I picked up the Complete Specials box set yesterday, in Blu-Ray, and proceeded to spend most of the evening pouring through it. Here are some thoughts. I don't know if I need to put a spoiler warning up, but if you don't want to know details about the extras like the video diaries, look away, look away!
First, there's no reason for it to take up 5 discs - one per special. The way Blu-ray is set up they could have included 2 specials and two Confidentials per disc and trimmed it by a couple of discs. The only rationale I can think of is they simply cut-and-pasted the DVD template over to Blu-Ray to save the effort. One bit of evidence in support is the Eric Idle "Thanks for Buying this DVD" promo is still included on disc 1, despite it being irrelevant to the Blu-Ray release.
Next Doctor looks great up-converted. There's no reason why the first 4 seasons can't be converted this way. Especially since footage from the first 4 years is included in the HD Confidential episodes.
Sadly, Doctor Who at the Proms is in standard def (as is the Music of the Spheres mini-episode within) but it still looks great on the HD screen. (That said I'm using a 720 plasma, not a 1080 LCD so your mileage may vary).
Speaking of Doctor Who Confidential, either BBC Video ponied up a few extra quid or they're BS'ing when they say the "Cutdown" versions on the past sets were required due to licensing issues. This set has 4 <STRIKE>complete and uncut</STRIKE> Confidentials complete with licensed music and clips from the classic series - all the stuff they technically weren't supposed to be able to release to DVD. Bodes well for future complete versions of Confidential to be issued later.
EDIT/CORRECTION: I read the small print on the box and in fact the Confidentials have been edited "for contractual reasons". Nonetheless they're still full-length, which is a darn sight better than the 15-minute versions we're used to, and they still managed to include footage and music of the type that usually got chopped in previous versions. (I tried to find the coding for doing a strikethrough but couldn't)
The final Confidential has some fascinating footage of RTD meeting Matt Smith for the first time, and behind the scenes of the regeneration. No footage of the two Doctors meeting - in fact Tennant says he actually left before Smith shot his scene. The episode ends with a great music video tribute to the Tenth Doctor era that I'm sure is on YT already, being claimed as a fan-made project by somebody. Also included in the final Confidential is an alternate take of "I don't want to go" that might have had fans crying even more than they did. And there is a symbolic passing of the torch when RTD leaves the set and allows Steven Moffat to come in and oversee Smith's part of the regeneration.
David's video diaries are great. He spends a lot of time on Planet of the Dead and none at all on Waters of Mars or End of Time 1. There's a great interlude where he's shown hosting a radio show with Catherine Tate (in fact it's the Jonathan Ross show that the two co-hosted again just this past weekend) - and depending on your liking for the Proclaimers, his performance of "500 Miles" will either be a classic moment or one of those "what is seen cannot be unseen" moments! I loved it, personally.
Be advised, though, you'll need some kleenex towards the end when we see David on his last day shooting for Doctor Who (though he didn't know at the time that he'd be shooting a couple episodes of Sarah Jane later).
The Christmas idents are included. This extra clocks in at less than a minute - shortest bonus feature ever? Sadly they didn't include the two Christmas messages Tennant recorded, just the gags with the reindeer. I thought they were in HD until I read the fine print on the box and saw they were only standard definition.
There's also a featurette covering Tennant's appearance at San Diego Comic Con last year, where he's treated like a rock star. And yes, "the kiss" is included. So is the teaser trailer for End of Time that was shown which, otherwise, is omitted (along with any other trailers) from the set.
The deleted scenes aren't particularly revelatory, though there's a cute moment with Michelle Ryan that was chopped from Planet of the Dead. There's also a scene that was cut from Waters of Mars that serves to fill in a plot hole (how did the Doctor know they were called The Flood?). The deleted scenes from The Next Doctor are presented in their original videotape format, and again show that Doctor Who would actually look quite good if they'd gone back to showing it on videotape like they did in the 80s. The high-def scenes, however, appear to have been already processed for the film look. The deleted scene with Michelle looks almost 3-D.
One thing that I did note is the Blu-Ray/DVD labels the scenes "Series 4 Specials". That ought to stoke the flames as to whether to consider the specials part of Season 4 or not. Tennant makes a similar observation in his diary when he notices POTD is listed as Episode 15 of Season 4.
Any missing items? Well, the Tonight's the Night skit, which is actually referenced in the Video Diaries in a "blink and you'll miss it" sort of way, would have been nice to see. As I mentioned there were trailers and a couple of Christmas idents missing. Also, remembering how the Eccleston season set included the Confidential introducing David Tennant, I was actually surprised that they didn't include at least a Cutdown version of the Confidential that introduced Matt Smith. Or at least the official BBC trailer for Series 5.
I was also surprised at who was not seen in interviews either for Confidential or the Diaries. Claire Bloom was such a huge name to have appear, yet she isn't so much as mentioned. And you'd think Tennant or the Confidential crew would have captured his reunions with the past companions.
Still, I'm glad I bought the set and I think it was worth the money (less than Cdn.$50 at Best Buy). The extras are worth the price of admission, alone. And if you don't happen to care for, say, Planet of the Dead, the good news is BBC Video has issued Waters of Mars and End of Time separately, so all 5 specials are available a la carte.
EDIT: What's high-def and what's not. In editing this post I found myself correcting some info as to what's high-def and what isn't. For those who care:
High Def: all episodes, all Confidentials, Deleted Scenes, Doctor Who at Comic Con.
Not High Def: David Tennant Video Diaries, Doctor Who at the Proms (including Music of the Spheres), the Christmas Idents.
Alex
First, there's no reason for it to take up 5 discs - one per special. The way Blu-ray is set up they could have included 2 specials and two Confidentials per disc and trimmed it by a couple of discs. The only rationale I can think of is they simply cut-and-pasted the DVD template over to Blu-Ray to save the effort. One bit of evidence in support is the Eric Idle "Thanks for Buying this DVD" promo is still included on disc 1, despite it being irrelevant to the Blu-Ray release.
Next Doctor looks great up-converted. There's no reason why the first 4 seasons can't be converted this way. Especially since footage from the first 4 years is included in the HD Confidential episodes.
Sadly, Doctor Who at the Proms is in standard def (as is the Music of the Spheres mini-episode within) but it still looks great on the HD screen. (That said I'm using a 720 plasma, not a 1080 LCD so your mileage may vary).
Speaking of Doctor Who Confidential, either BBC Video ponied up a few extra quid or they're BS'ing when they say the "Cutdown" versions on the past sets were required due to licensing issues. This set has 4 <STRIKE>complete and uncut</STRIKE> Confidentials complete with licensed music and clips from the classic series - all the stuff they technically weren't supposed to be able to release to DVD. Bodes well for future complete versions of Confidential to be issued later.
EDIT/CORRECTION: I read the small print on the box and in fact the Confidentials have been edited "for contractual reasons". Nonetheless they're still full-length, which is a darn sight better than the 15-minute versions we're used to, and they still managed to include footage and music of the type that usually got chopped in previous versions. (I tried to find the coding for doing a strikethrough but couldn't)
The final Confidential has some fascinating footage of RTD meeting Matt Smith for the first time, and behind the scenes of the regeneration. No footage of the two Doctors meeting - in fact Tennant says he actually left before Smith shot his scene. The episode ends with a great music video tribute to the Tenth Doctor era that I'm sure is on YT already, being claimed as a fan-made project by somebody. Also included in the final Confidential is an alternate take of "I don't want to go" that might have had fans crying even more than they did. And there is a symbolic passing of the torch when RTD leaves the set and allows Steven Moffat to come in and oversee Smith's part of the regeneration.
David's video diaries are great. He spends a lot of time on Planet of the Dead and none at all on Waters of Mars or End of Time 1. There's a great interlude where he's shown hosting a radio show with Catherine Tate (in fact it's the Jonathan Ross show that the two co-hosted again just this past weekend) - and depending on your liking for the Proclaimers, his performance of "500 Miles" will either be a classic moment or one of those "what is seen cannot be unseen" moments! I loved it, personally.
Be advised, though, you'll need some kleenex towards the end when we see David on his last day shooting for Doctor Who (though he didn't know at the time that he'd be shooting a couple episodes of Sarah Jane later).
The Christmas idents are included. This extra clocks in at less than a minute - shortest bonus feature ever? Sadly they didn't include the two Christmas messages Tennant recorded, just the gags with the reindeer. I thought they were in HD until I read the fine print on the box and saw they were only standard definition.
There's also a featurette covering Tennant's appearance at San Diego Comic Con last year, where he's treated like a rock star. And yes, "the kiss" is included. So is the teaser trailer for End of Time that was shown which, otherwise, is omitted (along with any other trailers) from the set.
The deleted scenes aren't particularly revelatory, though there's a cute moment with Michelle Ryan that was chopped from Planet of the Dead. There's also a scene that was cut from Waters of Mars that serves to fill in a plot hole (how did the Doctor know they were called The Flood?). The deleted scenes from The Next Doctor are presented in their original videotape format, and again show that Doctor Who would actually look quite good if they'd gone back to showing it on videotape like they did in the 80s. The high-def scenes, however, appear to have been already processed for the film look. The deleted scene with Michelle looks almost 3-D.
One thing that I did note is the Blu-Ray/DVD labels the scenes "Series 4 Specials". That ought to stoke the flames as to whether to consider the specials part of Season 4 or not. Tennant makes a similar observation in his diary when he notices POTD is listed as Episode 15 of Season 4.
Any missing items? Well, the Tonight's the Night skit, which is actually referenced in the Video Diaries in a "blink and you'll miss it" sort of way, would have been nice to see. As I mentioned there were trailers and a couple of Christmas idents missing. Also, remembering how the Eccleston season set included the Confidential introducing David Tennant, I was actually surprised that they didn't include at least a Cutdown version of the Confidential that introduced Matt Smith. Or at least the official BBC trailer for Series 5.
I was also surprised at who was not seen in interviews either for Confidential or the Diaries. Claire Bloom was such a huge name to have appear, yet she isn't so much as mentioned. And you'd think Tennant or the Confidential crew would have captured his reunions with the past companions.
Still, I'm glad I bought the set and I think it was worth the money (less than Cdn.$50 at Best Buy). The extras are worth the price of admission, alone. And if you don't happen to care for, say, Planet of the Dead, the good news is BBC Video has issued Waters of Mars and End of Time separately, so all 5 specials are available a la carte.
EDIT: What's high-def and what's not. In editing this post I found myself correcting some info as to what's high-def and what isn't. For those who care:
High Def: all episodes, all Confidentials, Deleted Scenes, Doctor Who at Comic Con.
Not High Def: David Tennant Video Diaries, Doctor Who at the Proms (including Music of the Spheres), the Christmas Idents.
Alex
Last edited:
so that probably means they have plenty of copies.
