Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

Doctor Who: Series Six, Part Two Blu-ray Movie Review

The Doctor may have an appointment with death, but 'Doctor Who' isn't going anywhere...

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown November 10, 2011

Question of the hour: is the second half of Doctor Who's sixth series as captivating, thrilling and game-changing as its first seven episodes? Not quite. It's driven by the same madcap energy, backed by the same neuron-firing scripts and sharp sci-fi standouts, and packed with the same impervious performances and brain-tickling dialogue. But it's more episodic in nature, and its climactic finale -- the culmination of two series worth of intrigue surrounding the Doctor's predetermined demise and, really, a question lifelong Whovians have been unconsciously asking themselves for the better part of fifty years -- has to pick up the pace and deliver a story ripe for a two-part mythos-shakeup in just one episode. Even so, I'm finding the worst of the new Doctor Who is often better than the best of other sci-fi series. (Not that Series Six, Part Two has much of anything I'd remotely consider the worst of Doctor Who.) Under the watchful eye of head writer and recently annointed showrunner Steven Moffat, Who has become a must-see series in my inner circle and brilliant business as usual for those who became the titular Time Lord's companions through time, space and public broadcasting long before I did.

Berlin, 1938. Cue paradoxical conundrum.

Series Six, Part Two doesn't spin its gears or lurch off the starting line, it launches the dear Doctor (Matthew Smith) and his faithful companions, Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) and Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill), into the thick of pre-WWII Germany in a direct continuation of "A Good Man Goes to War," Six's mid-series finale. "Let's Kill Hitler" is a bit better in theory, though, than it is in practice, and the title has more fun with history than the episode. No matter; Hitler isn't the focus of the story anyway, our resident Time Lord is. The Doctor still has a date with death, after all, and the clock is ticking. In the meantime, he inadvertently crosses paths with a Teselecta, a shape-shifting humanoid spacecraft whose minuscule crew is working to infiltrate Hitler's ranks, kill the Führer and put right what once went wrong. (Or something to that effect.) Instead, the Teselecta's crew comes face to face with the Doctor and his would-be murderer River Song (Alex Kingston), an encounter that puts everyone, Amy and Rory included, in mortal danger. But what else is new, right? It's a prickly, promising and playful opening volley, and it doesn't disappoint. (Well, it doesn't disappoint much. I really wanted Hitler to be a bigger part of the episode. And yes, Doctor Who is probably the only thing that could inspire me to make a statement like that.)

From there, Moffat rolls out four -- count 'em, four -- semi-standalone episodes that don't have a lot to do with the ongoing River Song arc. He grafts in some connective tissue to keep Song and the Doctor's impending doom fresh on everyone's minds, but otherwise, Moffat wanders off the beaten path. "Night Terrors" finds the Doctor helping a young boy who's being terrorized by a vicious neighbor-napping alien; "The Girl Who Waited" is a time-twisting tale in which Rory races to save Amy from the depths of an isolated time-stream containment unit, only to meet a future Amy he apparently abandoned decades before (wrap your head around that one); "The God Complex" finds the Doctor and his companions trapped in a hotel where guests are killed by their greatest fears; and "Closing Time," arguably the only expendable episode Part Two has on tap, reunites the Doctor with Craig Owens (James Corden) in a battle with the Cybermen. Each excellent episode works on its own terms, even "Closing Time," but often feels as if it's one big distraction from the looming finale. But, as usual, none of us should be too quick to sell Moffat short. The four episodic stories he and his team dream up may not focus directly on River and the mysteries surrounding her rapidly approaching assassination of the Doctor at Lake Silencio, but the writers carefully, cleverly and oh-so-casually move a number of crucial pieces of the character-conflict game into play. Watching Part Two a second time makes one thing abundantly clear: "Night Terrors," "The Girl Who Waited," "The God Complex" and "Closing Time" aren't nearly as tangential as they might first seem. Four consecutive episodes still strikes me as an unnecessarily long diversion, mind you, but when each episode is this good, sporadic or no, it's hard to hold too much of a grudge.

Which brings us to the Series Six finale, "The Wedding of River Song," yet another nervy, neck-snapping string of twists and turns primed for the Whoviest of the Whovians. Doctor Who is at its best when hurtling ahead without pausing to look back, barking at its viewers to keep up. The River Song saga finally comes to its not-so-forgone conclusion as River, emerging from Lake Silencio on the date of the Doctor's appointed demise, accidentally unravels the time stream, creating a convergence of time and space that the Doctor can only repair through his own death. With the existence of the universe (once again) hanging in the balance, Moffat introduces a new mystery that, really, has been the central mystery all along. I won't risk spoiling it here, but I will offer this tiny tease, offered to the Doctor by a disembodied blue head: "On the fields of Trenzelor, at the fall of the Eleventh, when no living creature can speak falsely or fail to answer, a question will be asked. One that must never be answered. And Silence must fall when the question is asked." What is the question? How could it possibly allow Moffat's dreaded Silence to fall? How could a question disrupt everything the Doctor has established? The question is both simple and startlingly complex; absolute and ambiguous; obvious and hidden. Above all, it's both satisfying and mind-boggling. But like any good run of the show, Series Six will leave you asking two questions. The question, of course, and another: is Doctor Who one of the best sci-fi series on television? Suffice it to say, answering the second question is much, much easier than the first.

Doctor Who: Series Six, Part Two Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

If you already own Doctor Who: Series Six, Part One, you know exactly what to expect from Part Two's excellent 1080i/AVC-encoded video presentation. As seems to be the case with every Doctor Who release, some viewers will be distracted by the source itself. Noise spikes on occasion, clarity isn't always sonic-screwdriver-sharp, and a few other anomalies may give videophiles pause. However, Part Two simply couldn't look any better than it does here, and fans of the show will be most pleased with the results. Colors are bright and blazing, skintones are precisely saturated, contrast is nice and consistent, and black levels, though not entirely perfect, are quite satisfying. But detail is where Series Six really excels. Closeups offer an array of fine textures and neatly resolved nuances, edges are crisp and refined on the whole, and delineation falls in line (unless Moffat says otherwise). It only helps that substantial artifacting, banding, aliasing and other issues are, for the most part, put to death long before the Doctor arrives at Lake Silencio. Some may dare, but I couldn't ask for much more.

Doctor Who: Series Six, Part Two Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The same applies to Series Six, Part Two's wily DTS-HD High Resolution 5.1 surround track (at 2.0Mbps), as it sounds just as good as its Part One predecessor. Humming power cells make as much sonic splash as lumbering beasties, clunking Cybermen, surging energy blasters, and a crashing TARDIS. The LFE channel pulses with power, injecting welcome low-end oomph when called upon. The rear speakers make the most of the Doctor's latest adventures in time and space as well, especially in "Night Terrors" (with its haunted wardrobes), "The Girl Who Waited" (with its vast inescapable expanses), "The God Complex" (with its cramped and creepy hotel corridors) and "Closing Time" (with its lunging Cybermats and eerie underground lairs). Directional effects are solid throughout, the series' soundfield is fairly immersive, pans are smooth, and dynamics are quite good. Dialogue doesn't waver either. Voices are clean and clear, and lines are rarely lost, even when Nimons attack, giant killer dolls press in, the Doctor invades Nazi Germany, the Silence mount an assault, or when dear River Song finally approaches the Doctor on the shores of Lake Silencio.

Doctor Who: Series Six, Part Two Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The only extras included on the 2-disc Blu-ray release of Doctor Who: Series Six, Part Two are a pair of "Monster Files" (HD, 19 minutes) detailing the Anti-Bodies and the Cybermats. The upcoming release of Doctor Who: The Complete Sixth Series is set to have a bounty of special features, though, meaning Part Two is best reserved for those who already own Part One or would rather save a few bucks than indulge in a variety of Series Six extras.

Doctor Who: Series Six, Part Two Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Doctor Who is the hardest sell on television. If you thought getting people to watch Firefly or Battlestar Galactica was difficult, just try to get someone to give the good Doctor a chance. Ah well. Doctor Who continually delivers some of the best sci-fi available on any screen, big or small, and Moffat continues to deliver more and more with each passing series (or season, if you prefer). Series Six, Part Two isn't as strong as Part One, but it isn't far off either. Fortunately, the same can be said of BBC's Blu-ray release thanks to a fantastic video presentation and an excellent DTS-HD High Resolution 5.1 surround track. Just a word of warning: if you have any love of special features, you should wait a few more weeks and pick up the 6-disc Doctor Who: The Complete Sixth Series box set, as it comes loaded with extras that aren't included on the Part One and Part Two standalone releases.