Doctor Who: The Complete Fifth Series Blu-ray Review

• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
  
• Video Codec: VC-1
  
• Resolution: 1080i/60
  
• Audio Codec: English DTS-HD High Resolution 5.1
  
• Subtitles: English
  
• Region: A
• Rating: Not Rated
  
• Discs: 6
  
• Studio: BBC/Warner
  
• Blu-ray Release Date: November 9, 2010
  
• List Price: $89.98

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BestBuy.com:

Purchase Doctor Who: The Complete Fifth Series on Blu-ray at CD Universe

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Overall
[Rating:4/5]
The Series
[Rating:4.5/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:3/5]

Click thumbnails for high-resolution 1920X1080p screen captures

(Screen captures are lightly compressed with lossy JPEG  thus are meant as a general representation of the content and do not fully reveal the capabilities of the Blu-ray format)

The Series

[Rating:4.5/5]

Creator Steven Moffat’s (Coupling, Torchwood) rebooted Doctor Who series has been one of the most popular series on the BBC from the beginning of its run. Now, in this fifth series, the first full season released on Blu-ray and the first captured in high definition, Matt Smith takes over the role as the eleventh incarnation of the Doctor, the time traveling Time Lord, the last of his kind in the entire universe. Also new to the cast is Karen Gillan as Amelia “Amy” Pond, his new traveling companion.

The fifth series finds the Doctor with a tattered TARDIS (his time machine shaped like a London Police telephone box) that must repair itself, an electronic screwdriver in need of repair and an ominous tear in the universe following him through the season. The Doctor must save the world, with the help of the charming young Amy.

The Doctor and Amy come across a number of historical figures on their time traveling journeys, including Winston Churchill and Vincent van Gogh. Of course, all the Doctor’s enemies make their appearances as well, including everyone’s favorite Daleks, the Weeping Angels and more.

Matt Smith makes for a great new, energetic Doctor, picking up the role without dropping a lick and Karen Gillan may be the most likeable of the Doctor’s traveling companions yet in the new Doctor Who series.

Video Quality

[Rating:4/5]

The Doctor Who: Complete Fifth Series collection arrives on Blu-ray with a solid 1080i/60 VC-1 encoding from the BBC absent too many motion artifacts and with a lifelike appearance. Flesh tones are natural, blacks are deep, and detail is pretty strong. There is a little bit of video noise and posterization present, but nothing that will hamper the overall viewing pleasure of the image.

Audio Quality

[Rating:3.5/5]

Audio is a DTS-HD High Resolution lossy mix. Though not quite as good as the DTS-HD Master Audio variety, it is still rather high quality and the mix is ambient, clean, and dynamic. High frequencies are a little on the harsh side and trail-offs sound a bit stifled, otherwise it’s a good, entertaining mix.

Supplemental Materials

[Rating:3/5]

There are a strong amount of supplements across this collection’s six discs, including quite a few picture-in-picture commentaries and a whole disc full of supplementary materials.

The supplements provided on this release are:

Disc 1:

• In Vision Commentary:
  • “The Eleventh Hour”
  • “Meanwhile in the Tardis” Additional Scene (1.78:1; 1080i/60)
• Video Diary (1.78:1; 480i/60; 0:09.38)

Disc 2:

• In Vision Commentaries:
  • “Victory of the Daleks”
  • “The Time of Angels”
• Monster File — The Daleks (2.35:1; 1080i/60; 0:10.14)
• Video Diary (1.78:1; 480i/60; 0:09.15)

Disc 3:

• In Vision Commentary:
  • “The Vampires of Venice”
• Monster File — Weeping Angels (2.35:1; 1080i/60; 0:10.29)
• Meanwhile in the Tardis Additional Scene (1.78:1; 1080i/60)

Disc 4:

• In Vision Commentary:
  • “Cold Blood”
• Monster File — The Silurians (2.35:1; 1080i/60; 0:09.14)
• Video Diary (1.78:1; 480i/60; 0:10.05)

Disc 5:

• In Vision Commentary:
  • “The Big Bang”
• Monster File — The Alliance (2.35:1; 1080i/60; 0:10.17)
• Out-Takes (1.78:1; 1080i/60; 0:07.34)

Disc 6:

• Confidentials (1080i/60)
• Trailers:
  • Teaser Trailers
  • Episodic Trailers
  • Finale Trailers
  • International Trailers

The Definitive Word

Overall:

[Rating:4/5]

The Fifth Series is a great reboot to the Doctor Who franchise. Matt Smith and Karen Gillan pick up the baton and run with it, making the latest series a fun ride from start to finish, ensuring that Doctor Who remains one of the best sci-fi series on television.

Additional Screen Captures:

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BestBuy.com:

Purchase Doctor Who: The Complete Fifth Series on Blu-ray at CD Universe

Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com

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