Customer Reviews

Doctor Who: The Complete Fifth Series [Blu-ray]

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OK, it's a little premature to judge something that hasn't been released yet. And I'm sure I'll make a few additions to this review when the set is released. In the meantime, this review is meant to enlighten you about Series 5 of Doctor Who.

I'm sure I wasn't the only fan who was skeptical that this lanky upstart Matt "Who?" Smith (Ha! Did you see what I did there?) could replace the wonderful 10th Doctor, played by David Tennant. But we long-time fans have come to accept that the role of the Doctor is going to change every few years. And in the case of Matt Smith, the role couldn't be in better hands.

But Doctor Who doesn't just have a new face in front of the camera; Steven Moffat, writer of such modern-day DW classics like "Blink" and "The Girl in the Fireplace" took over the showrunner position from Russell T. Davies. And again, the show couldn't be in better hands. Moffat has been very vocal about his reimagining of the series as a sort of dark fairy tale. And this is evident right from the start, as the TARDIS crash-lands in the back year of 8 year old Amy Pond. The figurative monster under Amy's bed is actually a crack in her wall, one that will have cosmic consequences throughout the season.

New companion Karen Gillan (playing the adult version of Amy) brings a spunky kick to the new Doctor's adventures. Yet one can still see hints of that lost little girl from time to time. Gillan and Smith perfectly compliment each other, as both appear wise and experienced far beyond their years. She almost immediately endures herself to the Doctor (and the audience, hopefully) in the 2nd episode, "The Beast Below," by preventing the Doctor from making a terrible mistake.

The series touches on more familiar territory--the Daleks, the Weeping Angels, the mysterious River Song--yet stays firmly entrenched in the fantasy world Moffat has helped to create. As the bowtie-wearing Time Lord, Smith channels Doctors of the past from Patrick Troughton to David Tennant. He is, as Amy Pond notes in the first episode "a mad man with a blue box." And despite his seemingly unhinged nature, Smith gives the Doctor great dramatic weight when needed. . .whether it's righteous indignation at alien (or human) stupidity, or trying to protect his new companion from the inevitable fate that befalls all his fellow travelers.

Doctor Who carries on in fantastic style, and I for one hope that Smith and Gillan stay with their roles for years to come. I congratulate Steven Moffat and his team for honoring the legacy of Doctor Who, but making it all their own at the same time. Highly recommended.

UPDATE: As expected, the set doesn't disappoint. Doctor Who began filming in HD in 2009, and the Blu-ray format is perfect for capturing the gorgeous cinematography and excellent effects work. There are behind-the-scenes features for every episodes, some amusing outtakes, and a few commentary tracks. And this may be a minor point for many people, but the packaging is really impressive. The cover features a 3-D lenticular hologram, and there are 3 bonus art prints featuring the Doctor, TARDIS, and a Dalek. THIS is how you do t.v. on Blu-ray :-)

I was very unsure of whether I would warm up to the new cast even as far as midseason. I had absolutely loved David Tennant and Chris Eccleston, and these were some very large shoes to fill. Fortunately, Matt Smith gave me a delightful surprise and ended up owning the character in his own lighter way. He isnt as grave as the 9th doctor, nor as intense as Tennant's take. Considering the things that were happening in the doctor's life at the time those actors were portraying him (lost love, recovering from a lost people) it is not surprising that Smith's version is less damaged and more carefree. Don't get me wrong, I ADORE the previous incarnations, I'm just saying the evolution in personality at this time makes sense. It's reminiscent of when Tom Baker took over the reins in the early seventies with his big grin and goofy scarf - just replace it with big hair and a goofy (but cool) bow tie.

I wasn't at all sure about Amy until I realised later in the series that we weren't talking about 'just' Amy but her interraction and role in a larger cast of characters including River Song. When placed in the Doctor's 'party' of travellers, she is an effective companion. She certainly isnt pulling off all the notes and expressions of Donna Noble or filling the doctor's heart and soul like Rose Tyler, but at this stage of the doctor's life I think that with the rest of the ensemble she does an admirable job. It's important not to consider her as a replacement for companions of the past because if you do, she doesnt feel (to me at least) like she is completing the picture, especially in the beginning episodes when you really focus on her.

It's definitely not the same as previous seasons. The darkness often appears and a few episodes have very sad moments, but theres a resilience in Matt Smith's doctor and an impeccable sense of comedic timing. If Tennant's doctor towards the end was a 'glass is half empty' kind of guy, Smith's is almost certainly 'half full'. Despite his youthful appearance he comes off as far far older. An excellent change of tone for the series and I am looking forward to next season!

I've been a Doctor Who fan since I first stumbled upon a David Tennant episode late one night with a friend of mine. Since then I've come to realize the complexity of Doctor Who and its unrivaled science fiction flare. When Tennant was leaving, I have to say I had my doubts. How could anyone fill that role? But then I saw The Eleventh Hour and Matt Smith, as well as the lovely Karen Gillan, stole my heart. Steven Moffat, who wrote many of my favorite David Tennant episodes, took the helm and made the show what it deserved to be. The added budget and HD quality has only made a great story look fresher than ever. The cinematography has been stepped up, and every episode feels like a movie. This series has also done incredibly well to have nearly every episode bleed into each other and effect the overall plot and finale. I downloaded every episode when they aired, but I'm definitely going to buy the Blu Ray when it comes out. I want to support this series and Moffat especially.

Tom Baker was "my Doctor" growing up, I "tolerated" Peter Davison when he took over, and then when Colin Baker became The Doctor I completely lost interest and stayed away from anything Doctor Who.

Then in 2010, I was told that BBC had brought back Doctor Who and that Christopher Eccleston was "fantastic.' Though I resisted at first, my girlfriend convinced me to checked them out (she had the first 4 seasons on DVD.) My faith in quality Doctor Who stories (and a quality Doctor) was renewed.
When Christopher left I was anticipating a crappy replacement but David Tennant blew me away with his performance! In fact, David Tennant rivaled my feelings about Tom Baker as being "my Doctor." So when I heard that David Tennant would be leaving the role after "End of Time" I was again worried that a crappy replacement would follow.

I watch the first episode of this current season, and through most of it I was not all that impressed by Matt Smith. He seemed too goofy, like he was trying to hard.

****SPOILER ALERT****

Then came the scene atop the Hospital, where The Doctor faces down the Atraxi. He asks, "Is this planet protected?" and the sequence that follows, leading up to Matt Smith stepping through the projected images of past Doctors and saying, "Hello, I'm The Doctor." and then with unblinking eyes he says, "Basically...run!"

****END OF SPOILER****

That scene won me over and I felt that he might make a good Doctor after all.

My review of the CHARACTERS:

The Doctor:
In the past, he always managed to stay calm and even arrogant enough to believe that even though he had no clue how he would resolve the latest crisis, a solution would come to him. The Doctor multi-tasks, so sometimes he seems lost in his own world...however Matt Smith seems to come off more like the Doctor has ADHD. While most of the time I enjoyed Matt's performance, it had lots of moments when I just did not feel that engaged. Overall, I like his performance, I just hope he's able to make me LOVE his performance in the sixth season.

Amy:
This companion took me a couple of episodes to accept, as she had spotty moments where her attempt at humor felt forced and her behavior/emotions seemed switch without a logical transition. While she is NO Rose Tyler (then again, no one in my opinion was a better companion than she) or Martha, I liked her far better than Donna.

Rory:
Amy's boyfriend was at first annoying to me, he seemed too wimpy, then I grew to really like him with each episode.


My review of the WRITING:

Since Moffet was the writer of "Blink" which was one of my top favorite Tennant episodes, I expected the series to be on par. sadly, it was some of the weakest writing since the series relaunched. Granted, Actress Carey Mulligan was a large part of why "Blink" was so good in my opinion; the writing/story was actually smart and creative. NONE of the episodes in this season were equal in enjoyment for me.
For one thing, the Dalex episode had a weak "logic" as to why they were in WWII (I won't spoil it by saying why they're there). I did like the new Daleks though, they add a new level to the intimidating factor!
The episode marking the return of the Weeping Angels felt like Moffet wrote the episode as they shot scenes; very disjointed and not captivating at all!
The finale episode storyline was probably the biggest letdown. It was built up all through the season then fell flat and had me scratching my head and wondering if they had just made this up right before filming or did they really have this worked out all along?

