Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

Doctor Who: The Complete Eighth Series Blu-ray Movie Review

"Am I a good man?"

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown December 11, 2014

What's old is new. What's new is old, and yet entirely different. Welcome to Doctor Who. Fifty years strong, the long-running sci-fi series has officially entered a bold new era; one defined by a very cantankerous and, for the moment, very divisive Doctor. With his once-dear companion at arm's length, silly human emotions deemed a waste of time, and mankind more a thorn-in-the-side than a damsel-in-distress, the new Doctor isn't easy to accept, much less love. But such is regeneration. Each actor who's inherited the TARDIS has been greeted by some form of backlash, so it comes as little surprise that Capaldi is having a tough go of things. Never fear, though. Growing pains are part of the process and Who showrunner Steven Moffat embraces these pains with calculated abandon, confidently swapping the safe and familiar for the daring and unknown. The Twelfth Doctor may not have been met by an open-armed welcoming committee, but Capaldi and the series' writers are making headway, pushing the beloved madman in a blue box in exciting directions and in ways he's never been pushed before.

In the feature-length premiere, the new Doctor (Peter Capaldi) crash-lands in Victorian London, Clara (Jenna Coleman) struggles to recognize the man she thought she knew so well, and a mysterious killer is stalking the capital. A slaughterhouse restaurant and a buried spaceship lead the Doctor into a confrontation with a long forgotten foe, but how far is this new man ready to go to protect his friends? From there, the Doctor and Clara encounter wonders and horrors, confronting a fleet of Daleks during an attempt to rescue a stranded ship of human survivors, facing ranks of Cybermen stalking the Earth, joining Robin Hood in a fight with deadly robots in Sherwood Forest, becoming bank robbers unleashed on the most secure bank in the cosmos, face a mummy on the Orient Express, discover a deadly horror dwelling on the Moon, and come to know the last man standing at the end of the Universe. But as Clara falls for handsome colleague, high school teacher Danny Pink (Samuel Anderson), she finds it increasingly difficult to maintain two separate lives.

Madame Vastra (Neve McIntosh), Jenny Flint (Catrin Stewart) and Strax (Dan Starkey). The eighth season's extended opener, "Deep Breath," isn't without its flaws, but it traces back to the episode's scripting, not Capaldi's energizing, take-no-prisoners performance. (Introductions to new Doctors are notoriously jarring, so don't be shocked if you find yourself pining for Matt Smith. Or Tennant. Again.) The premiere is too long, its pacing is a bit stilted, and its climactic battle strangely stocky. It could've easily been trimmed down to a more satisfying 45 minutes, which only draws more attention to the weight around its midsection. It doesn't help that Neve McIntosh (Madame Vastra), Catrin Stewart (Jenny Flint) and Dan Starkey (Strax) seem to be having some trouble acclimating. But the bumps and bruises don't spoil the proceedings all that much and the extra scenes don't prevent the adventure from eventually finding its footing. More importantly, the first episode is a good deal of fun, with plenty of laughs, gasps and cheers to go around. A TARDIS-chomping T-Rex... in London! Clockwork robots! The Doctor coming to grips with old age, wrinkles and a Scottish accent! Strax and Clara! The restaurant trap! The Doctor and Clara's bumpy relationship! "I have a horrible feeling I'm going to have to kill you!" The phone call! "Anything but old!" And plenty more.

And it doesn't stop there. While some weebling and wobbling hinders an episode here, an episode there ("Robot of Sherwood" and "Time Heist" fall flat), Moffat and Capaldi deliver a fresh, sometimes off-putting, but altogether invigorating take on the character. How often do viewers get that from a show? Moffat has been subjected to quite a bit of not-so-unexpected criticism since the series' latest run began, but, if nothing else, he refuses to cash in on what's come before and call it a day. When a series' popularity is on the rise -- particularly across international markets -- executive producers and writers sidestep dramatic change and pull back from anything that might take a toll on ratings or buzz. Give 'em what they want! We can't afford a revolt! They'll find another show! But not Moffat. Rather than rehash, repurpose and recycle, he sets his heart, soul and pen to giving fans something they aren't used to, whether they like it or not. It's ballsy. Risky, but ballsy. And it pays off; not perfectly, but handsomely. And I'll take hit or miss unpredictability over refined predictability any day of the week, and twice on Supernatural Saturday.

