News: Shada available for digital download, soon available on DVD
BBC
UK Classic Series fans rejoice! The reimagined Shada is available for digital download in the UK and is soon available on DVD.
The reconstructed Tom Baker Classic serial Shada has been controversial yet exciting news amongst Classic Series fans since it was announced it would be happening. The episode, half 1980s film and half 2017 animation, is now available for digital download for those in the United Kingdom.
It has also been announced that Tom Baker, now 83 years old, will have a brief cameo in a newly filmed scene, along with his voice for animation. The newly filmed scene takes place on the Doctor’s TARDIS, but not much more is known.
Shada was written by Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy writer Douglas Adams. It was never completed due to a strike happening at the time. It all worked out for the writer, who went on to use some of the characters for Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency.
When asked about being the Doctor, Tom Baker had this to say:
“I loved doing Doctor Who, it was life to me. I used to dread the end of rehearsal because then real life would impinge on me. Doctor Who… when I was in full flight, then I was happy.”
“That’s why I can’t stay away from it, it was a lovely time of my life.”
He’s talking about his five years doing Big Finish audios, as well as his cameo in the fiftieth anniversary, and most recently, the episode of his era. On the 23rd, the BBC tweeted a video of Tom Baker wishing Doctor Who a happy birthday, where he called himself the ‘happiest’ of Doctors.
If there’s one thing that stands out about both the actor and the regeneration Tom Baker played, it’s the happiness he had. I definitely think that even David Tennant or Peter Capaldi can’t quite measure up to the pure whimsy Baker brought to the Doctor.
The mighty Tom Baker - the Fourth Doctor - sends his best wishes for #DoctorWhoDay! pic.twitter.com/IuyYeUkrgU
— Doctor Who (@bbcdoctorwho) November 23, 2017
When is Shada being released?
On the 4th of December, Shada will be released on DVD in the UK and January 9th in the United States, according to Amazon.