BBC | 2009 | 311 mins. | Not Rated
After an enormously successful four year run, the writers and producer of Dr. Who delivered a fourth season finale that wrapped up the series revival more perfectly than I could have ever imagined; appropriately titled “Journey’s End,” it brought back all of the major players from David Tennant’s years in the title role. Perfectly executed, the episode offered the perfect farewell for each character and provided fans with a real sense of closure. As a result, the five Doctor Who specials broadcast intermittently between Christmas 2008 and New Year’s 2010 had the unenviable task of following what had been a high water mark in the series’ history.
But alas, as Doctor Who fans know, this show never really dies. The plan was for a season five featuring Tennant’s replacement, a newly regenerated Eleventh Doctor, to be played by newcomer Matt Smith who would make his debut in 2010. An idea was hatched to give Tennant, producer/head writer Russell T. Davies, and producer Julie Gardner a series of specials in which they could acknowledge Tennant for his contributions and allow him to go out with a bang, while giving the series new star (and executive producer/head writer Stephen Moffat), to rework the series.
The Next Doctor is the perfect standalone episode. If you’re not a big fan of the series, you might want to watch this one, because nothing big happens and you can understand it with little prior knowledge. Landing in 19th Century London, on Christmas Eve, 1851, the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant) encounters a man claiming to be a Doctor himself. After figuring out this Next Doctor (David Morrissey) is a future incarnation, The Doctor gets to work on the task at hand: halting the return of the Cybermen (who has escaped the Void), thwarting a plot involving kidnapped children, and stopping the Miss Hartigan (Dervla Kirwan) from triggering the ascension of the CyberKing. In the end, this special turns into complete and utter nonsense. Since we didn’t know who the eleventh Doctor was going to be when this special aired, would it have been cool if it turned out to be David Morrissey?
Planet of the Dead could be described as fun and frivolous. When a bus accidentally drives into a wormhole and appears on a desert planet called San Helios, its passengers—the Doctor and his latest Companion, a cat-burglar named Christina de Souza (Michelle Ryan), among them—are forced to find a way home. The housefly-like aliens called Tritovores are revealed to be monstrosities working to stop a real menace, a swarm of portal-generating stingrays bound for Earth. Tennant continues to anchor every scene with his squirrelly but endearing performance as the series’ flawed demigod, but his castmates have little to do aside from gasping and screaming on cue. Worse, Christina turns out to be one of the Doctor’s least interesting companions. It’s almost as though Davies is so committed to giving Tennant a royal sendoff that he forgot to write anything worthwhile for the rest of the actors.
Things get much better with The Waters of Mars, a thriller that presents the Doctor with an impossible choice: adhere to the Time Lords’ code of non-interference or alter history to his liking. On Mars in 2059, the Doctor discovers the first human colony, Bowie Base One; an outpost whose destruction is well documented in Future History. Nervous about the date, he feels as though he should leave, but cant. He arrives just in time for the invasion of a mysterious water-based life form that can take over your body with the contact of a single drop of contaminated water. Similar to Aliens, the imagery is what sells it: infected victims show massive cracks around their lips; stuck in a perpetual smile while menacing eyes stare curiously and a seemingly impossible amount of water pours from hands, lips, hair. The Waters of Mars is decidedly darker than The Next Doctor or Planet of the Dead, ending with the Doctor in the most unlikely of places. Both Tennant and actress Lindsay Duncan (playing the Doctor’s latest Companion, Adelaide Brooke) deliver excellent performances, and their fellow supporting actors are just as strong.
Last but not least, are The End of Time, Parts One and Two. This could be subtitled the end of Tennant’s run. Though immensely popular, I suppose it was inevitable that he would want to move on. The Doctor (who apparently forgot all about the end of “The Waters of Mars” and now seems back to his old self) learns the Ood civilization has been developing too quickly; a cult manages to resurrect the Master (John Simm), but not without the death of his widow; many humans, but mainly Wilf, have been having nightmares about something; billionaire Joshua Naismith (David Harewood) got his hands on an “immortality gate” and needs the Master to make it work; and Timothy Dalton shows up as the Time Lord President, who’s trying to figure out how to not be dead since the show killed him off. That’s part one, and there’s just way too much going on. For the sake of clarity and brevity, I’m going to try and put the meaning of End of Time in simple context for you: It’s about the Doctor coming to terms with his own sins, and accepting his life for what it was.