There aren't any excuses either. If nothing else, Moffat and Capaldi go out of their way to make one thing abundantly clear: the Twelfth Doctor isn't your pal, your savior, your bunkmate, your confidant or your granddad. He's a Time Lord of Gallifrey, dammit, and he doesn't care one lick that you miss Tennant and Smith. Deal with it. (Just "mind the eyebrows.") And don't worry. He may be rough around the edges, but he's still worth the investment. Capaldi is captivating, intriguing and hilarious, and it's hard to ask for much more. By season's end, I was a much bigger fan than I was before "Listen" blew me away... four episodes in. Even then, it wasn't until "Kill the Moon," "Mummy on the Orient Express" and "Flatline" that I finally bought into Moffat's vision and Capaldi's Doctor. By the time "Dark Water" and "Death in Heaven" unearthed an old foe, I was hooked. And, with so many kinks having been worked out along the way, I fully expect Series 9 to be a much stronger, much more consistent experience. Moffat and Capaldi had a lot to prove this season, and had to do so amidst an angry mob of grumbling fans. For the most part, Capaldi critics have been silenced, Moffat is back in all but the most unwavering purists' hearts, and, once again, the sky's the limit. Where Doctor Who goes from here is anyone's guess. But you can guarantee it will be to places it hasn't been before.


Series 8 Disc Breakdown & Episode Scores

Disc One
1. Deep Breath - 3.5/5
2. Into the Dalek - 3.5/5

Disc Two
3. Robot of Sherwood - 2/5
4. Listen - 4.5/5
5. Time Heist - 2.5/5
6. The Caretaker - 3/5

Disc Three
7. Kill the Moon - 4/5
8. Mummy on the Orient Express - 4.5/5
9. Flatline - 4.5/5
10. In the Forest of the Night - 3.5/5

Disc Four
11. Dark Water - 4/5
12. Death in Heaven - 4/5

Doctor Who: The Complete Eighth Series Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Like the individual Blu-ray release of Deep Breath, The Complete Eighth Series features a crisp, proficient 1.78:1 1080p/AVC-encoded video presentation. Unlike Deep Breath, though (as it's presented both on BBC's standalone BD release and in this 4-disc set), the remaining episodes look even better, shedding some of the glossiness and flatness that ironically render the first episode a bit less cinematic by comparison. But never mind that little quibble. How close to perfect does Series 8's presentation get? How's this: it's one of the most striking Doctor Who Blu-ray releases to date, if not the most striking. Colors, whether bleak, lifelike or vibrant, are beautifully saturated, with lovely hues, convincing fleshtones, strong primaries, consistent contrast, and satisfying black levels. Clarity is extremely impressive too. Edges are nice and sharp, without any ringing or aliasing to report, and fine textures are revealing and exceedingly well resolved. FX shots sometimes amount to minor eyesores, sure, but any shortcomings are strictly budgetary and/or intentional, and never trace back to the quality of the encode. Artifacting, banding and other compression issues are nowhere to be found either, and the at-times aggressive, grain-like noise that was such a component of the Series 5-7 visual aesthetic, though still in play, has been reigned in significantly. I can't imagine the eighth season looking any better than it does here.

Doctor Who: The Complete Eighth Series Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Complete Eighth Series' DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track doesn't disappoint. Dialogue is intelligible and nicely prioritized, without anything in the way of drowned voices or buried lines, even when Cybermen invade, Daleks open fire or Mummies attack. LFE output is weighty and robust, lending heft and presence to explosions, implosions, energy blasts, TARDIS groans, rumbling trains, roaring rockets and lumbering aliens. Rear speaker activity is assertive and immersive as well (despite some front-heaviness here and there), with excellent directionality, smooth pans and a soundfield that's as enveloping as it is engaging. No complaints here.

