Search - Doctor Who: The Complete Fifth Series [Blu-ray] on Blu-ray

K. K. (GAMER)
Reviewed on 12/21/2022...

Episodes include: the Eleventh Hour, the Beast Below, Victory of the Dalens, the Time of Angels, Flesh and Stone, the Vampires of Venice, Amy's Choice, the Hungry Earth, Cold Blood, Vincent and the Doctor, the Lodger, the Pandorica Opens and the Big Bang.

A NEW DOCTOR ,SAME GREAT SCI FI

REdRUM | 11/05/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Matt Smith had large shoes to fill taking over for David Tennant, but he did brilliantly. He takes on the role with charm, humor and intelligence. His companion is the sexy and witty Karen Gillian as Amy. She and the Doctor work very well together as the tackle adventure after andventure along with trying to understand the mysterious cracks. THe doctor is reunited with River Song (some say she is the Rani or Romana) and must take on not only his greatest enemy the Daleks but all his enemies it seems in the end. Great Stories and effects make this such great sci fi. Each adventure will lead to the last as "SILENCE WILL FALL" Watch and enjoy"

A new Doctor, a new TARDIS, a new companion and a new produc

C. R. Swanson | Phoenix | 11/01/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"It's very clear from the first episode of this series that new producer Stephen Moffat wanted to make it VERY clear that this is no longer the Russel T Davies series that people had grown to know and cringe at. Pretty much everything has been changed and this is for the better.



We start off with "The Eleventh Hour", showing our new hero, our new TARDIS, and new companion in the form of Amy. The story itself was reasonably interesting and the execution was ok. It wasn't anything really great, but it was a solid start, and I loved seeing glimpses of all the previous Doctors (except, tellingly, number 10).



From there we go to "The Beast Below" and get the impression straight-away that perhaps Davies is back. There wasn't really anything great about this episode. It wasn't horribly offensive, but it was a bit twee and very lacking. I did enjoy the Doctor's moral choice at the end, but that was about it.



Then we arrive at "Victory of the Daleks". I do like the "X of the Daleks" title, which reminds me very much of the old school episodes. I also liked some of the performances. What I didn't like was the story, which was rather dull, and the resolution, which wasn't much of a resolution at all. It felt like two episodes crammed together and it didn't really make sense.



But then we get to two of the best episodes of any series, "The Time of Angels" and "Flesh and Stone", featuring the return of the Weeping Angles and River Song. It's everything the series should be; moody, atmospheric, interesting, and featuring wonderful moments of tension, like Amy walking through a crowd of angels with her eyes closed. Fascinating viewing!



After that we have another "meh" episode in the form of "Vampires in Venice," which features vampires. In Venice. It is what it is. I didn't hate it, but it wasn't great.



Then, however, we go onto "Amy's Choice", which was far more interesting than it should be and had an ending that reminded me strongly of certain events from "Trial of a Timelord".



Sadly after that we go onto the two very mediocre Silurian episodes, "The Hungry Earth" and "Cold Blood". Everything about these episodes was wrong. The Silurians didn't look at all like the original ones (this is hand-waved a bit, but still), the plot is rather pointless and the ending didn't work for me at all. It was a real low-point for this series.



Things pick up, however, when we get to "Vincent and the Doctor", which is a story more beautiful than it should be, containing some excellent performances and a genuinely moving scene at the end. For me this is the story that really MADE this series of the show. I was entirely happy!



As we move into the endgame of the series we stop off at "The Lodger", where we see the Doctor playing football and going down the pub. It's a nice, fairly light-hearted piece, and I really liked it.



Finally we get to "The Big Bang" and "The Pandorica Opens", where we get at least something of a resolution to some of the ongoing plot points with this series. River Song is back, as is... well, pretty much everyone. The Daleks, the Sontarans, the Cybermen, the Silurians... basically everyone pops by to say hello and goodbye. While the story doesn't quite reach the level it wants to, it doesn't fail from a lack of trying.



Overall the series as a whole was quite good, and I'm looking very much forward to the Christmas special and the next series! Bring it on, guys!"