Science Fiction World

While we wait for the new Doctor Who movie to arrive, it's time to experience Matt Smith’s Doctor Who: The Complete Sixth Series in high definition blu-ray. Matt Smith has grown into the role of the long lived, eccentric Time Lord this season, surpassing (dare I say it) David Tennant's Doctor that came before. With his companions Rory, Amy and frequently River Song, he has pulled back from being the over the top super hero action figure that David Tennant and Russell T. Davies seemed to revel in, bringing back some of the quirkiness, mystery and humility of old.

There were some great episodes this season, in particular the opening episode The impossible Astronaut, where the Doctor invites them all to witness his own death, Let’s Kill Hitler where the Doctor ends up in Hitler’s office after the TARDIS crashlands in Berlin, and A Good Man Goes to War (Episode 7) where Amy is kidnapped and the Doctor gathers allies to fight for her release. While there are some great episodes, Episode 6 Closing Time was the worst I’ve seen in ages: a token Cyberman episode which had no tension and made little sense. The Doctor learns that the Cybermen are responsible for a series of disappearances at a local department store (it was as silly as it sounds).

Unlike film releases where blu-ray is never going to be better than what you experience in theatres, with TV shows blu-ray is normally a substantial boost improvement and Doctor Who: The Complete Sixth Series is no exception.

The six disc box set comes with all 13 episodes, including the 2010 Christmas episode, A Christmas Carol that guest stars Michael Gambon, and the Comic Relief mini episodes Space and Time.

There are plenty of other extras here too, including five audio commentaries (one with writer Neil Gaiman who wrote Episode 4 The Doctor's Wife), 13 Doctor Who Confidentials, Series Six Episode Prequels, Doctor Shorts and lots more...

You can buy Doctor Who: The Complete Sixth Series in blu-ray now at the BBC America online store and watch the YouTube trailer below.