5/5 Thoroughly Enjoyable
  by Howard M. Kindel
I have to admit I'm developing an appreciation of Sylvester McCoy's Doctor Who. At first, I intensely disliked his characterization; but as I've watched more episodes of the McCoy era, I'm rapidly changing my opinion of him. He rarely gets ruffled and almost never deviates from his plan, even when conditions change. And I find his distinct costume far less clownish than, say, Tom Baker or Colin Baker's - even with his ever-present umbrella. This particular episode, "Delta And The Bannermen," seems like the quintessential Sylvester McCoy vehicle. The story is quite good; and, like others of the McCoy era, quite unique: a genuine "stand-alone" episode. You don't know immediately which are the "good guys" and which are the "bad guys," so that alone engages your interest from the very start. And each step of the way, as the peril grows, there's enough busy-work to keep your interest. Plus, the very notion of a literal "time-share" vacation is, in itself, interesting. All in all, a great episode - McCoy's sidekick Mel notwithstanding.

4/5 The 7th Doctor Finally Comes Into His Own
  by Wes Saylors Jr. (Boone, North Carolina)
Much like the first two James Bond movies after Roger Moore took over the roll, the first couple of Sylvetster McCoy episodes of Doctor Who are hit and miss affairs. There are times when you can see consistency trying to emerge, but basically all concerned with the 7th incarnation of the Doctor are trying to see what fits. However, 'Delta and the Bannermen' is probably the first real glimpse of the Doctor we are going to enjoy until 1989. The story (concerning an Enlish holiday camp in the 1950s and an invading alien race) walks the fine line between slapstick and genuine adventure. Most of the McCoy episodes did this, mixing Sylvester McCoy's talent for physical comedy and machine-gun speech patterns with his sympathetic nature and concern for his travelling companion (which would later be perfected by the arrival of Ace, an almost perfect pairing of a Doctor with a companion). There is a lot of physical comedy in any McCoy episode, but the scripts also contain genuine wit and intelligence. McCoy himself is highly likeable and the imagery contained in much of his run as the Doctor is the most arresting to be seen on television since 'The Prisoner.' And all done with a miniscule budget. Dr Who has always been a great example of script and intelligence over budget and special effects, and the McCoy run of shows is no exception. 'Delta and the Bannermen' (as well as many of the other episodes) offer funny, exciting and well-acted television. The McCoy years are filled with high-energy, and this has sometimes been confused with mere slapstick. This is not the case, though. Sylvester McCoy combined his physical comedic skills faster paced productions (these episodes can actually be called exciting)and top-notch scripts to deliver two memorable seasons. I agree, he took some time finding his feet, but once they landed firmly on 'Delta and the Bannermen', there was no looking back for the 7th Doctor.

4/5 "Love has never been known for its rationality"
  by Jason A. Miller (New York, New York USA)
Right in the middle of "Delta and the Bannermen" is a dotty old Welshman named Goronwy: beekeeper, collector of honey, student of human nature. Everything Goronwy says reflects directly on the story unfolding around him. It's he who tells us that, just as an ugly pupa becomes a beautiful butterfly, so will Delta's hideous green baby become the new Chimeron queen. It's he who tells us that a newborn bee can become queen just by the right diet. Those two sentences are the plot. On the other hand, we also get two bumbling CIA agents. Contrary to Goronwy, absolutely nothing they say advances the story at all. In fact, the story stops dead whenever they're on screen. And that's "Delta and the Bannermen" for you. Sublime and the ridiculous aggressively sewn up in the same package.

This most small-scale "Doctor Who" story -- twelve black-clad soldiers menace a Welsh holiday camp in 1959 -- is also the most hyper and frenetic the show ever got. Here we have more spaceships and motorcycles and buses and cars and other vehicles all in one place for the first time since "Planet of the Spiders". If you thought all those Season 11 chase scenes were too much to handle, try this caper on for size -- and it's half the length!

