Product Details

• Actors: David Tennant, Michelle Ryan
• Format: Color, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: BBC Warner
• DVD Release Date: July 28, 2009
• Run Time: 60 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B002BSH9L2
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,004 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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  #6 in	Movies & TV > Television > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Doctor Who
  #16 in	Movies & TV > Cult Movies > Sci-Fi & Fantasy
  #19 in	Movies & TV > Television > BBC

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

David Tennant began his victory lap as the Tenth Doctor with this engaging special episode of Doctor Who, one of four from 2009 that brought his tenure as the Time Lord to a close, and the first to be shot in HD. Tennant's palpable energy and quirky charm are the engines that drive Planet of the Dead, and he's well-matched by Michelle (Bionic Woman) Ryan as his one-off companion, Lady Christina de Souza. The lady's chosen profession--jewel thief--launches the story when she attempts to evade the police on a tour bus occupied by the Doctor. As things of this nature often go in Doctor Who, the bus slips through a wormhole in time and space and winds up on the desert planet San Helios, which harbors both the industrious, fly-headed Tritovores and a species of stingray-like creatures with voracious appetites. The script by Russell T. Davies and Gareth Roberts (the first shared writing credit since Davies revived the series in 2005) makes fun references to all manner of desert-bound cinematic adventures, from Flight of the Phoenix to Pitch Black, and if there are a few too many well-worn moments to rank it among the best Tennant episodes (the psychic bus passenger is a bit convenient), the chemistry between Tennant and Ryan, as well as fine support by comic Lee Evans and Noma Dumezweni (returning as UNIT Captain Erisa Magambo from the Rose Tyler era) and the striking Dubai locations, should keep most Who fans entertained. The sole extra is an hour-long episode of Doctor Who Confidential that covers the special episode’s production and location filming. --Paul Gaita

Product Description

Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 07/28/2009 Run time: 60 minutes

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars End of the LINE or unscheduled stop? ....Easter Special continues counts down to the 10th Doctor's final adventure., June 27, 2009

By	Kevin J. Loria (New Orleans, LA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I wondered how the BBC would handle their 4.5 season of specials...this. The one-shot new companion nature of the Dr. Who specials lends it self to this single story DVD release. This "Easter Special" follows the 2008 X-Mas special "The Next Doctor" leading us up to the END for the !0th Doctor as played by David Tennant....some reference is made to this in the final moments of Planet of the Dead with some foreshadowing similar to the Planet of the OOD line about the Doctor's song coming to an End (but not before the October special and Xmas 2009).

Planet of the Dead is a pretty good special with some lovely cinematography and great location in the Dubai desert , some retro-aliens. The Doctor and a bus load of characters make an unscheduled stop on a desert planet . Characters like "sassy" wealthy adventurer/thief Lady Christina de Souza a'la Laura Kroft as played by the lovely Michelle Ryan (Merlin, the Bionic Woman, Jekyll) are likely to become fan favorites. Ryan, contrary to internet buzz, never auditioned to replace Billie Piper's Rose in '06, but after seeing the end product I think you'll agree she'd make a terrific season 5 or 6 addition to the cast.Enough filibustering for Ryan, the cast was great including Mousehunt's Lee Evans who superbly plays UNIT's technical support and parody of fandom....oh yeah did I mention UNIT gives fire support as always.

Extras....Backstory is outlined in the consistently good behind-the-scenes series "Dr. Who Confidential." This features the making of the special was even better the actual end product...how the double-decker bus of shipped out of country, the stunts, disasters endured and of course effects.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fun Ride, Even Without the Tardis, July 30, 2009

By	Karen Joan "Siren" (Texas) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

DOCTOR WHO: PLANET OF THE DEAD is a very fun, very entertaining Easter special that provides fans with a light-hearted episode featuring David Tennant, the beloved Tenth Doctor. As we all know by now, this shortened 5th season will be Mr. Tennant's last, and it certainly was enjoyable to see him save the day in typical easy-going fashion.

DOCTOR WHO: PLANET OF THE DEAD is full of the characteristic energy and charm that is brought to the Tenth Doctor by David Tennant. He matches wits with Michelle Ryan, who would clearly make an excellent companion and foil for Mr. Tennant if he were continuing on. The chemistry between the two brought a well needed sparkle back to DOCTOR WHO: PLANET OF THE DEAD, and the pair was quite fun to watch.

As DOCTOR WHO: PLANET OF THE DEAD opens, Lady Christina de Souza (Ryan) is attempting to evade the police after stealing a rare and priceless artifact. Of course, she ends up on the same tour bus as our quirky, lovable Doctor. And as is expected in any episode of DOCTOR WHO, that bus then drives through a wormhole in time and space and winds up on a desert planet, placing all aboard, and all life on Earth, in terrible danger. As always, it is up to our Doctor and his faithful companion to save humanity.

The Dubai location of DOCTOR WHO: PLANET OF THE DEAD is quite spectacular, the aliens cool and retro, and the threat to Earth as expected. Is this "the best DOCTOR WHO episodes ever?" Of course not. But it is engaging, amusing, and very, very Tenth Doctor. It reminds us why we like David Tennant so much and why he will be sorely missed.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Gave it another viewing, August 2, 2009

By	Byron (Fort Lauderdale, FL) - See all my reviews

(Let's call it 3 & 1/2 stars)
I was also a little disappointed when I first watched this episode online a few months ago (Human-ear friendly bluetooths in a ship where the crew has no ears? Alien anti-gravity clamps that just happen to be the right size and number to fit the wheels of a London bus?). I also think it was a wasted trip for them to shoot in Dubai since most people will assume the vast expanse of desert is just a CGI trick anyway. I didn't think I would be watching it again anytime soon.

Having said that, I recently saw it again with a couple of people who are only casual Doctor Who watchers and they enjoyed it and took it for what it was, an amusing diversion. This made me relax and just have fun with it. It was good to see UNIT in action again and Lee Evans is always hilarious (if you haven't seen Mouse Hunt, do so immediately!)

I think most fans' problems with this special stem from the fact that we are having to wait so long between installments and we expect every one to be a complex stunner. In a normal season this would have been a perfectly acceptable light "change of pace" entry sandwiched between two heavier episodes. I think after we've seen the upcoming specials, which promise to be darker, this one will be put in its proper context.