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DVD
Description:
Hot on the heels of the acclaimed third series, Doctor Who returns
for a fantastic fourth series with a familiar face alongside the
Doctor.
Award-winning comedienne Catherine Tate returns as the Doctor's new
companion, revisiting her role as Donna Noble who featured in the
2006 Christmas special The Runaway Bride. Martha Jones - who left
the Doctor at the end of Series Three to break the unrequited circle
of love she felt for him - will also return. The Sontarans and Ood
are set to reappear.
Review:
Kicking off with a jam-packed Christmas special and ending with a
blockbuster extended closing instalment, Doctor Who's fourth series
since it was revived is a breathless, exciting one, that also boasts
some exceptional episodes.
You get fourteen episodes for your money here, and the ones in
particular to watch out for are the outstanding Silence In The
Library/Forest Of The Dead double header, the almost single-location
creep-fest that is Midnight, and the trio of Turn Left, The Stolen
Earth and Journey's End that round off the series. In the midst of
those is also one of the very best cliff-hangers that Doctor Who has
ever employed in its long and glorious history.
This is also the series of Doctor Who that introduces Catherine Tate
as full-time companion Donna Noble, working alongside David
Tennant's Doctor across time and space. And it's arguably the best
combination since the show returned. Here, there's no hint of
romance between the pair, as they instead knuckle down to business,
occasionally helped by the likes of Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman),
Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen) and Jack Harkness (John
Barrowman).
Lets not forget too the collection of monsters we meet this time
round. The daleks and Davros are the main attractions in Doctor Who
Series 4, while the return of the Sontarans proves to be a bit of a
disappointment. But, after viewing the series, chances are you'll be
counting shadows around you, and wary of getting on the wrong side
of the Ood.
As with most series of Doctor Who, there are one or two bumpy
episodes and missteps, but this is still unmatched at what it does,
and finds the show in even more confident form than last time round.
That, along with the immense re-watch value, is what makes this
terrific piece of family entertainment such a compelling buy.
--Simon Brew
Time Crash
Description:
(Disc 1, Special Features - Watch
BEFORE watching "Voyage of the Damned")
Broadcast
on 16 November 2007, as part of the BBC One telethon for
the children's charity Children in Need. Written by
Steven Moffat, it starred David Tennant and Peter
Davison as the Doctor.
The episode, set during the last scene of the previous
episode "Last of the Time Lords", depicts a humorous
encounter between the Doctor's fifth and tenth
incarnations, played by Davison and Tennant
respectively. "Time Crash" was universally praised by
critics who reviewed the episode, and was a ratings
success; it was the most-viewed show of the night, and
briefly the most-viewed episode of Doctor Who since
2005, with 11 million viewers. |
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The episode takes place
concurrently with the final scene of "Last of the Time
Lords". After the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant) parts
ways with Martha (Freema Agyeman), the TARDIS encounters
a problem, leading the Doctor to encounter his fifth
incarnation (Peter Davison). The Tenth Doctor is
overjoyed to meet his past self, but the Fifth Doctor is
annoyed; he believes his counterpart to be a fan.
The Doctors realise their TARDISes have merged because
the Tenth Doctor forgot to raise his shields. The
collision created a supermassive black hole, which the
Tenth Doctor counters by creating a supernova. An
impressed Fifth Doctor realises that he will remember
the solution, having observed the Tenth Doctor
performing it (who in turn remembered from when he was
the fifth doctor.) |
Voyage of the Damned
Description:
The Doctor:
He's back...again. It's
Christmas...again. And this time there are problems on a cruise.
Voyage Of The Damned, starring
David Tennant and Kylie Minogue - aired 6.50pm, Christmas Day (UK),
BBC One
The Doctor and Astrid get
up close and personal.
The Doctor wastes no time in
getting acquainted with Kylie Minogue's Astrid in the episode. Two
of Britain's best loved actors, Geoffrey Palmer and Clive Swift will
also play lead roles in the special.
Synopsis:
"Voyage of the Damned" is a special 71 minute long episode shot as
the third Christmas special of the revived Doctor Who series by
Russell T. Davies. The episode is dedicated to the memory of the
founding producer of Doctor Who, Verity Lambert.
This story continues from
the final scene of "Last
of the Time Lords" and "Time Crash" (Children in Need
special), in which a luxury space cruiser called the Titanic
breaches the walls of the TARDIS console room. The Doctor teams up
with Titanic waitress Astrid Peth in order to fend off a new enemy
called the Host.
After a bow of a ship
crashes through the TARDIS' wall. The Doctor is momentarily stunned,
especially after learning the ship is the Titanic and, pressing some
buttons, repairs the TARDIS walls, pushing the ship out. The TARDIS
then materialises aboard the ship and, after some looking around,
the Doctor learns the Titanic is a large luxury spaceship cruiser,
orbiting present-day Earth. The Doctor decides to stow away to enjoy
the party, only revealing his identity to lively waitress Astrid
Peth.
The party returns to the
ship just as it's Captain commits an act of sabotage, causing
high-speed meteors to collide with the ship. The Doctor is able to
make contact with the injured Midshipman Frame, alone on the Bridge,
and leads a small group of survivors in a climb through the
shattered vessel to reach him.
Complicating matters are
the Hosts. Androids who resemble Angels that were used to provide
onboard entertainment, they had been seen malfunctioning earlier,
and have now turned into deadly enemies!
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