Doctor Who (New Series 4): Volume 1

I don't care what some fans say. Its nice for a change to have a different character in the Tardis. Who isn't gooey eyed over the doctor.

So Catherine Tate is a breath of fresh air.

Its like the original Doctors assistant.

But as we see in the first episode a plot thread apears in the form of Billie Piper.

Just like each season miss the plot thread and you might stumble in the dark, or just get a big suprise at the end.

These Three Episodes are Brillant from start to finish and both the Doctor and Donna seem to be having a good time. Best episode the Ood.

Look forward to the Agatha Christie Mystery and Sontarans.

Well worth the money if you don't want to wait for the boxset way of in October/November.

A fantastic 4th series made even better by the top class performance of Catherine Tate who is simply astounding as Donna Noble. Tennant & Tate work fantstically together. A great change from the dire acting talents shown by Freema Agyeman during the shows third series.

Although I love Dr Who I don't find the amount of episodes on a DVD is fair... American Seasons can be bought for £30 for 23-24 episodes but why does Dr Who sell for £60 for a 13 episode box set...?

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.

Firstly, it is only the first two I dont like here, Planet of the Ood is a good episode and just prevents me from giving it a 1 star. This is Who at its worst. Partners in Crime is terrible. At times its that bad it is laughable. It is supposed to be some kind of self-parody but it fails miserably, and Doctor Who isnt a funny show, it never really has been. The Adipose were just awful, and the part where donna waves goodbye to her grandad from inside the TARDIS makes you want to stop watching Doctor Who. Fires of Pompeii was slightly better, but too much was going on. Just cannot be compared to pretty much anything from series 1 or 2.