Doctor Who was a show that I adored as a child, but when it came back to television in 2005 I never expected that I would end up liking it even more as an adult! The updated version of the show is wonderful viewing for the entire family, with an excellent mix of comedy, action, and drama, as well as special effects that put most everything else on television these days to shame! Series three of the revived Doctor Who brings us new adventures with a new companion for our beloved Doctor.

The Show:

For the uninitiated, here a very brief rundown:

Doctor Who is a long-running British sci-fi show that follows the exploits of "The Doctor", a super intelligent Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey who has a special affinity for the planet Earth. The Doctor can travel to any point in space and time in his spaceship, the TARDIS, which looks like an old fashioned police call box on the outside but is quite massive on the inside. The Doctor usually travels with one (or more) young companion, usually human, as he travels the universe righting wrongs and saving the day. Although The Doctor looks human there are some major differences - the largest being the fact that he doesn't age, instead he "regenerates". If his body is dying, he can change every cell and become a new man. Throughout each regeneration he has the same basic traits (his moral sense of right and wrong, his intelligence, his memories) but his appearance and certain quirks of his personality change.

Recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest running sci-fi show in television history, Doctor Who originally aired from 1963 to 1989 and also produced a television movie in 1996. Although it continued to live on through books and new audio recordings, the show was revived for television by Russell T. Davies in 2005. Christopher Eccleston was the first to resume the role of The Doctor, playing his 9th incarnation in the revived show's first year, along with new companion Rose Tyler (beautifully played by Billie Piper). Eccleston decided to only play the Doctor for one year, so in season two (or 28, depending upon how you look at it) the role of the 10th Doctor went to the very capable (and enjoyable) David Tennant, who continues to play the part today.

The Third Season (or 29th, depending upon how you look at it...)

** Spoiler warnings ahead - don't read if you don't want to know... **

I am an unashamed fan of Doctor Who who has loved the show since my childhood. I can say without reservation that this Third Season was my absolute favorite to date. While there are some clunkers in the mix, I found the overall quality of the episodes to be superior to the prior two seasons, and there were some amazing stand-out episodes as well (namely "Blink" and the "Human Nature" two-parter).

I am a fan of the emotional depth that is found in the revived Doctor Who. Throughout seasons one and two the Doctor became very close to his "companion", Rose Tyler. The events in the finale of series two tore the two of them apart, trapping Rose in an alternate universe and leaving the Doctor with no way to get her back. Throughout the show's history the Doctor has had a large number of companions, but never before have we been so able to witness what the loss of a beloved companion does to him. Rose's memory haunts the Doctor throughout Series 3, in a way that I found emotionally satisfying. I think it is nice that he doesn't just "get over and move on" from a companion that he was particularly close to.

New companion Martha Jones is a nice addition to the Doctor's long line of companions. Unlike Rose and the Doctor, who had what has been described as a "chaste romance", Martha's story is one of unrequited love for the Doctor. I thought it was wonderful that they took this companion in a different direction than they had done with Rose. It would have been all too easy to keep the scripts the same and just replace every instance of the name "Rose" in the scripts with the name "Martha" - but they didn't do that. Martha was her own distinctly different character, while still experiencing the wonder of traveling with the Doctor. I thought that having a companion to the Doctor who was an actual trainee doctor was a stroke of genius, however I don't think they utilized her doctor skills frequently enough, and would have liked to see her get over her Doctor-crush a bit sooner perhaps.

Series 3 continues the trend of having an idea or plot point that appears in practically every episode, culminating in a big blow-up in the season finale. In season one there was the "Bad Wolf", in season two there was Torchwood, and in season three we have a mysterious character called "Mr. Saxon". The payoff is bigger and better than ever, involving Time Lords and the Doctor's greatest enemy (no, not the Daleks).

