Doctor Who: Season One Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		3.5

Doctor Who: Season One Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 25, 2025

One of the slightly humorous things about attempting to wend through all of the "historical" episodes of Doctor Who that BBC has been releasing over the years in standalone Blu-ray editions is trying to keep track of the patently insane different numbering systems that have been utilized to designate various seasons, or series as the Brits prefer to call them. For this side of the pond, BBC has helpfully (?) divided things among the various performers who have portrayed the titular doctor, with, for example, Doctor Who: Jon Pertwee: Complete Season One, an "archival" release which BBC put out just a few days before this one (and one which will be reviewed soon). However, take a short hop, skip and/or jump across the Atlantic and that particular release will be found under the title Doctor Who: The Collection - Season 7. The fact that some Time Lord and/or Bean Counter at BBC has somewhat hilariously decided this "new, improved" fifteenth doctor should have his premiere outing be called Season One may seem particularly odd given that Jodie Whittaker's last full season was given both a number and a quasi-subtitle with Doctor Who: Flux: The Complete Thirteenth Series (that "thirteenth" should be a major clue that any numbering system utilized by BBC has been somewhat random, or at least inconsistent). Things get even more convoluted with the discovery that the "coda" that provided a bridge between Whittaker and Ncuti Gatwa came out on Blu-ray as Doctor Who: 60th Anniversary Specials . In any case, that Season One may seem to indicate that things are starting from scratch, or at least starting over, but in that regard despite the highly publicized announcement of Gatwa taking over from interstitial doctor David Tennant, things actually seem to be "same old, same old" in a number of ways.

Just to add fuel to the above fire, it might be further stated that while this is the fourteenth season to air since the show's, well, regeneration in 2005, "Season One" was deemed to be more accurate considering several salient changes, not the least of which is the new partnership of the franchise with Disney (interestingly, this Blu-ray is still from BBC). But this season also marked the return of two Doctor Who stalwarts, Russell T. Davies and Steven Moffat, and it's therefore perhaps understandable if not always enjoyable that so much of this season can seem like retreads of prior years. The fact that (slight spoiler alert) "new" companion Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) is gone by the end of the season in addition to the already completed departure of Gatwa in the title role (in the latest season not yet available on Blu-ray) may make this season seem like something of a filler, meant to simply get fans from Point A to Point B, or in this case from David Tennant to (kind of enticingly) Billie Piper.

There are of course lots of fun moments sprinkled throughout this season, and evidently the blandishments of airing on Disney+ stateside may have added significant lucre to the coffers, since all of the episodes boast superb production values. But Doctor Who really has to be built on the relationship between the Doctor and his companion(s), and in that regard a lot of this season rather strangely left me cold, something that's especially strange given the backstory of Ruby. The throughline this season, if there is one, is a quest for Ruby's identity (as is shown in the Christmas Special, she was a so-called "foundling", something that of course ends up playing into the plot in more ways than one). Gatwa is a good deal more energetic than many others who have inhabited this role, but I'm frankly not sure that's a good thing, considering the downright stodginess of some of the writing, which can make his characterization seem at odds with what's actually going on.

Doctor Who: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Doctor Who: Season One is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of BBC with AVC encoded 1080p transfers in (at various times) 2.00:1 and 1.78:1. Those variant aspect ratios are a significant departure from the past few seasons of Doctor Who, and I frankly didn't see any rhyme or reason for the changes, but one way or the other this season continues the really sharp and beautifully detailed presentations that have graced BBC's Blu-ray releases for the last several years in particular. Fine detail on practical sets and costumes is typically excellent (and in that regard it's kind of odd that the Doctor is consigned to "ordinary" wearables). Some episodes, like the one set in Regency England, offer really sumptuous production design elements which look fantastic. CGI is typically very well handled as well, and some of the admittedly fleeting effects can be quite evocative, ranging from prehistoric times to a devastated future London. The palette is typically gorgeously suffused throughout.

Doctor Who: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Doctor Who: Season One offers another nicely immersive set of DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 tracks accompanying each episode. Surround activity is nicely handled throughout virtually every big effects sequence in any given episode (and there's always at least one), and one thing that struck me repeatedly this season was some really forceful LFE that may set floorboards rumbling at time. Some frankly silly musical moments are appended to a couple of episodes and those also offer some clear engagement of the side and rear channels. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

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

Disc One - Christmas Special 2023: The Church on Ruby Road

• Doctor Who: Unleashed (HD; 30:52) is another really appealing special with Steffan Powell looking at the Christmas Special and revealing little tidbits like the actor portraying one of the mischevious elf like creatures in this episode was also a cast member of Teletubbies.


• Behind the Scenes (HD; 9:40) is the first of several similarly named featurettes on all of the discs which offer a lot of candid footage and brief interview snippets.


• Christmas Trailer (HD; 00:43)


• Behind the Scenes Trailer (HD; 1:29)


• Millie Gibson's Set Tour (HD; 3:19)


• Get to Know Doctor Who - with Ncuti Gatwa (HD; 1:19) has the actor answering questions like where he'd go in the TARDIS.


• Get to Know Doctor Who - with Millie Gibson (HD; 1:17) asks basically the same questions of Gibson.


• In-Vision Commentary offers a picture in picture commentary featuring Russell T. Davies, Millie Gibson and Chris May.

Disc Two - Space Babies & The Devil's Chord

• Space Babies

Space Babies - Behind the Scenes (HD; 9:43)




Ncuti Gatwa's Special Message for Fans (HD; 1:11)




Video of a Bogeyman (HD; 4:38) offers a close up look at this episode's big monster.




