The odds were stacked against Doctor Who in 2010: David Tennant had retired from portraying perhaps the most popular incarnation of the character, as had Russell T Davies after his superb revival of the show five years back, and in their places were someone called Steven Moffat and a young newcomer named Matt Smith. How could things ever be the same? The answer: they couldn’t. The DVD box-set of the Fifth Season shows this, containing 13 episodes widely set apart from that which came before but boasting a scale so epic and ambitious you’d think you were watching a Michael Bay flick (albeit without the inclusion of dislikeable CGI robots or tiresome slow-mo effects). We see Doctor number 11 tackle the Daleks, Silurians and Cyber-Men as he always did, but now we get new adversaries like the Dream Lord (portrayed marvellously by comedian Toby Jones) and menacing Cracks threatening to tear reality apart. In fact, one hugely noticeable element of Season 5 is just how little is resolved with regards to this threat: though the immediate danger is over as the finale closes, the Doctor highlights what’s to come by saying “the universe isn’t safe…the TARDIS ******* here, now, but why?” I’ve left that word in asterixes not because it’s naughty but it’s best not to spoil the surprise. Sufficed to say, it’s a twist fans saw coming, but was nonetheless shocking territory for the show. Do any of the episodes found here let the side down? For the most part, no, but Victory of the Daleks could easily be seen as merely rejuvenating the Time Lord’s foes and nothing more, while The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood do tend to veer at times a little too deep into classic Who territory. Other than those missteps, Series 5 shows a programme on strong form, and next year looks only to continue this trend. Two great mini-scenes starring Matt and Karen Gillian can be found on the set to bridge the gaps between Episodes 1, 2, 5 and 6, plus a couple of in-vision commentaries and past trailers round off a set of incredible value.
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Friday, 12 November 2010
Doctor Who: The Complete Series 5 Review (4.5/5)
The odds were stacked against Doctor Who in 2010: David Tennant had retired from portraying perhaps the most popular incarnation of the character, as had Russell T Davies after his superb revival of the show five years back, and in their places were someone called Steven Moffat and a young newcomer named Matt Smith. How could things ever be the same? The answer: they couldn’t. The DVD box-set of the Fifth Season shows this, containing 13 episodes widely set apart from that which came before but boasting a scale so epic and ambitious you’d think you were watching a Michael Bay flick (albeit without the inclusion of dislikeable CGI robots or tiresome slow-mo effects). We see Doctor number 11 tackle the Daleks, Silurians and Cyber-Men as he always did, but now we get new adversaries like the Dream Lord (portrayed marvellously by comedian Toby Jones) and menacing Cracks threatening to tear reality apart. In fact, one hugely noticeable element of Season 5 is just how little is resolved with regards to this threat: though the immediate danger is over as the finale closes, the Doctor highlights what’s to come by saying “the universe isn’t safe…the TARDIS ******* here, now, but why?” I’ve left that word in asterixes not because it’s naughty but it’s best not to spoil the surprise. Sufficed to say, it’s a twist fans saw coming, but was nonetheless shocking territory for the show. Do any of the episodes found here let the side down? For the most part, no, but Victory of the Daleks could easily be seen as merely rejuvenating the Time Lord’s foes and nothing more, while The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood do tend to veer at times a little too deep into classic Who territory. Other than those missteps, Series 5 shows a programme on strong form, and next year looks only to continue this trend. Two great mini-scenes starring Matt and Karen Gillian can be found on the set to bridge the gaps between Episodes 1, 2, 5 and 6, plus a couple of in-vision commentaries and past trailers round off a set of incredible value.
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