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Show:		8.0
Picture:		8.0
Sound:		9.0
Extras:		10.0
Score:		8.0

Director(s):	Euros Lyn • Graeme Harper • James Strong • Andy Goddard
Writer(s):	Russell T. Davies, Phil Ford, Gareth Roberts
Starring:	David Morrissey • David Tennant • Bernard Cribbins • Catherine Tate • Michelle Ryan • Lee Evans • lindsay duncan
Genre:	Adventure • Sci-Fi
Website:	http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/newyear/
Release Date:	February 02, 2010

List Price:	DVD - $36.99 ; Blu-ray - $44.99
Amazon:

The Blu-ray and DVD releases of Doctor Who: The Complete Specials have a defined audience: the millions and millions of fans who followed the original run and those who’ve signed on since its revival in 2005 with Christopher Eccleston as the titular adventurer. However, it should be noted by the casual reader that The Complete Specials collection is actually just as accessible to the curious viewer, even without a deep understanding of the Doctor Who legacy. The series has and always will be about fun science-fiction adventures blended with elements of the fantastic as they’re faced by the ever-reincarnated Doctor Who, whom, in this collection, is played by David Tennant, who held the role until just recently. The five stories collected here are well-rounded examples of Sci-Fi entertainment, and the extras on the disc only serve to increase the set's impressive value.

The set includes the five specials of Doctor Who, with summaries as follow.

“The Next Doctor” (aired December 25, 2008)

The Tenth Doctor (Tennant) finds himself in London circa 1851 on Christmas Eve. Within moments of landing the TARDIS, he’s confronted with a man who presents himself as “The Doctor” (David Morrissey). Now, the series has always been willing to play around with the concept of The Doctor encountering past versions of himself, but on this occasion something isn’t quite right. The would-be Doctor of 1851 seems to have a bad case of amnesia and just can’t seem to recall pivotal facts. The Doctor befriends the assumed past incarnation and his assistant Rosita (Velile Tshabalala), as the series-favorite villains, The Cybermen, seem to be on the rise once again. This time the Cybermen have subverted four of London’s top aristocrats under the guidance of a strong-willed matron named Mercy Hartigan (Dervla Kirwan).

“Planet of the Dead” (aired April 11, 2009)

After a daring burglary of an ancient golden goblet, Christina de Souza (Michelle Ryan) hops a bus to escape the scene, only to find an amusing seatmate in The Doctor, who’s been tracking an anomaly. Unfortunately for everyone on board that bus, they drive right into an invisible portal (a.k.a. the anomaly) and end up on a desert planet with seemingly no hope of passing back through until they can repair the bus from its collision. To make matters worse, the clock is ticking as a horde of flying beasties are heading their way and could potentially escape into earth if the Doctor, Christina and a squirrely scientist (Lee Evans) can’t get them back and close the gateway behind them.

“The Waters of Mars” (aired November 15, 2009)

In 2059, something has gone horribly wrong at the first human colony on Mars (named Bowie Base One – awesomely enough). It turns out that an old nemesis-race of the Doctor, the Ice Warriors, left a little present behind for anyone who might dare venture to Mars in their absence: a virus. Two members of the Mars colony, headed by Adelaide Brooke (Lindsay Duncan), contract an illness causing their bodies to overflow with water; in response, the Doctor sets out to find the cause and cure for what ails them. It might be one of the more interesting specials in the collection as it deals heavily with the idea of interfering with the past using a knowledge of the future, on numerous accounts.

“The End of Time: Parts 1 & 2” (aired December 25, 2009 and January 1, 2010, respectively)

David Tennant makes his final curtain call as the legendary traveler of time and space in this spectacular two-part special to once again face off against The Master, a fellow Time Lord bent on controlling everything. This special is almost a reunion of sorts for the show, as many faces who’ve come and gone return for cameo bits here and there; it really is the “event” of the set. The story begins with an allusion to an ominous message the Doctor received from a psychic he encountered in “Planet of the Dead” which simply said, he’d be hearing from the one who “will knock four times” soon enough. Sure enough, it comes to pass, thanks to the ever-pesky plot device of an earthbound cult intent on resurrecting some evil force (in this case, The Master). After a phenomenal face off (and the end of the first part of the special), the moment comes when the Doctor will meet his fate. It’s a fantastic finale for Tennant and well-worth watching again and again.

DVD and Blu-ray Presentation:

The show looks great in hi-definition, so if you were wondering if it was worth spending the extra cash to buy the Blu-ray version, that’s the main perk between the two copies. Otherwise, both the DVD and Blu-ray set contain the same features. The visual and audio for the Blu-ray set are quite good, even if the series has a playful penchant for using less than stellar special effects – it’s still a great visual presentation.

DVD and Blu-ray Bonus Features

Up front, this could be one of the best reasons to consider buying the specials on Blu-ray or DVD, there’s so much extra content to be found here. The specials already add up to just over five hours, but when you add in the extra features, it seems to go on forever. Doctor Who fans rejoice. Each disc has a “(Name of Special) Confidential” featurette which is an entire hour of the stars, writer Russell T Davies, and others talking about the challenges involved in filming the respective special. They’re all quite interesting, even to non-fans. After that, there are featurettes unique to each disc. “Doctor Who at the Proms” includes the entire live event of Doctor Who’s music being played before a large, enthusiastic audience with characters from the show traipsing up and down the aisles and making announcements on stage. “The End of Time” discs feature most of the meat, with each having an audio commentary (featuring a mix of Tennant, Euros Lyn, John Simm (Part 2 only), and Catherine Tate (Part 1 only). Then Tennant offers up a video diary of his last days on the sets of the Doctor Who show and specials and another gives highlights of the Doctor Who experience as delivered at Comic-Con. The “Doctor Who BBC Christmas Idents” and a selection of deleted scenes round out the collection.

If you don’t care about the HD touch, then you may as well go with the DVD collection, as the two sets are virtually identical without it. But if you do care and you’re willing to spend a little extra for that polished sheen, definitely go for the Blu-ray version, the picture and audio quality have a noticeable bump.