The guest cast is variable. CIA agent Weismuller is played by Stubby Kaye, the New York-born Broadway star (Guys and Dolls). Not only does he wear a Yankees jacket, but he wears the cap, too, just in case we missed the point. In 1959, the Yankees only finished in third place, and Kaye looks as tired and over the hill as Casey Stengel. But he's charming in the role and it's nice to add him to the "Who" legacy. His partner Hawk, on the other hand, has the worst American accents this side of "Dalek", and is played by someone named Morgan Deare who, if the Internet Movie Database is anything to go by, was most certainly not from New York.

The rest of "Delta" can be boiled down to vignettes that are interesting, and vignettes that are not. Ken Dodd's appearance has no impact for the American audience. Mel wears four different outfits, and that's just in the first thirty-five minutes. Much better is the rock-and-roll themed incidental music, and would-be companion Ray, who's such a cute breath of fresh air. I love how she keeps explaining to everyone that Keillor, an ill-fated bounty hunter in blue suede shoes, was "ionized".

Sylvester McCoy is also terrific. You can tell they still weren't sure where to go with his Doctor yet -- witness all those misquotes ("A stitch in time fills up space!" that were never again a staple of his character). And yet, he's gentle with Ray, and avuncular with Billy ("For a primitive piece of technology, it certainly delivers the decibels!"). His Part Two confrontation with the Bannermen leader Gavrok, staged on a rickety staircase, features great line after great line (a few minutes later, he's back to discussing honey with Goronwy).

The story wraps up about five minutes before the end of the final episode, leaving time for an extended denouement where all the (surviving) characters get something amusing to do. It ends with Goronwy telling us that, in the end, the new queen bee creates "a new hive, and a new life", and then he winks at the disappearing TARDIS.

The story's an episode shorter than most four-parters so there's more room on the DVD for vintage on-location footage; a nostalgic interview with British TV veteran Hugh Lloyd (Goronwy) taped shortly before the actor's death in 2008; and, from an ongoing 2-Entertain series, an overview of the 7th Doctor comic strip. An excellent commentary track joins the Doctor and Ray with director Chris Clough and script editor Andrew Cartmel; there are solid anecdotes from all. Also interesting is the original 30-minute edit of Part One, giving the story more room to breathe; this is untreated with visual or sound effects so a dinner gong is signified by a PA quietly saying: "Dong!". Come to think of it, they could have left the "Dong!" in the finished product and the story wouldn't have suffered one bit.

3/5 Take off your usual thinking cap. Delta and the Bannermen is so bad it's good.
  by S. Granger (Los Angeles, California United States)
Yes, it's that bad. Really bad. It's got a busload of 50's rockers, leisure motorbiking through cow patties, mix of bad American accents, attacking punk rockers who drink too much cherry Kool-Aid, and screaming sirens of death. If you like Ice Pirates, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Ed Wood or John Water's films, or cheese that is hot and sticky, then I definitely recommend this DVD.

Please don't make this your first Doctor Who purchase, this episode should only be reserved for older fans & drinking games. It's crazy funny, I'm seriously laughing. I'd only recommend this disc to those who love Mystery Science Theater 3000 jokes, too bad they didn't do this episode. It's perfect.

1/5 Woof! Woof!
  by Byron (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
I guess the BBC is pacing itself on these DVD releases. There are still so many great Who stories waiting to come out but they continue to unleash dogs like this one and Timelash on us. I suppose they don't want to be stuck putting out all of the howlers at the very end of the release schedule.
I like Sylvester McCoy and Colin Baker but they were ill-served by the producer and writers of that era. Through no fault of his own, every story in McCoy's first season stunk. His next season was much better and his final season was great. Stories like Doctor Who - The Curse of Fenric (Episode 158) and Doctor Who - Remembrance of the Daleks are classics. If they had jumped directly to the quality of his final season the original Doctor Who might have lasted a while longer.
I won't even go into all of the reasons why Delta and the Bannermen is unwatchable. Just stay away from it!
All of the worthwhile McCoy stories have been released (with the possible exception of The Greatest Show in the Galaxy) so the BBC should give his stuff a rest for a while. There are still a lot of great Pertwee and Tom Baker stories we need first.