Doctor Who - The Time of The Doctor Blu Ray/DVD Review

Time of the Doctor Blu Ray/DVD Review

The last Matt Smith story has finally arrived on Blu Ray and DVD and it is a bit of a simple release.  It is by no means a bare bones release like The Enemy of the World and The Web of Fear as it does have at least some extras/VAM on it.  I won’t review the story as it has already been reviewed and you can read that review here.  But I will say The Time of the Doctor did have one of the finest farewell speeches a Doctor has ever made.   In my opinion it might just be the best ever.

BBC Home Entertainment Announces - DOCTOR WHO: THE TIME OF THE DOCTOR - The Christmas Special DVD/Blu Ray

DOCTOR WHO: THE TIME OF THE DOCTOR

Complete Your Eleventh Doctor Collection

 The Final Appearance of Matt Smith as The Doctor



 

Street Date: March 4, 2014

Suggested Retail Price: DVD $14.98 ($18.74 in Canada)

Blu-ray $19.98 ($24.98 in Canada)

Length: Approx. 60 mins + bonus material / single disc

New York – December 18, 2013 – BBC Home Entertainment announces Matt Smith’s final appearance in Doctor Who: The Time of the Doctor coming to Blu-ray and DVD on March 4, 2014. With over 60 minutes of sensational bonus features including an hour long special celebrating Matt Smith’s tenure as the Eleventh Doctor, this is a must-have for any Doctor Who fan’s collection.

Bonus features include:

· “The Time of the Doctor – Behind the Lens” - It's Christmas! A time for peace and goodwill to all. But hang on, its Doctor Who, surely it can't be that simple? We take a peek behind the lens on this cracker of a Christmas special. The tinsel is out at the Oswald's and we meet a familiar enemy in a new form. The Doctor comes face to face with the enigmatic Tasha Lem and makes a new friend. With Matt Smith, Orla Brady, Jenna Coleman, Steven Moffat, Danny Hargreaves, Jack Hollington, Sheila Reid, James Buller and Elizabeth Rider.

· “Farewell to Matt Smith” - Narrated by Alex Kingston (River Song), This compelling, hour-long special looks back at Matt Smith’s extraordinary tenure as the Eleventh Doctor, featuring highlights from the show and copious interview footage with Matt, his cast-mates, writers, producers, guest stars and celebrity Doctor Who fans. 

· “Tales from the TARDIS” - A look back at the full, 50-year history of this iconic series. Eleventh Doctor Matt Smith and past Doctors David Tennant, Sylvester McCoy, Colin Baker, Peter Davison and Tom Baker tell what it was like to be the Doctor, how they got the job and how it changed their lives. With companions Jenna Coleman, Karen Gillan, Arthur Darvill, and more, this truly insightful special offers a unique insight into the world’s longest running sci-fi series.

Orbiting a quiet backwater planet, the massed forces of the universe’s deadliest species gather, drawn to a mysterious message that echoes out to the stars. And among them - the Doctor. Rescuing Clara from a family Christmas dinner, the Time Lord and his best friend must learn what this enigmatic signal means for his own fate and that of the universe. Orla Brady (Fringe, Mistresses) guest stars as Tasha Lem.

Lead writer and executive producer Steve Moffat commented: “It’s his final battle and he’s been fighting it for a while. The Doctor is facing the joint challenge of a mysterious event in space that has summoned lots of aliens to one place and helping Clara cook Christmas dinner. There are also elements from every series of Matt’s Doctor, which will come to a head in this special. Things that we’ve laid down for years are going to be paid off."

Doctor Who: The Time of the Doctor premieres Wednesday, December 25 on BBC AMERICA at 9:00pm ET in the US and on SPACE at 9:00pm ET in Canada.

Doctor Who - The Day of The Doctor Blu Ray Review

The Day of The Doctor Blu Ray Review

The Day of The Doctor was a wonderful 50^th Anniversary special and now it is out on DVD and Blu Ray.  The Blu Ray and DVD have the exact same extras on it and if you’re looking for that Five Doctors Reboot then you are going to be disappointed. 

