Doctor Who’s fifth Season with Matt Smith on blu-ray
- 02 December 2010
- John Howell
Will Matt Smith become the best Doctor Who? After watching his first season as the 11th Doctor, out now on blu-ray and DVD, I'd say it's a real possibility. It's early days of course. Certainly Smith is a big improvement on David Tennant who was too bubbly and over the top for my liking. This is the first Doctor Who season release on blu-ray and Steven Moffat's first season as lead writer and creative director. The season begins with the Tardis plummeting out of control in The Eleventh Hour and quickly introduces the Doctor's new effervescent companion Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) as the Doctor attempts to save the world once more (I'm sure he's saved it a couple of hundred times now).
As with any Doctor Who season there are episodes which shine and others that quickly fade from memory. Vincent and the Doctor is fantastic, with the Doctor and Amy meeting up with a troubled Vincent Van Gogh. Written by the Black Adder and Four Weddings and a Funeral writer Richard Curtis, Vincent and the Doctor is a moving tale which isn't afraid to slow the pace when it needs to (it also features an excellent cameo from Bill Nighy). The blinking angels' episodes, The Time of Angels and Flesh and Stone, featuring freaky statues that only move when
you're not looking at them, are also outstanding. In these episodes the Doctor meets his future wife. The Lodger, about a staircase which people go up,but never seem to come down, is another highlight. In Amy's Choice, Amy realises her true feelings about Rory which has an impact on all the episodes that follow. The final two episodes, The Pandorica Opens and The Big Bang, are packed with enough pyrotechnics and plot to fuel half a dozen stories, with a couple of excellent twists.
The obligatory Dalek episode, however, Victory of the Daleks, has to be one of the worst Doctor Who episodes I've watched.
As you would expect with a blu-ray release, the picture quality is outstanding and there are plenty of extra features to explore. Extras include out-takes, 13 Doctor Who Confidentials (making-of guides for each episode), additional scenes, commentaries, The Monster Files, and a whole lot more.
Doctor Who's fifth Season with Matt Smith was released through BBC America on 9 November and is available on blu-ray and DVD.
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