Indomnitable.

TV Noticed by Matthew Purchase, a listing has turned up on Amazon for a blu-ray boxed set for Season 12 of Doctor Who, which would comprise Robot, The Ark in Space, The Sontaran Experiment, Genesis of the Daleks and Revenge of the Cybermen.  You can express your interest here and Amazon'll send you an email when it has a price.  The release date is early June.

Initially my reaction was a sigh, after having spent the best part of a decade or two purchasing everything on dvd.  What would be the point in having this standard definition television on blu-ray?  But, friends, look at the product description:

Tom Baker's acclaimed first season as the Fourth Doctor, originally aired in 1975/76. With his best friend Sarah Jane Smith and new companion Harry, the Doctor pits his wits against a giant robot, the insect Wirrn, Cybermen, Sontarans and Daleks!

Twenty episodes, specially restored for Blu-Ray and packed with new and old special features. Build your own archive of classic Doctor Who seasons with this six-disc special ‘limited edition packaging’ boxset.

Existing Extras
Existing bonus material from the original DVD’s

Brand New Bonus Features
Brand new one hour candid interview – ‘Tom Baker in conversation’
Behind The Sofa – classic clips from season 12 viewed by Tom Baker, Philip Hinchcliffe, Louise Jameson, Janet Fielding, Sarah Sutton and Sadie Miller.
New making-of documentaries for ‘The Sontaran Experiment’ and ‘Revenge of the Cybermen’
Optional brand new updated special effects for Revenge of the Cybermen
Genesis of the Daleks – omnibus movie version
The Tom Baker Years VHS release on disc for the first time
Production archive material and scripts from the BBC Archives
Some other archive treats to be announced

Whilst the idea that Genesis of the Daleks is being released again is beyond parody, the inclusion of the original omnibus broadcast and release is a useful addition for completists. But seeing The Tom Baker Years VHS (which has been out of circulation for decades) here is incredible news. As this compilation of just his reaction shots indicates, this is Baker gold:

I've compiled all of the reaction shots from The Tom Baker Years VHS. You're welcome Twitter. #DoctorWho pic.twitter.com/gIXgCpwzdk

— Pip (@pipmadeley) June 4, 2017

But also there's the point that although you might imagine that there won't be that much of an increase in picture quality from the DVD, as the Shada release indicates, blu-ray provides the opportunity to see this material as close as odds to the original transmission tapes, not just better than when it was originally broadcast but as it coalesced in the BBC editing suite.

That product description seems to suggest that season boxes are now the way of the future and it'll be interesting to see how they deal with the 60s.  A conspiracy theorist might wonder if we're about to see a flood of new episode announcements but the chances are they'll be a mish mash of recons and animations.  Either way, the BBC have found a way to hoover up yet more of my money.