Doctor Who (New Series 4): Volume 1

I reckon you know the deal with these vanilla case releases by now that they are bereft of extras and their appeal I guess stems purely from buying the contents a long time before the eventual 'fully loaded' box set comes out towards the end of the year. So how do the first of this years crop of episode stack up? Well in my opinion the central premise of "Partners In Crime", that of weight reducing pills creating little Adipose creatures is so laughably absurd that the only noteworthy aspect of this season opener is the amusing 'mimed meeting' between the Doctor and Donna. Second episode "Fires of Pompeii" is a much more pleasing offering which plays to the series strengths of combining actual historic events with an alien threat in this case the highly impressive fire breathing rock like life form known as the Pyrovile. It's also worth praising the effective foreign location filming and period costumes which gives the production even more authentic credentials. Bringing back alien… more »

I reckon you know the deal with these vanilla case releases by now that they are bereft of extras and their appeal I guess stems purely from buying the contents a long time before the eventual 'fully loaded' box set comes out towards the end of the year. So how do the first of this years crop of episode stack up? Well in my opinion the central premise of "Partners In Crime", that of weight reducing pills creating little Adipose creatures is so laughably absurd that the only noteworthy aspect of this season opener is the amusing 'mimed meeting' between the Doctor and Donna. Second episode "Fires of Pompeii" is a much more pleasing offering which plays to the series strengths of combining actual historic events with an alien threat in this case the highly impressive fire breathing rock like life form known as the Pyrovile. It's also worth praising the effective foreign location filming and period costumes which gives the production even more authentic credentials. Bringing back alien species is always a winner however the central premise of 'Planet of the Ood' regarding the liberating of a repressed culture helps to further elevate an already pleasing tale that marks Donna's first journey to an alien world. Again through impressive CGI effects the ice covered Ood-sphere world is effectively realised in a touchingly dramatic and rewarding viewing experience. For the most part this opening vanilla case title is certainly a winner especially if you factor in the 5.1 mix which will bring the atmosphere of these instalments even more to life than mere television transmissions can offer.