Doctor Who: Series
Six, Part One
(BBC Blu-Ray Set)
Picture: B
Sound: B- Extras: C Episodes: A
Collecting the first half of Matt Smith’s second season as
Doctor Who, this Blu-ray kicks
things off with the “Impossible Astronaut”,
a rollicking episode that takes the Doctor, Amy (Karen Gillan), Rory (Arthur
Darvill), and River Song (Alex Kingston) from the salt flats of Utah to the
Oval Office of the White House. This
six-episode arc features a new way of doing things for the folks at BBC, as they
split their Doctor Who seasons into
two halves, showing the first in the spring, then taking a break, and showing
the second half in the late summer and early fall. This will also lead into the Christmas
special.
“Day of the Moon”
follows the first episode and offers a startling conclusion to the first
showdown between the Doctor and his newest alien enemies, the sinister
Silence. Although all of the episodes in
this first arc are solid, “The Doctor’s
Wife” (scripted by Neil Gaiman) stands out.
This extraordinary tale reveals a side of the TARDIS (the Doctor’s
famous “blue box” time machine) never before seen. Both action packed and touching, this tale
re-affirms why fans love this series so much, and re-defines the Doctor as the
ultimate lonely traveler.
After the events of “The
Doctor’s Wife”, the meta-plot of this arc heats up again and builds to a
shocking conclusion. The Doctor calls on
old allies to rescue Amy from the clutches of a mysterious future army, and
more details about the enigmatic River Song emerge. The Doctor is left
confounded by his foes, but vows to make things right, leading into the events
of Part 2 of the Series Six
season. Although always solid during Season Five, Matt Smith and the writing
team really come into their own with his second season on the job. The stories complement Mr. Smith’s now deeper
understanding of how his Doctor should behave, and his relationship with his
excellent supporting cast only deepens as the arc moves along.
Extras are thin on this disc, with just a small feature on
the creature effects for the linked episodes “Rebel Flesh” and “Almost
People”. It’s likely that when BBC
collects both arcs into a single package we will see a lot more in the way of
extra material. Picture and sound shine in
this Blu-ray version, with sharp details and crisp colors.
Fans of the new “Who” will be happy to watch the cast,
writers, and crew hit their collective stride in the first half of Series Six, and they’ll likely be left
pining for the quick release of Part 2!
- Scott Pyle
