Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Doctor Who: Series Seven, Part One Blu-ray Movie Review

A short but solid five-episode opener...

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown January 9, 2013

Doctor Who had, until recently, been trapped in a nebulous limbo of sorts for what seemed an eternity. Does the good Doctor need a twelfth facelift? New companions? A greater, grander mystery? More terrifying enemies? Or more of everything fans have eaten out of former showrunner Russel T. Davies and current TARDIS captain Steven Moffat's hand over the past seven years? Questions, questions, questions, with very few concrete answers. Moffat finally came to a decision, though; a weirdly publicized decision in which he and his cast repeatedly confirmed Matt Smith's Eleventh Doctor would be jetting off on further adventures without companions Amy Pond and Rory Williams (actors Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill, who turn in their guns and badges in the seventh series' fifth episode). So much for the element of surprise.

Don't cross the Doctor...

Slightly more disconcerting (and yet somehow both reassuring and exciting) is the fact that the recently aired, wonderfully conceived 2012 Doctor Who Christmas special, "The Snowmen" (technically the sixth episode of Series Seven), introduces a bold new direction sans Pond and Williams, making the five episodes that comprise the 2-disc Series Seven, Part One Blu-ray something of an episodic retirement party bound by the inevitable rather than the wildly unpredictable. Fortunately, it doesn't amount to a serious detriment, even if it does lessen the impact of the seventh's opening salvo. It's a minor nuisance; a bump in the space time continuum. But it also happens to be a cleverly penned, fun-filled diversion that takes its time and bids a fond, fitting farewell to Pond and Williams, all in spectacular Who style.

Later this year, BBC Video will release two, possibly even three additional Series Seven Blu-rays: an individual release of "The Snowman," a two-disc Series Seven, Part Two release and, eventually and most importantly, a five or six-disc The Complete Series Seven set loaded with additional extras not found on any of the other releases. In the interest of brevity, the following list provides a quick snapshot of the five episodes featured in Part One. I'll provide a full and more in-depth review of the entire seventh series after watching all fourteen episodes.

• Asylum of the Daleks: Kidnapped by his oldest foe, the Doctor is forced on an impossible mission – to a place even the Daleks are too terrified to enter: the Asylum. A planetary prison confining the most terrifying and insane of their kind, the Doctor and the Ponds must find an escape route. But with Amy and Rory's relationship in meltdown, and an army of mad Daleks closing in, it's up to the Doctor to save their lives, as well as the Pond’s marriage. My score: 4/5
• Dinosaurs On a Spaceship: An unmanned spaceship hurtles towards certain destruction – unless the Doctor can save it, and its impossible cargo... of dinosaurs! By his side a ragtag gang of adventurers; a big game hunter (Rupert Graves), an Egyptian Queen (Riann Steele) and a surprised member of the Pond family (Mark Williams). But little does the Doctor know there is someone else on board who will stop at nothing to keep hold of his precious, prehistoric cargo. My score: 3.5/5
• A Town Called Mercy: The Doctor gets a Stetson (and a gun!) and finds himself the reluctant Sheriff of a Western town under siege by a relentless cyborg who goes by the name of The Gunslinger (Andrew Brooke). But who is he and what does he want? The answer seems to lie with the mysterious Kahler-Jex (Adrian Scarborough), an alien doctor (yes another one!) whose initial appearance is hiding a dark secret. My score: 4.5/5
• The Power of Three: The Doctor and the Ponds puzzle an unlikely invasion of Earth as millions of sinister black cubes arrive overnight, almost like presents falling from the sky. But what are they, what’s inside them and most importantly, who sent them? With the international community at a loss, it’s left to the Doctor to unearth who is behind the mystery. My score: 4.5/5
• The Angels Take Manhattan: The Doctor‘s heart-breaking farewell to Amy and Rory — a race against time through the streets of Manhattan, as New York’s statues come to life around them. With Rory’s life in danger, the Doctor and Amy must locate him before it’s too late! Luckily, an old friend helps them and guides the way. My score: 4/5

