Doctor Who: The Complete Fourth Series

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DVD details

Actor: Catherine Tate, David Tennant, Freema Agyeman
Brand: Warner Brothers
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled)
Format: AC-3, Box set, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 687 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-11-18
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: BBC Warner

DVD Reviews of Doctor Who: The Complete Fourth Series

DVD Review: Best. Dr. Who. Ever.
Summary: 5 Stars

The Dr. Who episode "Silence in the Library"/"Forest of the Dead" is the best Dr. Who episode ever made in the history of time and relative dimensions in space. Full of creepy spooky goodness and hardcore sci-fi. Buy the 4th season just for this.

DVD Review: Best Actress goes to: Catherine Tate
Summary: 5 Stars

Catherine Tate gets my vote as the best actress to work alongside The Doctor. Omce again the series out does itself. "Silence in the Library" and "Forest of the Dead" are among thest written, directed and acted episodes ever - and look, it's Steve Pemberton from "League of Gentlemen")...Donna Noble has been saved....I'll never forget that. The Ood are back - and you'll be devasted. My favorite of the season was "The Unicorn and the Wasp" with the great Fenella Woolgar as Agatha Christie. Already a great actress, when is someone going to make Woolgar a great movie star? I can't wait for the specials and then the 11th Doctor.

DVD Review: "GET THEM OUT OF THERE NOW!"
Summary: 3 Stars

Given that it follows what were probably the best three seasons of "Doctor Who" ever made, it pains me to have to report that Series Four is a disappointment. This is probably largely due to the companion, Catherine Tate's Donna Noble. I am not criticizing the character or the actress: Tate's portrayal of Donna is utterly magnificent, on a level with the two or three best of her predecessors. But it seems that some of the season's writers were so fixated on the challenge of writing for a companion as atypical as Donna that they neglected the overall quality of their scripts.

The Christmas special, "Voyage of the Damned", is a very good story. As an American viewer I was not oppressed by an overwhelming sense of Kylie Minogue's fame, so I was able to appreciate her performance as being quite good, if a little soap-opera-ish in places (after all, Kylie got her start as a soap actress...). "Partners in Crime" is even better, an absolutely adorable reintroduction for Donna, by the end of which not one unbiased viewer can have failed to fall in love with her, and with a surprise twist in the tail that made my usually stoic best friend squeal out loud.

"The Fires of Pompeii", on the other hand, is profoundly mediocre. The emotional dilemma the Doctor and Donna face feels forced and contrived. The episode also boasts an almost unbelievably bad scene in which two characters with prophetic abilities spout foreshadowing for later episodes in the season, while the camera tilts farther and farther from the vertical in a desperate attempt to make the scene interesting. "Planet of the Ood" is even worse, harking back to the meaningless nihilism and inappropriate levels of violence of mid-80s "Who".

"The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky" is my favorite story of the season, and indeed one of my favorites since "Doctor Who"'s return. It doesn't aspire to do anything other than be a big, old-fashioned, action-packed "Doctor Who" story, and it does that superbly. And Tennant's reaction to the death of one of the guest characters is my favorite moment of acting by any of the ten Doctors, ever. "The Doctor's Daughter", on the other hand, is the "Who" equivalent of "Spock's Brain" -- a contrived, laughable mess that does a disservice to everyone involved, the single worst "Doctor Who" story of all time. "The Unicorn and the Wasp" is a reasonably good episode, but I think the humor could actually have been played a little more broadly. The admirable caution with which cast and director approached the project was taken a bit too far.

"Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead" frequently threatens to become the best "Doctor Who" story ever made. That it doesn't quite get there, and in fact turns out to be the least excellent of Steven Moffat's contributions to the series, is due largely to the disappointing ending, in which the story goes sentimental and pear-shaped. The illogical final scene is particuarly annoying, especially since the DVD commentary reveals that it was intended to be emotionally rather than intellectually satisfying.

"Midnight" is the most adult story "Doctor Who" has ever told on television -- so much so that I'm tempted to say it might be too disturbing for young children, except that they would probably be less upset by it than adults are. The same is true, only more so, of the middle section of "Turn Left" depicting Donna's alternate life in Leeds. There is no explicit on-screen violence or horror, and yet the concepts involved are so horrible that they may well give adults nightmares, while children will wonder what all the fuss is about.

"The Stolen Earth" is a dismaying opener for the two-part season finale. Its brontosaurian pacing -- heavy and slow -- is quite off-putting, as is the story structure which excludes the Doctor and Donna from the main plot until just before the cliffhanger, again reminscent (and not in a good way) of mid-80s "Who". I also find artistically reprehensible the assumption that viewers know and care about the characters from the two spin-offs, which should have been considered some sort of violation of the BBC Charter. "Journey's End", on the other hand, is a great improvement: a genuinely involving and heart-rending finale in which storylines from four years' worth of episodes are tied up and Catherine Tate gives what may well be the finest performance as a companion since Jacqueline Hill's as Barbara in "The Aztecs".

"The Complete Fourth Series" contains many wonderful, unforgettable moments, and even a few episodes that work well as a whole. No "Doctor Who" fan will want to miss this collection. But the overall impression I'm left with is that Russell T. Davies is starting to burn out somewhat on "Who", and that it's a good thing that a change of command is imminent.

DVD Review: Awsome Series
Summary: 5 Stars

The Doctor really hits its stride with this latest installment. At the beginning I was wonder how could they do it? How do you top the destruction of the entire world in a new season? It is done quite convincingly I might add. There are strong episodes and a few weak ones.

"Partners in Crime" reintroduces us to the character of Dona Noble who we last saw in Runaway Bride. Dona may be something of a strong willed bitch but the actress does a good job of asserting herself and creating her own character.

The Fires of Pompeii-A very good standalone episode it should appeal to the historian in anyone. I say that as far as standalone episodes go this is one of the best.

Planet of the Ood-reintroduces a species we last saw in a season 2 episode "The Satan Pit" the aliens are fleshed out and you actually find yourself feeling very sympathetic towards them.

The first of the story arch episodes "The Sontaran Stratagem"
"The Poison Sky" are alright any problem I might have with the episodes themselves is resolved by the ultimate resolution I am a sucker for self sacrifice.

The Doctor's Daughter is a good standalone episode the futility of war and all of that is always a rich storyline especially these days.

Midnight is also a very good episode kind of a Murder on the Orient Express with the Doctor. It works

Turn Left is one of my favorite episodes an entire alternate universe is created and it all takes 50 minutes. Truly awesome.

The Stolen Earth and Journey's End manages to tie together several plot lines from all the new seasons and the Darleks make an appearance again always a good thing. All of the spin-offs also make an appearance and they do a much better job here then they do on there own without the Doctor. Even though Donna in the end has to leave the doctor she goes out with a bang.

Overall-They pulled it off they reinvented themselves after the third season good for them. Also as far as minor characters go Donna's Grandfather has to be one of my favorite so far.

DVD Review: Dr. Who:The complete fourth series
Summary: 5 Stars

I have been watching Dr. Who since the 70'ds. The new series is just as good as the old ones. I like the new edge they have given him but still kept his love of humans. I also like that they didn't get rid of all his old enemies and that they have bought in new foes for him to fight. Bringing back all the old travelers was great.
Bringing back the Dr.'s traveling mates in some cases let you know what had become of them after they left the Dr. I amagine we will see some of them again as two of them have there own shows.
I think this season had the action and fast pace we exspect from the Dr.
I love this one as much as I have all of them and look forward to the new season.

Description of Doctor Who: The Complete Fourth Series

Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 11/18/2008 Run time: 655 minutes

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