Doctor Who: The Complete Seventh Series Blu-ray/DVD
BBC
Nov 01, 2013 Web Exclusive
Doctor Who is held up to a ridiculously high standard by fans. It’s accepted with most shows that not every episode of every season is going to be amazing, but some Whovians seem to expect a classic every week. Perhaps it’s because each episode featuring the time and space traveling Doctor is set on a different planet and/or in a different time period, meaning that each adventure stands out more than your average procedural show. Season seven of the new Who features its share of hits and misses, but enough of the former that such vocal and increasingly frequent message board proclamations that showrunner Steven Moffat has lost it and should step down are still exceedingly premature.
The second half of the season aired in 2013, which will mark the 50th anniversary of the Doctor’s adventures, and this is the last full season to feature Matt Smith as The Eleventh Doctor. Misses include the underwhelming “The Bells of Saint John” and Neil Gaiman’s return as a writer with “Nightmare in Silver,” which was a disappointment after he penned season six’s most beloved episode “The Doctor’s Wife,” in part because of two very precocious and ungrateful kids that most fans probably wished The Doctor had left at the episode’s extraterrestrial theme park, never to be seen again.
But this season also featured the emotional departure of married companions Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) and Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill) in “The Angels Take Manhattan” and the clever introduction of mysterious new companion Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman) in the chilling “Asylum of the Daleks.” Three of the season’s strongest episodes aired back to back-‘70s haunted house story “Hide,” the trippy “The Journey to the Center of the TARDIS,” and the Victorian-set “The Crimson Horror,” which featured a great scene-stealing villainous turn by Diana Rigg.
Season finale “The Name of the Doctor” answered the season-long central mystery surrounding Clara and set up the 50th anniversary special to feature the guest return of David Tennant as The Tenth Doctor and Billie Piper as Rose Tyler.
Season seven mostly finds Doctor Who still in fine form. But perhaps next season’s creative shakeup of Peter Capaldi taking over as The Twelfth Doctor during the traditional Christmas episode will momentarily please grumpy fans. (www.doctorwho.tv)
Author rating: 7.5/10
Average reader rating: 9/10
Most Recent
- WFR Central, Derby, UK, March 23, 2024 (Review) — Altern 8, Maria Uzor, Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan, Cholly
- Premiere: Sofia Bolt Shares New Single “Bus Song” Featuring Stella Donnelly (News) — Sofia Bolt
- St. Vincent Shares New Song “Flea” (Feat. Dave Grohl) and Announces New Tour Dates (News) — St. Vincent, Dave Grohl
- Elbow – Guy Garvey on Their 10th Album “AUDIO VERTIGO” (Interview) — Elbow, Guy Garvey
- Vampire Weekend Share New Song “Mary Boone” (News) — Vampire Weekend
Comments
Submit your comment
November 28th 2013
1:39am
My favorite Dr Who is number seven, Sylvester McCoy. He was sort of a comedian in a way? He was one of the two Doctors to have an umbrella and he was the only one to mock Davros and make a Dalek go out of control.
Liam Age 11
November 30th 2013
5:43pm
there is only one doctor,he just has different faces and personalities.Love them all for thier own quirks
March 27th 2019
11:23am
Of the previously released Series Seven and 2011-12 Christmas special Blu-rays, two offered DTS-HD High Resolution 5.1 surround (