Now the main reason for buying this release is for the story itself and if you want to know what I thought of The Day of The Doctor you can do so by clicking on this link here.   The story of course looks really good in HD and the sound is really crisp also.   The quality of the special is in itself makes buying the Blu Ray worth it.   Now for the extras which for a bare bones release has quite a bit and some are worth getting.

Blu Ray Details For Doctor Who - The Complete Series 1-7 Limited Edition Blu-Ray Gift Set

Here is a press release for a huge boxset of all the Blu Rays for the new series of Doctor Who. So if you are rich then this set is for you.  North America pricing only.

DOCTOR WHO: THE COMPLETE SERIES 1-7

LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY GIFT SET

Fantastic, Allons-y, Geronimo… Together In One Special Blue Box

Includes 120 Minutes of Bonus Material Available on Disc for the First Time

“Do you wanna come with me? 'Cause if you do, then I should warn you, you're gonna see all sorts of things. Ghosts from the past. Aliens from the future.

The day the Earth died in a ball of flame. It won't be quiet, it won't be safe and it won't be calm. But I'll tell you what it will be: the trip of a lifetime.”

- The Ninth Doctor

Street Date: November 5, 2013

Suggested Retail Price: Blu-ray $349.98 ($399.98 in Canada)

Length: Approx. 4815 mins + bonus materials/ 29-disc set (BD)

New York – September 4, 2013 – The only thing better than watching Doctor Who is watching it in high definition, which is why BBC Home Entertainment is celebrating Doctor Who’s 50^th anniversary with the release of Doctor Who: The Complete Series 1-7 Limited Edition Blu-ray Gift Set on November 5, 2013. The set includes the complete adventures of the Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston, Thor: The Dark World) and Tenth Doctor (David Tennant, Broadchurch, Fright Night), available in newly remastered Blu-ray versions at full 1080p resolution for the first time ever, sitting alongside those of the Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith) in this high definition collection. The Home Entertainment team has gone above and beyond to bring fans the best possible experience, and have also fully remastered the complete Tenth Doctor Specials as well as The Complete Fifth and Sixth Series (previously available on Blu-ray), to full 1080p resolution as well. Throw in the new Doctor Who: The Complete Seventh Series Blu-ray set along with hours and hours of bonus features from the past collections PLUS 120 minutes of bonus material that has never previously been available on disc, as well as more goodies than you can shake a sonic screwdriver at, and this is one blue box that just might actually be bigger on the inside.

And speaking of sonic screwdrivers…

“Who looks at a screwdriver and thinks, ‘Ooh, this could be a little more sonic.’?”

- Captain Jack Harkness

Any fan of Doctor Who will be glad to tell you that all screwdrivers could stand to be a bit more sonic. And that’s why we’ve included the original Doctor Who Universal Remote Control Sonic Screwdriver, a gesture-based remote control replica of the Eleventh Doctor’s trusty tool, in the Doctor Who: The Complete Series 1-7 Limited Edition Blu-ray Gift Set. Crafted from real metals and featuring sound effects from the show, you can impress your friends when you turn on your television with a wave of your hand and feel like a Time Lord yourself. 

With 29 blu-ray discs of episodes, specials and bonus features, plus the Universal Remote Control Sonic Screwdriver, 3 exclusive art cards and an exclusive comic book, this limited edition gift set will keep on giving for years to come. 

Doctor Who: The Complete Series 1-7 Limited Edition Blu-ray Gift Set includes:
New to Blu-ray/ 1080p Resolution:

Doctor Who: The Complete First Series, starring Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper

Doctor Who: The Complete Second Series, starring David Tennant and Billie Piper

Doctor Who: The Complete Third Series, starring David Tennant and Freema Agyeman

Doctor Who: The Complete Fourth Series, starring David Tennant and Catherine Tate


Also included in1080p Resolution:

Doctor Who: The Complete Specials, starring David Tennant

Doctor Who: The Complete Fifth Series, starring Matt Smith and Karen Gillan

Doctor Who: The Complete Sixth Series, starring Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill

Doctor Who: The Complete Seventh Series, starring Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, Arthur Darvill, and Jenna-Louise Coleman


Bonus Blu-ray disc includes:

· “The Doctor Who Ultimate List of Lists” from BBC AMERICA’s The Brit List - BBC AMERICA’s pop culture correspondent, Asha Leo (@ashaleo), is joined by special guest John Barrowman (“Torchwood,” “Doctor Who”) to announce the rankings of the “Top Five Companions,” “Top Five Scariest Moments,” “Top Five Best Monsters,” “Top Five Guest Stars” and “Top Five Things You’ll Only See on Doctor Who.” Rankings are based on votes from readers of BBCAMERICA.com’s Anglophenia blog.

