Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

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

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman February 3, 2019

It’s probably arguable how much of the cultural zeitgeist the various actors who have portrayed Doctor Who captured during their tenures in the role, with at least a couple of the variant characterizations seeming to sum up aspects of British (and at times global) culture that had already passed. Given that admittedly questionable thesis, I guess a case could be made that, for example, William Hartnell as the First Doctor stood in for what was in the early sixties already a somewhat staid and stodgy (and increasingly faltering) British Empire. Similarly, I guess Tom Baker’s seventies (into the early eighties) iteration might be seen as a somewhat “late to the party” hippie-fied version of the Doctor, what with his neo-Victorian togs and slightly unkempt manner. But for a rather interesting connection to what is going on globally currently, there’s probably no better example of this “maybe, maybe not” phenomenon than Jodie Whittaker, who assumed the role in the closing moments of the Christmas 2017 special Doctor Who: Twice Upon a Time, and became the first female Doctor in the now decades long history of the popular series. With the prevalence of female empowerment as exemplified by the #metoo movement, it’s perhaps actually overdue for a distaff doctor, but it’s interesting to note that a female Doctor Who was at least considered quite some time ago, in fact when Baker announced he was leaving the show in the early eighties. But as those with an interest in “equal rights” may be aware, it can take time for seemingly logical things like, well, equal rights to actually come to fruition, and if the Thirteenth Doctor is, like Baker’s version, perhaps a bit late to the party, Whittaker’s take on the character invests this so-called “eleventh series” with considerable energy, if perhaps also with a bit more silly and cheeky humor than even some Whovians may prefer.

There are a number of changes this eleventh series offers, as might be expected from the “assumption” of a new Doctor, but while the cast (including supporting characters) has of course changed, what may concern longtime fans is the departure of several folks “behind the scenes”, including longtime showrunner and writer Steven Moffatt. In fact, quite a bit of this latest season (and/or series) features new writers, but commendably, there’s still a “traditional” Doctor Who quality running through these episodes, albeit with a slightly different perspective gained by the very introduction of the new Doctor and his, er, her acolytes.

The whole supporting character aspect of the series has often been pretty random, as if darts were thrown on a board of possibilities, and the results dictated who should begin following in the Doctor's often chaotic wake, and this new set of introductions is no exception. A bunch of seemingly random characters start to have interactions with strange, otherworldly, phenomena, including what looks like a big blue Hershey's Kiss (see screenshot 12) and a kind of Medusa's hair snakelike globe that erupts into the spacetime continuum aboard a commuter train. Predictably, the characters coming into contact with these strange occurrences end up meeting the new Doctor Who (Jodie Whittaker). The first episode of this series introduces Yasmin Khan (Mandip Gill), a probationary police officer who is called to the site of the giant blue Kiss, where she finds Ryan Sinclair (Tosin Cole), a hapless young warehouse worker who found the weird thing in the forest, but who turns out to have gone to school with Yasmin. Also figuring into the proceedings are two relatives of Ryan's who are on that aforementioned commuter train, his grandmother Grace (Sharon D. Clarke) and her second husband Graham (Bradley Walsh). Suffice it to say not all of these characters make it out of the first adventure alive, but the majority of them become the new Doctor's new colleagues.

While there’s an undeniable uptick in energy this season due to the changes, I’m not so sure that at least some of it may come off as too manic at times. This plays into a somewhat more agitated Doctor, at least in the first few episodes, as she’s getting to know herself “again” (this particular agitated aspect may remind some of David Tennant’s time in the role). But this series seems to want to go for both some silly comedy and maybe overamped emotion, arguably achieving neither with absolute consistency. The stories this time are more self contained, though there are certain through lines, including the very fact that the Doctor is regenerating and relearning, not to mention getting used to being a new gender. There's also the by now familiar plot conceit of Doctor Who and her followers getting stranded, Lost in Space style, albeit in this show stranded in both space and time, with the Doctor struggling to get her human friends back to where they belong.

There are aspects to this season that may remind Baby Boomers of another sixties science fiction television effort, the old Irwin Allen series The Time Tunnel, with the gaggle of heroes “dropping by” such redolent eras as Rosa Parks’ struggle for recognition aboard a Montgomery bus, or some of the political machinations behind the partition of India in 1947. There are also some patently goofy episodes, including one that features mutant spiders that plays like a mashup of Stephen King and Arachnophobia. And perhaps because of this wide array of subject matter and tone in various episodes, the writing this season can seem a bit haphazard and inconsistent.

Doctor Who is kind of unique in the annals of television for having “built in” an element of different performers taking over the titular role, and in terms of the probably unavoidable bumps that have accrued over the years with regard to previous transitions, I have to say for me personally this was one of the least troublesome. The introduction of the new supporting players is kind of almost audaciously random, and it occasionally feels like everyone (including the writers) is trying just a little too hard, but the show continues to provide a lot of breezy entertainment value, along with at least some moments that are actually thought provoking.

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

Doctor Who: The Complete Eleventh Series is presented on Blu- ray courtesy of BBC with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2:00:1. This series continues the show's generally excellent presentations in high definition, and as is discussed in some of the commentary tracks included in this set, there was attention paid to things like palette and saturation in various episodes, leading to one of the more colorful and vibrant seasons in recent memory. As with previous seasons, CGI can be a little soft at times, and there are some sequences which I assume might have been green screened where entire backgrounds can be kind of hazy looking. There are some very brief moments of banding, including on things like a time lapse sunset. Detail levels are quite impressive throughout the season, and some of the directors opt for extreme close-ups (see screenshot 2), moments where fine detail is really excellent.

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

Doctor Who: The Complete Eleventh Series features a well wrought DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track that offers good immersion in the many effects laden sequences but also in some of the "quieter" dialogue moments, where both ambient environmental sounds and directionality come into play. There is good use of LFE and panning effects in several episodes, and the episodes' scores also waft through the surrounds winningly. Fidelity is fine, delivering dialogue, effects and music without any problems.

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

Disc One

• Audio Commentary on The Doctor Who Fell to Earth features director Jamie Childs and star Jodie Whittaker.


• Audio Commentary on Rosa features writer Malorie Blackman, Mandip Gill, and Alex Mercer.


• Closer Looks (1080p; 21:15) offers brief EPKs for the episodes on this disc.


• Video Diaries (1080p; 1:51) offer a couple of brief behind the scenes featurettes.


• Features include:

  Becoming the Doctor (1080p; 9:39)

  Regenerating Doctor Who (1080p; 7:51)

  Directing Doctor Who (1080p; 8:29)

Disc Two

• Audio Commentary on The Tsuranga Conundrum features Mandip Gill, Ben Bailey-Smith, Suzanne Packer, and Nikki Wilson, producer.


• Audio Commentary on Demons on the Punjab features Alex Mercer, Mandip Gill, Shane Zaza, and Bill Leto.


• Closer Looks (1080p; 20:59) offers brief EPKs for the episodes on this disc.

Disc Three

• Closer Looks (1080p; 9:28) offers brief EPKs for the episodes on this disc.


• Features include:

  Friends of the Doctor (1080p; 1:06)

  Everything You Need to Know about the TARDIS (1080p; 3:17)

  Making the Theme Tune (1080p; 5:30)

  Best of Social (1080p; 5:56) offers an assortment of rather brief pieces that I assume were webisodes marketing various aspects of the show.

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

I have to say this series of Doctor Who "reached out and touched" me almost from the get go by detailing that Ryan suffers from dyspraxia, a little known motor control issue that one of my sons was also afflicted with (my wife and I have joked that we spent the first three years of his life wondering if he would ever talk, and the subsequent 17 years — so far — wondering if he'd ever shut up). While that is obviously a completely random reason for liking a series, it's perhaps indicative of how Doctor Who manages to build both comedy and pathos out of sometimes rather small elements. Whittaker steps into this role with a good amount of energy and humor, and there are some interesting new assistants on hand as well, but I found this one of the more hit or miss seasons from a consistency standpoint. Technical merits are strong, and with caveats noted, Doctor Who: The Complete Eleventh Series comes Recommended.