I was left feeling as if Moffet let his ego get the better of him, as if he thought he could only write gold. I say this because unlike the past four seasons, none of these episodes make me eager to watch them a second time unless I need reminding of something later. Simply put, I can name scenes that are my favorite but not one single episode that I would consider a favorite.
My main gripe about the episodes is that they focused less on the science and more on trying to seem cool and hip.

My review of The Product:

The packaging is well done. Mine has a lenticular face, which was cool.
The interior, like the previous four seasons, has a nice "busy but organized" look.
You get three illustrated cards and the artwork is impressive.
I love that they kept with the format of having various characters from the show colorfully displayed on each disk.
As for the bonus features, I loved Matt Smith better in his "Video Diary" sections than him as The Doctor, so I have faith his performance can improve.
The extras as a whole were very fulfilling. My only gripe is all the interview sections with Moffet, he comes off as very full of himself and I got tired of him pretty fast.

While I can not say that this is a MUST HAVE for all Doctor Who fans, it is worth checking out. I liked it well enough to look forward to watching the new season.

If you don't really care about bonus features or collectible cards and just want to watch the show, my suggestion is to take advantage of Amazon's Video On Demand to watch them.

It's interesting how this show has managed to keep itself fresh and invigorated through 40+ year run(s).

From Hartnell to Tennant, it has always exhibited an ability to recreate itself and stand apart from what has come before without straying too far away from the familiar. For better or worse, Doctor Who has always found a way to carry on and each new iteration of The Doctor feels unique from those that came before, while still remaining that same lovable character that so many people from so many generations have grown up watching.

Now, even though my first experience with this show was back with Christopher Eccleston's 9th Doctor, I've gone as far back as I have been able to in order to immerse myself completely into the rich history of this show. I particularly love Patrick Troughton's cosmic hobo, Tom Baker's madcap spaceman and Peter Davison's adventurous cricketeer, though each of the performers that gave life to the character at one time or another have garnered my interest with their stories and their individual takes on such a fantastic and wildly imaginative character.

So, as I saw the Series 5 premiere earlier this year, I was ready to see what new twists and turns the show was going to take now. I had loved a great a deal of David Tennant's era but I found that most of the stories were very uneven. Tennant had been a great Doctor, but the material rarely matched his intensity, unless Steven Moffat or Paul Cornell happened to be penning the story. And, truth be told, that last year of Specials only truly produced one great story, which was this year's Hugo Award winning The Waters of Mars. Everything else felt like so much fluff. Like they were padding the year with these stories as they built to one last hurrah for Tennant's Ten.

Sadly, it never came.

I found The End of Time to be incredibly disappointing, with The Master's overall plot being borderline ludicrous and the resolution at the end to be highly anti-climactic. Aside from Bernard Cribbins, the Café scene in Part 1 and the last 20 minutes or so of Part 2, there wasn't anything that I liked about the episode. Poor Tennant was handed subpar material and, in the end, his Doctor went out a sad, angry, barely likable shadow of his former selves (which I maintain was contrary to what he was all the way through near the end of Series 4).

So, as I geared up for Series 5, I looked at what we had: new Doctor (Matt Smith), new Companion (Karen Gillan), new Showrunner (Steven Moffat), new TARDIS, new Screwdriver and an overall different tone to the previous two years. And I couldn't wait.

A lot of people have complained that the show hasn't changed much since Moffat took charge. I disagree. Completely.

For instance, whereas Tennant's Doctor became an egotistical mess as the seasons went along (to the point where he became a God, of sorts), Matt Smith's more chaotic rendition of the Time Lord is far more palatable: he can be funny, and I do mean hilarious (as exemplified in The Lodger), scary, powerful and kind at the drop of a hat. His Doctor reminds me of the better traits of late Hartnell (since his early Doctor was even more egotistical than Ten), Troughton, Pertwee and Baker.

He's the good wizard in stories that will always find a way to save us from evil. The magician that will surprise and entertain you in ways you didn't think possible. He's not completely infallible and, on occasion, he might not win every battle but he'll always do his best, because he can. The madman with the bowtie. In his time-traveling box.

Matt Smith's performance is completely electrifying and I can't help but watch in awe as this youngest incarnation of the centuries-old Time Lord, happens to be the best I've seen since the days of Peter Davison, seemingly having a blast with this role.

The same can be said for new Companion, Karen Gillan. As Amy she's every bit the early Rose Tyler and Ace: smart, quick-witted, strong-willed and fun. Her onscreen chemistry with Matt is a joy to watch. Even more so when Arthur Darvill joins them later on as Rory.