Even though I’m a Doctor Who fan, I can’t help but think the specials didn’t really add anything to the overall mythology. The season four finale was so perfect, that it in itself, would’ve provided a clear segue for the eleventh Doctor.
All five specials are presented in gorgeous 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen transfers, helped, undoubtedly, by the decision to shoot Dr. Who in hi-def beginning with “Planet of the Dead.” While this SD presentation isn’t as grand as its HD counterpart, it’s still gorgeous. The visuals are top notch: the impeccable detail, the crisp black levels, the vibrant colors. It’s all good.
The 5.1 Dolby soundtrack is solid, too. The surround mix is clever without being over-the-top, and the levels are perfectly balanced. The music and effects are just right, with a cinematic feel that never overwhelms the dialogue. Optional English subtitles are included.
Doctor Who: The Complete Specials has a very strong set of special features that, limited audio commentaries notwithstanding, offers diehards and newcomers a down-to-Earth look behind the scenes.
Disc 1: The Next Doctor
The Next Doctor isn’t brimming with special features, but what it has is worth two hours of any Who fan’s life.
• The Next Doctor Confidential (56 minutes): This doc not only provides an exhaustive tour of the production, it features interviews with every key member of the cast and crew, examines the story and its place in the Who mythos, and digs into The Next Doctor’s script, casting, performances, special effects, location shoots, stunts, and more.
• Doctor Who at the Proms 2008 (59 minutes): With a live orchestral performance and a cheering crowd, this hour-long concert is a musical celebration of all things Who.
Disc 2: Planet of the Dead
• Planet of the Dead Confidential (HD, 57 minutes): Writer/producer Russell T. Davies, director James Strong, and countless other chatting heads chime in on the production as candid behind-the-scenes footage reveals the effort and hard work that went into Planet of the Dead.
Disc 3: The Waters of Mars
Like Planet of the Dead, The Waters of Mars skirts by with a single documentary.
• The Waters of Mars Confidential (HD, 58 minutes): Another captivating “Confidential” documentary. In it, Davies and his cast and crew discuss the Martian base sets, the team’s special and practical effects, the character-driven nature of the story, the emotional evolution of the good Doctor, and the reasons The Waters of Mars takes a slight detour from the established Who formula.
Discs 4 and 5: The End of Time, Parts One and Two
The End of Time two-parter boasts more supplemental content than the first three specials combined. Two audio commentaries, two hour-long documentaries, a forty-minute David Tennant video diary, and another half-hour of assorted features add substantial value to the set, and should give Who zealots another reason to drop some cash on the Blu-ray edition of The Complete Specials.
• Audio Commentaries: Actor David Tennant and director Euros Lyn (joined by Catherine Tate for Part One and John Simm for Part Two) host a pair of spirited discussions about The End of Time, the Who saga as a whole, and the characters at the heart of the tale.
• The End of Time, Part One Confidential (57 minutes): Davies and company return for a comprehensive look at The End of Time, its heroes and villains, vast vistas, makeup and prosthetics, special effects, stunts, climatic battles, and chapter-closing storyline.
• The End of Time, Part Two Confidential (57 minutes): What’s left to say about the set’s “Confidential” documentaries? The End of Time’s twofer is frequently more interesting than the specials it accompanies, and shouldn’t be missed.
• David Tennant Video Diary – The Final Days (41 minutes): The man who helped reinvent the Doctor reflects on his efforts, hops from set to set, and chast with his fellow castmates and crew.
• Doctor Who at Comic-Con (21 minutes): Follow David Tennant, Russell T. Davies, and Julie Gardner as they brave the depths of Comic-Con, answer questions on an official panel, and share their experiences with a room full of fanboys.
• Deleted Scenes (17 minutes): A collection of decent deleted scenes — culled from all five specials in the set — with introductions by Davies.
• Doctor Who BBC Christmas Idents (SD, 1 minute): Two semi-amusing Who-themed holiday promos for the BBC.
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