BBC America – Warner Home Video Entertainment / Region 1 / Released November 2010
“Silence will fall.”
When the fifth series of Doctor Who was announced there was no small degree of consternation amongst it’s large fan base. This series would mark the biggest amount of change since the series re-vamp in 2005, gone was hugely popular David Tennant as the doctor, gone were his companions and gone was series over seer Russell T. Davies. Would the new team be up to the job, would Matt Smith be able to make a mark as the new Doctor? Well they needn’t have worried, Smith is super and new series boss Steven Moffat had already proved his chops by writing some of the best episodes of the new series. New companion Amy Pond was also an instant hit sparking off the Doctor in great style.
The series kicks off with the episode The Eleventh Hour with the Doctor taking new companion Amy (and her husband Rory) under his wing and having just 20 minutes to save the Earth and over the course of the thirteen episodes there is lots more classic Who action, the Silurians even make a welcome return in the two part epic story The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood. Mark Gatiss (who teamed up with Moffat to also produce the excellent Sherlock this year too) turns in an excellent Daleks story and famed comedy writer Richard Curtis also gave us an episode featuring Vincent Van Gogh in Vincent and the Doctor. Over arcing all this is some typically scary Moffat stuff involving “the cracks” which relate to cracks in time and have possibly lethal consequences for the universe and are causing people and events to be erased from history, something that was actually precipitated by the TARDIS being taken over by forces unknown. It’s clever and complex stuff that rewards the dedicated viewer and doesn’t impeed the casual viewer.
Some prominent guest stars also made an appearance including a return visit from Alex Kingston as well as the fab Bill Nighy, Sophie Okonedo, Bill Paterson, Ian McNeice, Iain Glen, Helen McCrory, Meera Syal, Tony Curran and James Corden.
This six disc set includes all thirteen episodes from the series as well as some excellent extras that takek the shape of additional scenes, 4 episodes of The Monster Files, all 13 episodes from the season of Doctor Who: Confidential, a three part video diary, 6 invision commentaries, copious out-takes and well over twenty teasers and trailers.