For anyone who watched the original series (before it was revived in 2005), I wanted to be sure to mention that there are some definite differences between the original and the show that airs these days. The special effects are vastly improved, with award winning computer graphics and visual effects. Each episode is like a mini-movie. The Doctor is a bit more "domestic", getting to know the family of his companion, and the stories move much faster. But for all the differences between the old show and the new, the deep, thoughtful storylines are still there. Because Doctor Who is a "family" show, there's a noticeable lack of blood and guts, yet they still deal with very deep, adult themes. People still die (quite a lot do, actually) and the stories can be quite disturbing (usually in a good, "it makes you think" kind of way). The show proves that you can be scary and suspenseful without being gory, and I love them for it. There's an overriding theme of loss, which gives a depth to the Doctor that seeps into every episode.

I cannot say enough wonderful things about the Tenth Doctor as played by David Tennant. Although I had sworn to never give up my allegiance to the beloved Doctors of my childhood (Tom Baker and Peter Davison), I must admit that David Tennant has become my all-time favorite Doctor. He can be sweet, funny, emotionally moving, and terrifying (and he can jump between these different emotions effortlessly in the blink of an eye). Freema Agyeman did a good job as Martha Jones as well, bringing a certain sweetness to this character who is older and wiser than the Doctor's last companion.

Technical Specs:

This set includes 6 single-sided, dual layered discs.

Each disc contains a number of episodes, commentary tracks, video dairies, teaser trailers, and other special features.

The English audio track is in Dolby Digital 5.1.

Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 (anamorphic widescreen).
Enhanced for 16x9 television screens.

Subtitles in English

The packaging is very nice, with fold out sections containing 2 discs each and a nice booklet outlining the disc contents, chapters, special features, and a cute foreword by David Tennant.

My overall commentary on the commentaries - I really liked all of them. I have my favorite commenters -- show runners Russell T. Davies, Julie Gardner, and Phil Collinson are always great fun as commenters, as is David Tennant whose enthusiasm and genuine love of the show always shines through. All four of them are so chatty and happy and knowledgeable. I also always love it when the authors comment on their own works. Every commentary track on this set (with the exception of only 1 episode) includes at least one of the people I mentioned above, which means every track is an enjoyable listen.

My overall commentary on David Tennant's Video Diaries - David Tennant's video diaries are my favorite extra on both the Series 2 and Series 3 boxed sets. I do think they've improved the format a bit since last year -- they are broken down by episode and are spread out amongst the various discs. David himself appears to have taken a slightly different approach as well, with more interviews of his cast mates and crew (as though he's making a proper documentary instead of just recording things for his own personal memories). The diaries are longer this year as well, with just under 2 hours of footage! How wonderful is it that the star of the show is willing to record his own little documentary throughout the filming process, and is willing to share it with all of us!?!

Disc One:

The Runaway Bride (The Christmas Special)
An enjoyable romp for Christmas. The Doctor has just lost his companion, Rose, but doesn't have time to dwell on that because a noisy, boisterous bride has mysteriously appeared on board his TARDIS! He must the alien menace behind her appearance, all while avoiding the ire of the bride and her temper! Guest companion Catherine Tate comes aboard as Donna (who goes on to become his full-time companion in Season Four, but that's jumping ahead). She's a bit obnoxious in this episode, but that's part of the thrill - a companion who doesn't want to be there and wants nothing to do with The Doctor, but needs him all the same. The TARDIS car chase scene continues to be one of my favorite special effects ever. The episode isn't without issues (such as the big baddie, the Empress of the Racnoss, looks gorgeous but it becomes rather obvious that she cannot scurry around like one would hope), but it is a fun ride for Christmas.
Commentary track by David Tennant & Julie Gardner (which is the same commentary as the downloadable online podcast). David and Julie are two of my favorite commenters, and they keep the conversation entertaining and interesting throughout.

