Doctor Who: The Complete Second Series (Repackage/DVD)

How do you improve on the near perfection of the reborn "Doctor Who" starring Christopher Eccleston? Quite easily, when you have stories like "School Reunion," "The Girl in the Fireplace," "The Impossible Planet," and "The Satan Pit," to name just a few, but... I'm getting ahead of myself here! For those of us of a "certain age," as we say in England - that's the wrong side of 40! LOL! - and remember the origins of the series waaaaaaaaay back in the 60's, then spent the subsequent decades suffering through more cardboard sets and rubber monsters than you could shake a stick at - the Daleks being honorable exceptions of course! - the rebirth of the venerable Doctor in 2005 was a revelation. The stories had been tightened-up considerably - no running up and down endless corridor filler here! - the budget for a single episode appeared to be more than was spent on an entire series from the good-old-days, the production values/sfx were stellar, the writing tight and dramatic, bringing the Doctor and his Companion thoroughly up-to-date without losing the essence of the original. In Chris Eccleston they had, at last, a genuine, heavyweight Thesp playing the Doctor, an actor who could not only handle the edgier, more grown-up aspects of the new stories, but could also inject an element of the manic/slightly unhinged into his performance, similar to the much-loved Tom Baker. And any worries that Billie Piper would not be up to the job, dramatically, were soon laid to rest... and how!!! To say that us fans were spoiled by the 2005 series was putting it mildly, then as the season climaxed with the superlative "Bad Wolf" and "Parting of the Ways," we were all thrown for a loop when given a "regeneration scene" and a NEW Doctor! What were the BBC thinking about, were they crazy?!?!?! The short answer is "No," the casting of David Tennant was every bit as inspired as his predecessor; he actually managed to up the manic-quotient without going completely bonkers, and brought a kind of geeky coolness to the character we hadn't seen before! And then there was "Rose;" oh my goodness, in all it's years, there has NEVER been a companion for the Doctor like Rose Tyler. Unlike practically all previous companions, Rose is a character in her own right, with her own back story, fully realized, she is, dramatically at least, the Doctor's equal. Her development, from London shop-girl, to time traveler, explorer of the universe, and killer of Daleks, helps drive the stories in a new, more emotionally fulfilling direction. After the roller coaster ride of Season 1 with it's "Bad Wolf" story arc, Season 2 scaled things back ever so slightly, but invested even more time and effort in exploring the relationship between the unearthly Doctor, and the all-too-human Rose. This is tackled head-on in the 4th episode, "School Reunion," which goes some way to answering the question of what happens to the companions after they have stopped travelling with the Time Lord; a stand-out episode, it re-introduces Elizabeth Sladen's "Sarah Jane Smith." I don't want to say too much about any particular episode for those who haven't seen the series yet, but the scene where Sarah Jane discovers the TARDIS and its owner made the hair on the back of my neck stand up! Later in the episode there's an affecting scene between the Doctor and Rose as he tries to explain to her why he can't allow himself to become emotionally involved with his Human companions... he's practically immortal, we're not. The next episode, "The girl in the fireplace," perfectly illustrates the preceding point, when the Doctor allows himself to become attached to Madame de Pompadour, whilst simultaneously battling clockwork androids on a derelict starship in the far future! "Rise of the Cybermen" and "Age of Steel" successfully reinvents one of the Doctors most popular adversaries, whilst "The impossible planet" and "The Satan pit" set-up some very Alien-esque chills in a wonderful two-parter. The series ends, just as did Season 1, with another amazing two-part story, "Army of Ghosts" and the aptly titled "Doomsday," which sees the Daleks fighting it out with the new-and-improved Cybermen for control of planet Earth; to steal a line from the totally execrable AvP, "Whoever wins, we lose!" LOL! It's difficult to know which fate would be worse, having the whole planet "upgraded" by the Cybermen, or flayed and filleted through the Daleks genetic labs to help create an even bigger and more murderous Dalek army!!! This is a superb story to end the season, but be warned, the finale is... emotional! There's a nice recurring theme in the series concerning the "Torchwood Institute," which becomes central to the final two episodes, and if this set is the first you've seen of Season 2, DO make sure you watch the "Children in Need" episode in the "Special Features" section of the set FIRST. It acts as a coda to Season 1, as well as a prologue to Season 2, and explains the somewhat crazed materialization of the TARDIS, as well as the Doctor himself, in the rollicking first episode, "The Christmas Invasion." Any worries I had that the quality of the first season could not be maintained were unfounded... if you enjoyed Season 1, grab Season 2 immediately, you won't regret it!