Finding Fifteen (HD; 3:25) looks at the casting process.

• The Devil's Chord

The Devil's Chord - Behind the Scenes (HD; 15:35)




The Devil's Chord - Director's Scene Breakdown (HD; 5:23) is the first of several analyses offered by directors of individual episodes.




Jinkx Monsoon Tries "British" Food (HD; 1:53)




Millie Gibson's Set Tour (HD; 2:17)




Jinkx Monsoon - The Looks of Maestro (HD; 3:49)

Disc Three - Boom & 73 Yards

• Boom

Boom - In-Vision Commentary features Russell T. Davies, Steven Moffat and Joel Collins.




Boom - Behind the Scenes (HD; 11:25)




Ncuti Gatwa & Millie Gibson's Guide to Get Your Zen On (HD; 00:53) offers advice on staying calm.




Steven Moffat Preview (HD; 00:44)




Bringing Virtual Production to Doctor Who (HD; 3:52) is an interesting if too brief look at some of the cool LED panel effects.




Video Profile - Mundy Flynn (HD; 00:50) is the first of several similarly titled brief supplements that focus on individual characters and which include very short interviews with the actors portraying them.




Boom Script to Screen (HD; 3:09) offers a table read.

• 73 Yards

73 Yards - Behind the Scenes (HD; 12:08)




Welsh Lingo with Ncuti Gatwa & Millie Gibson (HD; 1:31)




Video Profile - Roger ap Gwilliam (HD; 00:47)




Millie Gibson's Very First Day Video Diary (HD; 2:33)

Disc Four - Dot and Bubble & Rogue

• Dot and Bubble

Dot and Bubble - Behind the Scenes (HD; 10:09)




Dot and Bubble - Director's Scene Breakdown (HD; 5:25)




Ncuti Gatwa & Millie Gibson's Top 5 People in Their Bubble (HD; 00:59)




Video Profile - Lindy Pepper-Bean (HD; 00:25)




Callie Cooke Sneaks Onto the TARDIS (HD; 1:01)




Dot and Bubble Set Tour (HD; 2:18)

• Rogue

Rogue - Behind the Scenes (HD; 11:46)




Rogue - Director's Scene Breakdown (HD; 4:59)




Regency Costume Quiz (HD; 1:11)




Most Likely To. . .with Ncuti Gatwa & Millie Gibson (HD; 2:00)




Video Profile - Rogue (HD; 00:54)




Getting to Know Doctor Who with Jonathan Groff (HD; 00;53)




Rogue Dance Scene (HD; 1:40)

Disc Five - The Legend of Ruby Sunday & Empire of Death

• The Legend of Ruby Sunday

The Legend of Ruby Sunday - Behind the Scenes (HD; 10:28)




Jemma Redgrave's Unit Set Tour (HD; 3:28)




Villain Reveal (HD; 00:33)




Who Is Susan Triad? (HD; 2:46)




Getting to Know Doctor Who with Lenny Rush (HD; 1:22)

• Empire of Death

Empire of Death - In-Vision Commentary features Vicki Delow, Bonnie Langord and Russell T. Davies.




Empire of Death - Behind the Scenes (HD; 9:41)




Empire of Death - Director's Scene Breakdown (HD; 5:31)




Ncuti Gatwa & Millie Gibson's Favourite Memories (HD; 10:35)




Genesis Lynea in the TARDIS (HD; 00:51)




Bonnie Langford's Remembered TARDIS Tour (HD; 5:46)




Epilogue (HD; 5:13) brings a bit of closure for Ruby.




Empire of Death From Script to Screen (HD; 2:43) cuts between a table read and the final episode.

Disc Six - Doctor Who: Unleashed offers an Unleashed featurette for each episode, all of which offer a lot of background information and fun interviews.

• Space Babies - Doctor Who: Unleashed (HD; 30:09)


• The Devil's Chord - Doctor Who: Unleashed (HD; 29:58)


• Boom - Doctor Who: Unleashed (HD; 30:04)


• 73 Yards - Doctor Who: Unleashed (HD; 30:18)


• Dot and Bubble - Doctor Who: Unleashed (HD; 30:27)

Disc Seven - Doctor Who: Unleashed continues with more Unleashed featurettes devoted to each episode, plus a couple of extras.

• Rogue - Doctor Who: Unleashed (HD; 29:54)


• The Legend of Ruby Sunday - Doctor Who: Unleashed (HD; 30:15)


• Empire of Death - Doctor Who: Unleashed (HD; 30:26)


• Doctor Who: Unleashed Unseen (HD; 30:17) offers snippets that didn't make the final cuts of the completed Unleashed featurettes.


• Tales of the TARDIS- The Pyramids of Mars (HD; 1:19:37) offers an interesting tie in to Empire of Death with some bookending segments featuring Gatwa and Gibson surrounding a redacted version of a vintage serial.

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

In terms of this particular nook and cranny of my review queue, BBC's release regimen means that I tend to ping pong back and forth between "archival" seasons and newer production years. That perhaps gives me an unusual perspective from which to view this seemingly immortal series, and while this season boasts some of the best production values in years, and certainly has an energetic star in Gatwa, I found the season to just kind of blandly imitate previous years a lot of the time. Still, technical merits are first rate and the supplements very enjoyable, and I'm absolutely sure that devoted Whovians will find things to enjoy this season, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.