Music and Monsters - Concert Confidential
This is the full-length, 1 hour "Doctor Who Confidential" episode that accompanied The Runaway Bride episode (we Americans tend to only get the "Confidential Cut-Downs", which are a lot shorter). It combines footage from the Children In Need Concert that was part of a fundraiser in the UK. My only complaint was that they didn't include the full concert, which was wonderful - showcasing the music from the television series, hosted by David Tennant, and featuring monsters from the series going through the audience during the concert, but I'm certainly grateful for this full-length Confidential episode.

David's Video Diary (for The Runaway Bride)
All of David's video diaries are wonderful. In this he discusses the filming and interviews Catherine Tate (the bride Donna Noble) and Sarah Parish (Empress of the Racnoss). Clearly he's great friends with both of his interviewees, which makes it more fun.

Freema's Tour of the Studio
Freema takes us behind the scenes of Doctor Who. We get to see props, costumes, sound stages, sets, etc. She's a bubbly, fun hostess.

Deleted Scenes
Various scenes deleted or cut-down due to episodes running long. Most aren't that big of a deal (hence why they were cut, no doubt), but some are quite nice and I wish they could have been included - most notably the the deleted scene from "Daleks in Manhattan" where Martha asks to go on a "detour" before going home. It's a very nice scene between the Doctor and Martha, further establishing their relationship and continuing the "one more trip" motif. I also rather like the extended scene between the Doctor and William Shakespeare, and some of the Human Nature stuff. Oh, and I love the one about the pears...

...but the best bit is the full recording of The Doctor's message to Martha in Human Nature - what he says during the part she fast-forwards through. Love it!

Outtakes
This is a 5 minute gag reel for Season 3. Fun stuff like Shakespeare's cell phone ringing, various flubs, and David Tennant being "such a child".

Teaser Trailers
6 of them. Teasers for the 3rd season, featuring some specially recorded footage of David and Freema along with snippits of the first few episodes of the season.

Disc 2

Smith and Jones
Martha's crazy first day with the Doctor. There's so much going on in this episode -- we meet Martha, get transported to the moon, and meet 2 new alien races (the Judoon and the Plasmavores). There's so much going on and I think it is just brilliantly put together. Another very fun romp to start the new series.
Commentary by David Tennant and Russel T. Davies (head writer & executive producer). These two are my very favorite commenters, so I adore it when I have both of them together on a commentary track. They are both so happy and positive and always laugh their way through together. They're also both so knowledgeable of all aspects of the show.

The Shakespeare Code
For Martha's first trip in the TARDIS the Doctor takes her to meet William Shakespeare. A very clever episode full of Shakespeare lines and references, complete with witches who use words as their magic.
Commentary by David Tennant and Christina Cole (who plays the lead witch). David is always a great person to have on the commentary track. He provided lots of behind the scenes trivia as well as tales of goof-ups and blunders. Christina Cole was also pretty good and seemed genuinely thrilled about playing a witch in this episode.

Gridlock
Martha gets to take a trip into the future as we take another trip to New Earth - but this time there are some changes to this by now familiar future that the Doctor is quite surprised about. A visually stunning and very moving episode.
Commentary by Julie Gardener, Travis Oliver, and Marie Jones
Julie is always a great commentary-person. She asks good questions of her co-commenters and keeps the discussion lively and moving along. Gridlock was very visual-effects intensive so Marie Jones was a good addition to this episode's commentary. I was pleasantly surprised by Travis Oliver, who seems to have become a bit of a Doctor Who fan-boy since appearing on the show. He was full of trivia and tid-bits and knew quite a bit about scenes in which he didn't even appear! I will admit that the podcast commentary (available for free download online shortly after each episode first airs in the UK) is a bit better, but it has two of my favorites, David Tennant and Russel T. Davies, along with visual effects supervisor David Haughton, so that commentary is rather hard to beat.

David Tennant's Video Diaries
There are roughly 30 minutes worth of David's video diaries for the 3 episodes contained on this DVD. It's fun to see him start filming anew on the new season 3, and hear him say "Ye Olde" a lot on the Shakespeare Code set.

Disc 3

Daleks in Manhattan
The Doctor and Martha take a trip to 1930's New York in this first part of a 2-parter story.
Commentary by Helen Raynor (writer), Miranda Raison (actor), and Louise Page (costume designer)

Evolution of the Daleks
Part two of the Daleks in New York two-parter. I will admit that this two parter is probably my least favorite story of season 3. There are certainly some good elements, but I found the Daleks less menacing than usual, the Dalec Sec hybrid prosthetic downright silly, and the lightening plot point not scientifically feasible. Still, there are some nice visual moments and some lovely ideas, such as the Doctor's apparent death-wish.
Commentary by David Tennant, Nicholas Briggs (voice of the Daleks), and Barney Curnow (visual effects supervisor). Nick is pretty fun and talkative on the commentary, and David is always a joy on commentaries.

The Lazarus Experiment
The Doctor drops Martha off at home but gets swept up in a mad scientist's quest for a longer lifespan. Guest star and Doctor Who writer Mark Gatiss is very enjoyable as baddie Professor Lazarus, and it is nice to see Martha's family, particularly sister Tish, involved in the madness that is the Doctor's life.
Commentary by David Tennant and Mark Gatiss (Professor Lazarus). As a huge fan of both David Tennant and Mark Gatiss (I love The League of Gentlemen) I was really looking forward to this commentary, and for me it didn't disappoint. David and Mark are good friends and are both long-time fans of Doctor Who, so I found their commentary track totally enjoyable from start to finish.

42
Martha's first trip as a proper companion takes them to a spaceship from the future that is falling into a sun. A fast-paced, "real time" episode that sees the Doctor possessed!
Commentary by Chris Chibnall (writer) and Russel T. Davies. This is definitely a writer's commentary, relating the pain Chris went through, literally, writing this episode. They really focused on the writer's perspective during the commentary, and I found that this different perspective made for an interesting, rather different commentary.

Disc 4

Human Nature
To evade an alien family of hunters, the Doctor hides out as an ordinary human on Earth in 1913. This episode is based on a Doctor Who novel, also named Human Nature, that was written for the seventh Doctor. It is part one of a two parter.
Commentary by Paul Cornell (writer), Charles Palmer (director), Murray Gold (composer). A bit of discussion about differences between the book and the tv-version. I was surprised to learn that Murray Gold is a fanboy.

Family of Blood
The follow-up (part 2) of Human Nature - this emotionally gut-wrenching two-parter is definitely among my favorite episodes this season, and David Tennant deserved some major acting awards for his dual (?) portrayals of John Smith and The Doctor.
Commentary by Susie Liggat (producer), Arwel Wyn-Jones (supervising art director), and Tracie Simpson (production manager). Locations discussion, props. To be honest, there's so much amazing moving/haunting/wonderful stuff here (the boys shooting the scarecrows, John Smith's difficult decision) that I really missed not having a commentary heavy-hitter or author on the commentary. Writer Paul Cornell participated in the online commentary for this episode, which in my view makes it a bit superior to he commentary included on the DVD.

Blink
One of my all-time favorite episodes. This Hugo and BAFTA award winning episode is the "Doctor-lite" episode of Season 3, and it is simply brilliant, including spooky angel statues and the Doctor communicating 40 (no, 38) years into the future via a DVD extra.
Commentary by Steven Moffat (writer) and Murray Gold (composer). Stephen Moffat is my favorite Doctor Who writer, and he's a fun contributor on any commentary track. His sense of humor comes through. Murray Gold has surprised me as being quite the adept commenter (and Doctor Who fan) too, and I enjoyed Blink's light, somewhat silly commentary quite a bit.

David Tennant's Video Diaries
On this disc there are 40 minutes of video diaries for the episodes Daleks in Manhattan through Family of Blood, and including their appearance on the special Doctor Who themed episode of The Weakest Link. My favorite is getting to see David pal around with friend and Doctor Who writer, Mark Gatiss, as well as the Weakest Link stuff.

