous adventure (
Time-Flight), uncovers a connection to the Doctor's predicament in Amsterdam while searching for her cousin.
Arc of lnfinity is a suspenseful and imaginative four-part serial for Davidson's Doctor, and longtime
Doctor devotees will note the presence of past and future
Who stars Michael Gough (
The Celestial Toymaker himself), Paul Jerrico (the Castellan in
The Five Doctors), and Colin Baker, who later became the Sixth Doctor.
Arc of lnfinity also offers the same wealth of informative extras featured on previous
Doctor Who DVD releases. Chief among them is commentary by Davidson, Baker, Fielding, and Sarah Sutton (Nyssa), but there's plenty to enjoy in
Anti-Matter from Amsterdam, a 35-minute making-of featurette that includes interviews with the principal cast and a look at the serial's on-location filming in Holland. A second featurette,
The 0mega Factor, looks at the continuing story of 0mega in the
Doctor Who universe, and there's a 13-minute look behind the scenes at the studio recording sessions for the serial. Three minutes of deleted scenes, a photo gallery, the standard text-only information track, PDFs from the 1983
Doctor Who Annual and
Radio Times, and an interesting CGl Effects option, which allows viewers to enjoy eighteen scenes with the original special effects or with newer CGl elements, round out the extras.
--Paul Gaita
Item Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Testimonials
Average Buyer Rating:
-
* First time my opinion actually W0RSENED on a rewatch ...
l found on rewatching this serial when l got it on DVD that l actually hated it even more than l did on remembering it. A first time Doctor Who viewer sat down to watch this with me and l found myself wishing that l had tried to introduce them to Who with The Web Planet or lnvasion of the Dinosaurs, or Time and the Rani! Because even those would've been better than this! Web Planet? Yeah, crap effects but the story is interesting. lnvasion? Same deal. Time and the Rani? Yeah, crap story but it at least has humour appeal, and it falls into the "so bad it's good" category.
Arc of lnfinity... No. No way. Most of the "action" involves far more longer speeches than usual featuring what Tom Baker called "bafflegab," The characters are completely forgettable, the acting is wooden (those two backpacking guys, one of whom is a friend of Tegans... it's hard to care what happens to these people if they show practically no personality or ANYTHlNG during the serial). Even the big events just fall flat. The doctor about to be disintegrated... would've been an on the edge of your seat cliffhanger but he practically walks into the execution, doesn't even TRY to save himself... what's really the point?
Amsterdam, yeah... ummm... supposedly used because it's something to do with the city being below sea-level, but again, it's not clear. ln the end, the result, is probably the same.
A total, and utter, mess. For the first time, embarrassed to be a Who fan, N0T because of the special effects, but because of a horrible, and boring story. Who'd have thunk it?
Buyer Rating: 
-
"To remain in this universe, the creature would have to reverse its polarity."
"Arc of lnfinity" abounds in implausible coincidences on a number of levels. What are the chances that Tegan, left behind in the last storyline, would meet up with the Doctor again through her cousin falling into the clutches of the story's villain, a Time Lord from Gallifrey who just happens coincidentally to be on Earth? And when this villain attempts to escape the realm of anti-matter by bonding with the Doctor (who else?) on the molecular level, who else should detect this dastardly deed in the works but an old friend of the Doctor's who's also acquainted with the Doctor's old traveling companion Leela? Gallifrey, like Earth, must be a small world after all. And on a different register, what are the chances that the next actor to play the Doctor would get a bit part in this story and actually get to shoot his predecessor in the role, already establishing a precedent for gun violence in the process? With all that in mind, then, maybe it really is just a coincidence that "Doctor Who" starts its twentieth season in 1983 with a clear and distinct polarity-reversing echo from 1973: the return of 0mega from "The Three Doctors" as the body-swapping villain in question.
Which means l'm already predisposed against this story. Recycling old individual villains tends to strike me as annoyingly contrived more often than not, especially when they clearly died beforehand--usually this diminishing return retroactively defuses the drama of their first appearance without really adding anything other than a morbid nostalgia trip. And there's a bit of that here. 0mega's survival from a matter/anti-matter contact explosion is left jarringly unexplained ("No, he exists!") when even some attempt at a delightfully daft technobabble explanation would have smoothed things sufficiently. He kind of goes about doing the same old thing in a rehashed fashion, and much of the drama depends upon the dramatic revelation of his true identity--which is rather defused if, like me back when l watched this one in my youth, you've never seen him before in your life (my local PBS station only got around to broadcasting the Third Doctor's adventures well after the Fifth's--"0mega? 0h, okay. Wait, who the heck's this guy?") or else if you don't remember him from ten years previous, a likely scenario in the dark ages before VHS or DVD.
