List Price: $79.98
Sale Price: $39.07
Today's Bonus: 51% Off
OK, it's a little premature to judge something that hasn't been released yet. And I'm sure I'll make a few additions to this review when the set is released. In the meantime, this review is meant to enlighten you about Series 5 of Doctor Who.
I'm sure I wasn't the only fan who was skeptical that this lanky upstart Matt "Who?" Smith (Ha! Did you see what I did there?) could replace the wonderful 10th Doctor, played by David Tennant. But we long-time fans have come to accept that the role of the Doctor is going to change every few years. And in the case of Matt Smith, the role couldn't be in better hands.
But Doctor Who doesn't just have a new face in front of the camera; Steven Moffat, writer of such modern-day DW classics like "Blink" and "The Girl in the Fireplace" took over the showrunner position from Russell T. Davies. And again, the show couldn't be in better hands. Moffat has been very vocal about his reimagining of the series as a sort of dark fairy tale. And this is evident right from the start, as the TARDIS crash-lands in the back year of 8 year old Amy Pond. The figurative monster under Amy's bed is actually a crack in her wall, one that will have cosmic consequences throughout the season.
New companion Karen Gillan (playing the adult version of Amy) brings a spunky kick to the new Doctor's adventures. Yet one can still see hints of that lost little girl from time to time. Gillan and Smith perfectly compliment each other, as both appear wise and experienced far beyond their years. She almost immediately endures herself to the Doctor (and the audience, hopefully) in the 2nd episode, "The Beast Below," by preventing the Doctor from making a terrible mistake.
The series touches on more familiar territory--the Daleks, the Weeping Angels, the mysterious River Song--yet stays firmly entrenched in the fantasy world Moffat has helped to create. As the bowtie-wearing Time Lord, Smith channels Doctors of the past from Patrick Troughton to David Tennant. He is, as Amy Pond notes in the first episode "a mad man with a blue box." And despite his seemingly unhinged nature, Smith gives the Doctor great dramatic weight when needed. . .whether it's righteous indignation at alien (or human) stupidity, or trying to protect his new companion from the inevitable fate that befalls all his fellow travelers.
Doctor Who carries on in fantastic style, and I for one hope that Smith and Gillan stay with their roles for years to come. I congratulate Steven Moffat and his team for honoring the legacy of Doctor Who, but making it all their own at the same time. Highly recommended.
UPDATE: As expected, the set doesn't disappoint. Doctor Who began filming in HD in 2009, and the Blu-ray format is perfect for capturing the gorgeous cinematography and excellent effects work. There are behind-the-scenes features for every episodes, some amusing outtakes, and a few commentary tracks. And this may be a minor point for many people, but the packaging is really impressive. The cover features a 3-D lenticular hologram, and there are 3 bonus art prints featuring the Doctor, TARDIS, and a Dalek. THIS is how you do t.v. on Blu-ray :-)
Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>
I was very unsure of whether I would warm up to the new cast even as far as midseason. I had absolutely loved David Tennant and Chris Eccleston, and these were some very large shoes to fill. Fortunately, Matt Smith gave me a delightful surprise and ended up owning the character in his own lighter way. He isnt as grave as the 9th doctor, nor as intense as Tennant's take. Considering the things that were happening in the doctor's life at the time those actors were portraying him (lost love, recovering from a lost people) it is not surprising that Smith's version is less damaged and more carefree. Don't get me wrong, I ADORE the previous incarnations, I'm just saying the evolution in personality at this time makes sense. It's reminiscent of when Tom Baker took over the reins in the early seventies with his big grin and goofy scarf just replace it with big hair and a goofy (but cool) bow tie.I wasn't at all sure about Amy until I realised later in the series that we weren't talking about 'just' Amy but her interraction and role in a larger cast of characters including River Song. When placed in the Doctor's 'party' of travellers, she is an effective companion. She certainly isnt pulling off all the notes and expressions of Donna Noble or filling the doctor's heart and soul like Rose Tyler, but at this stage of the doctor's life I think that with the rest of the ensemble she does an admirable job. It's important not to consider her as a replacement for companions of the past because if you do, she doesnt feel (to me at least) like she is completing the picture, especially in the beginning episodes when you really focus on her.
