Doctor Who-Series 7-Part 1 (2007)

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General		Extras
Category	Science Fiction	Main Menu Audio & Animation Additional Footage Featurette-The Science of Doctor Who Bonus Episode-Webisodes
Rating
Year Of Production	2007
Running Time	223:00
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Graeme Harper Euros Lyn James Strong James Hawes
Studio Distributor	Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	Matt Smith Karen Gillan Arthur Darvill
Case	Amaray-Transparent
RPI	?	Music	Murray Gold

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.78:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

     The new Doctor Who series, of which this is Season 7, has been going from strength to strength with excellent storylines, three interesting actors as The Doctor (Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant & now Matt Smith) plus some excellent companions such as the current Amy Pond (Karen Gillan), Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill) & River Song (Alex Kingston), who plays a smaller role in this season.

     This set is somewhat of a departure from previous seasons as this time the season has been split in two with 5 episodes in 2012, a Christmas Special in the middle of the season and then 8 more episodes planned next year. In previous seasons, 13 episodes have been done together bookended by Christmas specials. Also, these episodes are more like individual specials a la the last David Tennant season rather than 13 episodes which tell one story. This certainly doesn't indicate that they are not of quality because these episodes are all well worth watching and of equivalent quality to other seasons (except for the lack of an overarching storyline).

     These episodes round out (SPOILER ALERT: highlight with mouse to read) the regular involvement of Amy Pond & Rory Williams as companions which in one sense is a shame but it does allow for the constant rebuilding of the show which has kept it going for so long. There are a mixture of old and new villains here including The Daleks, who are always nice to have, and the Crying Angels, which always add a creepiness that few other villains have added. The five episodes are quite different with the opening one a rollicking adventure which introduces the new companion (or so I understand), followed by a light and silly one involving dinosaurs, a lesser episode set in the old west and the final two which take us to the outcome mentioned in the spoiler above.

     So, a fun and entertaining set of five episodes which leave you wanting the rest of the season, which won’t be seen until sometime next year. Recommended.

Video

     The video quality is very good bordering on excellent.

     The feature is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio which is the original aspect ratio. It is 16x9 enhanced.

     The picture was very sharp and clear for DVD. Shadow detail was very good.

     The colour is also very good.

     There was some mild grain at times and a little macro-blocking during motion.

     There are subtitles available in English for the Hearing Impaired which are clear and easy to read.

    There is a bad layer change in Episode 2 which causes a significant pause.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     The audio quality is very good.

     This disc contains an English soundtrack in Dolby Digital 5.1.

     Dialogue was quite clear however sometimes it got lost in the mix of effects and music, meaning the subtitles were useful at times.

     The music by Murray Gold is excellent as usual adding significantly to the show.

     The surround speakers were surprisingly well used for wind, rain and lots of directional effects plus the music and subwoofer supported the music and action scenes.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

     A very good collection of extras

Menu

     The menu is similar to other seasons of Doctor Who featuring the Tardis in a wormhole and the theme music.

Pond Life (6:12)

     A collections of short webisodes of interactions between The Doctor and the Ponds between bigger adventures. Funny.

Asylum of the Daleks prequel (2:35)

     A cool prequel to the first episode of the season.

The Making of The Gunslinger (1:46)

     This is not a 'making of' but rather is a short extra scene for episode 3 which explains how the baddie, The Gunslinger, got made in the first place.

The Science of Doctor Who (43:34)

     Various scientists and cast & crew discuss how realistic the various ideas in Doctor Who are such as time travel, invisibility, The Tardis and regeneration. Includes footage from a number of seasons and is quite entertaining but doesn't really strike as a full-on documentary.

    This part season is available on Blu-ray locally and in the UK. On DVD, the local edition is probably the best available as the UK one doesn't seem to include the Science featurette.

    The video quality is very good.

    The audio quality is very good.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall