Doctor Who Season 6 - DVD

Content: The Doctor is back! The cult series Doctor Who, which has been an integral part of British pop culture since 1963, is enjoying steadily increasing popularity outside the United Kingdom after its successful revival in 2005. In Germany, too, the fan base of the Time Lord, who has been portrayed by Matt Smith since season 5 following David Tennant's departure, is growing. While he also took his hat with the big Christmas special 2013 and will be replaced from season 8 by Peter Capaldi, we have first of all the second year of Smith as Doctor Who on DVD. And it really packs a punch. In these thirteen episodes of season six, the Time Lord (Matt Smith) and his companions Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) and Rory encounter old enemies like the Cybermen, new foes like the Silence, and loyal companions like Craig (James Corden), with whom the Doctor lived as a lodger in a great episode from season 5. And of course River Song (Alex Kingston) makes a reappearance, who will play a very special role in this season and is in for a big surprise.

Following the very nice Christmas special with Michael Dumbledore Gambon and singer Katherine Jenkins, in which a very special variation of Charles Dickens' popular Christmas story is told, the sixth season starts off right with a particularly dramatic moment: when Amy and Rory meet River Song at a lake in Utah, the three have to watch the Doctor being killed by an astronaut rising from the lake. When they encounter a younger version of the Doctor shortly after, they realize that they can still prevent his death. But to do so, they must first find out who the mysterious astronaut is. In their search for answers, they encounter a new enemy: The Silence. These are beings with telepathic powers that are immediately forgotten as soon as they disappear from sight. But they are not the only danger that threatens the Doctor and his companions on their new adventures. There's a siren-like creature causing fear on a pirate ship, dangerous doppelgangers and a hotel where the occupants are confronted with their worst fears. The Cybermen also return, this time sending small spies called Cybermats to prepare an attack. And finally, they encounter one of the greatest monsters of all, Adolf Hitler!

But hovering over everything is the Doctor's impending death, which seems inevitable. And Amy's child, of all people, who is born on a space station, seems to play a key role in this. Including the Christmas special, Season 6 offers fourteen episodes that once again feature the proven mix of action, adventure, fantasy, science fiction, romance, mystery, suspense, drama and plenty of humor. The episode Night of Fear also adds a fair amount of creepiness. It's this colorful mix that ensures the concept of the series still works so well after fifty years. Granted, not every episode is a slam dunk. There are some longueurs and a few plot elements that only work to a certain extent or not at all. And yet, even in the weaker moments, the series is a lot of fun. This is due to both the actors and the occasionally very playful production, which reveals that there is a great deal of enthusiasm and love for the genre at work here.

With the Silence, the Who universe has been expanded to include a new, very effective threat that are even more terrifying than the weeping angels that were also only conceived after the reboot. While these foes of the Doctor will never achieve the cult status of the Daleks or the Cybermen, they are a real asset to the series. The exciting season-long story arc, the new enemies, old acquaintances and guest stars like Downton Abbey's Hugh Bonneville are many of the good reasons why fans should definitely not miss this season. Absolutely recommendable!

Picture + Sound: Also in the technical area, this box can convince: The picture is clean, disturbances or dirt one looks here in vain. Very powerful colors, a good overall sharpness and decent contrasts underline the positive impression that the visual implementation leaves. The sound, available in Dolby Digital 5.1, presents itself as a well-matched mix of dialogue, music and effects, the latter being responsible for the fact that there is always pleasantly audible movement in the surround area. Good!

Extras: Again, this season box has plenty of bonus material worth watching. It starts with a very nice booklet, which introduces the individual episodes, but also goes into the history of the series and introduces new as well as old acquaintances of the Doctor, who appear in the six episodes.

Continue on the first DVD with the full Confidential to the Christmas episode (about 56:05 min.), which offers a very worth seeing look behind the scenes. Also included are the two clips Place (approx. 3:58 mins) and Time (approx. 3:03 mins), which were shot for the Comic Relief charity event. The second DVD starts with an audio commentary on the first episode with Rory actor Arthur Darvill and producer Marcus Wilson, followed by three, as usual, condensed Confidentials on Episode 1 (approx. 14:03 min.), Episode 2 (approx. 11:15 min.) and Episode 3 (approx. 12:09 min.). In addition, there is a monster file on The Silence (approx. 10:58 min.), as well as prequel clips for Episode 1 (approx. 1:44 min.) and Episode 3 (approx. 1:24 min.)

DVD 3 has an audio commentary by cult author Neil Gaiman on the fourth episode he wrote, as well as a commentary on Episode 5 with actors Mark Bonnar and Marshall Lancaster, and director Julian Simpson. In addition, there are more confidentials on Episode 4 (approx. 12:20 min.), Episode 5 (approx. 14:11 min.) and Episode 6 (approx. 12:05 min.), as well as another monster file on the doppelgangers (approx. 13:03 min.). DVD 4 offers an audio commentary on the seventh episode of the season, this time with Arthur Darvill, actress Neve McIntosh, and the series' special effects supervisor. Also on this disc are Confidentials again for episodes 7 (approx. 9:07 min.), 8 (approx. 12:47 min.), and 9 (approx. 13:37 min.), a monster file on the antibodies (approx. 9:07 min.), and prequel clips for episode 7 (approx. 1:38 min.) and episode 8 (approx. 1:58 min.).

DVD 5 is the disc with the fewest extras. Here there are only two Confidentials for Episode 10 (approx. 11:09 min.) and Episode 11 (approx. 9:07 min.). The last DVD has more bonus material to offer. It starts with a very good audio commentary on the last episode with Steven Moffat, director Jeremy Webb and actress Frances Barber. There are also two confidentials on episodes 12 (approx. 12:46 mins) and 13 (approx. 8:59 mins), as well as a monster file on the Cybermats (approx. 10:15 mins). There are also five parts of the Night and the Doctor short series (approx. 15 min. in total), which also gets its own Confidential (approx. 15:12 min.). A prequel clip to episode 13 (approx. 1:13 min.) and two trailers (approx. 2 min.) round out this once again great supplemental offering.

Conclusion: The sixth season of Doctor Who actually has everything to make a Who fan's heart beat faster. There's a very dramatic season-spanning story arc, plenty of new worlds, lots of old acquaintances, humor, suspense, sci-fi, and a few more tangible surprises. And even if not every episode is a real highlight, there are very few sags in this season overall. The DVD box set is also equipped with several hours of bonus material that is not only informative, but first and foremost extremely entertaining. And once again it shows that the Doctor Who box sets are truly exemplary TV releases. And for that, once again, we get a: Absolutely recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp