Doctor Who : Complete BBC Series 4 [2008]

---

---

Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
Kicking off with a jam-packed Christmas special and ending with a blockbuster extended closing instalment, Doctor Who?s fourth series since it was revived is a breathless, exciting one, that also boasts some exceptional episodes.

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

---

DVD Description
Hot on the heels of the acclaimed third series, Doctor Who returns for a fantastic fourth series with a familiar face alongside the Doctor.

Award-winning comedienne Catherine Tate returns as the Doctor's new companion, revisiting her role as Donna Noble who featured in the 2006 Christmas special The Runaway Bride. Martha Jones - who left the Doctor at the end of Series Three to break the unrequited circle of love she felt for him - will also return. The Sontarans and Ood are set to reappear.

---

Customer reviews

review by: SQUEAK date: 2008-08-22 rating:
A missed opurtunity?
After what I felt to be a very dissapointing season three, this new season represents something of a return to form for Doctor Who. The stories are never less than watchable (especially when it stays clear of Russel T Davies' own mythology)and can be excellent ('Planet of the Ood,' 'Silence in the Library.') I just feel like the season as a whole could have been even better if they'd just stuck to the task of making a TV series instead of trying to be clever.
The Good News first. Ignore all the quibbles from various sections of Who fandom and take it from me. Catherine Tate is a revelation as Donna Noble. In fact, I'd rank her as the best female foil for the Doctor since Elisabeth Sladen's Sarah-Jane Smith was in her pomp in the seventies. DW fans from the old era were probably weeping into their Target novels when they found out Catherine Tate would be returning as Donna. The number of people I've seen gripe that "she's not a proper actress" beggars belief. For the uninformed lets clear a few things up: 1) Tate might be best known for comedy roles but she's appeared in a number of dramatic roles since in between finishing doing her own show and joining Doctor Who. That would make her an actress, then. 2) Being a 'proper actress' didn't stop Freema Agyeman behaving as wooden as a barn door for most of season three. So there.
In fact the biggest problem with Tate is that there's not enough of her. And therin lies the problem for the entire season. With just about every actor/actress associated with the show since it's 2005 revival apperaing in some capacity throughout the season, it really does become a case of too many companions spoiling the broth. Never is this better demonstrated the 'Doctor's Daughter' episode. With The Doctor having two companions and a pseudo-companion for company, there simply isn't enough for everyone to do- to the extent that Donna has to be unrealisticly transformed into 'SuperTemp' just so she isn't sat twiddling her thumbs.
Not suprisingly then, the season fares best when the stories are concentrated on The Doctor and Donna, with no external inteferences. The honourable exception is 'Turn Left,' a one-episode lead-in to the two part finale. With the Doctor sidelined, a buck toothed, lisping Rose (should that be Roth? Who IS Billie Piper's dentist?) takes on the role of the Doctor herself to guide Donna through the adventure. It's a pretty chilling story and calls for some pretty good acting from Tate- thankfully she delivers, and by the end of the epsiode my heart was beating ten to the dozen- what a story!
As I've mentioned the other season highlights include 'Fires of Pompeii' and 'Planet of the Ood,' which although thought-provoking in their own way never try to be too clever, and aren't clogged up with unecessary baggage. Fans of New DW showrunner Steven Moffat will be pleased to see he's got a two parter this time around, 'Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead,' which lives up to all his previous DW work.
Now about that finale. One of the previous reviewers makes reference to the ties-ins, cross overs with other series and everything else that goes on, and says that this should be done more often. Without wanting to offend that particular indivudual, I could not disagree with them more. The first part ('Stolen Earth') in particular is spolit by having to spend more than half the episode bringing all the companions and threads together. As such, the crucial bit with the Doctor and Donna at the Shadow Proclaimation is woefuly underwritten. And what for? So RTD can self-indulge himself by having Torchwood characters appear in DW. It's worth pointing out at this juncture that Torchwood is a post-watershed, adult-themed TV show and that at least half of DWs core audience will not have a clue who Ianto, Gwen and Rhys are, and probably care even less. This is exactly what happens when you let a bunch of fanboy fanatics like Davies and Phil Collinson have free reign on DW- they come up with with something that alienates (no pun intended) 90% of the casual audience. Without wanting to give the story away if you've not watched it, the second part is even worse for feeling like a bring-and-buy companion sale. I was half expecting Tom Baker to come out the TARDIS bawling 'Britain, Britain, Oh damn it! Wrong show!' Oh, and the very moving final few scenes lose some impact due to the fact that we've not spent as much time with the character in question as we should have.
I've already discussed Catherine Tate at length, which leaves me with David Tennant. I'm still not fully convinced he's as good as Tom Baker in his pomp, but there's no doubt he inhabits the role totally. His rapport with Tate is excellent, and the two clearly enjoy working with each other. Their relationship is good without descending into the luvee smug-fest that made so many of Tennant and Piper's scenes from season two grate so much. His moral indignation in 'The Doctor's Daughter' is worth the DVD price alone (up their with Tom's 'Homo Sapiens' speech IMHO), and whilst the Doctor-as-God portrayal so beloved of Davies can be a bit sickly at times, it's to Tennant's credit that he always makes it believable.
So there you go, then. It's by no means a bad season, don't get me wrong. In fact, it's probabaly the revival's best season since it's first season. It just could have been so much better if they'd forgotten about Big Ideas and just concentrated on little things like writing good stories. Then again, the ratings for season four are the highest DW has ever had in any of its incarnations, so what do I know?