Now, that's all well and good. The cast is an incredibly huge part of the Series' success but equally as important, if not more so, is the hand of Steven Moffat running the show from behind the scenes. As writer of most of my favorite Nu-Who episodes during the days of RTD, I had even bigger expectations on what he could achieve as Showrunner.

And, unsurprisingly, he did a terrific job. The opening Post-Regeneration episode, The Eleventh Hour, is the best I've seen since Robot way back in 1974 (sure, Castrovalva was good, but nothing beats Tom Baker in a Viking get-up). The Beast Below was equal parts emotional and zany. The subsequent two-parter, The Time of Angels and Flesh and Stone, not only brought back two of Moffat's best creations, but also added a whole new sea of layers to them. It was a fun, alternately scary, fast-paced thriller that never let up. I hadn't felt that anxiety in Doctor Who since Blink (wink-wink, nudge-nudge).

And then there's the finale: The Pandorica Opens and The Big Bang. Without getting into the specifics of the story, I found that the people that were complaining about it, mostly do so because they feel it negated the events of the season, when it couldn't be more wrong. Sure, Amy brought back The Doctor and Rory, not to mention her parents, but that doesn't mean that whatever had happened before was negated. As Rory mentions, he does remember everything that happened. As does The Doctor, as well as River. For them, it happened and, after being played by whatever The Silence is, I think it's safe to bet that they're more than keen on finding out who or what exactly they are and why they gambled on The Doctor saving the Universe, because, knowing Moffat, I seriously doubt they were really after the destruction of the Universe. But, alas, those are answers to questions best left for Easter.

The finale itself was a grandiose affair with thrills, laughs and shocks. Not to mention a happy ending, of sorts, which has been long overdue in Nu-Who, cause it usually ends in tears. It was fun and highly quotable, and the sole reason why I would ever wear a fez, and that is saying a lot.

The rest of the episodes in the set are, for the most part, very good as well. Aside from Victory of the Daleks (which wasn't bad, just not as good either), The Vampires of Venice (which, actually, had a few good laughs throughout) and Cold Blood (which was simply disappointing after a terrific set-up in the first episode), everything else is gold.

Everything in Amy's Choice, Vincent and The Doctor and The Lodger is terrific (and it's especially true for the former).

So, all in all, you have 10 wonderful episodes, 1 dud and 2 okay episodes in a 13 episode TV season of a show that's, once more, getting off the ground with a brand-spanking new creative team at the helm. And, in the end, that's a truly great thing.

Long live The Doctor! May he survive past 13 incarnations!

One of the early reviews of this season said that "this is not my Doctor."

Before I reply to this I want to establish my credentials as a Doctor WHo fan. I am 61 years old. I saw the original broadcast on 11/23/63
in the Uk.

I own every episode available on the public market and have seem most of the others, missing only a few early ones that are no longer in existence. SO I am not one of those people who say David Tennet is the greatest Doctor ever guys because, well, he is the main one they have ever seen. Actually he is a splendid chap, all of them as the Brig used to say.

So my reply to the statedment quoted at the beginning of this little review is that if this is not your DOctor then you never really had a the doctor at all.

The writing in this last season has been the best ever in a single season. And Matt Smith starts out a little off but by the end he is one of the best DOctors ever. Ever.

WHen AMy callled the Doctor back from before he was cut off behind the big bang by quoting, at her wedding the old wedding saying "something old, something new, something bottowed, something blue" the way she said blue and the way the Tardis appeared and she ran over the table to knock on the door made me and my wife cry because we were so moved.

Frankly I can not imagine how anyone could have watched this season and not like it. The standout lines and characters were just perfect. When River Song blew the hatch open behind her without even looking to see if the doctor was there to pick her up because she knew he would be was genius level detail. Or how about him saying to her later"honey, I'm home" and her rejoinder "but look at the time' and later her saying "rule number one, the Doctor lies." He does you know but nobody ever actually said it before.Stunning

I feel sorry for anyone who did not get this season. They missed more than they will ever know and their lives are poorer for it.
Simply a masterpiece.

It's a huge pet peeve of mine when people review Doctor Who based on their tastes rather than the objective standards on the show. Doctor Who as a show has changed so often and so radically that there will ALWAYS be parts of the show that, whether or not they are good, just don't appeal to people. If you want darkness and grit, try Season 7. If you want space exploration, avoid it. And so on, and so on.

