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PHOTOGRAPHY

DOCTOR WHO: THE DAY OF THE DOCTOR

Blu-ray review by David Blackwell

 

DETAILS:  79 minutes, one featurette, two mini episodes, Doctor Who Explained documentary, 3D Blu-ray feature, DVD

VIDEO:  1.78:1 (Anamophic Widescreen) 1080p High Definition

AUDIO:  English 5.1 DTS-HD MA

Subtitles:  English, French, Spanish

 

STUDIO:  BBC/ BBC Worldwide/ BBC America/ Warner Home Video

RELEASE DATE:  12-10-2013 (everywhere)/ 12-3-2013 (Best Buy)

THE DAY OF THE DOCTOR is a 79 minute event that explores the last day of the Time war which destroyed the Time Lords and the Daleks.  Not everything is set in stone as the Other Doctor (John Hurt) has yet to make his choice in using the Moment (the ultimate weapon) which appears to him in form of Rose (Billie Piper) aka Bad Wolf.   A gateway in time brings the Other Doctor together with the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant) and Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith) as they must work together to stop an old foe (the Zygons) from taking over Earth with their plans beginning in the time of Queen Elizabeth I.

 

I like the scope and effort they go to making this 50th anniversary special.  The dialogue and banter between the Doctors and Clara is fantastic, but the story does fall a little flat in providing a great villain for the Doctor to fight.  However, it explores the choice he must make on the final day of the Time War which rewrites DOCTOR WHO history which has always been revising and contradicting itself.

 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Preview for the first seven seasons of the new DOCTOR WHO limited edition blu-ray set and COPPER season 2

 

2 Mini-Episodes: THE LAST DAY and THE NIGHT OF THE DOCTOR (starring Paul McGann)- THE LAST DAY you can skip, but THE NIGHT OF THE DOCTOR shows once again how great Paul McGann was as the Eighth Doctor (who was only in one TV movie and various audio adventures).  I hope they get Paul McGann back for an episode or two of DOCTOR WHO in the future.

 

Behind-The-Scenes featurette on the making of THE DAY OF THE DOCTOR

 

DOCTOR WHO EXPLAINED (45 minutes)- cast (past and present), Stephen Moffat, and Neil Gaiman talk about the characters, monsters, and more from the 50 year history of DOCTOR WHO

Comic Con Trailer and Teaser Trailer

 

The DAY OF THE DOCTOR can be viewed in 2D and 3D on the Blu-ray depending on your HDTV and blu-ray player set-up.  Also THE DAY OF THE DOCTOR is included in standard definition on DVD in addition to limited edition Topps trading cards of the first 12 Doctors.

 

Extras missing from this combo pack are the deleted scene and the 3D theater screening introduction which makes you think they might be planning a double dip in the future for this story.

 

FINAL ANALYSIS:   THE DAY OF THE DOCTOR is good from a character and dialogue point-of-view while the story’s plot isn’t the best DOCTOR WHO has to offer, but it rewrites a few important things and sets up the arc for future DOCTOR WHO stories.  THE NIGHT OF THE DOCTOR is the best extra while I wish they included all extras for this release.

 

This blu-ray review is ©12-6-2013 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission.  Send all comments to feedback@enterline-media.com

 

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