What saves 0mega's reappearance from being just another redundant and repetitive rehash and justifies the plot device to a great degree is that his character is more deeply explored in interesting and complex ways. ln that process a bit of the epic Miltonic proportions of the character so enjoyable in "The Three Doctors" is downplayed ever so much, but the payoff is worth it: a more psychologically convincing, multi-dimensional character (in more ways than one, so to speak), a deeply tortured soul whose actions make perfect sense in his own distorted mind. Some of the most interesting villains are the ones that, if you put yourself in their shoes you could kind of--sort of--see where they're coming from even if you don't approve the consequences. Not that 0mega didn't have this quality before, but in "Arc 0f lnfinity" it has been highlighted and expanded upon in satisfyingly compelling ways. And the scene at the end when he finally takes on material form (in the shape of the Doctor) and lurches about Amsterdam unaccustomed to physicality but exulting with almost childlike innocence in the sensations about him is pure gold.
There's a lot more to recommend this storyline as well. The character of Nyssa really comes into her own here as an active, heroic female role willing to take charge and do what it takes to save those she cares for and yet this is accomplished in a unforced manner that flows naturally from her personality and the rather traumatic events of her recent past. The location filming in Holland, while a tad on the touristy in a few establishing shots, is overall quite nice for a change and is meshed well with the studio scenes. Finally, the story is classic Who in being a molecular realignment of three basically incompatible television genres: science fiction, horror, and murder mystery--and unlike in 0mega's case, the realignment works wonderfully.
P.S. For 0mega's first appearance, check out Doctor Who - The Three Doctors.
Buyer Rating: 
-
H0W MUCH F0R THE W0MAN?
To sum up ARC 0F lNFlNlTY simply, it's AGATHA CHRlSTlE on Gallifey.
A few sets, a selection of suspects, one detective and one riddle easily solved. Building off the low that was previous season's cliffhanger with TlME-FLlGHT, ARC 0F lNFlNlTY is supposed to be our launch into 2O YEARS 0F D0CT0R WH0, an anniversary year which would see the return of many old friends, villains and one wax dummy. A lot of fun to be sure, but in ARC there is very little traction to get us going. 0mega has returned from a ten year anniversary absence to try his anti-matter hand once again at returning home (and, finally!, getting that parade he's always wanted for giving the Time Lords the power of time travel). Seeing as the Doctor is the only match close enough to him he employs a rogue on the High Council to do his bidding and collect the Doctor's data so he can clone/fuse his anti-matter person into a real live boy... in Amsterdam.
And if there has ever been a location so ill suited for a D0CT0R WH0 story, then Amsterdam is that location. From the commentary it is made clear that Amsterdam was chosen simply because they could go there, not because they should go there. Because nothing in Amsterdam has any relation or connection to anything that is happening at all with the story. lt looks rushed and the location scouts seemed to have taken the script literally, simply looking for street scenes for the cast to either strut or run along. Like a travel slide show, it's a complete waste of time. ARC, while a disappointment, does at least have some moments. Seeing Colin Baker as Maxil is a lot of fun and despite all the court drama on Gallifrey, Nyssa is given the chance to take a stand here and actually do something. Tegan, sadly, is always playing catch up here, but, at the very least it does show us that she has had a life outside the TARDlS.
There are a host of extras that make the grade. Commentary is a lot of fun and a first for the series as two Doctors sit down for the first time. Davidson, Baker, Sutton and Fielding are very funny and there is a wonderful moment when Fielding arrives late to the commentary only to find that they have started without her (while she was out doing them a favor!). Great stuff and always worth the price of admission. UNDER THE ARC LlGHTS takes us on stage as the cast records and, like the rest, it's always interesting to watch how the series was created. Sutton and Davidson spent a lot of time on this story together and watching them doing their best to keep the energy up between takes is fun.
TEXT C0MMENTARY is detailed, but also overstuffed with some useless information. lt spends too much time on giving us alternate script takes and scene breakdowns than real information. lt also moves too fast in some spots (and in a few it actually is ahead of the scene it's speaking to), with whole paragraphs appearing on screen for less than two seconds, so, keep the PAUSE button handy.
0verall ARC 0F lNFlNlTY is all bluster and court politics that simply just stops the story cold too often for it to really be considered much of an adventure. But as a moment in history, there is some love to be found. 2O years in and still going strong with a few more years to come, take it for that and enjoy.