For this reason, I'm going to start with OBJECTIVE commentary - standards of writing, storytelling, etc. - and then proceed to the SUBJECTIVE, as in my personal take on the direction of the show, the style, and the acting.

First the objective.


THE PLOTS
Overall, this is a more tightly written series than the four which preceded it. There's a little more attention to plotting and logic, which is due in no small part to Moffat's talent for writing puzzlebox stories. In past seasons, you always knew you had to suspend a lot of your logical faculties to enjoy the season finales; this time around, it's much more acceptable on that front. There are still exceptions, specifically Victory of the Daleks, but in terms of plot this series is hitting higher peaks and just maintaining a higher average.

THE PRODUCTION VALUES
This is something I'm least inclined to give importance, since Doctor Who was always enjoyable regardless of its production, but the effects have definitely improved from the last season. Part of it comes from less overt reliance on CGI for the most part. You certainly don't get anything on the level of the TARDIS towing a planet. Additionally, the locations are substantially more effective and interesting. The Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone, Vincent and the Doctor, Vampires of Venice, and the finale all have examples of great, tactile locations that you could almost believe were real locations.

THE SOUNDTRACK
Although it's still Murray Gold in charge of the music, the tone of the soundtrack has shifted considerably along with the rest of the show. The music tends to be more upbeat, faster and more overtly heroic, as well as a lot more catchy. It's just a lot easier to hum the music you hear in the show.

THE CHARACTERS
(Note: this is in terms of the writing, not the performances.)
There were certain innovations in the cast which I thought were quite interesting, and perhaps necessary. For one thing, we have a male companion who is neither wholly incompetent nor utterly dumped by his girlfriend. Rory does start out in much the same position as Mickey, but unlike him he grows substantially as a character - proving his worth and truly earning his place on the TARDIS by the last episode - and Amy does not abandon him the way Rose abandoned Mickey. As a result, while the two relationships start out on similar pages, this most recent one ends up in a much more palatable place.

In terms of writing, Amy Pond is how Rose's character should have been treated in Series 2. Both start out as fairly selfish, obsessed with the Doctor to the point of being rather bratty. In Series 2, however, Rose never grows out of this condition, and the problem is instead solved by having the plot conveniently get her out of the way. In Series 5, however, Amy becomes substantially aware of her own brattiness and takes steps to change. The implied romantic subtext that made the Ten/Rose relationship so thoroughly creepy (please - a nine-hundred-year-old and a nineteen-year-old? Don't insult my intelligence.) threatens to resume here, but...well, let's say the writers knew what they were doing on that score.

The Doctor here is largely without a character arc, in sharp contrast to his immediate predecessors. I would be quick to explain to viewers who haven't experienced the Eleventh Doctor, however, that this is a consequence of the change in showrunners. It was Moffat's intention to have a "safe" series to which viewers could adjust before ramping up his own style. As a result, we see aspects of the Doctor's future arcs and conflicts foreshadowed, but emotionally speaking the series is not so much about him, but more about his companions.

The supporting cast is fairly strong - nothing particularly better- or worse-written than in previous seasons. Memorable characters include Winston Churchill, Rosanna Calvierri, and Liz Ten. River Song also appears in two stories, and given that it's her creator who's writing her character she's hardly mischaracterized.

THE BADDIES
The antagonists are all over the map. Standouts are the still-effective Weeping Angels, the Dream Lord, the...shall we say...baddies of the finale. The Earth Reptiles, the Vampires, and the Smilers are middling - decently written, but not necessarily memorable. The Atraxi, the new Daleks, and the Krafayis are less memorable - none of them are given a chance to be truly threatening. Overall, this kind of distribution is basically the standard for the New Series.


Now for my subjective interpretations.


THE PLOTS
After the extremely shoddy writing behind The End of Time, I was very happy to watch a Series that didn't insult my intelligence every step of the way. Victory of the Daleks, which does suffer from very shoddy logic, is thankfully over with very early in the season. From then on, any thin plotting is made up for by some other aspect: the atmosphere and the Doctor/Dream Lord interaction in Amy's Choice, Tony Curran in Vincent and the Doctor, and so on. I also enjoyed the comedy, though of course it's going to play differently with different people.