Fear this DVD set, at least if you are pressed for time. A season full of thoroughly entertaining, enjoyable science fiction TV episodes straight from the UK are to be found within, and the temptation to put the next disc in and keep watching is terribly hard to resist. David Tennant certainly had some pretty big shoes to fill (nine pairs of them, actually), but he has really done a wonderful job in taking on the role of the eccentric space/time-wandering Doctor. He's as delightfully quirky as ever, yet in a more hyperactive manner. Full of frenetic humor and yet less distant emotionally, with more warmth and less sarcasm than his immediate predecessor. This makes him a bit more likeable but also a bit too human perhaps; it's easier to forget that he's not of this earth, although traces of #9's convincingly alien mean streak remain. And his oddball sense of wonder in the face of the unknown--even werewolves have a certain "beauty" for him. In general, Tennant's Doctor will prove to be a memorable one, I suspect, faithfully true to the character's general persona while engagingly eccentric in its own very unique way. The storytelling has thankfully improved very much since the prior season. Don't get me wrong, I liked "The Complete First Series" quite a bit, but this second time around the plotlines seem less rushed and the solutions less sudden and out of left field. More of the stories are two-parters, which helps immensely in this regard. After all, the good old classic "Doctor Who" tales gradually developed through four episodes of about half an hour each; two hour-long episodes back-to-back amounts to much the same thing, which may be about the ideal time necessary for a Doctor Who plot to unfold. This season has a good mix of stories too. Many are good solid straight science fiction, and this is especially so of "Rise of the Cybermen" (okay, even if the Cybermen's inventor does seem like a carbon copy of Davros), and along the same lines the Doomsday battle between two classic Doctor Who foes in the season finale is totally and utterly inspired! I've dreamed of such a confrontation ever since I was a nerdy teenager watching this show religiously on PBS. More characteristic perhaps of the season as a whole though are stories that straddle the boundary between sci-fi and horror in intriguing ways, including a face-off with the devil himself. Sounds corny, but it's actually pulled off well, downright scary but with just the right dose of agnostic ambiguity. Not every episode is a masterpiece, of course. The masterpieces wouldn't stand out then. And everyone will have their favorites. But overall this is a fine year's worth of an excellent show in its latest incarnation, the New New New New New New New New New New Doctor Who.

We are completely hooked on this series. The BBC does everything with such depth of plot and character development. Even the fact that this is total fantasy there are plot issues that are very applicable to today's world issues. When we started watching Dr. Who it was with some trepidation, thinking maybe this is not for us...baby-boomers, but we were so pleasantly surprised and drawn in to the characters and themes that I can honestly say we're hooked and have recommended the series to all of our friends.

I absolutely adored the first series of the new `Doctor Who' and thought Christopher Eccleston's portrayal was touching, emotional and real. Billie Piper also astonished me with her acting skills. I did not doubt that David Tennant would make a wonderful Doctor and this second series has proven how the different approach from a new actor can be the strength of the show. How else would it have survived past season three of the original series? `The Christmas Invasion' is a superb festive piece with lots of fun and action and it certainly is one of the highlights of this boxset. It is credit to Russell T Davies and his cast and crew that the Doctor's `absence' for the majority of the episode is not felt. Other highlights of this second series include: `School Reunion' which sees the Doctor meeting up with his former companion, Sarah Jane Smith and it is a joy to see Elisabeth Sladen back on screen as her alter ego; also `The Idiot's Lantern' is a joyful, yet creepy episode set in 1953 during the Queen's coronation. The imagery and direction is highly effective and Mark Gatiss' script is full of witty dialogue. The two-parters in the series are worth noting. The Cybermen two-part story is a dark cautionary tale with some magnificent direction from Graeme Harper, a director whose credits include stories from the original series. `The Impossible Planet' and its sequel `The Satan Pit' take the new series to new heights with stunning visuals and a fabulous ensemble performance. One episode has had the fans divided and that is `Love & Monsters'. Personally, I enjoyed it thoroughly. It was high-concept and great comedy and was a perfect foil to the dark stories which surrounded it. The absolute highlight for me was the finale: `Army of Ghosts' and `Doomsday'. This stood head and shoulders above the rest and even out-did the series one finale. Billie Piper has astounded me throughout the past two series and this story is no exception. Her magnificent portrayal of Rose has been pure gold. The low point of the series for me was `Fear Her'. I was disappointed especially because I love Matthew Graham's work and this did feel a little rushed and was pale in comparison to its (probable) inspiration; `Paperhouse' (Bernard Rose, 1988) All things considered, a great year and it just leaves us wondering how on Earth they can top these first two series!

Questa serie è molto bella e di gran lunga superiore alla prima. David Tennant veste benissimo i panni del dottore, non ha nulla da invidiare a Matt Smith! Sicuramente è uno dei migliori interpreti del dottore! Spedizione ok! I dischi sono 4 ed a differenza della prima serie, non ci sono i sottotitoli in inglese, cosa molto utile se si vuole guardare la serie in lingua originale! Per il resto tutto perfetto, qualità audio/video migliorata rispetto alla serie 1.

I thoroughly enjoyed this Dr Who DVD, owning it is the icing on the cake. Thank You once again Amazon.

ＤＶＤボックスの外箱は、多少すれ傷がありましたが、中身は全く問題ありませんでした。 3枚組のＤＶＤケース2個はそれぞれ非常にきれいで、映像も再生には問題なく、満足しています。 配送も早く、ストレスなく手元に届きました。 ありがとうございました。