Doctor Who: The Complete Seventh Season Blu-ray
Season seven of
the latest revival of Doctor Who was previously released in two divided
packages, but now the complete season is available in this set along with two
Christmas specials. Fans must have patience with their Doctor Who purchases,
but those who did not rush out and by the episodes in the separate box sets now
has the option of getting them all together, with new commentary tracks and
other special features.
This four disc
set begins with “The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe,” which is the
Christmas special that was widely loathed by fans. The special is actually
about Christmas themes, rather than just being set during the holidays.
Comparisons can be made to the previous year’s adaptation of “A Christmas
Carol” in the Doctor Who world. If you disliked that one, Season Seven’s
Christmas special will likely leave a bad taste in your mouth. They do their
best to make up for it with the opening episode, “Asylum of the Daleks,” giving
a plethora of the fan-favorite monsters.
This series has
always been on the sillier side, though the humor and camp seems even more
amplified in the new series. Matt Smith is the fifth doctor in this revival
referred to as “NuWho” by the franchise’s dedicated fan base. Season seven has
fifteen total episodes, fit onto four discs with a number of special features.
There are only a handful of commentaries, which may disappoint some fans, but
there are also plenty of featurettes with behind-the-scene footage.
Entertainment Value:
7/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 7/10
Historical
Significance: 7/10
Disc Features: 7/10
Doctor Who: The Ice Warriors
As fans of the
classic “Doctor Who” love to incessantly lament and bemoan over, this
long-running series which has surpassed any other science fiction television
show ever aired is historically incomplete for future generations. In an
infamous purge of old film and television content, the BBC destroyed many of
the only existing copies of “Doctor Who” episodes in the 1970s. As a result,
there are gaps in what fans now have available. In some cases, bits of the
puzzle have been compiled through near-miraculous discoveries in personal
collections.
“The Ice Warriors,” which was Patrick
Troughton’s third storyline as The Doctor, was among the destroyed episodes
until 16mm prints of four out of the six were discovered in the 1980s. Episodes
two and three still do not exist, making this somewhat of an incomplete
collection. The best possible efforts have been made to keep the story alive
with the audio files preserved and this collection’s animated presentation of
these missing episodes.
Despite the missing elements, there
is no diminished treatment of this storyline in the DVD release. With the usual
plethora of special features to go with the classic television, it seems that
no other program from the 60s receives this much attention. There are
commentary tracks on the four original episodes, as well as one of the animated
ones. There is also a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of new visuals for
the lost sections of the story, not to mention a photo gallery and PDF production
material, all included in this two disc set.
Entertainment Value:
6/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 6/10
Historical
Significance: 8/10
Disc Features: 10/10
Doctor Who: Scream of the Shalka
There is so much
of a Doctor Who craze going on these days that it is hard to remember the
period before the new series had revived interest in the long-standing British
sci-fi series. Prior to the 2005 return, this animated story was an attempt at
breathing new life into the beloved character. Richard E. Grant lent his voice
to an animated Doctor, the ninth doctor in a continuing line of time-and-space
traveling aliens.
Originally
broadcast on the internet, this is not a headlining Doctor Who feature. The
highlight of this package merely comes from the fact that it was previously
unavailable, as plans to release it were cancelled after interest in the
franchise moved elsewhere. Despite minimal impact, there are plenty of special
features on the disc. Paired with the animated feature is an audio commentary
track with writer Paul Cornell, director Wilson Milam and producer James Goss.
There is also a making-of featurette, archive interviews, and a history of the
BBC website which debuted this feature.
Entertainment Value:
7/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 6/10
Historical
Significance: 5/10
Disc Features: 9/10
^ Ice Warriors was Troughton's 10th story (but 3rd in the 5th series).
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