Doctor Who-Series 2-Volume 3 (2005)

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General		Extras
Category	Science Fiction	Main Menu Audio & Animation
Rating
Year Of Production	2005
Running Time	137:13
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (22:56)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	None Given
Studio Distributor	Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	David Tennant Billie Piper
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI	$29.95	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

    The third disc of the current series of Doctor Who has been released, featuring another blast from the past on the cover with the cybermen returning. Once again Roadshow are releasing each disc of the new series separately, one per month from July until November. Series Two will be spread over 5 discs instead of 4 like last year, consisting of fourteen episodes including the Christmas Special on Volume 1. One assumes they plan to follow it up with a box set once again. The presentation is very similar to last series, right down to menu design.

    These three episodes are all of good quality, although the first is slightly beneath the quality of the previous episodes in the series. However many fans will appreciate the return of the cybermen. I was just a little disappointed by the writing in that episode, although, the second episode of that story certainly picked up in quality terms. The third episode is excellent. One thing I have noticed about this new series is that a lot of the episodes are being set in London either in the current day, in the past or a parallel universe. This runs the risk of becoming a little monotonous as does the story line about meeting Rose's father in various times and dimensions. Not a big problem at this stage but I would like to see a little more variety.

    The episodes included here are:

1. Rise of the Cybermen (46:06) - First half of a two part episode. There is an explosion aboard the Tardis and the time vortex disappears causing them to crash into a parallel universe. Landing in London Rose and the Doctor find Rose's parents alive and still married but without a daughter. A ruthless but dying businessman, John Lumic (Roger Lloyd Pack ) has concocted a scheme to extend his life indefinitely by encasing his brain in a metal body. He also plans to upgrade all humans to become cybermen, to prove his invention. This will also allow him to take over the earth.
2. The Age of Steel (45:55) - Second half of two part episode. The Doctor, Rose & Mickey must work out how to stop Lumic.
3. The Idiot's Lantern (45:12) - The Doctor tries to go to 1950s New York but ends up in London in 1953, just in time for Queen Elizabeth's coronation and the introduction of television. However, all is not as it seems and the local TV salesman, Mr Magpie is being controlled by a woman on TV, called The Wire. People's faces start disappearing and their minds are being erased. The police start taking them away to avoid mass panic.

    Recommended.

Video

    The video quality is better than last year but still nothing special. This disc is the best of the three so far in video quality terms.

    The episodes are presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio 16x9 enhanced.

    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. The colour bleeding issue was less noticeable in these episodes but  certainly still present. There was no evidence of low level noise. Shadow detail was average with some areas being a little murky. There was a little light grain in some backgrounds and a few shots included some heavier grain.

    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 other noticeable artefact was minor aliasing which was occasionally present.

    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 at 22:56 in episode 2 and caused a bit of a jump.
    

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

    The audio quality is good, better than the previous two discs.

    This DVD contains an English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo track encoded at 192 Kb/s. Audio sounded a little more dynamic than on previous releases, with quite a bit more surround atmosphere when played using Pro Logic II.

    Dialogue was decent in these episodes, more discernable than the two previous discs.

    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 atmosphere.

     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 motion. Nicely done.

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

    The video quality is better than the previous two discs.

    The audio quality is better than the previous two discs.

    The disc has no extras at all.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall