DOCTOR WHO SERIES 5 complete is published in four variations:
- STANDARD DVD £69.99
- LIMITED EDITION (NUMBERED) DVD £69.99
- STANDARD BLU-RAY £79.99
- LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY (NUMBERED) £79.99
COMMENT
As anticipated as Her Majesty's Christmas Message or, perhaps more so amongst DOCTOR WHO fans, the Christmas Day episode, the annual release of the complete series DVD boxset is unleashed once again.
Matt Smith's first set of adventures could be considered as a "re-booting" - mirroring its final episode - for the DOCTOR WHO brand and its future rested on public acceptance more than critical success.
Reassuringly, it achieved both and at a high standard of quality (in casting and production), and, generally, the series did not wax nor wane unlike previous NEW SERIES' collations.
It was "superb mediocrity" with a hint of accomplishment, and you can re-live 13 glorious episodes with the six-disc boxset complete with exclusive new "mini-vignette episodes" (titled "Meanwhile in the TARDIS."), DOCTOR WHO CONFIDENTIAL cut-down episodes, cast video diaries and extended MONSTER FILES.
Of course, it is goes without saying that this SERIES 5 DVD boxset from BBC DVD is of paramount importance to own and enjoy not only until the 2010 festive episode, DOCTOR WHO - A CHRISTMAS CAROL but right through to the start of the divided SERIES 6 in the spring of 2011.
DISC ONE
- THE ELEVENTH HOUR - with the option of an "in-vision" commentary from the Executive Producers
- THE BEAST BELOW
- "Meanwhile in the TARDIS." - exclusive scene one
- Video diary with the main cast
The in-vision commentary is provided by Steven Moffat and the BBC WALES drama heads, Piers Wenger (dull comments) and Beth Willis (boring comments) and is, surprisingly, enlightening but at times feels as if you've dropped into a conversation with self-congratulatory nerds.
The highlights being:
Steven Moffat reveals that the original episode title was to be THE DOCTOR RETURNS, and that he thought that it would not be until episode six that the viewers would accept Matt Smith as the new Doctor. Therefore, he was surprised that it happened almost instantaneously.
In the original script Amelia/Amy was not Scottish but English.
Steven Moffat: Now we have arranged Matt's resignation, let's get the commentary back on track.
Steven Moffat: What could live in clouds? A nod to the future, fans.
Moffat reveals that the shadow that passes within Amelia's kitchen whilst she sits in the garden waiting for the Police Box to return is the Doctor (and not Prisoner Zero as fans thought).
Moffat admits that THE ELEVENTH HOUR was "the most monstrously hard script" he had written due to the complexity and fact that it had to renew the brand, introduce a new Doctor and a new companion, and admits that it's "the comedy of man's whose day get worse and worse".
Steven Moffat on Matt Smith: An easy fit for the Doctor.
On designing Prisoner Zero, Moffat reveals that it had a back-story of having been found guilty of impersonating an army.
On the bedroom Geek, Jeff, Moffat states: We should have Jeff again.
Fans have commented how a TARDIS key appears in the Doctor's "borrowed" jacket pocket so Moffat has the answer; it was "emailed" by the renewed TARDIS.
There were a few continuity errors during the TARDIS take-off scenes that Moffat revels in; there is an error in the Tweed jacket version that the Doctor is seen wearing in "close-up shots" (a stand-in for Smith) and "mid-shot" of Matt Smith.
The featurette: Meanwhile in the TARDIS. is a great idea and certainly add value to the release in the same way that the irregular CHILDREN IN NEED cutaways do.
The first of two in this boxset sees Amy bewildered by the scale of the time machine's interior (and its wooden exterior) and the incomprehensible wearing of a bow tie.
The scene is witty, charming, explanatory should you be unfamiliar with the history of the Doctor character (and how it all began) and ends in a comedic moment that will have you grinning like the Ninth Doctor in the Cabinet Rooms from WORLD WAR THREE. Fantastic.
The VIDEO DIARY featurette (subtitled "Your Hired!") shows DOCTOR WHO life living in a goldfish bowl and the attention span of them is as long as the aquatic creature that swims within one. Forgettable material from the cast of the programme that even the seven-year old I was watching it with said, "This is boring, and why is the shaky?" (watching the hand-held camcorder material).
There was one clip of Matt Smith jubilant after his first recoded scene; "I just did it. The first day on the TARDIS, baby! Rock n roll, man, here we come!" You can tell that he loved it as did we.
DISC TWO
- VICTORY OF THE DALEKS (in-vision commentary from Mark Gatiss, Barnaby Edwards and Nicholas Briggs)
- THE TIME OF ANGELS (in-vision commentary with Steven Moffat and Karen Gillan and an errant ringing mobile telephone)
- FLESH AND STONE
- THE MONSTER FILES - THE DALEKS
- Video diary
Thanks heavens that I watched the in-vision commentary for VICTORY OF THE DALEKS on a widescreen television - the charmingly erudite egos of "the three who drool" (Gatiss, Edwards and Briggs) was just about contained. The contributors were, understandably, suitably enthusiastic about VICTORY OF THE DALEKS and I am surprised (and glad) that they were hesitant to supporters of the new style Daleks, with Edwards stating that the re-working of Raymond Cusick's (the BBC designer who realised Terry Nation's alien) classic were "universally hated".
The highlights being:
Gatiss revealed that due to smoking legislation Ian McNiece was supplied with an electronic cigar, and similarly due to the crumbly nature of a "Jammy Dodger" biscuit a plastic replica was created for Matt Smith to hold.
Reference to the CLASSIC SERIES daleks stories (Spiridon and Necros) were exorcised and did not make it to the final edit.
Gatiss on the new dalek design: The shape of them is aesthetically unpleasing. It's the hump. He described the process of "colouring" the dalek outer casing and that both the colours "Racing Green" and "Purple" were attempted but did not look quite right.
Dalek voice, Nicholas Briggs states that the slatted head of the dalek is supposed to concertina so that they could get through low doorframes. Interesting.
All three champion Matt Smith as the new Doctor, with Briggs labelling him "fearless. A brilliant Doctor".
The VIDEO DIARY featurette takes the viewer to the old TARDIS set, now used a "canteen" for the cast & crew of SERIES 5. It's a break between filming and "sandwich time" though Matt Smith's favourite sandwich (Egg and Cress) was absent on this occasion.
This video diary follows Karen Gillan's "below the ground" action stunt from HUNGRY EARTH and the preparations for the "Kirby wire" stunt as she drifts (anchored by the Doctor) in space from THE BEAST BELOW.
Karen Gillan joins a slovenly Steven Moffat in the in-vision commentary booth for THE TIME OF ANGELS where the main topic is the varying length of Matt Smith's hair throughout the non-sequential filming of the episode.
The highlights being:
Moffat confirms to those "eagle-eyed" fans that a "Tennant TARDIS" CGI design was used during the episode's opening sequences (as it materialises to "catch" Doctor River Song).
Steven Moffat reveals that Alex Kinston does not "do back acting" and a stand-in double is used for those occasions when she does not have to be on-set, and, later, he confirms that River Song is not the Doctor's mum.
The Monster Files charts the success and regeneration of the daleks, and this featurette is an "extended version" of that added to the "vanilla DVD" release earlier in the year.
DISC THREE
- FLESH AND STONE
- VAMPIRES OF VENICE (in-vision commentary with cast and crew)
- AMY'S CHOICE
- THE MONSTER FILES - THE WEEPING ANGELS
- "Meanwhile in the TARDIS." - exclusive scene two
The highlight of this disc is not the wonderfully dark FLESH AND STONE but the deliciously electric "Meanwhile in the TARDIS." cutaway that continues from where the seduction of the (embarrassed) Time Lord by Amy following FLESH AND STONE. The short sequence provides viewers, especially if new to the series, a background precise of the Doctor ("A space Gandalf. The green thing in STAR WARS"; "907 years old and I can't see it. Everything is stuff") and how frustrating it is for him to exist when he knows about everything in this "backyard" of time/space.
Of course, CLASSIC SERIES fans will be delighted to see Amy tricking him into asking the TARDIS (sentient, obviously) to reveal the Doctor's previous travelling companions (mainly female). Delightful.
The in-vision commentary for VENICE OF VAMPIRE is less delightful, in fact I found it hard to watch (and listen to) unlike the "out-of-vision" commentary presented on the CLASSIC SERIES DVD releases. The commentary team represented the Director, Jonny Campbell, Writer, Toby Whitehouse and guest actor, Lucian Msamati and, on the surface, it would seem a balanced choice but it, with the exception of Campbell, it is one of the most boring commentary to be heard. Shame. Even Campbell felt that the commentary was heading "left-field": Can we gear up to say something more interesting now!"
There were a few genuine insights including the fact that (perhaps) this story had the first instance of displaying human blood on camera that the BBC WALES Production Team had veered away from since the 2005 series' re-launch.
Campbell revealed a number of eyebrow raising notations including (1) that the first meeting between the Doctor and the Calvierri Vampire girls was filmed a women's toilet, and (2) the Saturnyne creature is only shown on screen for a maximum of six seconds due to the expense of CGI (more than that time period and the cost is doubled).
DISC FOUR
- THE HUNGRY EARTH
- COLD BLOOD (in-vision commentary with cast and crew)
- VINCENT AND THE DOCTOR
- MONSTER FILES - THE SILURIANS
- Video diary
Of the six this is the most balanced disc; beautifully produced episodes, the commentary for COLD BLOOD is intelligent & entertaining, and Matt Smith's video diary is as funny as an episode of SEINFELD or CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM. Squeaky bum time, indeed.
