This is Peter Davison's farewell story, with Colin Baker taking over the role in the closing seconds. Well paced and intelligently written, it is, however, hampered by some poor effects (including a laughable man-in-a-rubber-suit monster) and the occasional below-par performance. But the good points outweigh the bad, making this a worthwhile example of the Davison era.

It is the character of Sharaz Jek, played by Christopher Gable, who steals the show. He's a charismatic, tragic and often sympathetic villain, horribly disfigured and hiding behind a dramatic black and white leather mask. His key motivation is revenge against the man who caused his disfigurement… the man who is the true villain of the story. His sideline obsession with Peri's beauty also makes for some quite dramatic moments, not often seen in children's television.

Which brings me to the question: Is this really children's television? Although supposedly made for children, this story really pushes the boundaries of subject matter and violence. When originally aired by the ABC in Australia, it was quite savagely censored, making the final confrontation incomprehensible. On DVD it's been given a PG rating.

There are stacks of extras on this DVD release. The commentary with Peter Davison, Nicola Bryant and director Graeme Harper is a lot of fun. They provide a decent amount of background information while poking fun at the not-so-special effects.

The behind-the-scenes stuff is a mixed bag. There's one extended scene and a bit about the Sharaz Jek character which are interesting enough, and an unspectacular, un-narrated bit on the shooting of the regeneration sequence. There's also a text option, which allows you to watch the story with interesting facts printed over the scenes, although this does double-up with some of the commentary. The most interesting feature is the ability to watch the first episode as it originally aired. You see, some of the effects have been "fixed-up” for the DVD release.

A really nice addition is the inclusion of a several news reports and articles on the announcement that Peter Davison was leaving the series. These are prior to the casting of Colin Baker and are quite interesting from an historical perspective.

All up, this is a damn fine release, worth a spot in any Who collection.