The more light-hearted approach this season was also fine with me since a) the Doctor had exorcised a lot of demons in The End of Time and b) after four years of suffering, the guy just needed a holiday. And as a childhood viewer, I was used to light-hearted Doctor Who anyway. But don't worry - they haven't forgotten about his history, and there are some very poignant moments here.

THE PRODUCTION VALUES
As I said above, I place little importance on production values. If the Classic Series was good enough for me and countless others as a kid, it should be good enough for kids today. And frankly, I prefer good stories to good production. But maybe that's just me.

In general, I'm OK with CGI when it's depicting large-scale events - such as the TARDIS in motion or a planet blowing up or something - but less OK with trying to make CGI work in the creation of monsters. There's a fairly even balance in this series, but I feel they could have gone further. The Atraxi could have remained invisible; Prisoner Zero could easily have been made into a threatening puppet; the Krafayis could have been kept invisible; and so on. But as I said, a lot of the sets are very effective.

THE SOUNDTRACK
Call me crazy, but I don't like themes you can hum. The Classic Series soundtrack was all about atmosphere; it was about accentuating the situation while letting the characters do their thing. In the New Series there's a greater focus on characters, so it makes sense that there would be leitmotifs; but Murray Gold's work is going to feel very repetitive after a while. The Classic Series music almost felt improvised, which gave it a varied quality. Don't get me wrong; the music is still very good and enjoyable to listen to - but I prefer it when the music stays in the background, if that makes sense.

THE CHARACTERS
Matt Smith is going to play differently for a lot of people, and the title role is often the biggest point of contention in criticizing the show.

What follows is purely my opinion - so take it for what it is - but I never quite bought the Tenth Doctor. This wasn't due to Tennant, who is a very skilled and versatile actor. But the Tenth Doctor never quite convinced me that he was a) an alien or b) 900 years old. Actors such as Tom Baker and Sylvester McCoy, perhaps because of their middling age, were able to portray the Doctor as an ageless character who were always focused on the big picture. The Doctor's age and his alienness are his two most important traits, and for me somehow that mix just didn't come through. By no means was he a bad Doctor - he just wasn't my thing.

You might have guessed this, but I found Matt Smith to be an improvement. Smith is of course a younger actor than Tennant, and as with many fans I was hesitant about accepting him when I first looked him up. But Smith has three things going for him. The first is that Smith is EXTREMELY good at playing quirky characters. Watching him, it's difficult not to think that he actually IS an alien in real life. His brand of quirk may rub some people the wrong way, but for me he's so natural in the way he does this that I can't help but buy it.

The second is that whether it's because of his looks or his technique, he does in fact come across as a more mature character than Tennant's Doctor. There's a moment in the finale when the Doctor is...let's say sitting next to someone...where he closes his eyes, and it felt like a slap in the face: this guy IS ancient. It always puzzled me why they chose to make the Tenth Doctor so youthfully, given that even the Fifth Doctor played the role like an old man, and so for me this was a breath of fresh air.

The third trait is warmth. Simply speaking, you can't help but think the Eleventh Doctor is a really, really nice guy. In fact, this might even work against his character if he tries to be extremely angry or threatening - but that's more a question for Series 6. Taking these traits together, I found Smith convincing as a) an alien, b) a kindly father, and c) a superhero. Smith works for me.

The companions are a bit more mixed. I very much enjoy the work of the actor who plays Rory - he's modest and down-trodden, but with deep reserves of strength, courage, and above all else love. I really wanted Rory to become the hero he deserved to be. As for how this pans out...let's say the writers knew what they were doing.

I wasn't so impressed by Karen Gillan as Amy Pond. I think it was due in part to Amy's character being deliberately written as initially selfish, but at the same time playing a character like that requires great versatility in an actress - a comic background often helps - and I'm not sure Gillan has quite the range to keep her character likable in ambiguous moments. I was personally more invested in Rory - but, luckily enough, the season's treatment of Rory also enabled Amy to grow in a much more palatable direction.

I confess that I never cared all that much for River Song. She's become such an icon to Doctor Who fans that they just can't stop quoting her, which has led her into the habit of having "catchphrases" - a writing contrivance I personally despise. But conceptually speaking, there's nothing wrong with her here, and if you liked her in Series 4 you'll like her here too.

