So among the wonderful pile of dvds I received for Xmas was
DOWNTIME...
...finally sat down and watched it today.
I must admit I was a hesitant as I am not very familiar with the Second Doctor era, and have never seen either of "The Abominable Snowmen" or "The Web of Fear" (though I guess there is no excuse for this one any more), so I was worried this 'authorized' fan film might be too mythology centric, leaving me lost and confused.
But my fear was for naught. Yes, there are some definite continuity head scratchers that I will have to google later, but over all there was enough exposition for me to figure out what was going on and to enjoy the show. And I must admit, I was very surprised at how much I liked this 'amateur' production. Production wise, it is low budget but it is no worse than the final season of the McCoy's run. Courtney and Sladen are wonderful in their respective classic roles, though Sarah-Jane really doesn't do too much and the story would have been fine with out her. Deborah Watling (again not familiar with her time as a companion) was very old school melodramatic, which sometimes felt a bit too over the top but at the same time appropriate for the story being told, depending on the scene.
There is some neat camera work done, but some of the editing needs work, as characters' geography is sometimes confusing, they appear and disappear, and one or two places in the last act it felt like a scene was missing. But I did like the intercutting of dramatic scenes and the voice over approach.
Overall, I really liked it. I could easily believe this was an episode from the Seventh Doctor's final season or the lost pilot for a UNIT series.
Not clear if the BBC or Dr Who show runners view this story as canon? This is the first introduction of the Brigadier's daughter Kate, and while played by a different actress, I could believe she is the same character who evolved in the future leader of UNIT as seen in The Day of the Doctor. Has Moffat ever commented on this? We know of his passion for classic Who canon.
Regardless, it is now part of my Who Head Canon
I guess I need to buy WEB OF FEAR now?