Doctor Who-Series 3-Volume 1: Runaway Bride (2006)

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General		Extras
Category	Science Fiction	Main Menu Audio & Animation Featurette-Music & Monsters
Rating
Year Of Production	2006
Running Time	60:19 (Case: 118)
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	Euros Lyn
Studio Distributor	Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	David Tennant Catherine Tate
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI	$29.95	Music	Ron Grainer Murray Gold

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

    I must say I am quite excited to get back to reviewing the new Doctor Who series with this disc which kicks off Season 3. Once again, Roadshow are releasing each disc of the new series separately, one per month from July until November. This series will be spread over 5 discs consisting of fourteen episodes including the Christmas Special which is on this first volume. A box set will in all likelihood be released later in the year. The presentation is very similar to last year right down to menu design. One change which I like is a funky new design for the disc itself. See the image below...

    This disc contains only one episode, the Christmas Special - The Runaway Bride, which is a little disappointing. Offsetting this is that a one hour extra is included which will certainly be of interest to many fans of the show, but more on that in the extras section below. The episode itself is a slightly extended one, running for 60 minutes rather than the usual 44 or so minutes.

    The episode starts with a wedding where the bride, Donna (played by English comedienne Catherine Tate) disappears into a cloud of particles as she is walking down the aisle and rematerialises inside The Tardis to the great surprise of both herself and The Doctor. She immediately reopens The Doctor's wound resulting from the loss of Rose as his companion at the end of Season 2 and accuses him of kidnapping her. The Doctor needs to work out how she got into the Tardis, how to get her back to her wedding and why the Santa Claus's are trying to kill people in London again. The episode also introduces The Racnoss, a giant spider-like race of aliens, led by their evil Empress.

    This is a fun and reasonably light Christmas special which is a good counterpoint to the drama and sadness that the previous season ended with. It features an excellent action sequence involving The Tardis and a taxi. David Tennant is of course back as The Doctor with a boofier hairstyle and once again does a great job. He is of course currently without companion, a role temporarily filled by Catherine Tate for this special only. The new season will reveal how he will replace Rose, if that is possible.

    I am also greatly enjoying the new spin-off series Torchwood which is screening locally on the Ten Network. Torchwood is also due for DVD release from Roadshow later in the year.

   Another (hopefully of the same high quality) season of the new Doctor Who kicks off with a fun special.

Video

    The video quality is very good.

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

    The picture was surprisingly clear and sharp throughout, a significant improvement from previous discs. There is still some light colour bleeding to be seen but not as bad as previous discs. Shadow detail is also very good. There was no evidence of low level noise.

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

    There were no noticeable artefacts.

    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.

    There is no layer change in the main program.
    

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

    The audio quality is very good but a 5.1 mix would be nice.

    This DVD contains an English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo encoded at 192 Kb/s.

    Dialogue was clear and easy to understand throughout. Audio sync was also fine.

    The original theme song by Ron Grainer has been modernised and the score is provided by Murray Gold. The music is of excellent quality and adds significantly 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

Menu

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

Music & Monsters - Doctor Who Confidential (58:35)

    Presented 16x9 enhanced, in Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo and with optional subtitles. This hour-long special focuses on a charity concert organised in Cardiff (at the site of Torchwood's Cardiff office in Torchwood) to support Children in Need. The concert was hosted by David Tennant and featured a symphony orchestra playing Murray Gold's music along with onstage (and in audience) appearances by various characters from the show such as The Daleks and The Cybermen. This special includes footage from the concert itself which looks like a lot of fun and also some interviews and documentary pieces on the creation and setting up of the concert. Some of the topics covered in the documentary bits include how the theme tune has changed over the course of the series and some behind the scenes footage from The Runaway Bride. Fascinating stuff for big fans of the show but maybe a little too long for more casual fans.

    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 video quality is very good.

    The audio quality is very good.

    An hour long documentary on a special charity musical celebration of Doctor Who is included as the sole extra.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall