8.3 | / 10 |
Users | 4.5 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Peter Capaldi returns as the Doctor alongside Jenna Coleman with guests including Game of Thrones’ Maisie Williams. Now that the Doctor and Clara have established a dynamic as a partnership of equals, they’re relishing the fun and thrills that all of space and time has to offer. Tangling with ghosts, Vikings and the ultimate evil of the Daleks, they embark on their biggest adventures yet. Missy is back to plague the Doctor once more, the Zygons inspire fear as they shape-shift into human clones, and a new arrival moves in cosmic ways.
Adventure | 100% |
Sci-Fi | 88% |
Fantasy | 82% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English SDH
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Four-disc set (4 BDs)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
It’s perhaps indicative of just how long lasting Doctor Who has been that the lore of this now beyond iconic series includes the fact that
the
broadcast of its very first episode in 1963 was delayed at least slightly since it came in the wake of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
The series has been through any number of changes over the course of the intervening decades, not the least of which has been the parade of
actors
portraying the title character. Peter Capaldi took over the character from Matt Smith in 2013 and has just recently announced that he will be
moving
on after the so-called “tenth series” (British nomenclature differs slightly from American verbiage, with “series” standing in for our “season”). The
ninth series of Doctor Who aired in late 2015 (the annual Christmas special, also included in this four disc Blu-ray set, aired on Christmas
Day 2014) and features what is arguably one of the strongest overall sets of episodes in the show’s by now seemingly timeless (sorry) history.
Doctor Who is a show that rewards longtime viewers with any number of nuances and character beats, but which is surprisingly accessible
even for those who wouldn’t know a TARDIS from a phone booth, and this ninth series is no exception, offering an array of episodes that feature
both
appealing through lines while also providing episodes that stand on their own and don’t really require that much contextual understanding to make
them enjoyable.
Doctor Who has had a glut of Blu-ray releases, at least some of which have been reviewed here, but probably the best single place to
start
for newcomers is Ken Brown’s exhaustive Doctor Who: Complete Series 1-7 Blu-ray review, which will at least get readers generally up to speed with various plot
elements and history. Ken’s Doctor
Who: The Complete Eighth Series Blu-ray review also deals with the arrival of Peter Capaldi in the lead role, as well as his connection to
recurring character Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman).
Doctor Who: The Complete Ninth Series is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of BBC with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. Those who have been following Ken's reviews of the series will note I've more or less traded the scores for video and audio from what Ken awarded, not that there's that much difference between a 4.5 and 5.0. While I concur with Ken's assessment that the video presentation of the series is top notch, featuring generally excellent clarity and at times staggering detail levels, I couldn't completely overlook some less than felicitous CGI this season, including a couple of shots that look like they could have used just a bit more time in the rendering process (one notable example is the closing sequence of the Christmas Special, when the cast is in Santa's sleigh). A few isolated incidences of over zealous grading also can lead to occasional slight deficits in detail levels at times. Those two slight quibbles aside, this ninth season continues the often spectacular look of the series on Blu-ray, with an appealingly vivid palette, solid contrast and an absence of any bothersome artifacting or compression anomalies.
Doctor Who: The Complete Ninth Series' lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track should delight virtually all audiophiles, for it provides near constant surround activity, as well as a glut of really forceful LFE in just about every episode. Panning effects are ubiquitous, and isolated channelization of other effects helps to establish a very vivid soundstage virtually every step of the way. Despite some raucous action sequences, dialogue is routinely prioritized very well and is delivered with crystal clarity. Fidelity is spot on and dynamic range extremely wide on this problem free track.
Disc One
Peter Capaldi, we hardly knew ye, or so it may seem once the actor departs Doctor Who after the tenth season. That's actually kind of sad in my estimation, for there's little doubt the actor really hit his stride in this ninth season, supported by some typically inventive writing and the always colorful supporting cast. That said, this season is probably more Jenna Coleman's, at least with regard to enduring emotional impact. BBC's technical presentation continues to be top notch, and the supplementary package is extremely enjoyable. Highly recommended.
2005
2005-2006
Remastered
2005
Remastered
2005-2006
Remastered
2006-2007
2007
Remastered
2007-2008
2008
Remastered | The Next Doctor / Planet of the Dead / The Waters of Mars / The End of Time
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2023
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2013
2009
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2014
2018
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2020
2020-2023
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2018
40th Anniversary Edition
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1999
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2019
2015
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2009
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2017
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1983
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2016