· Doctor Who at the Proms 2010 - Doctor Who’s own Karen Gillen and Arthur Darvill host a spectacular evening of music from the series played live by the London Philharmonic Orchestra at London’s historic Royal Albert Hall. Includes video projections, appearances by the monsters and a special guest appearance from 11^th Doctor Matt Smith. For the first time, the collection will include the full 90-minute concert and has been remastered in 5.1 Surround Sound. 

· Doctor Who: The Best of the Christmas Specials - This previously unreleased special from December 2011 takes an inside look at the very best moments from the incredible Doctor Who Christmas specials that have captivated audiences around the world. A collection of fans from the celebrity, comedy, sci-fi and digital worlds discuss their favorite moments from both David Tennant and Matt Smith era Christmas episodes.

Other additional items include:

· The Doctor Who Universal Remote Control Sonic Screwdriver

· 3 exclusive original art cards

· An exclusive Doctor Who comic book

The Fades Comes to America

BBC America will show the 6 episode British series, The Fades, this January.  The DVD/ Blu-Ray will come out shortly after that on February 21.  This was one of my favorite series of 2011 and got better with each episode.  No word on whether a second season has been approved.


http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Fades-Season-1/16263

http://sciencefiction.com/2011/09/25/bbc3s-the-fades-coming-to-bbc-america/

Firefly - Blu-ray Deal

We have rarely done this before but there is a deal at Amazon right now for the Firefly series box set Blu-ray - $18.99.  That is pretty good.  The deal only goes for another 16 hours (as of this posting) so check it out.  If they sell out the deal stops as well!  I never did buy Firefly on Blu-ray but now is the time!!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/goldbox/discussion/AKIHSVNPHX2M0/ref=xs_gb_AKIHSVNPHX2M0?pf_rd_p=441937901&pf_rd_s=right-1&pf_rd_t=701&pf_rd_i=20&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1H20DYVC78KKK6JG952W


http://www.amazon.com/Firefly-Complete-Blu-ray-Nathan-Fillion/dp/B001EN71CW/ref=br_lf_m_1000745151_1_1_ttl?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=movies-tv&pf_rd_p=1331220162&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_t=1401&pf_rd_i=1000745151&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0EXG35EB6TA8X65BP2S2

Star Trek - The Next Generation Blu-Ray Sampler Release

Star Trek - The Next Generation is being targeted for conversion to HD and Blu-Ray by CBS-DVD.  A sampler disc is slated for release by the end of the year and will contain three stories including "Encounter at Farpoint" pts 1 & 2, "The Inner Light" and "Sins of the Father".

http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Star-Trek-Generation-Blu-ray-Disc-Plans/15892

As you may know, Star Trek, the Next Generation was filmed and so will benefit from a remastering to High Definition.  But the effects were created via video editing and so the completed episodes were downgraded to standard video for airing and eventual video tape and DVD release.  Unlike the original Star Trek Blu-Ray release, the reconstructions will contain all original effects and components.

The process to locate all filmed footage and put them all together again, in essence, reconstructing the episodes in HD is time consuming.  This sampler release is meant to whet the appetite for the Blu-Ray releases perhaps in 2012.

Can't wait to see what they look like.

Technology Time: Star Trek- The Next Generation Blu-Ray

It has been reported that CBS is working on HD prints of Star Trek: The Next Generation. 

http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Star-Trek-Generation-Blu-ray-Disc-Plans/15735

So what? There have been so many other older TV shows released in HD of late, why is this such a big deal? Well, this, to my knowledge, is the first time a TV show is being re-edited and re-mastered in HD for a release. Many shows have been cleaned up and their film prints transferred to HD but in this case, more work has to be done.