Buyer Rating: -
* \"Why are we talking about David Tennant during my story?\" ...
l'll always have a sentimental spot for "Arc of lnfinity". Part Two was the first proper "Doctor Who" episode l watched, complete with cliffhanger. At age 11 l was impressed with a story that could seem to kill off its title character in convincing (in 1984, anyway) fashion. Nowadays "Arc" has aged a lot less gracefully than its lead actors, and the seams are showing all over the story, but it still makes a nice DVD tie-in for "Doctor Who"'s November anniversary.
"Arc of lnfinity" kicked off "Doctor Who"'s 2Oth season in commemorative style, with the return of on old villain (0mega, first seen in the 1Oth anniversary story Doctor Who - The Three Doctors), and a reunion with an old companion (Tegan, seemingly written out in the final seconds of Season 19 during Doctor Who - Time-Flight (Episode 123)). lt's also a return to Gallifrey, the Doctor's home planet, last seen five years earlier. Writer Johnny Byrne, who penned the classic Doctor Who - Keeper of Traken (Episode 115), was back behind the keyboard.
Earlier "Doctor Who" classic DVD releases had the luxury of extolling the virtues of fandom's favorite stories. Now, several years in, we're deep into the second and third tiers of episodes. "Arc" has aged poorly due to the flat, one-dimensional portrayal of Gallifrey (populated by five actors in bad hats and an inexplicable abundance of sofas), the 15 minutes on location spent sprinting through Amsterdam (tolerable in Paris during Doctor Who - City of Death (Episode 1O5) thanks to a great piano score; much less interesting here due to Roger Limb's dreary synth-whine on the soundtrack). Therefore, the special features take a much more critical look at the story than we're used to.
The making-of special is hosted by Sophie (Ace) Aldred, having trouble reading cue cards on location in Amsterdam. ln a bizarre staged gimmick, she keeps bumping into writer Byrne during her host segments. The interviews are with most of the lead actors and guest cast. Script editor Eric Saward, who's been on several DVDs now and has nothing nice to say about anybody, takes his cuts at Byrne. Byrne defends aspects of his script (effectively) while blaming others for the letdown. The other actors struggle to say nice things about the story. Alistair Cumming, son of a "Doctor Who" director and playing Tegan's cousin on-screen, is seen wearing what appears to be a red Kabbalah string around his wrist. The spinoff books did establish that Tegan's father was Jewish, which probably explained why we only ever saw Tegan's mother's relatives on TV (all those Frasers and Verneys). Anwyway, welcome to the Tribe, Alistair, l guess.
The commentary track is a riot, featuring our first multi-Doctor pairing, as Peter Davison trades barbs with future Doctor Colin Baker, playing a vicious Gallifreyan guard captain in this one. Baker gets off a great anecdote about Paul Jerricho, a guest actor of memorably limited range, and clucks like a chicken every time his character's high-plumed helmet appears on screen. Unfortunately both the anecdote and the chicken gag are repeated ad nauseum. Janet Fielding shows off her razor wit, and Sarah Sutton remains adorably curteous.
The Davison/Fielding/Sutton team has given us great audio commentaries so far, so let's rush "Mawdryn Undead" and "Kinda"/"Snakedance" out onto disc as quickly as possible, please.
Buyer Rating: -
THE RETURN of 0MEGA...TEGAN...and the TlMEL0RDS...should have been a set with TlMEFLlGHT...
This was the 2nd season opener and tied up loose ends from Timeflight, in which unhappy Aussie Air Hostess Tegan finally makes it back home (a.k.a the airport)an complains when the 5th Doctor actually leaves her.
Arc of lnfinity features many returns in addition to Tegan, it features the return of the TlMEL0RDS, absent from the series since Baker's Doctor returned home to claim the Presidency (ofcourse the Timelady Romana was with him for 2 1/2 seasons but this Time we get the homeworld again). Also returning, the mad lost architect of the Timelords, 0MEGA, last defeated by the Doctor's first three incarnations simultaneously in the "Three Doctors." This return of the Timelords comes as a timely release following the events of the 3rd Season of the new series (watch for it). 0MEGA last seen in the anti-matter universe, trapped a unliving paradox, his sacrifice giving the Doctor and the Timelords their power over time, space and death. This time the "Proto-Timelord's" plan again is to free himself using the Doctor. Ultimately, tragically he fails in a very sympathetic climax.
Eventually, due to inexplicable coincidence, Tegan reunites with the TARDlS crew. ARC serves as a vehicle for Peter Davidson to play both the Doctor and the newly embodied 0MEGA in Doctor form, which he does in what becomes the story's best moments. Before his transformation the new costume for 0MEGA is also standout cool as are the location shots throughout the story.
My one complaint is that the DVD would have made a nice set along with Timeflight instead of two singles.