It's definitely not the same as previous seasons. The darkness often appears and a few episodes have very sad moments, but theres a resilience in Matt Smith's doctor and an impeccable sense of comedic timing. If Tennant's doctor towards the end was a 'glass is half empty' kind of guy, Smith's is almost certainly 'half full'. Despite his youthful appearance he comes off as far far older. An excellent change of tone for the series and I am looking forward to next season!
Best Deals for Doctor Who: The Complete Fifth Series (2010)
It's a huge pet peeve of mine when people review Doctor Who based on their tastes rather than the objective standards on the show. Doctor Who as a show has changed so often and so radically that there will ALWAYS be parts of the show that, whether or not they are good, just don't appeal to people. If you want darkness and grit, try Season 7. If you want space exploration, avoid it. And so on, and so on.For this reason, I'm going to start with OBJECTIVE commentary standards of writing, storytelling, etc. and then proceed to the SUBJECTIVE, as in my personal take on the direction of the show, the style, and the acting.
First the objective.
THE PLOTS
Overall, this is a more tightly written series than the four which preceded it. There's a little more attention to plotting and logic, which is due in no small part to Moffat's talent for writing puzzlebox stories. In past seasons, you always knew you had to suspend a lot of your logical faculties to enjoy the season finales; this time around, it's much more acceptable on that front. There are still exceptions, specifically Victory of the Daleks, but in terms of plot this series is hitting higher peaks and just maintaining a higher average.
THE PRODUCTION VALUES
This is something I'm least inclined to give importance, since Doctor Who was always enjoyable regardless of its production, but the effects have definitely improved from the last season. Part of it comes from less overt reliance on CGI for the most part. You certainly don't get anything on the level of the TARDIS towing a planet. Additionally, the locations are substantially more effective and interesting. The Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone, Vincent and the Doctor, Vampires of Venice, and the finale all have examples of great, tactile locations that you could almost believe were real locations.
THE SOUNDTRACK
Although it's still Murray Gold in charge of the music, the tone of the soundtrack has shifted considerably along with the rest of the show. The music tends to be more upbeat, faster and more overtly heroic, as well as a lot more catchy. It's just a lot easier to hum the music you hear in the show.
THE CHARACTERS
(Note: this is in terms of the writing, not the performances.)
There were certain innovations in the cast which I thought were quite interesting, and perhaps necessary. For one thing, we have a male companion who is neither wholly incompetent nor utterly dumped by his girlfriend. Rory does start out in much the same position as Mickey, but unlike him he grows substantially as a character proving his worth and truly earning his place on the TARDIS by the last episode and Amy does not abandon him the way Rose abandoned Mickey. As a result, while the two relationships start out on similar pages, this most recent one ends up in a much more palatable place.
In terms of writing, Amy Pond is how Rose's character should have been treated in Series 2. Both start out as fairly selfish, obsessed with the Doctor to the point of being rather bratty. In Series 2, however, Rose never grows out of this condition, and the problem is instead solved by having the plot conveniently get her out of the way. In Series 5, however, Amy becomes substantially aware of her own brattiness and takes steps to change. The implied romantic subtext that made the Ten/Rose relationship so thoroughly creepy (please a nine-hundred-year-old and a nineteen-year-old? Don't insult my intelligence.) threatens to resume here, but...well, let's say the writers knew what they were doing on that score.
The Doctor here is largely without a character arc, in sharp contrast to his immediate predecessors. I would be quick to explain to viewers who haven't experienced the Eleventh Doctor, however, that this is a consequence of the change in showrunners. It was Moffat's intention to have a "safe" series to which viewers could adjust before ramping up his own style. As a result, we see aspects of the Doctor's future arcs and conflicts foreshadowed, but emotionally speaking the series is not so much about him, but more about his companions.
The supporting cast is fairly strong nothing particularly betteror worse-written than in previous seasons. Memorable characters include Winston Churchill, Rosanna Calvierri, and Liz Ten. River Song also appears in two stories, and given that it's her creator who's writing her character she's hardly mischaracterized.
THE BADDIES
The antagonists are all over the map. Standouts are the still-effective Weeping Angels, the Dream Lord, the...shall we say...baddies of the finale. The Earth Reptiles, the Vampires, and the Smilers are middling decently written, but not necessarily memorable. The Atraxi, the new Daleks, and the Krafayis are less memorable none of them are given a chance to be truly threatening. Overall, this kind of distribution is basically the standard for the New Series.
Now for my subjective interpretations.
THE PLOTS
After the extremely shoddy writing behind The End of Time, I was very happy to watch a Series that didn't insult my intelligence every step of the way. Victory of the Daleks, which does suffer from very shoddy logic, is thankfully over with very early in the season. From then on, any thin plotting is made up for by some other aspect: the atmosphere and the Doctor/Dream Lord interaction in Amy's Choice, Tony Curran in Vincent and the Doctor, and so on. I also enjoyed the comedy, though of course it's going to play differently with different people.
The more light-hearted approach this season was also fine with me since a) the Doctor had exorcised a lot of demons in The End of Time and b) after four years of suffering, the guy just needed a holiday. And as a childhood viewer, I was used to light-hearted Doctor Who anyway. But don't worry they haven't forgotten about his history, and there are some very poignant moments here.
THE PRODUCTION VALUES
As I said above, I place little importance on production values. If the Classic Series was good enough for me and countless others as a kid, it should be good enough for kids today. And frankly, I prefer good stories to good production. But maybe that's just me.
In general, I'm OK with CGI when it's depicting large-scale events such as the TARDIS in motion or a planet blowing up or something but less OK with trying to make CGI work in the creation of monsters. There's a fairly even balance in this series, but I feel they could have gone further. The Atraxi could have remained invisible; Prisoner Zero could easily have been made into a threatening puppet; the Krafayis could have been kept invisible; and so on. But as I said, a lot of the sets are very effective.
THE SOUNDTRACK
Call me crazy, but I don't like themes you can hum. The Classic Series soundtrack was all about atmosphere; it was about accentuating the situation while letting the characters do their thing. In the New Series there's a greater focus on characters, so it makes sense that there would be leitmotifs; but Murray Gold's work is going to feel very repetitive after a while. The Classic Series music almost felt improvised, which gave it a varied quality. Don't get me wrong; the music is still very good and enjoyable to listen to but I prefer it when the music stays in the background, if that makes sense.
THE CHARACTERS
Matt Smith is going to play differently for a lot of people, and the title role is often the biggest point of contention in criticizing the show.
What follows is purely my opinion so take it for what it is but I never quite bought the Tenth Doctor. This wasn't due to Tennant, who is a very skilled and versatile actor. But the Tenth Doctor never quite convinced me that he was a) an alien or b) 900 years old. Actors such as Tom Baker and Sylvester McCoy, perhaps because of their middling age, were able to portray the Doctor as an ageless character who were always focused on the big picture. The Doctor's age and his alienness are his two most important traits, and for me somehow that mix just didn't come through. By no means was he a bad Doctor he just wasn't my thing.
You might have guessed this, but I found Matt Smith to be an improvement. Smith is of course a younger actor than Tennant, and as with many fans I was hesitant about accepting him when I first looked him up. But Smith has three things going for him. The first is that Smith is EXTREMELY good at playing quirky characters. Watching him, it's difficult not to think that he actually IS an alien in real life. His brand of quirk may rub some people the wrong way, but for me he's so natural in the way he does this that I can't help but buy it.
The second is that whether it's because of his looks or his technique, he does in fact come across as a more mature character than Tennant's Doctor. There's a moment in the finale when the Doctor is...let's say sitting next to someone...where he closes his eyes, and it felt like a slap in the face: this guy IS ancient. It always puzzled me why they chose to make the Tenth Doctor so youthfully, given that even the Fifth Doctor played the role like an old man, and so for me this was a breath of fresh air.
The third trait is warmth. Simply speaking, you can't help but think the Eleventh Doctor is a really, really nice guy. In fact, this might even work against his character if he tries to be extremely angry or threatening but that's more a question for Series 6. Taking these traits together, I found Smith convincing as a) an alien, b) a kindly father, and c) a superhero. Smith works for me.
The companions are a bit more mixed. I very much enjoy the work of the actor who plays Rory he's modest and down-trodden, but with deep reserves of strength, courage, and above all else love. I really wanted Rory to become the hero he deserved to be. As for how this pans out...let's say the writers knew what they were doing.
I wasn't so impressed by Karen Gillan as Amy Pond. I think it was due in part to Amy's character being deliberately written as initially selfish, but at the same time playing a character like that requires great versatility in an actress a comic background often helps and I'm not sure Gillan has quite the range to keep her character likable in ambiguous moments. I was personally more invested in Rory but, luckily enough, the season's treatment of Rory also enabled Amy to grow in a much more palatable direction.
I confess that I never cared all that much for River Song. She's become such an icon to Doctor Who fans that they just can't stop quoting her, which has led her into the habit of having "catchphrases" a writing contrivance I personally despise. But conceptually speaking, there's nothing wrong with her here, and if you liked her in Series 4 you'll like her here too.
THE BADDIES
Not much to add on this score, except to say that...yes, I also disliked the new Dalek design. The best possible explanation for the color scheme is that it's supposed to be impressive, but my problem with this is that the Daleks were never interested in impressing anyone. Their armor is functional, not pretty. And yes, my favorite scheme is indeed the gunmetal grey from the Fourth Doctor's era. So shoot me.
OVERALL
This is a fairly solid season across the board, I would say the second best after Series 1 (I can't compare to the Classic Series). The main issues people are going to have are taste-related ones. If you don't like Matt Smith; if you didn't want a bit of a lighter approach to Doctor Who (even if only for one year it gets a lot darker in Series 6); if you miss too many characters from the earlier seasons; if you prefer the "comic-book" approach to the "fairy-tale" approach, then you'll have trouble appreciating the series.
My advice? Don't take it too hard. Don't narrow your expectations too much, and try and get through the Series anyway. Let it digest a little. It's always difficult for fans to make this sort of transition, but it's often healthy to do so. Just don't force it and you might end up enjoying it a lot more than you thought you would.
Honest reviews on Doctor Who: The Complete Fifth Series (2010)
I don't watch much televison past a daily news show and care little for following a series except one ... this one. I don't know why, but 'Doctor' Tom Baker drew me into it with what has become a decades long intrigue in this series through David Tennant's endearing portrayals. There's something about Doctor Who that is just plain fun for this Yank.This episode starts Season 5 under the reigns of Steven Moffat and a new Doctor. Unless one had the 'spoilers', ep-1 left many fans a bit confused about the direction it would take and, therefore, concerns about how Matt Smith as The Doctor would fare. All those worries evaporated with the episode 12 and 13 finales, which I count as among the two best ever episodes. I firmly decided that Steven Moffat is an evil genius. He has manipulated me into actually buying a TV episode, which I NEVER do, on the suspicion that episode 1 is peppered with a zillion clues to Moffat's madness. Sure enough, it is.
It took special actors to carry this off. Matt, Karen, Arthur, Alex ... you are off-the-plot terrific. Thank you for your good work! New episodes return in December 2010 and a very special Xmas present, indeed!
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Doctor Who: The Complete Fifth Series (2010)
Each doctor brings something different to the table so it's not easy to compare them.9th doctor: Christopher Eccleston was strong in showing the darkness of the last of the time lords, but when it came to showing light heartedness he would sometimes be caught forcing his facial expressions.
10th doctor: David Tennant was strong in showing vulnerability and his sadness and lonliness was palpable to the audience. but again there was sometimes forcing of his facial expressions during scenes where he was showing intense shock or anger.
11th doctor: Matt Smith does not force his acting at all. There's no pushing and it comes across as natural at all times. He is especially strong in showing the doctor's lighthearted madness. For many this might make him the best performer out of the three and therefore the best doctor; however, he lacks vulnerability in his approach. With the two previous actors you could often see the despair, lonliness and fear that the doctor holds insidefor them the madness the doctor portrayed was often an attempt to hide these vulnerabilities. Where as Matt Smith's doctor seems to just be somewhat mad...simply because he is mad. And to his credit Smith portrays this very well actually, but it's not as interesting because it was the doctor's vulnerability that made him so easy to relate to even though he is an alien time lord from outer space that travels in a 1960's police box. There are so many scenes where Smith chooses not to show any fear in the face of danger, while Tennant and Eccleston often did. If the doctor isn't scared about what's about to happen then why should the audience care what's going to happen? I found myself drifting in my attention sometimes. The main problem is that the writing in seasons 5 & 6 is significantly less interesting than it was during Tennant's reign as the doctor, which means Matt Smith has less rich material to work with. (Not always"Vincent & the Doctor" s5 and "The God Complex" in season 6 for instance are well written episodes).
All in all I don't find seasons 5 & 6 to be nearly as good as previous seasons, but most of that has to do with the writing rather than the new doctor. Upon investigation I found out that indeed the writers did change at the start of series 5. That explains a lot. But don't get me wrongit's still Dr. Who so it's still fun to watch, but I find that previous seasons were much more memorable.
