Product description

Doctor Who - Series 4 Vol.3 [DVD] [2008]

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Average customer rating: 4.5

Binding : DVD
EAN : 5014503260729
Label : 2 Entertain Video
Manufacturer : 2 Entertain Video
Publisher : 2 Entertain Video
Release date : 2008-08-04
Title : Doctor Who - Series 4 Vol.3 [DVD] [2008]
Actor : Array
Audience rating : Suitable for 12 years and over
Format : PAL
Languages : Array
Number of items : 1
Original release date : 2008-01-01
Region code : 2
Running time : 135
Studio : 2 Entertain Video
Theatrical releaseDate : 2008

Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
This third DVD release from IDoctor Who/I’s fourth series since its revival is an absolute cracker. For it just happens to bring together three of the very best episodes from the season, on a disc that’s best not to miss. p Things kick off with the excellent Steven Moffat-penned two-parter, ISilence In The Library/I and IForest Of The Dead/I. Moffat, who takes over the running of IDoctor Who/I for its fifth series, has been widely regarded as writing some of the best episodes of the show since it came back (including the stunning IBlink/I), and he doesn’t disappoint here. His story sees the Doctor and Donna landing in the middle of the biggest library in the Universe, a superb special effects creation that covers an entire planet. Yet it also houses a sinister set of foes that quickly send shivers up the spine, and that prove it’s wise to, as advised, "count the shadows". To tell too much more would be to spoil some of the surprises, yet with the mysterious character of River Song, the equally intriguing Dr Moon and a small girl’s nightmares to consider, there’s plenty to unravel. p That two-parter out of the way, the mantle then passes back to Russell T Davies, who pens one of his very best episodes of IDoctor Who/I with the terrific IMidnight/I. It’s a deceptive episode, starting off with a low-budget, unimpressive feel, but soon developing into a tightly-constructed, unnerving story, without the comfort of a happily resolved ending. p The back half of IDoctor Who/I’s fourth season was, on the whole, of exceptionally high standard, and this trio of episodes is one of the main reasons why. A terrific DVD, that demonstrates a treasure of a TV show doing what it does best. --ISimon Brew/I

Customer reviews

review by: date: 2009-06-02 rating:

Doctor Who Series 4 Vol 3
I bought this for my son who is 7 a big Dr Who fan.(he has every episode).We both watched it really enjoyed it.I always like 2 part episodes. Alex Kingston was great! I always love the way you get little snippets put in like Riversong (Alex Kinston) knew the Doctor from the future (was she married to him?).The way he saved her life also she had 3 children with her at the end(are they the Doctors?). br /Neither of us liked the episode midnight, there wasnt much of a story to it only screaming which i turned off. I didnt like it either when i first saw it on tv. br /But overall i would rate this DVD 4 stars.

review by: date: 2009-05-21 rating:

Doctor Who at its cleverest
As Series Four progresses, it starts to head into much darker territory with these episodes, perhaps offering an indicator of things to come - literally so in the case of 'Silence of the Library' and 'Forest of the Dead', written by Steven Moffat, Russell T Davies' successor as head writer and driving force behind Matt Smith's 'Doctor Who'. br / br /Steven Moffat has won acclaim and awards for his 'Doctor Who' episodes, and rightly so. Filled with twists and turns, tapping into basic human (and particularly childhood) fears and anxieties, and providing a cavalcade of memorable terrors for the Doctor to face. Remember the Clockwork Men? The Empty Child, with his haunting refrain 'Are You My Mummy'? The Weeping Angels, static statues that could pounce on you in the blink of an eye? All Steven Moffat's creations. This time, he turns his attentions to the dark. Literally, the darkness is given life and becomes a predator, stalking the Doctor and his allies through a futuristic library on an alien world, and capturing unsuspecting souls. It's a good concept, made considerably more interesting by the fact that one of these allies is a woman named River Song (Alex Kingston), who has a mysterious connection to the Doctor... in his future, but her past. At the same time, a little girl in an apparently ordinary house in the present day is haunted by strange visions of these future events, not to mention being able to view excerpts on her TV. br / br /So far, so good. It's a typical Steven Moffat script - too clever by far, packed with iconic moments and with some truly chilling enemies. That said, I found it a little disappointing because it was exactly what I was expecting - in the same way that some feel fatigued by Russell T Davies' big, epic season finales, which all feel like variations on the same theme to an extent, so this feels a little like something we've seen before. Primed to expect surprises, that's exactly what I got. So although this is a remarkable story, it didn't quite have the impact on me I'd hoped it might, because I expected everything I got - even if I couldn't figure out the twists in the tale. It's still a cracking story, though. br / br /'Midnight', on the other hand, genuinely surprised me. Russell T Davies' psychological thriller set in the passenger compartment of a tour bus on an alien planet takes the logistical need to produce a 'cheap' episode, runs with it, and produces something genuinely brilliant. An opportunity for David Tennant to really prove himself in the acting stakes, in a cast that also includes Lesley Sharp and David Troughton, it's like a fringe play given 45 minutes on primetime BBC One. An unlikely contender for sitting alongside the gameshows and lottery draws of Saturday nights, it has to rank amongst some of the most compelling television I've ever seen, and is undoubtedly a highlight both of this series, and of Davies' television work as a whole. br / br /What we have here is perhaps a little more cerebral than the show's usual fare, but equally, 'Doctor Who' at its cleverest. If for some reason you haven't seen these already, you really need to, as they're perfect proof that modern mainstream TV doesn't have to be dumbed-down spectacle, all style over substance.

review by: jusrobin date: 2009-03-29 rating:

Loved the Midnight episode the best!
I really enjoyed this DVD of Doctor Who and I am a fan of David Tennant's doctor! I thought the episodes on this DVD were very interesting and the stories very creative. Midnight was my favorite in particular.

review by: mattieboyz date: 2009-03-02 rating:

"Hey, who turned out the lights?"
The third `vanilla' release of stories from the Fourth series of the BBC's revived Doctor Who opens with new Executive Producer (and most talented writer) Steven Moffat's two-hander: `Silence in the Library' and `Forest of the Dead'. The genius behind 2005's `The Empty Child' and 2007's `Blink' returns with a creepy adventure set, naturally, in a vast library, repository of the entire book collection of the universe. Moffat's skill is in his ability to take the mundane, the everyday, and make it seem sinister - when they arrive in the library - to find it completely deserted - the time-travellers are instructed to `stay out of the shadows'; there is something lurking in them and it isn't nice...The story also introduces us to Alex Kingston's intriguing `River Song'; archaeologist and future companion of The Doctor's; although he doesn't appear to recognize her at all. As the Doctor himself would say; it appears to be another of those `timey-wimey' things, and hopefully River will be back in the series in the future so we can see where she fits in. Colin Salmon appears too, as a creepy psychiatrist, whose young female patient seems to somehow be the key to the events unfolding in the library, whilst League of Gentleman's Steve Pemberton plays a typical wealthy businessman; seeking to stake a claim in whatever they unearth. `Hey who turned out the lights' didn't become as ubiquitous a catchphrase as `Are you my mummy', however the events leading to its appearance are equally disturbing and a real `behind the settee' moment. br /Midnight is one of those so-called `Marmite' episodes. Personally I landed on the `love it' side of the argument; a claustrophobic, tense and tautly-acted 40 minutes, that left me wanting more. Lesley Sharp is superb as the possessed passenger of a shuttle that is touring the planet Midnight; a great ensemble cast including David Troughton become increasingly paranoid as they are manipulated and persuaded that The Doctor is the real threat... br /

review by: date: 2008-10-09 rating:

Stirring stuff
Silence in the Library and Forests of the Dead is an enthralling 2 parter concerned with the terrible vashda nerada. Shadows that have a life of their own and the mysterious River Song all work splendidly to make this a 'must not miss' volume. Midnight finishes it off very well, the Dr scared? Frightened by the potential violence humans are capable of in disturbing conditions, this gives a completely new angle to the Dr's personality. Ripping stuff.

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