THE BADDIES
Not much to add on this score, except to say that...yes, I also disliked the new Dalek design. The best possible explanation for the color scheme is that it's supposed to be impressive, but my problem with this is that the Daleks were never interested in impressing anyone. Their armor is functional, not pretty. And yes, my favorite scheme is indeed the gunmetal grey from the Fourth Doctor's era. So shoot me.


OVERALL

This is a fairly solid season - across the board, I would say the second best after Series 1 (I can't compare to the Classic Series). The main issues people are going to have are taste-related ones. If you don't like Matt Smith; if you didn't want a bit of a lighter approach to Doctor Who (even if only for one year - it gets a lot darker in Series 6); if you miss too many characters from the earlier seasons; if you prefer the "comic-book" approach to the "fairy-tale" approach, then you'll have trouble appreciating the series.

My advice? Don't take it too hard. Don't narrow your expectations too much, and try and get through the Series anyway. Let it digest a little. It's always difficult for fans to make this sort of transition, but it's often healthy to do so. Just don't force it - and you might end up enjoying it a lot more than you thought you would.

Doctor Who Season 5 Review

Once again, this isn't specifically a review of the individual shows on this box set, or of the program itself, but more of a review as to the faults and ignorant oversights as to what it doesn't offer, compared to previous box sets from seasons 1-4. If you need to know the specifics of this product, content, and episode by episode break down, there are plenty of web sites out there just for that. And if that is all you're looking for from this review, then I humbly suggest that you skip this and continue to read anything from elsewhere.

And now for those who care for something more insightful...

For starters, I payed for this, and as such, I don't want to be inundated with commercials! After you get through all the legal stuff, and the 2|entertain and BBC logos, there are commercials for various programs on most of the discs, and for BBC America. Personally, I feel that since I am PAYING for this program, I should be able to watch said program without having to watch any commercials. And this shouldn't apply only to this release, but to all future releases no matter what the show or show or movie is.

Getting past that initial irritation, you should know that there is one major feature, or lack thereof, and that being there is no "Select Episode" option, only "Play All." But after some time, and I admit, by accident, I discovered that if you use the "Select Scene" option, you can watch individual episodes. But for anyone to not include a "Select Episode" option on the main menu is either lazy or incompetent.

Also, there is no 3-D trailer, and I know for a fact that one was made. You can watch it on YouTube. So why not include it? The one on YouTube requires the green and red glasses, but nonetheless, they should at least make it an option for those who care to get those specs and enjoy that trailer. And since I'm on the subject of trailers, if all that was lacking isn't enough, the "Coming Next" trailer at the end of each episode has been eliminated from the original broadcast. Now to be honest, I always skipped past this, but for the purists out there, since it was part of the show then, it should be included now. If the BBC doesn't want to do the "Coming Next" clip at the end of the episodes for season six, then fine, at least we won't be missing anything that didn't already air. Just don't pull a George Lucas or Steven Spielberg by continually changing that which has already been broadcast.

As for the, behind the scenes, geeks like me, there are only In Vision commentaries for select episodes. I remember the good old days, about, oh, two years ago, when there used to be commentaries for all episodes in previous seasons, either In Vision or standard audio. Adding insult to injury, said same commentaries for this season are in many aspects an ego boost for Moffat, and are filmed as a straight forward shot of those participating, which sort of looks like a police line up. And even worse than that, those participating, quite frankly, look bored. And if you didn't think it could get any worse, (hello wound, would you care for some salt?) the two parters only have a commentary for one of the two parts! Seriously, can't you people finish what you start, or in some cases, start what you finish? And while it's unfortunate that Matt Smith didn't participate in any of the commentaries, Karen (Amy) and (Arthur) Rory, were in the last one with the director, and that was really the only one that was enjoyable to listen to as well as watch, while they reacted to the episode.

Now for the worst part. On the technical aspect, the damn thing gets jack up during the In Vision commentaries unless the screen resolution is manually reset to a specific setting. It was only after reading another customers' review did I learn that some players need to be manually set to a specific screen resolution in order to avoid this problem. (1080i) This is all due to the fact that the Blu-Ray version wasn't remastered for players outside the UK, and so, there is a chance that, even with updating your Blu-Ray player, you may not be able to enjoy everything that this box set has to offer. Again, this is all due to laziness on behalf of those the pressed these and allowed their distribution.

