Amazon.co.uk Review
It was always going to be a risk for the BBC to revamp Doctor Who--few television programmes inspire as much rabid and cultish adoration. With the 2005 series, however, the BBC have really outdone themselves. Their updated Doctor Who is a revelation: a cult science fiction series that has real mass appeal, and works for both children and their parents. Christopher Eccleston is an inspired and charismatic Doctor--he leaps around the sets with an unrestrained glee, like he's a child running amok in a toy shop. His enthusiasm in downright infectious. His sidekick Rose (Billie Piper) adds a real human touch, particularly as she gradually and believably matures from in-over-her-head city kid to tough-minded interplanetary hero. Much of the credit must go to writer Russell Davies, who has a much-practiced knack for finding popular appeal without dumbing-down his ideas, and who appears to have let his imagination run riot. Even the special effects, whilst not of a big-budget cinematic quality, still manage to strike a balance between cheesiness and realism. Thrilling, funny and thoroughly entertaining, this Doctor Who is a hero for the new millennium. --Robert Burrow
Customer Reviews:
"His Dark Materials: The Northern Doc!".......2008-01-07
My favourite show returned and in better form than anyone could have believed. Overall this is a triumphant return in the form of a very rare beast; an updating that works. The roots of The Police Box Show are still there; tardis, lovely new version of the theme, a slightly mysterious loner, companions, monsters, time and space and good triumphing over evil.
The 1st new doctor for some time Christopher Eccelston is great. He is a dark loner but this is subtle and never overdone. Intense but not in a pretentious way that would have gone against family entertainment. He is less obviously eccentric than his predecessors but has a fondness for corny humor that is topped off with a toothy grin.
Billie Piper is the best companion in some time and works as the viewer identification.
Of the stories themselves are all of a good standard, with only "the Long Game" a tale of aliens running news feed statellites having ideas that don't gel too well.
The opener Rose introduces the concept of the show in a way Paul McGann's movie failed to. This is a high incident romp that whets the appetite for what's to come featuring old monsters Nestenes & Autons.
After the contemporary opener it's into the far future for "The End of the World" & Victorian Cardiff for "the Unquiet Dead" the new show's 1st classic.
There is more emotion at the core of new Who as we frequently meet Rose's mother and her ex-boyfriend and look at the consequences of being the people left behind. Also Rose instinctively saves her father's life after visiting the day of his death and then the resulting time paradox is meshed with the emotional fallout.
The Daleks triumpantly return with better effects and design and re-establish their menace in an episode featuring just 1 and then in a breathtaking CGI battle for the series finale.
New villains the Slitheen getting similar airtime, are a hit too with their wearing victims skins like a suit and their "gas exchange" causing excessive wind! Guaranteed to have the young ones sniggering.
New character Captain Jack is introduced in the blitz and goes on to be an excellent addition with Steven Moffat's writing and John Barrowman's acting.
This is the same old show and nods to the past are subtle not suffocating, Unit soldiers in the background, daleks ships like in their comic strips.
The extras include a fun commentary for every story, cut down versions of all the companion documentary show Dr Who: Confidential episodes, some video diaries and featurettes. All in all it's a pretty full package and sets the template for furture box sets.
The only gripe is the lack of Eccleston's presence on the extras. He is in some Confidential bits and a Breakfast Time interview, not the better 1 out of the 2 he gave either.
Still a highly recommended purchase especially at the marked down prices that it's come down to after 2 years.
The Police Box show is in safe hands
This is pulp riding of the coat tails of a great series and special effects.......2007-12-27
The original Doctor Who was about ideas. That has gone. The original series lasting for 27 years manage to keep the feeling, mantras, and backstrory/culture(mostly). In this revamp all that is thrown away. This is worse even than the Peter Cushing movies for losing the plot. Science Fiction is escapism. The more you try to bring in gitty reality and ordinary people's unbalanced personalities, the more it becomes something else. In science fiction you travel to other worlds. In this, you never leave Earth (unless its to go to New Earth or New New Earth). Aliens are replaced by horror movie products such as were-wolves or the devil or zombies. I guess this is what happens as our society because more "educated" but less aware of what science is about. The so called "high-points" of all the series so far is to bring back old creatures for the classic series. Without that this series would have almost no new ideas. I have kept watching these series as I have always been a Doctor Who fan but without the name it would just be a fusion of James Bond and bad horror. The creators of this series eliminated all the back-story from the previous series (ie. the other Timelords, Gallifrey etc). Many people feel bitter that Chris Eccleston left after this series but the fact is that David Tennett was better. Its a shame that Billy Piper didn't leave at the same time as she is a very poor actress.
Could Have Been Better!.......2007-11-08
I have been watching Doctor Who since 2005, and have caught the odd classic episode as well. When Doctor Who came back to our screens, I was sat, glued to the TV every Saturday night in amazement. I loved it, it was so different to everything else that was on the box. And yet, looking back now having seen series 2 and 3, it could have been so much better!
The acting could sometimes be completly spot on, and other times...downright cheesy. The scripts ranged from the inspired and brilliant Empty Child to the dull predictable Boom Town. The effects for the slitheen were unrealistic, the scenes between the Doctor and Rose-ditto-the list goes on and on. Although I'm a massive fan of the new series, and the spin-offs, I feel it could have had a better founding 1st season.
Great series.......2007-11-04
This is the first series of the new Dr Who, and when this was on tv I didn't expect to enjoy it, because I had never seen any Dr Who before, however, a few minutes into the first episode I was instantly hooked to the show, and it is one of my favourite shows at the moment.
Episodes:This series is filled with loads of great episodes, my personal favourite include The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances, Fathers Day, and Rose. There were no particularly bad episodes in this series, but most of the inferior episodes ( in my opinion ) were written by Russell T Davies, but he did write quite a good finale for the series, Bad Wolf/The Parting Of The Ways.
The Cast:Christopher Eccleston was great as the Doctor, I think most people prefer David Tennant as the Doctor, but Christopher Eccleston is a great actor and made the role his own. Billie Piper's success, i'm sure, was a surprise to most people. She was a failed singer, and I think because of that everybody expected her to be an awful actress, however, I think she stole the show in this series. There are some great co-stars in this series aswell, such as Noel Clarke ( he acts Rose's boyfriend ) and Camille Codouri ( she acts Rose's Mum ), I think they both did great performances and deserve some credit for that aswell. Also, the stars in the individual episodes are all great aswell.
If you want a great, dramatic, well acted show, then this is the show for you, I highly recommend it. Although, betweem the first three seasons, season 2 is the best, but that is no reason not to watch season 1, because it is still great.
A Big disapointment.......2007-11-01
After sixteen years of virtually nothing, and a mountain of hype we got this new 2005 series of Doctor Who. Sadly, it is designed to compete with the US sci-fi TV productions rather than retain the charm and wit of the old series (1963-89). We now have to suffer gurning laddish Doctors and cockney stereotype companions, and the whole thing is designed for someone with the attention span of a millisecond.
Puerile, childish humour with farting aliens and pigs in space suits; angst-ridden daleks and the constant threat of relations between the Doctor and the companion.
Great special effects and widescreen presentation are no match for charm and wit. For examples of the original series' superiority: The Talons of Weng-Chiang, Logopolis, Inferno, Genesis of the Daleks, Pyramids of Mars, Horror of Fang Rock....
DVD Review:
- Doctor Who - The Complete BBC Series 2 Box Set
- Doctor Who - The Complete Series 3 Box Set [2007]
- Doctor Who - The Five Doctors (25th Anniversary Edition) [1983]
- Doctor Who - The New Series: Series 2 - Vol. 3 [2005]
- Doctor Who - The New Series - Series 2 - Vol. 4 [2005]
- Doctor Who - The New Series - Series 2 - Vol. 5 [2005]
- Doctor Who : The Runaway Bride [2006] [2005]
- Doctor Who - The Sontaran Experiment [1975] [1963]
- Doctor Who - Time-Flight [1982] / Arc of Infinity [1983]
- Doctor Who : Voyage Of The Damned - Christmas Special with Kylie [2007]
DVD Review List
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