Doctor Who: The Complete Eighth Series Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentaries: Four commentaries are available: "Into the Dalek" with co-writer Phil Ford and director Ben Wheatley, "Robot of Sherwood" with director Paul Murphy, "The Caretaker" with Murphy, prosthetic effects producer Kate Walsh and animatronic engineer Peter Hawkins, and "Kill the Moon" with director Paul Wilmshurst and first assistant director Scott Bates. You'll wish there were more tracks, and for different episodes than those covered here ("Listen," "Dark Water" and "Death in Heaven" chief among them)... and with more notable participants (Capaldi, Moffat and Coleman are MIA), but so it goes. The commentaries are quite informative, so try to take any disappointment in stride.
• Behind the Scenes (HD, 140 minutes): A behind-the-scenes featurette is available for each Eighth Series episode, although all twelve are housed on Disc Four. At nearly two-and-a-half hours, there's plenty of treats, candies and goodies to be had via cast and crew interviews, table reads, costume fittings, makeup and prosthetic tests, trips to the Who sets, plot and theme overviews, FX breakdowns, and much, much more. Each featurette clocks in north of ten minutes.
• Earth Conquest: The World Tour (HD, 49 minutes): "Everyone wants the madman in the blue box to show up in their backyard and take them away from their mundane life." Steven Moffat, Peter Capaldi, Jenna Coleman and other special guests discuss "enjoying the adventure" as they visit seven cities across five continents, playing gracious host to legions of international fans and touching on everything from Doctor Who's stories to its characters, performances, music and other elements.
• The Ultimate Time Lord (HD, 45 minutes): Fifth Doctor Peter Davidson hosts this mildly amusing, altogether enjoyable television special that asks "what would it take to create the ultimate Time Lord? And can it even be done?" Davidson interviews Moffat, Capaldi, Coleman, costume designer Howard Burden, script editor Derek Ritchie, Sixth Doctor Colin Baker, Seventh Doctor Sylvester McCoy, Eighth Doctor Paul McGann and Tenth Doctor David Tennant, explores the differences between the various Doctors, and gleans a good bit of insight into the evolution of one of television's most enduring characters.
• The Ultimate Companion (HD, 48 minutes): Next, Davidson turns his attention to the Doctor's companions, attempting to discern what makes a worthwhile sidekick. The host interviews Moffat, Capaldi, Coleman, John Barrowman, Noel Clarke, Sarah Sutton, Janet Fielding, Nicola Bryant and a number of his fellow Doctors.
• Deep Breath Live Pre-Show & After Who Live (HD, 55 minutes): Comedian and career talk-show host Chris Hardwick (The Nerdist, Talking Dead) helms this pair of book ends, which aired before and after the eighth season's premiere. Guests include Doctor Who writer Mark Gatiss, Wil Wheaton, Natalie Morales and Dan Starky (who plays the series' slightly reformed Sontaran, Strax).
• Post-Premiere Q&A (HD, 30 minutes): Elsewhere, in a London theater, Capaldi, Coleman and Moffat sit down with an enthusiastic crowd to answer questions submitted by fans and chat about Deep Breath, the new Doctor and the highlights of the coming season.
• Doctor Who Exclusive (HD, 9 minutes): A small collection of interviews with Moffat. Segments include "Casting Peter," "Writing the New Season," "What Is Doctor Who?" and "Why Watch Series 8?"
• Mummy on the Orient Express Music Video (HD, 3 minutes): Foxes' "Don't Stop Me Now."

Doctor Who: The Complete Eighth Series Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

After a bit of a rocky start, Doctor Who's eighth series works out the particulars by mid-season and hits a solid stride. Capaldi's Twelfth Doctor is a blast; startlingly different from Tennant and Smith, but full of refreshing surprises, with plenty of layers to peel back over the course of its 12 episodes and plenty more for Moffat and company to explore in future seasons. As to the Blu-ray release of The Complete Eighth Series, all is well. With a terrific video presentation, strong DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track, and nearly nine hours of special features, the 4-disc set delivers. Fans shouldn't hesitate to add it to their collection.