Doctor Who: Complete Series 1-7 Limited Edition Blu-ray Giftset

(2005) **** Unrated
4837 min. BBC. Cast: Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, Matt Smith.

/content/films/4609/1.jpgIt's Christmas morning for Whovians with the release of the entire rebooted Doctor Who series in 1080p High Definition on Blu-ray. The BBC's Doctor Who: Complete Series 1-7 Limited Edition Blu-ray Giftset packages each of seven seasons to date into its own slim Blu-ray case (Series 1-4 have never yet been presented in hi-def or on Blu-ray), adding a bonus Blu-ray of never-before-on-disc extras, an exclusive Doctor Who comic book, three exclusive original art cards, and the Doctor Who Universal Remote Control Sonic Screwdriver. Geeks (and here I include myself), put on your diapers before you wet yourselves.

In this jubilee year of Doctor Who, marking the show's fiftieth anniversary, there is much to be jubilant about. We're days away from "The Day of the Doctor," the show's fiftieth anniversary special—to be broadcast theatrically in RealD™ 3D on November 23 in eleven cities, with an encore on Monday, November 25 for one night only in more than 300 select theaters. (See www.fathomevents.com for tickets.) Fans are flocking from all over the globe to the Doctor Who Official 50th Celebration in London that same weekend. Yes, it's a quirk of fate that Doctor Who's premiere landed the day after John F. Kennedy's assassination. It's amazing that any series could survive with that kind of launch, but the show's original incarnation ran continuously through 1989, when the BBC cancelled the then-floundering series after an historic twenty-six years. The Doctor popped up again in a one-off 1996 telefilm that failed to revive the series, then lay dormant until Russell T Davies' successful reboot hit airwaves in 2005.

That reboot, in its entirety, fills the magical blue box of the Doctor Who: Complete Series 1-7 Limited Edition Blu-ray Giftset. The exclusive bonus disc includes three specials: "The Doctor Who Ultimate List of Lists" (44:35, HD), with John Barrowman appearing on the BBC America show to announce Who-themed rankings; "Doctor Who: The Best of the Christmas Specials" (45:30, HD); and the blowout concert event Doctor Who at the Proms 2010 (1:31:29, HD). The included art cards (or postcards, if you make them so) appropriately offer portraits of the Ninth, Tenth, and Eleventh Doctors. The exclusive comic book, an IDW original, lays out a 22-page adventure starring the Eleventh Doctor and Clara (along with cameos spanning the series' fifty-year history). And, as we all know, univeral remote controls in the shape of the Eleventh Doctor's Mark VI Sonic Screwdriver are "cool." This one, created by the Wand Company, comes with cheeky blueprints and clear instructions to program all your remote command functions. As Christopher Eccleston's Ninth Doctor would say, "It's fantastic!" So "Run!", don't walk, "Allons-y!" to your home-video purveyor of choice, and "Geronimo!"

Series reviews, including A/V quality and bonus features will materialize below:

Doctor Who: The Complete First Series

Doctor Who: The Complete Second Series

Doctor Who: The Complete Third Series

Doctor Who: The Complete Fourth Series

Doctor Who: The Complete Specials

Doctor Who: The Complete Fifth Series

Doctor Who: The Complete Sixth Series

Doctor Who: The Complete Seventh Series

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Bluray

Aspect ratios: 1.78:1

Number of discs: 29

Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1

Street date: 11/5/2013

Distributor: BBC Home Video

Review gear:
Panasonic Viera TC-P55VT30 55" Plasma 1080p 3D HDTV
Oppo BDP-93 Universal Network 3D Blu-ray Disc Player
Denon AVR2112CI Integrated Network A/V Surround Receiver
Pioneer SP-BS41-LR Bookshelf Speaker (2)
Pioneer SP-C21 Center Speaker
Pioneer SW-8 Subwoofer

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