Doctor Who: Resolution Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

Doctor Who: Resolution Blu-ray Movie Review

They're baaaaack.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman March 5, 2019

There’s an old saying that goes “the more things change, the more they stay the same,” and in that regard, as is discussed in one of the supplements included on this Blu-ray as a bonus feature, while Doctor Who now has a new showrunner, a new “team in the TARDIS”, a new aspect ratio and different lenses, and (lest we forget) even a new (female) Doctor (Jodie Whittaker), there’s one longstanding former element which evidently can’t be jettisoned — the Daleks. As is also discussed in some of the supplements, these now iconic nemeses of the Doctor appeared fairly shortly after the series’ premiere way back in 1963, and they have kind of achieved a life of their own, including two big screen efforts, Dr. Who and the Daleks and Daleks — Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D., from 1965 and 1966 respectively. While Doctor Who: Resolution, which has a bit of “meta” newness itself in that it was a New Year’s Day special instead of the longstanding tradition of a Christmas Day Doctor Who outing, plays it a bit fast and loose in an “epic” (per the producer) opening sequence involving some kind of long in the past enemy supposedly vanquished by a coalition including the Brits (of course) centuries ago, it doesn’t take long for it to become clear that the ancient fracas actually involved the Daleks.

The initially unidentified enemy in the special’s opening sequence is chopped into three pieces (evidently in case it’s “not quite dead yet”, to quote another venerable British enterprise), with that trio of sections dispersed globally in order to prevent future catastrophes. Yeah, right. In one of the kind of curious elisions the special makes, instead of just burying the pieces in undisclosed locations, evidently “guardians” of some kind are appointed to oversee the burial plots. Unfortunately, one of the three original warriors tasked with getting rid of the body part is killed en route (unwittingly) by some bandits, and centuries later his remains, along with the remains of what he was transporting, are discovered in an archaeological dig taking place in the apparently immense sewers underneath Sheffield.

The two workers on the dig are named Mitch (Nikesh Patel) and Lin (Charlotte Ritchie), and in a plot development that might have benefitted from a bit more explanation, the piece of a Dalek they dig up kind of magically reinvigorates, making a sound as it does so. Lin goes to investigate, and while (again) it’s not initially shown what happened, suffice it to say that this particular Dalek is very much alive despite having been trifurcated centuries ago. Meanwhile, the Doctor and her “new team in the TARDIS” have been going for a little space-time spin, checking out New Year’s Day celebrations in various eras and locations.

Once the Doctor and her acolytes have made it to Sheffield after having been alerted to something nasty going on there, it’s revealed that the piece of the Dalek found in the sewers has attached itself to Lin’s back and has taken control of her mind, informing her in fact that she’s now its “puppet”. That leads to a whole subset of calamities, as Lin, under the control of the Dalek, starts marauding through the countryside on a quest for both information and, not so coincidentally, materials to make a new “shell”. The Doctor of course is in hot pursuit, leading to a kind of cat and mouse escapade.

By some of the unabashed admissions made by the creative crew in some of the supplements, and as even addressed jokingly within the script for Resolution itself, the special was made with a New Year’s Day family audience in mind, albeit one held hostage by the television since nothing is open and many have hangovers (those of you who have either seen this special or watch it in the future will understand those references). But as is also mentioned outright in the supplements, there was an aim for “big” emotions that would resonate with the entire viewing family, and it’s here that Resolution may simply try a bit too hard to tug at the heartstrings.

This particular element involves Ryan Sinclair (Tosin Cole), whom followers of Doctor Who: The Complete Eleventh Series will know is the step grandson of series regular Graham O’Brien (Bradley Walsh), but who, along with Graham, suffered a personal loss in the opening episode of that season that plays into the proceedings again here. Ryan’s estranged father Aaron (Daniel Adegboyega) shows up and of course soon enough is made aware of the TARDIS and Ryan’s “adventures”, but the episode tries to get pretty “touchy feely” with both an extended “two hander” scene between the characters, as well as a patently ridiculous “second” climax (after an initial showdown) where Aaron is ridiculously threatened and Ryan has to forgive and forget in order to save him. Guess what happens.

Resolution is fun in its own way, and of course it’s kind of goofily delightful to see the Daleks (or at least a Dalek) again, especially in its initial pre-encasement form. Hopefully without inviting the umbrage of devoted Whovians, I freely admit that I personally tend to chuckle just a bit at the sight of any Dalek, since no matter how the series’ production design team tries to make the creatures look high (or at least higher) tech when compared to days of yore, they still strike me as kind of hilariously old fashioned. In this regard, they might not be quite as comical as, say, the Cybermen often strike me as being (again despite heroic if ultimately maybe hopeless attempts to "update" things), but this special doesn’t try to hide its joking manner in any regard, which may make laughing okay one way or the other.

Doctor Who: Resolution Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Doctor Who: Resolution is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of BBC with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.00:1*. While there's the same kind of slightly soft quality to some of the CGI effects in this special that have also been part and parcel of Doctor Who generally over the past few seasons, this is by and large a very sharp and well detailed presentation. The same emphasis on deeply saturated yellows, blues and purples that helped define some episodes in Series 11 continues here, and looks nicely vivid. Even in some almost lurid lighting within the TARDIS, fine detail levels tend to be very strong, including in some midrange shots. Some of the goofy practical effects, like the symbiotic Dalek attached to Lin's back, don't look particularly "realistic", but detail levels are typically strong. Some very slight deficits in shadow detail accrue in just a few isolated moments, including some of the initial sewer sequences where the "remains" of the Dalek are initially found.

*As referenced above and as is overtly discussed in some of the supplements accompanying this release, this season features the "new" aspect ratio of 2.00:1. Those who peruse our specs will see that there's an "original aspect ratio" spec for 1.78:1, which is actually in reference to the "historical" revival, not this iteration. The "original aspect ratio" for this special is/was 2.00:1.

Doctor Who: Resolution Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Doctor Who: Resolution features an expressive if only intermittently bombastic DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. There are some very fun sound effects in this special, along with good attention to ambient differences between, say, the cloistered, dripping confines of the Sheffield sewers or the more high tech interiors of the TARDIS. Brief set pieces like a manic car chase featuring Lin (under the control of the Dalek) also offer good immersion. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly on this problem free track.

Doctor Who: Resolution Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Series 11 Look Back (1080p; 11:05) features an obviously somewhat spoiler laden overview, though it tends to concentrate more on things like some of the actors' favorite episodes than any big plot reveals.


• Making of Resolution (1080p; 12:33) has more interviews and some behind the scenes footage.


• The Monster (1080p; 6:56) takes a look at the almost squid like Dalek.


• Closer Look (1080p; 6:17) focuses on the diner scene between Ryan and his father.

Doctor Who: Resolution Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Resolution is kind of cheeky in any number of ways, but it's also a nice "combo platter" of retro sensibilities with the "new, improved" Doctor Who (and team) that took over with Series 11. The story here is kind of rote, and I frankly had a major eye roll moment at that "second climax" mentioned above, but all in all this was a fun and often funny Doctor Who outing. Technical merits are strong, and at least for devoted Whovians if for no one else, Doctor Who: Resolution comes Recommended.