Doctor Who-Series 2-Volume 1 (2005)

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General		Extras
Category	Science Fiction	Main Menu Audio & Animation
Rating
Year Of Production	2005
Running Time	103:05 (Case: 102)
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	None Given
Studio Distributor	Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	David Tennant Billie Piper Camille Coduri Noel Clarke
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI	$34.00	Music	Ron Grainer Liana Del Giudice Mike Jones

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/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

Rose: 'He's the Doctor.' Jackie: 'Doctor Who?'

    I loved the first of the new seasons of Doctor Who last year and looked forward with great anticipation to this year's new series starring the latest actor to play the Doctor, David Tennant, whose work I have previously enjoyed in other BBC shows such as Blackpool or Casanova. Once again Roadshow are releasing each disc of the new series separately, one per month from now until November. This series will be spread over 5 discs instead of 4 like last year (There are thirteen episodes plus the special). One assumes they plan to follow it up with a box set once again. I was a little disappointed to see that this first disc only contains two episodes, the slightly longer than normal Christmas special and the first episode of the new series proper. Otherwise, the presentation is very similar to last year, right down to menu design.

    It was a shame that Christopher Eccelston only agreed to do one season, but David Tennant is equally good (in a different way) as the new new Doctor Who. He is quite a different Doctor to Eccleston, just as cheeky but more personable and emotional. It's great to see a different characterisation rather than trying to impersonate the previous incumbent. Rose, Jackie & Mickey all return, as do some other favourites from Series 1 such as Harriet Jones, Cassandra & The Face of Boe. The first two episodes are both enjoyable, although the first one doesn't really kick into life until the Doctor fully recovers from his regeneration. The second episode is excellent. There is even a cheeky reference to Hitchhiker's Guide.

    The episodes included here are:

1. The Christmas Invasion (58:57) - The new Doctor and Rose return to earth at Christmas time but the Doctor has not recovered from regeneration and falls into a trance like sleep. At the same time strange beings disguised as Santas or Christmas trees start to appear, which seems to herald an alien attack on Earth. Harriet Jones, who appeared as an MP in two episodes of Season 1, has now become the Prime Minister. She tries to stand up to the new alien invasion by the Sycorax, while the Doctor sleeps on blissfully unaware.
2. New Earth (44:08) - The Doctor & Rose arrive on a planet called New Earth in the far distant future and visit a strange hospital staffed by cat-nuns. The sisters seem able to miraculously cure any known disease. Then Rose gets kidnapped and Cassandra reveals herself in a surprising way. Obviously the Doctor has to rescue Rose whilst also solving the mystery of the miraculous cures.

    These first two episodes have kicked the new series off in style, although the disc contents seem a bit skimpy. Recommended.

    Big Thanks to Roadshow for the natty Dalek bottle opener which screams 'Exterminate' when you open a bottle.

Video

    The video quality is better than last year but still nothing special.

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

    The picture was reasonably clear and sharp throughout, although you certainly could not refer to it as crisp. The sharpness was also affected by colour bleeding, especially from light colours. There was no evidence of low level noise. Shadow detail was average with some areas being a little murky. There is occassionally some light background grain, as at 30:35 in Episode 1.

    The colour was fine from a vividness and richness perspective, however the aforementioned colour bleeding from light colours was annoying, especially in outdoor scenes.

    The only noticeable artefact was aliasing which was occasionally present but not overly intrusive.

    There are subtitles in English for the hearing impaired. The English subtitles were clear and easy to read, however were a little small in size.

    The layer change occurs between episodes.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

    The audio quality is reasonable.

    This DVD contains an English Dolby Digital 2.0 surround soundtrack encoded at 192 Kb/s. Overall it did not seem as dynamic as last year's soundtrack.

    Dialogue was fine, except when overlapping with music or sound effects when it sometimes became overwhelmed. This made it difficult to catch some words and sentences. I ended watching the show with the subtitles on.

    The original theme song by Ron Grainer has been modernised and the other incidental music is provided by Murray Gold. The music is of good quality and adds to the production.

    The surround speakers added some music and mild effects.

    The subwoofer was not used noticeably.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

    None.

Menu

    The menu included an intro, music, and music. Nicely done.

    This disc has been released in the same format in Region 2 and does not seem to have been released as yet in Region 1.

    The second series of the new Doctor Who kicks off in style but the DVD only contains 2 episodes.

    The video quality is better than last year but still nothing special.

     The audio quality is reasonable but has a slightly difficult mix.

    The disc has no extras at all.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall