Doctor Who: The Essential Companion Review (4/5)

The fifth season of Doctor Who had a fair few stand-out moments: from the Doctor crashing his TARDIS into Amelia Pond's garden, to Amy's discovery of the true purpose of Starship UK to the Time Lord's grand speech in The Pandorica Opens, the 2010 series had enough to please all Who fans. This CD guide to the season is comprehensive and detailed, to the point that all 13 episodes get a thorough plot analysis by Alex Price (Francesco in The Vampires of Venice) but in a way which doesn't alienate the casual audience. The aforementioned stand-out moments get heavy coverage here, so every fan can pick their favourite scene and "skip" to it right off the bat. The 2-disc format does wonders for the set, splitting the season into Amy's story (Episodes 1-5) and Rory's (Episodes 6-13) while incorporating side characters. The main flaw of the release is that at times you'll miss the on-screen footage of those memorable scenes, but for fans this is a unique way to experience Series 5!