The commentary team of Ashley Way (director of COLD BLOOD), James Dehaviland (2 nd Assistant Director) and Alun Raglan (Mo in the Silurian two-parter) offer a range of professionally insightful as it discusses the pre-production, filming and post-production of COLD BLOOD in a way that disc three's commentary team did not.
The highlights being:
On the incidental music, Ashley Way: A "Hitchcockian" score from Murray Gold.
On the re-using of sets from earlier episodes, James Dehaviland: Those were the corridors from the Byzantium ship from episode 4.
The director revealed that in the original script Restac was to be male, and that the murder of Alaya had to be referred to BBC COMPLIANCE due to sensitive nature of the scenes.
On the relationship of the two-parter and the CLASSIC SERIES episodes featuring the Silurians, James Dehaviland: Very Pertwee.
Ashley Way: I watched the boxset of the Silurian (DOCTOR WHO - BENEATH THE SURFACE). We didn't watch consciously take but we borrowed the feel; a nostalgic feel to it.
On dragging people down into the ground, James Dehaviland: In one of the drafts the trees were supposed to pull people down.
Ashley Way: Yes, the roots pulling people down in to the graves.
On the lead actor, Ashley Way: Matt is amazing in this. A mature Doctor. Sensational, really.
The video diary is, quite frankly, sensational too as Matt Smith goes behind the scenes of the final two episodes of SERIES 5 and (charmingly without menace) embarrasses the make-up and costume ladies, gets a close-up of Karen Gillan's chin (singular as she asserts: "I don't have two chins") and of "The Kingston" dressed as Cleopatra ("I might look like mutton dressed as lamb").
DISC FIVE
- THE LODGER
- THE PANDORICA OPENS
- THE BIG BANG (in-vision commentary with Toby Haynes, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill)
- THE MONSTER FILES - THE ALLIANCE
- OUTTAKES
Whilst this DVD boxset is devoid of any "alternative scenes" or "deleted scenes" it does redeem itself with a (brief) selection of comic outtakes salvaged from the digital cutting room floor. The highlight being is the new theme tune version by Smith and James Corden; it could be a download for CHILDREN IN NEED. Oh, and then there's Karen Gillan's outrageous "pregnant belly-dance" on the set of AMY'S CHOICE. Oh, oh, and the squelchy hands outtake from THE BEAST BELOW. More please.
The in-vision commentary is the perfect way to complete SERIES 5's epic journey in the company of Gillan, Darvill and THE BIG BANG's director Toby Haynes, and, unsurprisingly, they have true affection for the finale.
The highlights being:
Toby Haynes: THE MILL is the extra actor in this story.
Haynes reveals that during the making of this episode (and THE PANDORICA OPENS) that he played atmospheric music (from other films and TV programmes) to give the cast an added dimension of foreboding & threat.
Talking about the lengths that he went to get the best shots, Toby Haynes: I was in that stone Dalek to get a POV (point of view) shot of the Doctor.
On the lead actor, Toby Haynes: Matt's Doctor reminds me of Jack Sparrow in the PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN films. Very energetic.
On the Doctor's comments to Auton Rory about keeping away from heat & radio signals, Toby Haynes: All refers to the CLASSIC SERIES.
On the different ways of saying "Doctor", Karen Gillan: I have a bank of "Doctor!" in the recording studio so you can choose which one for each scene.
Joking about Matt Smith, Toby Haynes: He's not that talented.
Arthur Darvill: He's horrible in real life.
Toby Haynes: And he hates children.
On the filming the bathroom scene on the eve of the Wedding and listening to the sound effects, Arthur Darvill: I was doing a wee.
Karen Gillan: Arghhh.
On shouting, Karen Gillan: I'm really loud, aren't I?
On the final credits scene, Toby Haynes points out that for the first time in SERIES 5 that the TARDIS is seen travelling in the Vortex as it heads to it's new adventure (DOCTOR WHO - A CHRISTMAS CAROL).
DISC SIX
This disc contains 13 episodes of DOCTOR WHO CONFIDENTIAL in a "cut-down" format.
So, should DOCTOR WHO - THE COMPLETE SERIES 5 DVD boxset be at the top of your Christmas list (yes, we all have a list, don't we?).
Of course, it shouldn't.
Why and how can you wait.
Is it essential viewing?
Of course. The series does feel like a "new series" and could be enjoyed viewing-after-viewing-after-viewing for years to come but is strange that this is no "stand-out" episode that you will find yourself fast-forwarding to. My only criticism is that the DOCTOR WHO CONFIDENTIAL episodes have become tedious, predictable and patronising (at times) and I would suggest that, in this age of austerity, budgets are withdrawn from DWC and focus on "all-new" material (such as "Meanwhile in the TARDIS.).
The boxset is released on 8 November. The new Christmas Day for DOCTOR WHO fans.