---

review by: date: 2008-08-19 rating:
Brilliant
Everyone I ever ask watched Doctor Who, and it's clear why.

When I first heard that Catharine Tate was taking over as the doctor's assistant, I thought she'd be, quite frankly, rubbish. I moaned that she was too strong a character/actress in her own right, and they would just clash. Well, they did clash in a way, but the result was fantastic. Whereas Rose and Martha merely went along with whatever the doctor said, Donna challenged him on various occasions, adding a very human feel to her character - Donna's reactions etc seemed to reflect how anyone would really feel about travelling in time and across the universe. It was so sad to Donna go, especially the way it all ended, with a simple, unknowing, "yeah, bye". She'll be missed, and a very hard act to follow.

Donna aside, this has been a fantastic series, and the first to make me want to buy it on DVD.

---

review by: date: 2008-08-17 rating:
Entertaining but at times dissapointing
This season of Doctor who was a real mixed bag for me. I'm a massive Dr Who fan and love the show it is by far the best thing on british TV and along with Torchwood the only reason i pay my TV liscence. Lets break it down breifly by episode. Partners in crime (Awful) the worst opener ever!! Catherine Tate at her shouty worst, poor aliens, silly idea and i thought Sarah Lancashire looked pretty evil and was wasted in such a poor story. Fires of Pompeii (in the words of the doctor Brilliant) after such a poor start a cracking second episode, great story/effects, ideas catherine is less shouty and is growing into the role. Planet of the Ood (Good) liked this episode a lot again great ideas and story, i was glad to see the back drop of the Ood expanded upon and a non earth based story (not enough of these in my opinion). The sonatrons(OK) Nice to see another classic character get a re-vamp i don't like the Unit Martha Jones much preferred her as the doctors assitant, felt it dragged a bit over two episodes, some good effects. The doctors daughter (Brilliant) I loved this episode and i get shot down in the forums all the time yes i know it's flawed but great story. Unicorn and the wasp (Poor) I love the historical episodes but this wasn't for me clever writing tying in the agatha Christie disappearance but i thought the effects and alien part of the story were poor. Silence in library/Forest of dead (Brilliant) I'm a big fan of Steven Moffets episodes and these didn't dissapoint scary, edgy mysterious a few story flaws (How did the Vasta Nevada survive 100 years with no food source) but that aside really entertaining if this is what we have to look forward to in two years time can't wait. Midnight (Brilliant) Russell T Davis best episode (there haven't been many) great acting Tennant excels and shows real acting class (needs to stay for series 5 with strong storys will have a real claim as best doctor ever.
Turn left (Really good) i was not looking forward to this episode as Catherine Tate was the lead on her own but was really surprised i think it was this episode where i finally warmed to her as the doctors companion great story idea (two in a row for RTD saving the best til last almost.) Two things let it down poor beetle effects, and lack of real explanation of how Rose knows and why unit trusts her.
The finale (Sometimes brilliant sometimes OK) I good go on all day about the finale, i didn't see the need for all the characters to be in it, in the 1st part at times it felt like the characters were all viaing for equal screen time rather than moving the story along, after all the build up i was dissapointed with the shadow proclimation, bit of a non entity, the supreme dalek had nothing supreme about him other than what looked like additional jewelery, if jack dies in a furnace how comes his clothes aren't burnt, Martha might as well not have been used the whole osterhagan key was nonsense, and the control console in the dalek chamber the three doctors use looks like it was made on blue peter. That all said great cliff hanger, i looked the two doctor's part and the Doctordonna angle, Julian bleach was great as Davros and on the whole the episodes were entertaining.
The Russell T Davis era is now over with the exception of a few specials and i thank him for bringing who back (Absorbaloff and Slithean aside.) But this wasn't the best of Series (2 has been the best in my opinion), i think steven moffat will take the show to next level role on series 5, oh yeah and DAVID PLEASE STAY.

---

review by: date: 2008-08-10 rating:
One of the best programs on BBC
Partners in Crime - 7/10
In this epsidoe we see Donna and the Doctor both investigate a new pill to help lose weight. A nice easy episode to re-introduce the characters and create aliens fit for the cuddly-toy buisness.
Fires of Pompeii - 7.5/10
The Doctor takes Donna to Pompeii only to find it is the day before Mount Vesuvias erupts. I had watch this twice to really enjoy but the characters and the plot were both good.
Planet of the Ood - 7/10
On her first alien planet, Donna meets the Ood and discovers some secrets about humans in the future. This epsidoe supriesed me because the Ood were not really the bad guys. I felt that this episode was not what Doctor Who is normally about. It wasnt fun, it wasnt bouncy. Not the best Doctor Who episode ver.
The Sontaran Strategem - 8/10
This episdoe sees the return of Martha Jones and the Sontarans. A series of deaths are linked to the ATMOS system and UNIT must figure out how. i liked this episode because i thought the Sontarans were played excellently and it was nice seeing UNIT being brought back.
The Poison Sky - 7.5/10
UNIt and the Sontarans are going to war and the Doctor must clear the skies of the poisonus gases. The follow on from The Sontaran Strategem, not quiet as good but still entertaning to watch.
The Doctor's Daughter - 8/10
The Doctor, Donna and Martha arrive on the planet Messaline only to find that the Doctor has a daughter. I liked this episode because it had a suprising twist. Having Marths in this epsidoe was not clever because she was seperated from the Doctor most of the time.
The Unicorn and the Wasp - 10/10
In 1926, Agatha Christie disapeared for ten days. The Doctor and Donna arrive the day before and have to catch the murderer at the estate. I loved this epsidoe for two reasons. I am a big Agatha Christie Fan and also it was so clever. the characters were great and it was such a fun, light episode.
Silence in the Library - 10/10
The Doctor and Donna find themeselves in the biggest libray in the universe, but it is completely desrted. Accept for the shadows. This was another brilliant epsidoe made better with the inrtoduction of Professor River Song (Alex KIngston) who somehow knows the Doctor in the future. It is good how somehow it is all tied in with one little girl and it has a greta cliffhanger.
Forest of the Dead - 9/10
The second in the two parter. Donna is trapped in a fake world whilst the Doctor must escape the shadows and discover the secret of Cal. You see a different side to Donna in this episode as her life is flying by and her world is collapsing. Very scary when Miss Evengilista makes a suprise return.
Midnight - 9/10
Taking a tour across a diamond planet called Midnight, the Doctor must save himself when a tapping on the walls begins. This episode had Donna in for only two scenes at the beginning and end, so you get to see how the Doctor copes by being with himself. And with no real alien, this epsiode keeps you thinking.
Turn Left (Doctorlite episode) - 10/10
What would happen if Donna met the Doctor? In this episode Donna lives a life where she has never met him and all sorts of things start go wrong. But who is the blonde girl helping Donna through out? A very clever and different kind of episode. Definatley one for older viewers as there was not a proper alien.
The Stolen Earth - 9.5/10
When the Doctor and Donna return to find the Earth missing, they must brave the Shadow Proclomation to save them. This episode was very good because it included so many thing that have been mentioned over the past four years. Also, everyone the Doctor has ever known return to help fight the Daleks and a very scary Davros!
Journeys End - 9.5/10
With Davros preparing the Atom Bomb things look quite bad, but only the Doctors Secret Army can save the day. This episode was made twenty minutes longer than normal to fit everything in. I felt the main part of it was over quite quickly. And i wonder who will be joning Torchwood next year?
Overall a brilliant series and my favourite of the New Who so far. So great epsidoe and big guest appearences (Bernard Cribbins, Alex Kingston) with some excellent story lines. Superb!


review by: illuminated geek date: 2008-07-30 rating:
Epic, yet personal
Amongst fans, series four of Doctor Who has probably been more divisive than any of the the preceding three, causing some to lament that it had become little more than a soap opera, while others applauded its desire to push boundaries and experiment.

Personally, I fall into the latter camp. As time has moved on, the bar has been moved ever higher in terms of performance, scripting and production values, even since series 3. As good as David Tennant is, and he is VERY good, this is most definitely Catherine Tate's series. When she was cast, there was a vocal tranche of opinion that dreaded her appearance, based purely on her appearance in the 2005 Christmas Special (in the series 2 boxset). Even that was a little harsh; she had merely played the part as written, though there were clear echoes of her sketch show in it. However, as time went on, the audience went on a journey with Donna and warmed to her, as she gained some kind of enlightenment and a sense of wonder at all the things she saw. Not just that, but her relationship with Tennant's Doctor, though platonic, had that wonderful kind of spark that Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn shared in their movies. I think the perfect example of that comes at the very end of the series; it was the major highlight of the series finale for me.

So, what of the episodes themselves:

First episodes of a series are tough to judge and while series 3's 'Smith and Jones' was the best at that point, 'Partners In Crime' trumps it. The Adipose plot was admittedly a cypher to bring CT and DT back together, but Sarah Lancashire held her own and there were obvious signs of the great chemistry to come. And if that wasn't enough, there was THAT scene to finish the episode off. Hands up who saw that one coming? ( Liars! :-) )

I really loved 'Fires of Pompeii', with its (in hindsight) predictions of what was to come later, while 'Planet of the Ood' was a relatively low-key and downbeat affair, though it too subtly presaged later events. It did still give us glimpses of the fact that Tate's donna was not going to be content to be a mere mute ornament in proceedings.

The Sontaran double bill, a Helen Rayner effort, was infinitely better than series 3's misfiring 'Daleks In Manhattan'. And Chris Ryan was wonderful as Staal. While it didn't hit the stellar heights of later stories it was certainly better than merely adequate.

'The Doctor's Daughter' was, in hindsight, probably the weakest episode of the series, which sounds bad but isn't really meant to be. I rather enjoyed it, Its very simple premise and its sense of time and history being compressed as they were was a very interesting one. And of course we have a new character floating around the universe. Who knows when we'll bump into her again...

'The Unicorn and the Wasp' managed to keep up a tradition of doing nice historical author-ish episodes with some style and elan. Some quibbled about the effects and the climax, but such things border on the churlish in retrospect. The episode is a fun one.

From this point onwards, however, the series seemed to hit another gear entirely. Steve Moffat's Library double was, quite simply a stunning tour de force on so many levels. By now though, this is what we have come to expect of the man who manages to put the fear of God into the nation's ten-year-olds every series. Job done this time round - "stay out of the shadows"

The two most surprising episodes were 'Midnight' and 'Turn Left'. The former's simple one set staging reminding me very much of 'Twelve Angry Men'. It left RTD able to concentrate on what he does best, more than ably assisted by Lesley Sharp. The mysterious and unresolved menace was beautifully realised. 'Turn Left' though, was the biggest shock of all. The usual Doctor-lite episode threw us into a world without the Doctor and shows us the consequences. It shows also how important Donna is in this context. And of course we get the return of Rose...

Then, the finale: if this really is to be RTD's swansong then I think the intention was to comprehensively clear the decks and prepare the way for Moffat to do his stuff. As such, there was an awful lot to pack in and, towards the very end, a suitably RTD-ish tendency to ladle on a bit of cheese, but he largely gets away with it. Once again though, Tate steals the show, with her half-timelord, half-human meta-crisis showing just how fabulous she was. The best bits for me were the crackles of dialogue, such as when the half-human Doctor regenerates.
"It's you!", "Oh yes", "But..you're..NAKED!", "Oh YES" and then taking control of things once the threefold man is reunited with all parts of himself.

There were lots of nice touches, such as the Sarah-Jane references concerning Genesis of the Daleks and Davros' recognition of her. Chilling. That all this was so wonderful makes Donna's fate all the more heart-rending and pathetic. We'll miss her. And Bernard Cribbins too: a national treasure. I'm not sure about Rose's resolution either, though it does tie up all those floaty, "wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey" bits, to steal a quote.

In the end, what is series 4? Well, in my eyes it is certasinly a progression from the series 3. This season had no clunkers at all and was of a generally high standard. Tennant's Doctor is now utterly fully formed, having recovered from some of the overwrought gurning of series 2. Now he's alone again, next year's specials and 2010 series give the writers and team a blank slate to work from. It alsd helps to have such a talent of cast and crew talent and a wealth of goodwill to go wit hit. You really do get the sense that eveyone concerned loves this show.

RTD has done a great job in reviving what many thought was a dead show and making it consistently the most popular, best produced, mote inventive and simply best drama on British TV.

When release time finally comes it will be an essential purchase for me. I hope it will be for you too.

---

Similar products

Torchwood: Complete BBC Series 2 Box Set (2008) [2006]
Doctor Who - The Complete Series 3 Box Set [2005]
Doctor Who : Voyage Of The Damned - Christmas Special with Kylie [2007]
Torchwood: Complete BBC Series 1 Box Set [2006]
Doctor Who - The Trial Of A Time Lord [1986] [1963]

---

Similar categories

Video . DVD & VHS . Categories . Television . All Television
Video . DVD & VHS . Categories . Television . Science Fiction & Fantasy
Video . DVD & VHS . Categories . Science Fiction & Fantasy . Science Fiction
Video . DVD & VHS . Categories . Science Fiction & Fantasy . Cult Series . Doctor Who
Video . DVD & VHS . Refinements . Format (binding_browse-bin) . DVD
Video . DVD & VHS . Refinements . Region(feature_browse-bin) . Region 2
Video . DVD & VHS . Refinements . Editions (feature_two_browse-bin) . Box Set
Video . DVD & VHS . Refinements . Language (theme_browse-bin) . English

---