Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead Blu-ray Movie Review

“Call it a hunch, but I think we’ve gone a little bit further than Brixton.”

Reviewed by Casey Broadwater July 30, 2009

Whovians rejoice! The good Doctor makes his first interstellar leap into high definition with Planet of the Dead, the first of four one-hour specials that will bring to a close David Tennant’s term as the Doctor’s 10th iteration. Re-boot producer Russell T. Davies has claimed that this episode is the last lighthearted, standalone story of Tennant’s reign, and that the remaining, darker specials will culminate with the Doctor’s inevitable regeneration. The figurative torch will then be passed to actor Matt Smith, who will lead the series when it returns to a regular schedule in 2010. Tennant has largely endeared himself to Doctor Who’s fan base, and the countdown to his regeneration means every second on screen carries additional weight. In a sense then, Planet of the Dead comes as a bit of a disappointment, featuring a ho-hum, hole-riddled plot that gives our time traveling hero very little to do.

No, this isn't Tattoine.

The episode opens with Lady Christina de Souza (Michelle Ryan) busting into a museum Mission Impossible-style, wearing Catherine Zeta Jones’ sexy little get-up from Entrapment, and absconding with an ancient gold chalice. The grail—no, not that grail—only figures into the plot in the most banal way, and the whole heist sequence exists simply to show that Christina is a cheeky thrill-seeker. When she flees the scene via double-decker bus, who should show up to sit beside her but our humble Doctor, who hands her some Easter chocolate, as if to say to the audience, “Enjoy this little treat, before things get too serious.” With the police hot on Christina’s trail, a wormhole conveniently opens up and sends the bus and its occupants to a distant, sand-covered planet. UNIT is summoned to guard the portal, and the stranded passengers must figure out a way to get the now-junked bus back to London. Complicating matters, a world-devouring species of manta ray-like creatures plan to use the wormhole to get to Earth—their next food source. The Doctor and his temporary companion Christina must rendezvous with a race of anthropomorphic flies called Tritavores, figure out how to get everyone home safely, and prevent the destruction of Earth.

While this may sound like a solid, action-packed episode, it really isn’t, and this is lightweight fare that might disappoint even—or especially—diehard Whovians. It has the makings of a fun little adventure, but almost nothing of interest happens. The running time is nearly all build-up. We learn about these manta-ray baddies, these destroyers of worlds, but they never pose any real threat because, for one, we know as a standalone episode that the conflict will be summarily resolved, and two, we’re led to think of them almost like great white sharks—big dumb eaters who are just doing what they’ve been biologically programmed to do. The Tritavores are similarly dull, and they’re swiftly killed off once they’ve served their plot function. If the episode has any redeeming value it’s in the quirky chemistry between the Doctor and Christina. In typical Who fashion, the Doctor demurely declines the possibility of romance, but the two work rather well together as a team, even if she occasionally comes off as too spunky for her own good. The rest of the bus passengers, however, get somewhat lost in the sandy shuffle. A few of the characters have narrative potential—a mildly psychic woman and her doting husband come to mind—but they basically become hero fodder, just another bunch of civilians for the Doctor to save.

While the story may lack scope, the locale certainly doesn’t. Eschewing the quarries and beachheads of old, this episode of Doctor Who was shot in the desert dunes outside of Dubai. Russell T. Davies explains in the included behind-the-scenes episode of “Doctor Who: Confidential” that the goal for Planet of the Dead was to provide a truly alien landscape, not something clearly recognizable as, well, Britain. And they’ve certainly succeeded. This episode does have a look and feel of its own, but I’m not sure the desert scenery justifies the expenses they must have racked up trying to film 3,000 miles from home. Still, the shifting dunes are beautiful, and I only wish they could’ve served as a backdrop to a more riveting tale. Here’s hoping that David Tennant’s remaining episodes pack a little bit more narrative punch.

Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

As the first Doctor Who episode to be filmed, broadcast, and released in high definition, Planet of the Dead will certainly be a treat for Whovians, but its VC-1 encoded, 1080i transfer—that's right, interlaced—is far from perfect. While the show does shine with newfound levels of clarity, it's HD video source material can look dull and dimensionless at times. Facial textures are certainly sharp, and the desert sands are crisply rendered, but the image as a whole has a kind of flat, video sheen. Black levels are sufficient, though, and the episode has a fairly vibrant palette of colors. The scenes in the desert look fantastic—a bit like a screensaver, admittedly —with deep blue skies over an orange expanse of sand. Skin tones too are neutral and realistic. On the downside, I did notice an instance of aliasing, and a few telltale stair steps of banding in some of the sky's subtle color gradients, particularly around the one of the planet's suns. Doctor Who is never going to look objectively great compared to Blu-ray's best, but it is what it is, and with that in mind, this transfer is completely adequate.

Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Planet of the Dead goes into steady orbit with a DTS-HD High Resolution Audio 5.1 track that, while never impressive, suits the material well. Dynamically, the mix seems a little thin to me, and the bass really only gets a chance to roar during one or two bits of incidental music. Listen to the gunshots that punctuate the end of the episode—instead of assault rifles they sound like Chinese firecrackers. Even the main theme sounds lean. Directionality proves somewhat better, as we get a fair amount of ambience in the rears—from the beating blades of helicopters to the rattling of the bus as it travels through the wormhole—and a few discrete effects, like the back-to-front swoosh of the swarm flying past. Dialogue is prioritized well, and sound effects, like computerized bleeps and bloops or the Tritavore's language of articulated clicks, are clear and distinct. Overall, this track may lack heft, but it gets the job done.

Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead Confidential (1080i, 57:02)

Who fans are readily familiar with the "Confidential" series of behind-the-scenes Dr. Who discussion, and this episode is no different, providing a fairly exhaustive look at Planet of the Dead's often-belabored shoot, and featuring interviews with writer/producer Russell T. Davies, director James Strong, and various members of the cast and crew. It really says something when the "making-of" featurette is more engaging than the actual episode, and Planet of the Dead's production team ran into far more trouble on this outing than the good Doctor himself. After deciding to film in Dubai, the crew had to deal with sandstorms, blazing Middle East heat, and the logistical nightmare of trying to get a double-decker bus out into the middle of the desert. When the top of the bus was nearly destroyed by a careless crane operator on the cargo ship, Davies even had to do some quick thinking and write the damage into the script. This is a fascinating behind-the-scenes feature, and I'm sure many Who fans will find this look into the production cycle more interesting than the episode it documents. Definitely worth a watch.

Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Doctor Who has finally come to Blu-ray, so there is cause to celebrate, but I'm afraid this episode wasn't the best choice for the series' high def debut. Still, the show looks better than ever, even if there are a few PQ kinks to iron out, and the prospect of more Who on Blu-ray is sure to set the hearts of sci-fi geeks everywhere aflutter. Completists will certainly want to pick up this release, but for more casual Doctor Who fans I'd recommend a rental first.