Hot Products > DVD > Science Fiction & Fantasy

You get fourteen episodes for your money here, and the ones in particular to watch out for are the outstanding Silence In The Library/Forest Of The Dead double header, the almost single-location creepfest that is Midnight, and the trio of Turn Left, The Stolen Earth and Journey?s End that round off the series. In the midst of those is also one of the very best cliffhangers that Doctor Who has ever employed in its long and glorious history.

This is also the series of Doctor Who that introduces Catherine Tate as full-time companion Donna Noble, working alongside David Tennant?s Doctor across time and space. And it?s--against initial expectations--arguably the best combination since the show returned. Here, there?s no hint of romance between the pair, as they instead knuckle down to business, occasionally helped by the likes of Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman), Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen) and Jack Harkness (John Barrowman).

Let?s not forget too the collection of monsters we meet this time round. The daleks and Davros are the main attractions in Doctor Who Series 4, while the return of the Sontarans proves to be a bit of a disappointment. But, after viewing the series, chances are you?ll be counting shadows around you, and wary of getting on the wrong side of the Ood.

As with most series of Doctor Who, there are one or two bumpy episodes and missteps, but this is still unmatched at what it does, and finds the show in even more confident form than last time round. That, along with the immense rewatch value, is what makes this terrific piece of family entertainment such a compelling buy. --Simon Brew
brilliant best new series doctor who yet!!!, 2008-10-09
for me this was the best doctor who series of all time including the classic series! which is saying something.

Have to say tho i am disappointed that this year amazon don't seam to have an exclusive edition as the official cover is afoul IMO, a big step backwards from last seasons cover and why are we back with having these plastic slipcases on the dover they make it look horrible, less clean and it is less environmentally friendly. This wouldn't be too bad if the actors weren't on the slip covers as you could remove them without sacrificing the look. The year i will probably be going for the HMV exclusive cover simply because it looks a lot better than this standard cover, in the past i have brought the standard covers but this one IMO is hideous.

Anyway rant over if you are a doctor who fan then buy this it is brilliant even if you haven't watched Doctor Who before this is a good place to start there is no cliffhanger picked up in the first episode. You may find the Rose thing a bit confusing but it is all explained in the last few episodes.

Here is what i thought of this series:

Episodes:

voyage of the damned: 5/5 best Christmas special so far, brilliant disaster movie style

Partners in crime: 5/5 best series opener episode of the new series, brilliant moments of comedy and brilliant shock with rose's return even tho i don't like Rose too much.

Fires of Pompeii: 5/5 good emotional episode with Donna being the Doctor's concision

Planet of the Odd: 4/5 a good episode showing us the origins of the Odd, slightly disappointed with the visual effects of the odd brain and i thought it was a bit ridicules that the odd have a brain that they carry in their hands.

The sontaran stratagem: 4/5 a good episode let down by the person who played the American genius in this episode and i was hoping we would see the brigadier. I also have a minor dislike of the new sontaran design - why is it blue it should be black!

The Poison Earth:4/5 a good episode let down by the person who played the American genius in this episode and i was hoping we would see the brigadier. I also have a minor dislike of the new sontaran design - why is it blue it should be black!

The Doctor's Daughter: 3/5 a good story but i felt a little cheated the title implied to me that we would get to see the doctor's actual daughter (the mother of his granddaughter Susan) and the hath design was a bit naff with the eyes, the guns were totally for lack of a better word rubbish guns that fire gas?

the unicorn and the wasp: 3/5 i liked the idea of having agatha Christie involved in the episode and the style of a who done it but the whole idea of a wasp was a bit far fetched for me

Silence in the Library: 4/5 i'm not really a fan of these moffet "dark episodes" i just find them boring but i loved the concept of the doctor meeting a companion from the future and this made the whole episode for me.

Forest of the Dead: 4/5 i'm not really a fan of these moffet "dark episodes" i just find them boring but i loved the concept of the doctor meeting a companion from the future and this made the whole episode for me.

MIdnight: 4/5 a brilliant peace of work from RTD, the whole thing of people being stuck in a closed environment with something they don't understand. Very good. Not usually a fan of the doctor/ companion less episodes but it worked so well this year as they had Donna missing from this one apart from a few scenes and the same for the Doctor in the next episode instead of having them missing from the same episode as has been done in previous episodes.

Turn Left: 5/5 Amazing, what would have happened if Donna had never met the Doctor?

The Stolen Earth: 5/5 Brilliant the return of DAVROS!!! Daleks stealing the earth what more could you want?

Journey's end: 5/5 loved it a brilliant exit for Donna. Thought that Davros was a bit under used tho but played brilliantly by JB.

Stardust mixes in romance and adventure, all in a fantasy movie guise, as it follows Tristan on his quest to retrieve a fallen star for the beautiful Victoria. Only it soon becomes clear that there's a lot more going on as Tristan makes his journey (not least a companion more diverting than the aforementioned Victoria). Michelle Pfeiffer, for instance, returns to high profile movie making (after quite a break) in the role of the evil witch, while there's space too for Robert De Niro's pirate and an odd cameo from Ricky Gervais.

Seemingly one of a wealth of family films that made it out of the blocks off the success of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Stardust doesn't quite hit those heights, but it has quite a sporting go. It's an uneven tale, albeit one told with enough passion and enthusiasm to encourage you to cut it some slack. And when it gets to the end of the last reel, it's hard to feel shortchanged by what you've just seen.

For while Stardust has problems, it also has laughs, adventure, action and a whole lot in its corner to recommend it. And it is worth your time and attention. --Jon Foster
Magical, 2008-10-24
Just had a most entertaining 100 minutes. This is a good old fashioned fairytale for today. Amazing cast, very funny and although the story has been told 100 times before, still enjoyed every minute. I understand the critisiscm of Ricky Gervais and De Nero, but they made me smile even though Gervais charachter was straight from the office.... not sure he can play anyone else. Dont let that put you off though, well worth a purchase

Prince Caspian is epic, evoking memories of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films. (Some of the battle elements may seem too familiar, but they were in Lewis's book.) And it's appropriate for kids (Reepicheep could have come out of a Shrek movie), though the tone is dark and there is a lot of death, albeit bloodless. After two successful films, Disney and Walden Media's franchise has proved successful enough that many of the characters are scheduled to return in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. --David Horiuchi, Amazon.com
Excellent family entertainment, 2008-11-13
I'll keep it short and sweet - great performances, great effects, true to th ebook while still fleshing out the story and characters a little more. Fantastically fun action adventure that's suitable for all the family without patronising kids or sanitising the darker elements of the story. Parents should not object to being forced to sit through it with the kids!