Blu-ray Review - Doctor Who: The Day Of The Doctor (50th Anniversary Special)

Doctor Who: The Day Of The Doctor (50th Anniversary Special)

Starring: Matt Smith, David Tennant, Jenna Coleman, with Billie Piper and John Hurt

Studio: BBC America

Release Date: December 10, 2013

ASIN: B00FAVRHBE

Running Time: 75 + bonus materieals

Rating: Not Rated

Retail:

Blu-ray 3D + Blu-ray + DVD Combo Pack - $29.98

DVD - $24.98

Purchase Links:

Amazon (Blu-ray Combo)

Amazon (DVD)

BBC America Shop (Blu-ray Combo)

BBC America Shop (DVD)

Billy's Review:

Last month, the BBC series Doctor Who celebrated its 50th anniversary with the television special/movie The Day of the Doctor starring Matt Smith, David Tennant, Jenna Coleman, John Hurt and Billie Piper, which aired simultaneously in 94 countries across 6 continents and set a Guinness World Record for the largest simulcast of a television drama. The Doctor Who special broke rating records on Twitter and Tumblr, even causing more buzz than the Super Bowl and the MTV’s Video Music Awards. Additionally, the special appeared on the big screen in 11 theatrical markets on the same night. BBC America and NCM Fathom Events presented the anniversary special in RealD 3D in over 660 select movie theaters across the country, becoming No. 2 at the box office on November 25th!

Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor; the Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith), the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant), and John Hurt

Doctor Who: The Day Of The Doctor is arriving in stores tomorrow, December 10, 2013, on a two-disc Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack and a single-disc DVD, which is just in time for the holiday season.

the Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith) and the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant)

The bonus features included are:

Doctor Who Explained - A 50-minute special covering the entire Doctor Who 50 year history.

Behind the Scenes Featurette - Behind the scenes access of Doctor Who: The Day Of The Doctor, featuring interviews with the Matt Smith, Jenna Coleman, David Tennant, Billie Piper and John Hurt.

San Diego Comic Con trailer of Doctor Who: The Day Of The Doctor

Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Tribute Teaser Trailer

Two Mini-Episodes - "The Last Day" & "The Night Of The Doctor

The Doctor had to jump into his own timeline to save Clara Oswald at the end of "The Name Of The Doctor," resulting in the Doctor meeting another incarnation the viewers have never seen or heard about before, played by John Hurt. In The Day Of The Doctor, we finally get to see the great Time War that will destroy his home world, Gallifrey. During this era, he has done terrible things to stop the Dalek invasion and no longer deserves to be called the Doctor, but instead he is known as the Warrior or the War Doctor. To the stop the Dalek from destroying the universe, he steals the ancient weapon called "The Moment," a galaxy eater, which would destroy both the Time Lords and the Dalek race, but the weapon has a conscience in the form of Rose Tyler/Bad Wolf. The Moment tries to show him another option than killing his own people and opens up a portal linking to the Elizabethan England and 2013.

The 11th Doctor summons Clara Oswald, who just finished her first day of teaching, but almost as soon as she enters the TARDIS, they are forcefully taken by the UNIT, where the Doctor is given a letter written by his previous wife, Elizabeth I of England. She leaves a message stating he is now the curator of Under-Gallery, which happens to have a 3D Time Lord painting of the final day of the Time War. The paintings title is either No More or Gallifrey Falls.

Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor; Clara (Jenna Coleman) and Kate Stewart (Jemma Redgrave)

The 10th Doctor is in the Elizabethan England romancing Elizabeth I, as he believes she is really a Zygon and proposing marriage may be the only way to find out if she is one of the creatures, but it turns out he is completely wrong, except for the fact that the Zygons are planning an invasion.

The portal The Moment created brings the 11th, 10th and War Doctor together to stop the Zygons invasion through time and possibly prevent Gallifrey from being destroyed during the Time War.

Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor; John Hurt and Billie Piper

I missed out on the original airing, but I did get to watch Doctor Who: The Day Of The Doctor 3D Blu-ray over the weekend. With all the hype surrounding the 50th Anniversary Special, my expectations where mighty high, but I'm glad to say I wasn't disappointed by the end result. Lead writer and executive producer Steven Moffat did a wonderful job paying homage to the last fifty years and finally bridging the gap between the 8th and 9th Doctors. It’s nice to have David Tennant returning one last time as the Doctor, which he blended in great with the 11th Doctor (Matt Smith). John Hurt does a wonderful work as the War Doctor. I actually thought he would play the villain in the special, but I was completely wrong. Being a fan of Billie Piper, I thought it was great to have her back, even though she wasn't playing Rose again. It would have been wonderful if Christopher Eccleston could have came back, but at least the producers added the 9th Doctor using archive footage along with the first eight Doctors. Speaking of the past Doctors, I enjoyed watching the mini-episode Night Of The Doctor with the return of Paul McGann as the 8th Doctor, but I do wish it was a bit longer. The back of the Blu-ray states the movie is 75 minutes, but the display time on my player had it at almost 80 minutes. There is a new Doctor Who documentary similar to the ones on the Doctors Revisited sets, but this one is 50 minutes. Overall, Doctor Who: The Day Of The Doctor is a great way to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the series. I enjoyed watching every minute of it and I'm looking forward to the new direction the series will have thanks to the clever ending.