DVD Reviews

Doctor Who: Paradise Towers – DVD Review

By Jeff Swindoll Aug 19, 2011, 22:26 GMT

According to the sales brochure, Paradise Towers is a utopian blueprint for community living, with its fabulous architecture and state-of-the-art facilities. The perfect place for Mel to take a leisurely swim, in fact. But when the TARDIS arrives, the Doctor and his companion discover that the futuristic tower block has fallen into ruin, and a series of unexplained disappearances have the tenants living in fear. As gangs of teenage girls ...more

The second outing of Sylvester McCoy’s Doctor comes out dripping and cold.  It’s another case of an interesting idea (borrowed from Brit author J.G. Ballard) that is done in by some bad acting and the BBC’s usual shortcomings of no money and not enough time, as well as a hastily realized substitute score. 

His companion Mel (Bonnie Langford) wants to go swimming so the Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) takes her to a tower block called Paradise Towers where there is reputed to be a fantastic pool.  They arrive and discover, instead of opulence and glamour, a run-down apartment complex that has descended into chaos. 

The place is roamed by gangs of young girls known as Kangs who differentiate themselves by the colors of their clothes, the isolated elderly are known as Rezzies, and this madness is lorded over by the Chief Caretaker (Richard Briers) with his long list of rules and guards.  The only man appears to be the dullard Pex (Howard Cooke) who envisions himself a hero of the Towers and appoints himself Mel’s guardian.

The Doctor must discover what happened to the splendor of the complex and what evils lurk in the basement. 

Writer Stephen Wyatt read J.G. Ballard’s High Rise and thought the concept would fit into the sci-fi trappings of Doctor Who.  Everyone seemed to also think that it was a good idea, but no one seemed to recall that Who was historically underfunded and shot on the quick.  So we end up with a dystopian apartment complex that is probably a bit too brightly lit. 

One has to ask why since darkness could hide much and presumably cost less to design, but perhaps they thought if they got too dark then audiences couldn’t make anything out.  The acting is a bit off.  McCoy was coming more into his character, but the Kangs seem like many of the gals this was their first gig. 

Briers is decent for the beginning of the episode, but once he becomes possessed he goes a bit too far.  His character could’ve been something akin to the Gatherer in the Sun Makers (released the same time as this disc) but that latter change blows the whole thing. 

Pex is also supposed to have been something like a parody of Rambo, but the actor is more normal than the massive bodybuilder type needed.  They also rejected the score at the last moment leading to a hasty redo that sounds a bit off.  All in all, it just isn’t up to snuff and a good idea done mediocre. 

Paradise Towers is presented in fullscreen.  Special features include a commentary by writer Stephen Wyatt, actress Judy Cornwell, and soundman Dick Mills, a pop-up trivia track, an alternate score, the 34 minute “Horror on the High Rise” making of, the 3 minute “Casting Sylvester” about how McCoy got the job, 4 minutes of Continuity (aka commercials), 8 minutes of deleted scenes, a photo gallery, the 21 minute “Girls, Girls, Girls” interviewing Janet Fielding, Sarah Sutton, and Sophie Aldred talk about their time on Who and women on the show in general (though oddly none of the ladies in this episode appear), and the Radio Times on the DVD-ROM side. 

Paradise Towers is a tower, but paradise it is not.  Mel did find the pool, but the audience is the one who gets all wet.  This disc does put on the special features that might make you appreciate it more, but the episode is an opportunity gone wrong.  Call the cleaners!

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