DOCTOR WHO The Daleks' Master Plan

For someone who once knitted a floor-sweeping Doctor Who scarf, and who cried when Doctor Who (as played by Tom Bell) was killed in an episode, any resurrection of Doctor Who is cause for celebration. Alas, these BBC productions are sorely disappointing. Although billed as radio dramas, they are actually early television programs that have been digitally re-mastered and to which linking narration has been added. I want to say it works, but it doesn't. The re-mastering does not improve the sound quality. Actors' voices become audible, then inaudible as they move about on the television set, necessitating much irritable adjustment of the volume control on one's CD player. And the linking narration is simply that--a somewhat dull narrative of what's happening during the surprising number of silent action shots. The lesson may be that the beloved early "Doctor Who" television shows should be left alone--re-mastering does not do justice to our memories. A.C.S. (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine [Published: DEC 04/ JAN 05]