Tennant is at the top of his game as the Doctor for these last few episodes, being at turns funny and serious and creating one of the most likable incarnations of the Doctor the series has ever known. Fans of Doctor Who, at least fans of the new Doctor Who, will be incredibly pleased with this set. "Planet of the Dead," with its tale of the Doctor ending up on an alien world with a double-decker bus and an odd assortment of passengers and a new form of aliens who are going to destroy Earth is the most disappointing story-wise, simply because it feels as though the thought behind it went into the actual filming of it rather than the story itself. It, as noted in the aforementioned standalone review, makes for a good episode of the series but not something (outside of its production values) which feels truly "special."
Even with the relative disappointment of this entry however, the set is still a must-own for fans of the Who-niverse. People who have no prior relationship with the characters or story may find bits and pieces of it interesting — "The Waters of Mars" works best in this regard — but will probably not find themselves completely entranced.
In terms of video quality, it must be instantly noted that the first special, "The Next Doctor," was not originally filmed in high definition and has been upconverted for this release. The video quality isn't bad per se, but it is certainly a whole lot less detailed and defined than the others. The other entries feature better video quality, substantially more detail and a greater richness of colors, though they are only 1080i and not 1080p. There is some noise present in the image in all the episodes, though seemingly less in "The End of Time" than the others. The 5.1 DTS-HD audio track is crisp and clear, and the surrounds are put to good use with both music and effects. For a television series – and one must remember that they are watching a series here and not a massively big-budget blockbuster movie – everything sounds and looks good.
.jpg "Photo Credit: BBC")
The set also includes several special features. There is an episode of Doctor Who Confidential which accompanies each of the specials (five in total as there is one for each part of "The End of Time"). Confidential is, essentially, an in-depth making-of series. Confidential episodes run nearly an hour and truly go into how an episode of Doctor Who comes into being. There are also deleted scenes for the specials as well as audio commentaries with Tennant and Euros Lyn (director) for both parts of "The End of Time." Catherine Tate is with Tennant and Lyn for part one of the special and John Simm for part two. There are video diaries kept by David Tennant, BBC Christmas Idents (promos for the BBC), moments from a trip Davies, Tennant, Euros Lyn, John Barrowman, and Julie Gardner (executive producer) made to Comic-Con in 2009, and "Doctor Who at the Proms." This last piece is a concert featuring Doctor Who music filmed at the Royal Albert Hall as a part of the long-running British concert series. The musical tribute features some favorite characters from the series, is hosted by Freema Agyeman, and is great fun to both listen to and watch.
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