Doctor Who-Last Christmas (Blu-ray) (2014) |
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General | Extras | ||
Category | Science Fiction |
Audio Commentary Featurette-Behind The Scenes |
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Rating | |||
Year Of Production | 2014 | ||
Running Time | 60:16 | ||
RSDL / Flipper | No/No | Cast & Crew | |
Start Up | Language Select Then Menu | ||
Region Coding | 4 | Directed By | None Given |
Studio
Distributor |
Roadshow Home Entertainment |
Starring |
Peter Capaldi Jenna-Louise Coleman Nick Frost |
Case | Standard Blu-ray | ||
RPI | $29.95 | Music | Murray Gold |
Video | Audio | ||
Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None |
English DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 English Descriptive Audio Dolby Digital 2.0 English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 |
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Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 1.78:1 | ||
16x9 Enhancement |
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Video Format | 1080i | ||
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 |
It is hard to believe that any television show could run for 50 years, let alone what started as a little sci-fi series designed for kids on the BBC. This series has enthralled, excited and inspired generations of children and adults alike. There have been spin-off series, movies and more over the years. The new incarnation of the series has now completed its Eighth season. This season sees a new Doctor take the controls of the Tardis and he is certainly a departure from the younger Doctors such as the last two. Peter Capaldi is the new actor in the role and he is a revelation, cranky, less empathetic especially to people's emotions but still the same guy who wants to save the world and protect everyone in it. This is great writing and a great new direction for the show.
The new Doctor Who series has been going from strength to strength with excellent storylines, four interesting actors as The Doctor (Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, Matt Smith & now Capaldi) plus some excellent companions such as Amy Pond (Karen Gillan), Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill) and River Song (Alex Kingston). The second part of the seventh season introduced a new companion, Clara Oswald (Jenna-Louise Coleman) although the character or variations on the character had appeared in previous episodes. She continues through Series 8 becoming the companion to the new Doctor but not without some reservations on her part.
This latest release is the post-Season 8 Christmas Special which was aired pre-Christmas in the UK and post-Christmas here. Generally speaking, I was disappointed with the Christmas special despite the appearance of Nick Frost as Father Christmas. It starts out quite funny but the story did not really work for me being a pretty weak copy of the idea in the movie Inception. The story kicks off with Father Christmas landing on the roof of Clara's house some time after she decided to stop travelling with The Doctor. Soon afterwards, The Doctor arrives in the TARDIS and whisks her away, seemingly to the Arctic. Soon it becomes clear that more than is obvious is going on and the Dream Crabs are responsible. How will they get out of their own dreams alive?
This 60 minute special feels somewhat confused from a narrative perspective and does not stack up in quality terms to the rest of Series 8. The episode does end with some good news for series fans though, in my opinion anyway. A disappointment but certainly still of interest for Doctor Who fans.
The video quality is very good, a step up from previous Doctor Who Blu-rays.
The feature is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio which is the original aspect ratio. It is 1080i rather than full 1080p.
The picture was quite sharp and clear throughout. Shadow detail was very good.
The colour is excellent, really showing off the new sets and locations for this series.
There was some minor motion blur during fast movement and some little bits of aliasing.
There are subtitles available in English for the Hearing Impaired which are clear and easy to read.
There are no obvious layer changes.
Sharpness | |
Shadow Detail | |
Colour | |
Grain/Pixelization | |
Film-To-Video Artefacts | |
Film Artefacts | |
Overall |
The audio quality is very good without being at feature film quality.
This disc contains an English soundtrack in DTS HD-MA 5.1 and an Audio Descriptive track and commentary in Dolby Digital 2.0.
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 well used for lots of directional effects such as lasers, screams and action scenes plus significant atmosphere and music and the subwoofer supported the TARDIS sounds, music and action scenes.
Dialogue | |
Audio Sync | |
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts | |
Surround Channel Use | |
Subwoofer | |
Overall |
A small collection of extras.
The menu features music and scenes from the show. Audio Navigation is available as an option.
This is a pretty good commentary where they discuss scheduling and shooting challenges, makeup issue, casting, sets, anecdotes, scripting and more. Worth a listen.
A behind the scenes featurette including cast and crew interviews and discussion of Nick Frost's role, the Dream Crabs, FX, plotting, casting and the presence of the son of second Doctor Patrick Troughton. Worthwhile.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
This special is available globally seemingly in the same format.
The video quality is very good.
The audio quality is very good.
A small selection of interesting extras.Video | |
Audio | |
Extras | |
Plot | |
Overall |
Review Equipment | |
DVD | SONY BDP-S760 Blu-ray, using HDMI output |
Display | Sharp LC52LE820X Quattron 52" Full HD LED-LCD TV . Calibrated with Ultimate DVD Platinum. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080p. |
Audio Decoder | Built into amplifier. Calibrated with Ultimate DVD Platinum. |
Amplification | Marantz SR5005 |
Speakers | Monitor Audio Bronze 2 (Front), Bronze Centre & Bronze FX (Rears) + Sony SAW2500M Subwoofer |