DOCTOR WHO's fourth series (or season of the newly revivied show) is a mixed bag. I am glad that Russell T. Davies is on the way out. He could write characters and humor for DOCTOR WHO, but his plots were the worst many times during the course of any season of the show. Steven Moffat is taking over in 2010. Steven writes some of the better episodes of the new show. His two parter for this series (SILENCE IN THE LIBRARY/ FOREST OF THE DEAD) are among the stand outs of the season (THE DOCTOR'S DAUGHTER is also great). The three part series ender is better than last year's. Still RTD drops the bag with the climax. The emotional arcs for Rose and Donna are fantastic, but the general plot drops the ball. UNIT's return was seriously disappointing as they proved to be extremely useless and generic. I liked the old Sontarans better. Note to Steven Moffat- please retire the Daleks for at least one year when you take over. The Daleks have gotten a little worn out by being on the show every year (even though Davros is one of the better played characters this year).

SPECIAL FEATURES:
On Disc 1 is the Children In Need special- TIME CRASH- which you should watch before VOYAGE OF THE DAMNED as the 5th Doctor meets the 10th Doctor.

Audio commentaries have been recorded for every episode and the track listing for people on the track for THE DOCTOR'S DAUGHTER is wrong in the episode guide. Deleted scenes contain a variety of material including scenes cut because the guy playing Donna's Dad died and an alternate ending for JOURNEY'S END which is cooler than the broadcast version. I do wish deleted scenes for the last 3 episodes were on DISC 5 instead of DISC 4.

DOCTOR WHO CONFIDENTIAL episodes go behind-the-scenes for every episode of season 4- worth watching. tHE video Diaries by actor David Tennant (the 10th Doctor) are funny and entertaining (I do see it absurd they got a police escort into Blackpool). The Retrospective featurette looks back at the four seasons.

FINAL ANALYSIS: DOCTOR WHO series 4 is a mixed bag. However better stuff is on the horizon. Plenty of extras make it worthwhile for fans of the show.

this DVD review is (c)11-28-2008 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission. send all comments to lord_pragmagtic@hotmail.com  

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