Product reviewsDoctor Who - Delta And The Bannermen - The Sylvester McCoy Years 1987-89

Not one of the best

Well, I like Doctor Who, but this adventure is one of the weaker efforts. Sylvester McCoy as The Doctor seems uneasy in the role (he's much more comfortable in the role in the next season) and there's no real logic to the other characters.Read full review...

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Lightweight yarn, generally below average but watchable

I saw this story on its original broadcast in 1987. I have watched it a few times over the past 33 years. For much of that time it remained unchallenged as the worst story I had ever seen (I nearly stopped watching the series in 1987 because of it). Time has been slightly kind to it but a lot of the elements I didn't like still remain - Ken Dodd adds nothing to the story; various members of the guest cast either mark time in their roles or give it 110% (ie overdo it); the alien birth (which reminded me of V at the time) works better than it did on V but still fails to impress; the life cycle of the princess does not work for me; Billy's transformation doesn't work. There are some good elements though - episode 2 is the best of the three and is slightly more watchable. Sylvester McCoy is much more settled in the role and there are hints of his darker Doctor which give a bit more punch to this otherwise lightweight story. Mel didn't appeal to me in 1987 and still doesn't in 2020. Its not the fault of Bonnie Langford, who made the best of her time on Dr Who, but a screamer was no good in 1987 and more so now. It is obvious that Ray is being groomed as a possible new companion and she does work better than Mel.

The DVD carries some interesting features, as with the vast majority of Dr Who DVD and blu-ray releases. The video playback and the sound are of excellent quality. Its not a story I would ever recommend but it has its place and I would not wish it destroyed in order for some cosmic balance to restore 3 missing episodes. I think....Read full review...

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Direct and to thepoint.

Entertaining story made better by a funny cameo from Ken Dodd. Fairly good 1950's atmosphere as a backdrop and Sylvester MCcoy's Doctor is engaging and an improvement on his unfortunate predecessor. The Bannermen are enjoyable villains and Delta a credible heroine.Read full review...

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This is perfect!

This is perfect!

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Standard 1980s Doctor Who fare

Even back in 1987 as a twelve year old watching this for the first time, I remember being concerned that some episodes of "Doctor Who" were just a little bit too "silly". It hadn't been more than a couple of weeks since Richard Briers completely went overboard as the Chief Caretaker in "Paradise Towers", but at least I still respect him as an actor from his days on "The Good Life". When I heard that Ken Dodd had been cast in this story I really was worried that the series was being ground into the dirt. I can't even take him seriously as a comedian or entertainer. The only time he made me laugh was when he got sent down for tax evasion. Amazingly enough though in what was probably his first (and probably only) semi-serious acting role, the self-styled Squire of Knotty Ash doesn't come out too badly. Maybe it helps that he gets killed off midway through part one.

Bonnie Langford is annoying as ever as Mel, and goes through at least four costume changes in the episode, somewhat amazing given that she is seen to only have a small suitcase (maybe it was made on Gallifrey and is larger on the inside than out!), but what's even more baffling is that when she lends Delta (Belinda Mayne) one of her dresses, despite the fact both actresses are of a completely different build, it fits perfectly!

The story centres on Delta, last survivor and Queen of the Chimerons. For reasons that are never entirely clear, Gavrok (Don Henderson) and his army of "Bannermen" are trying to kill her and wipe out her race. She escapes with an egg which hatches a 'Chimeron Princess' who grows into adulthood at an exponential rate (played by a series of teenage girls who look like they've stepped straight out of Ballet School) and spends the episode hiding amongst a batch of time-travelling space-tourists visiting Disneyland on 1959 Earth - or in the case of the story, blown off course to South Wales, as this is a BBC production after all!! The Doctor and Mel, having "won" a place on this trip as the ten billionth customers at an intergalactic toll booth (Ken Dodd playing the 'tollmaster'), must help save Delta and her child from the ruthless Bannermen, hence a series of chase scenes on vintage motorbikes on a scale not seen since Pertwee's "Planet of the Spiders" back in the 1970s. Watch out for the 'companion who never was' - Sara Griffiths as 'Ray' - a proto-Ace, who was planned at one point to have been written into the series as Mel's replacement. In the end, Bonnie stayed on till "Dragonfire" and Sophie Aldred became the next companion. Whether or not the series would have worked with a Welsh companion I don't know, but at this stage in the shows history almost anyone would have been better than Bonnie.

The DVD extras are a mixed bag. There's no usual look back with a "making of" documentary or present-day interviews, but rather a collection of material from the day, with McCoy, Langford and Dodd being interviewed on location for BBC local news, and a Noel Edmonds 'Clown Court' sketch from one of his Saturday shows and puts McCoy on trial, using several outtakes taken from this serial as 'evidence'. For those after a contemporary spin on the episode, you have to look to the audio commentary, headlined by McCoy and Sara Griffiths. Langford is absent, so her real opinions on her time on "Doctor Who" may never be known.

McCoy is just starting to get into his stride as the Doctor here, but the series future was already in doubt. 8/10Read full review...

Better story than you might think.

Delta and the Bannermen was first transmitted in 1987 as part of the 24th season of Doctor Who, and Sylvester McCoy's first full series. This season is usually regarded by many as the worst in the shows entire history. However I do regard this one as the best of season 24 and of the McCoy era. There are some great guest actors on disply in this story, and the story itself has some original and fresh approaches. If it's high drama and atmosphere you're looking for then this isn't the story for you. If you like your Doctor Who camp, fun and humourous with a slight touch of drama then this one's for you. 4/5Read full review...

Delta and the bannermen

Because im a big fan of the original series i wanted to collect them on dvd as i have 155 of the stories on video still with me, some rare and deleted. It is one of the better stories of the mccoy era. All in all the more serious fans will want to get this.Read full review...

good doc

good story ; with hindsight McCoy a good Doctor and Ace just ace -should not have been cancelled on their watch,
good featurettes too

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