Finally, there is the last disc which contains the Confidentials... They are not listed as being cut, but you can bet the tin dog that they are just that. While the originals averaged roughly 43 minutes in length, those presented on the Blu-Ray are averaging 12 minutes! One would think that since Blu-Ray discs hold considerably more data than DVDs, they should have been presented if not wholly, then at least more complete than these whittled down thumbnails.

So in conclusion, while I profess to still be an avid fan of Doctor Who, I loath the ad infused, content diluted product, which I payed for. The DVD set is cheaper, and has no fewer features than the Blu-ray, so I would regard that as a better buy. Or, if all you wish to do is watch the bare bones of each episode, then purchase the individual shows through On Demand, or Amazon, or anything, and save even more money, since you won't be getting much of anything elsewhere.

I just have to say I am astounded at the 1-star reviews here. And some of them didn't even watch the entire series! Don't listen to them. Doctor Who is better than ever.

I've been a fan since I was a kid back in the 80's when I saw Tom Baker as the doctor on PBS. Tom will always be my favorite doctor, but Smith's portrayal in Series 5 has completely won me over. It's so refreshing to watch him on screen. He reminds me of Troughton with a little bit of Davison/McCoy thrown in. He doesn't overdo it, he is very subtle, and that is totally refreshing. Especially after the overly emotional Tennant, who by the way was still excellent in the role.

The show is heading in a different direction, different but the same. I for one welcome the changes as all true fans should. Doctor Who is all about change. If you can't accept that just stick with Series 1-4.

The Eleventh Hour was by far the best Series opener since the shows return in 2005. For those that say that Series 5 has no replay value I couldn't disagree more. I have watched that first episode 3 times now since it first aired and still laugh at many of the scenes. And as is evident on Youtube, I am certain that I am not the only one that has tried fish custard! (It's good by the way)

The only clunker this Series had was The Victory of the Daleks, and I put that down purely to direction. The rest of the Series was golden, especially the Weeping Angels two parter and the jaw dropping finale. Fezzes are cool indeed!

In short, Series 5 is just really good science fiction. I'm excited to see what happens next!

If you are a fan show your support and pick this up! I know I will. And for goodness sake write your own review and give this the 5 stars that it deserves! Don't let the naysayers bring the rating down, most of them didn't even give the new series a chance.

I've read all the reviews and I'm quite shocked and yet not surprised by some of the negative comments. In my nearly 30 years of being a fan of Doctor Who and even going to a few DW conventions in the past and reading some comments in DWM and the internet the ones who dislike or hate series 5 or season 31 are few and far between. For the most part they are hard core DT fan who are still not used to fact that he's gone. I was that way for awhile when my Doctor Tom Baker left and this new young guy(Peter Davison) took over. Within 20 mins of Peter Davison debut story I was won over! I never forgotten Tom Baker(who couldn't and shouldn't). But, I thought what was I worried about? This Peter Davison guy is going to be alright. The Tardis is in good hands. Even David Tennat said the same thing at Comic Con last year. My point is I thought Matt might be too young to play the Doctor. But I got over that within 5 mins of watching DWC. I was more concerned that Peter Davison would no longer be the youngest person to play the Doctor anymore. Matt has said how much he likes Pat Throughton's Doctor and that 'Tomb of Cybermen' is his fav story. You can tell that he pays tribute to PT in his costume and even the Tardis is similar to the 1st and 2nd Doctor. Throughout the series it pays tribute to pass Doctors every now and then. Which I think is wonderful and educational to all the new fans who just started out with DT and CE. Matt's Doctor (to me) is a mixture of Tom Baker and Patrick Throughton and judging from his interviews a bit of Matt himself. I love the fact that Amy is not all googly over the Doctor like Rose and Martha. She's more like Donna or Sarah Jane. I also like that fact that she really does love Rory and doesn't dump him like Rose did with Mickey. The only thing that I haven't like about the new series is the new Daleks. They look stupid. I never was a big fan of them anyway. I liked Davors better. Other than that I really loved series 5/season 31. Moff really came through. Some stand outs: The lodger, Vicent and the Doctor and the Vampries of Venice, and The Pandorica Opens. As of me typing this the 'Big Bang' has yet to air here in the States(this Sat it debuts). But, from what I read in DWM it will probably be on my list as well.