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Doctor Who has screened on the BBC and
associated stations around the world for almost 26 years since 1963 in
the long forgotten serial format. The Doctor battled all sorts of
injustice while exploring time and space in either historic or science
fiction settings using an unreliable time machine called the TARDIS,
which is famously disguised as an English Police Box. However, for a
variety of reasons (a lack of viewers being the most prominent),
production of the TV show was “suspended” in 1989.
However, as is the case with most beloved sci-fi
series, there continued to be strong public interest in the franchise
after the demise of the TV series with a series of audio and published
stories about the Doctor maintaining the profile of this legendary
figure.
After public reaction to a TV movie in 1996
re-ignited the potential for further filmed adventures, the TV show was
successfully relaunched almost 10 years later, in 2005, in
self-contained episodes which took stock from the modern sci-fi
juggernauts Stargate and of course Star Trek Enterprise.
The Doctor’s ability to "regenerate" his
body just before he “dies” has always conveniently meant
that new lead actors have been able to be used (ten in all) to continue
the saga and introduce new aspects of the character, a storyline
feature which would have made all those terrible Batman films make alot more sense!
After Christopher Eccleston successfully (but
briefly) played the Doctor in the first of the renewed franchise in
2005, relative no name actor David Tennant took over the role in early
2006.
The Doctor's shoes are tough to fill, with many
questioning whether anyone could out do one of the show's most beloved
leads - Tom Baker (Doctor #4) - but gladly by the time the three
stories on this Doctor Who DVD (Series 2 Volume 4) were filmed, Tennant
has settled into the role quite comfortably. His ability to project his
own personality while often referring to some of the characteristics of
the earlier incarnations is a real skill, and a delight to watch. Although Tennant inherited a fellow time-travelling companion from the
2005 series (former girl band member, Billie Piper), it's a
real joy to watch the way he has explored the relationship between
the two and kept the audience guessing as to what may happen in the
future. It's an element of story telling that seemed to never exist in
the early series, and one of the strongest appeals of the new
generation of Who.
The episodes on this DVD (“The Impossible
Planet”, “The Satan Pit” and “Love and
Monsters”) feature many of the elements that have created a new
generation of Doctor Who fans – good character interaction,
engrossing stories and highly inventive special effects. I
particularly liked the makeup for the aliens and other monsters in
these stories, a far cry from the cardboard sets and tin foil suits of
yesteryear. It is probably the more effective special effects
that has brought back fans of the earlier versions of the show, who are
re-visiting one their favourite science fiction characters, bringing a
new sense of realism to the program that seemed to be lacking back in
it's heyday.
Having these latest episodes
available on DVD so soon after they were screened on free-to-air TV
(the turn around from TV to DVD is literally within the month) is
a great way to relive and enjoy a show that is sure to continue as an
iconic piece of television for years to come.
A quality re-generation for the new generation!
EXTRAS
I was a little disappointed that no extras were included in this
package as this has been a special attraction of the DVDs for many of
the pre-1989 episode releases. Perhaps we'll have to wait for the Series 2 box set.
Conclusion:
Movie 70% Extras: N/A
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