Search - Doctor Who: The Complete Fifth Series on DVD

K. K. (GAMER)
Reviewed on 12/21/2022...

Episodes include: the Eleventh Hour, the Beast Below, Victory of the Dalens, the Time of Angels, Flesh and Stone, the Vampires of Venice, Amy's Choice, the Hungry Earth, Cold Blood, Vincent and the Doctor, the Lodger, the Pandorica Opens and the Big Bang.

A NEW DOCTOR ,SAME GREAT SCI FI

REdRUM | 11/05/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Matt Smith had large shoes to fill taking over for David Tennant, but he did brilliantly. He takes on the role with charm, humor and intelligence. His companion is the sexy and witty Karen Gillian as Amy. She and the Doctor work very well together as the tackle adventure after andventure along with trying to understand the mysterious cracks. THe doctor is reunited with River Song (some say she is the Rani or Romana) and must take on not only his greatest enemy the Daleks but all his enemies it seems in the end. Great Stories and effects make this such great sci fi. Each adventure will lead to the last as "SILENCE WILL FALL" Watch and enjoy"

The torch has been passed

Jon Thompson | Van Nuys, CA United States | 11/06/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've been a Doctor Who fan for thirty years, back when it was only occasionally available on PBS. Fortunately it was also the time of vhs so I managed to record a plethora of episodes going back to Jon Pertwee.

Everyone will tell you they have a favorite Doctor. For many it was the quirkiness and smile of Tom Baker that first sold them. For others the suave sophistication of Pertwee. For me it was Peter Davidson for the very simple reason that, for the first time, the Doctor was no longer a character, he was a person. A bit stuffy perhaps, but a reasonably ordinary being with the same sorts of reactions as us humans to various situations. He was a the kind of guy you could really see yourself hanging around with and not always feeling a bit out of place.

When Doctor Who was revived by the BBC with Christopher Eccleston in the title role, I was initially dubious. He was too brooding, too angry, and his attempts at humor came off a bit sinister. Not my ideal traveling companion. But then David Tennant assumed the role and at last the Doctor was fulfilled. Possessing all the sense of fun of a Tom Baker, but with the ability to be a deliberate goof of Patrick Troughton. Yet in an instant he could become quietly menacing. And his rages (and their results) were frightening. In short, for me he WAS the Doctor, the regeneration it had all been leading up to.

Naturally, learning that David would depart after only four years raised a concern for me. There was even talk that the show itself could be cancelled. How could the top David?

Well, they didn't. They did something better and something earlier teams of Doctor Who producers and writers had known since William Hartnell announced he was leaving the first incarnation of the Doctor. They went sideways. And with delightful effect.

Matt Smith has qualities that wouldn't sit well in David's Doctor, but which suit the new direction of the show to a tee. He is, by turns, absent-mindedly brilliant, goofy, geeky, thoughtful, charming and, ultimately, unique. Just like all prior Doctors have been. And it works. Again.

In addition, the transition to the helm being manned by Peter Moffett is producing many of the most intricate, thoughtful and engaging stories. The high standard set by such earlier incarnation episodes as the brilliant "Blink" (Season 3) is being nicely maintained. It's even being played with, as demonstrated by the Doctors use of the Matter Transfer wrist devide in the final episode of this latest season.

All in all, the Doctor and his latest, perhaps most charming Companions (Rory and Amy) promise some exciting heights to be reached in Matt's second season (provided he never ever dons a Fez again. That was just so wrong. Really.) For this first season we are treated to a fantasic episodic science fiction series merely shifting gears and making a sharp turn, tires squealing the whole way. And anyone who enjoys sci-fi, wit, excitement and thought-provoking concepts could do much worse that this latest season."