DOCTOR WHO-NEW SERIES 1 TV DVD REVIEW

I was very skeptical when I heard that after 16 years, they were going to relaunch Doctor Who again. It was tried briefly in 1996 with the TV movie but did not take for it being too “Americanized” by critics. The BBC took the new show on and instead of being filmed in England as it always has been; it is being filmed in Cardiff, Wales! Christopher Eccleston stars as the Ninth Doctor and his companion for his adventures is Billie Piper as Rose Tyler. There are 13 episodes at 45 minutes each as opposed to the traditional 25 minutes 4 to 6 part stories. My personal favorite stories from this season are-“Dalek”, “Father’s Day”, “The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances” and The Parting of the Ways”. This set has quite a few extras such as Interviews with Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper and audio commentaries on all 13 episodes by the cast and crew, Featurettes and trailers.

VIDEO

The video quality is quite good being filmed on Digibeta! Excellent quality. There is also a Play All feature for every disc.


Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. It is also able to hear it in 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound.

Disc 1- 1. “Rose” (44:12)
2. “End of the World”-with Zoe Wanamaker (44:45)
3. “The Unquiet Dead” (44:49)

Disc 2- 1. “Aliens Of London” (45:02)
2. “World War Three” (42:57)
3. “Dalek” (45:19)

Disc 3- 1. “The Long Game”-with Simon Pegg (44:28)
2. “Father’s Day” (42:56)
3. “The Empty Child” (41:46)
4. “The Doctor Dances” (42:51)

Disc 4-1. “Boom Town” (43:19)
2. “Bad Wolf” (42:51)
3. “The Parting Of The Ways” (45:31)

Disc 5- Doctor Who Confidential-Cut Down Versions
1. “Bring Back The Doctor”-(11:56)
2. “The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly”-(11:06)
3. “Tardis Tales”-(11:03)
4. “I Get A Sidekick Out of You”-(10:48)
5. “Why On Earth”-(13:03)
6. “Dalek”-(10:45)
7. “The Dark Side”-(11:29)
8. “Time Trouble”-(12:46)
9. “Special Effects”-(14:03)
10. “Weird Science” –(13:11)
11. “Unsung Heroes and Violent Death” –(12:31)
12. “The World Of Who” –(13:19)
13. “The Last Battle”-(09:32)
14. “Backstage ATC Headlights (09:18)


Extras

Disc 1: Audio Commentaries on all 3 episodes on this disc
BBC Breakfast interview with Christopher Eccleston (11:43)
Destroying the Lair (03:24)
Making of Doctor Who with Russell T Davies. (15:33)
Waking the Dead- (18:09)
Laying Ghosts”-(08:24)
Launch Trailers –(02:45) pm
Storyboard of Opening Sequence (0:48)


Disc 2: Audio Commentaries on All 3 Episodes
Deconstructing Big Ben (04:51)
On Set with Billie Piper (19:03)
Trailers- (1:02)

Disc 3: Audio Commentaries on all 4 Episodes
Mike Turner’s Mocks of Balloons (05:32)

Disc 4: Audio Commentaries on all 3 Episodes
Designing Doctor Who (20:50)
The Adventures of Captain Jack (08:30)
Trailers- (02:27)

Disc 5: Backstage At Christmas: Behind The Scenes footage from the Christmas Invasion


Verdict

A very good start to the new incarnation of Doctor Who. Get it for your collection!


Rating; *****!