Easter Egg
If you've seen the award winning episode Blink then you'll know exactly what Easter Egg has been placed on this disc. I don't know why, but there is something very eerie about watching 1/2 of a conversation - although you can say Sally's part if you like...

Disc 5

Utopia
Captain Jack (John Barrowman) finds his way back to the Doctor, and guest star Derek Jacobi turns in a brilliant performance as the kindly Professor Yana. While the first portion of the episode is good, I think that the final 15 minutes of the episode are perhaps my favorite 15 minutes in all of Doctor Who history. It is edge-of-your-seat, nail-bitingly brilliant!
Commentary by David Tennant and Executive Producer/head writer Russell T. Davies. My favorite commentary-duo is at it again! I simply love the insight both of them provide into the process of making the episode. I particularly liked the bits about them both being starstruck by Derek Jacobi, and Russell answer David's question on why Chantho talks that way.

The Sound of Drums
The first part of the season ending two-parter. We find out what the "Saxon" references sprinkled throughout the series are in reference to, and guest star John Simm makes quite an impression.
Commentary by Phil Collinson and Julie Gardener
Favorite part - the phone conversation between the Master & Doctor, David really called John and vice versa.

The Last of the Timelords
The final episode of the season ending two-parter. To be honest this isn't my favorite season ender - not enough Tennant-Doctor, and the way he defeats the "big baddie" was just a bit too far-fetched for my liking (and reminded me of Tinkerbell). Still, there's some nice stuff in there, particularly the Doctor's reaction to losing one of his own kind, and Martha confronting the Doctor at the very end.
Commentary by...
Okay, this is my biggest complaint of the entire boxed set. The set that came out in the UK contains the proper commentary track - recorded by David Tennant, Freema Agyeman, and John Barrowman (Captain Jack Harkness). The set released here in America contains the "podcast" commentary (available for download on the BBC site after the episode airs in England), with commentary provided by Russell T. Davies, Julie Gardner, and Phil Collinson. Don't get me wrong -- I love the commentary from the 3 executive producers, but I would MUCH rather hear the rollicking fun that was going on during the commentary from David, Freema, and John B. According to Russell himself, the proper commentary track could not be cleared for North America due to a song, ad-libbed by David and John to tease Freema about Martha traveling the world, speading the Doctor's message as a folk-singer. Although the song was made up, apparently it was loosely based upon a real song that the DVD makers could not or did not have time to clear the rights for in America. Having heard the UK version (don't you love the internet?) it is a lot of fun and I would much rather have it on my DVD than a commentary track I had already downloaded.

David Tennant's Video Diaries
This portion of David's diaries is roughly 30 minutes long and covers the 3 episodes found on this disc. My favorite bits are them goofing around in the quarry for Utopia, watching David get his old-man makeup put on, and watching him dance around in his old-man makeup.

Disc 6:

Doctor Who Confidential Cut-Downs
Doctor Who Confidential is a "making of" show that airs in the UK after each episode of Doctor Who, narrated by Anthony Stewart Head of Buffy the Vampire fame (and who appeared in Doctor Who in Season Two). As originally aired each episode is 45 minutes long, but this DVD contains the "cut down" versions, so altogether there are 2 and a half hours of Doctor Who Confidential footage (one for each of the 13 episodes, each just under 15 minutes long). I do wish that we could get the full versions of the Confidentials, but I suppose I am grateful to at least have some of the behind-the-scenes footage on DVD.

Final Thoughts:

In my opinion Season Three has been Doctor Who's best season so far, so I highly recommend it. The quality of the episodes seems to get better and better with each passing year (episodes like Blink and the Human Nature 2-parter are destined to become classics), plus there are plenty of extras included to make the purchase worthwhile.



Related Reviews:
Doctor Who: The Complete Second Series: http://www.epinions.com/content_327370051204

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV