Release date: November 18th, 2008
MSRP: $98.99
Stars: David Tennant, Catherine Tate, Freema Agyeman
I’m a big fan of the Doctor going back to the early eighties at which time I became hooked and consequently found and watched almost all episodes. I don’t want to go over ground people know already so I’ll keep the background on DR WHO brief. The show has been running since the early sixties and was brought back in full blown high production a few years back. The Doctor is a traveling time lord who moves through out space and time in the TARDIS (Time and relative dimensions in space), a machine bigger inside than out that is stuck in a mode to make it look like a police box. The good Doctor travels the universe saving people and planets and has a number of recurring villains.
This set has a total of fourteen episodes which includes the 2007 Christmas Special. The Special is called Voyage of the Damned as sets the Doctor on the Titanic, a space ship named after the famous ocean liner. Based on its name sake you can imagine things are going to go wrong, and they do. The Doctor is a stow away and befriends a waitress named Astrid played by Kylie Minogue. Horrible things happen, the ship is in trouble and the Doctor saves the day. And for the first time in a few years London has a Christmas without a disaster. Great episode and a wonderful transition between seasons.
The season proper starts out with an investigation by the Dr. into a strange weight lose pill and a series of near misses with one Donna Noble from the 2006 Xmas special THE RUNWAY BRIDE. By the end of the episode the world is safe and the Dr. has a new companion. The show continues to get better and better. We have a return of the Solarians, a warrior race who want Earth to be a breeding planet, an episode I loved with Agatha Christie and another with a planet that is a giant library. The season highlight for me however was the final two episodes in which we have a return of an age old villain and a whole lot of companions, the Doctor’s “Time Family”. Rose, Martha, Sarah Jane, Captain Jack and Torchwood, Mickey and more. It’s a wonderful battle and the action is amazing. We end with the Doctor alone traveling off (to the 2008 Xmas special with the Cybermen!)
This show endures because of the fans love of the characters. This is personified by a nice little extra on disc one in which this doctor meets the doctor played by Peter Davidson. David Tennant actually says to him, you were always MY Doctor. I agree. But of course I like them all, and David Tennant is so wonderful in this role. Fans of the show will love every minute and new comers, well this is as good a jumping on point as any other. I loved this show with its cheesy low budget effects, I love it even more now that it’s a high production outing every episode. The writing is intelligent and offers little nods to old time fans and thrills the new comers. Possibly my favorite season(series) of one of my all time favorite shows.
Order Doctor Who: The complete fourth series from Amazon.
Jon Jordan
For more reviews from Jon, and the rest of the Crimespree crew, check out the index of reviews.