Doctor Who: Series Seven, Part One Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Like the Blu-ray releases of Doctor Who: The Complete Fifth and Sixth Series, Series Seven, Part One materializes with a formidable 1080i/AVC-encoded video presentation that, interlaced or no, looks fantastic. Oh, there are the usual bursts of noise, problematic CG shots and less than attractive quirks, all inherent to the source, mind you, but sure to irritate those itching to nitpick Who's every last tick, no matter how minor. But it hasn't bothered me before and it doesn't bother me now. Contrast and color saturation stay on target, primaries pop with veracity, skintones are lifelike (or perfectly alien when called upon), and black levels, though a touch muted on occasion, are dark and satisfying on the whole. Delineation is dead on too, as is detail, which is as refined and revealing as ever. Edges are crisp and clean (minus some intermittent, altogether negligible VFX aliasing), textures are capably resolved, and rare is the shot that doesn't impress (budget constraints notwithstanding). Add to that a proficient encode free of serious artifacting or compression anomalies and you have another Who BD-companion worth adding to your collection.

Doctor Who: Series Seven, Part One Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Part One also features a precise and sprightly 2.0Mbps DTS-HD High Resolution 5.1 surround track, not to be confused with a full-fledged lossless Master Audio mix. Not that anyone would be likely to notice the difference if it were. LFE output is strong and sturdy, with bombast aplenty. Explosions, weapons fire, TARDIS landings, lumbering creatures and massive Weeping Angels only scratch the surface, and no episode is left powerless. The rear speakers are quite active as well, with playful (albeit sometimes restrained) directional effects, slick cross-channel pans and involving ambience. There are a few prioritization issues -- overrun voices, inconsistent dynamics and somewhat overwhelming surges of the show's score -- but dialogue is largely clear and intelligible, without any significant distractions. In the end, the Series Seven, Part One high resolution track is comparable to its Series Five and Six counterparts. Most fans will come away without any complaints.

Doctor Who: Series Seven, Part One Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• The Science of Doctor Who (HD, 44 minutes): Is it possible to one day develop a TARDIS-like spacecraft? Achieve invisibility? Travel between dimensions and time? Where does the science fiction in Doctor Who stop and science fact begin? Examine the science behind the series, the advances that may be possible within our lifetime, and the theories behind many of the elements, tech and futuristic wizardry featured in the show.
• The Making of "The Gunslinger" (HD, 2 minutes): Rather than a production documentary, which would warrant more attention, this is an in-universe commercial for a gunslinger cyborg.
• Comic Con Piece (HD, 11 minutes): Smith, Gillan and Darvill hit Comic Con and hold a Q&A panel.
• Asylum of the Daleks Prequel (HD, 3 minutes): A short prequel to the season opener, "Asylum of the Daleks."
• Pond Life (HD, 6 minutes): A five-part mini-adventure featuring Amy, Rory and the Doctor.

Doctor Who: Series Seven, Part One Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Doctor Who: Series Seven, Part One is more concerned with setting the stage for the second half of its season, retiring the Doctor's companions a few too many episodes after Moffat and company ran out of things to do with them. Still, Amy and Rory earn a classy exit, and everything that comes before is good, episodic Whovian fun. If the most recent Doctor Who Christmas special is any indication, Series Seven, Part Two is already off to an intriguing. Sadly, we have to wait to see if the payoff is greater than the setup. Not that fans will have much to gripe about when it comes to the 2-disc Blu-ray edition of Part One. Well, other than the lack of special features, which is par for the course when it comes to BBC's initial Who Series releases. (Watch for the inevitable Complete Seventh Series box set to remedy that little issue.) Other than that, though, it's all faithful video presentations and engaging DTS-HD High Resolution tracks, which should delight any Who junkie this side of the pond.