Most have agreed that the BBC’s decision to revive Doctor Who has proven inspired, with the Christopher Ecclestone-led ‘first’ series proving a critical and ratings success. Yet when Ecclestone announced he was departing the role after just one season, eyebrows were raised, Could the momentum be kept going for a second series?
Absolutely. The seamless casting of David Tennant as Ecclestone’s successor in the TARDIS has been equally inspired, and while it’s a fair debate as to whether he matches the standards set by his predecessor, the show rarely lets you draw breath to think about.
This second series collection kicks off with the 2005 Christmas special, which finds the Doctor struggling to overcome the effects of his regeneration, just as the Earth happens to be invaded. It’s a smashing episode, and much of the thirteen that follow manage to match it. Particular highlights? There’s “School Reunion”, which cleverly works old favourites K-9 and Sarah-Jane back into the mix, while “The Girl In The Fireplace” finds the Doctor in a slightly more romantic frame, “The Idiot’s Lantern” is a super, snappy episode set just before Coronation Day, while the two part “Impossible Planet” and “Satan Pit” shows just how far you can stretch a BBC budget.
Yet the series will ultimately be remembered for different reasons. The triumphant return for the Cybermen for one, and the depature of Billie Piper’s Rose Tyler in the superb final two-parter, which also happens to see two of the Doctor’s deadliest foes waging war. And while it’s not unfair to say that this series of Doctor Who hasn’t been without one or two low moments too, the vast majority of it has been really quite brilliant. Fast, energetic, well-written and cracking entertainment, you’re only left wondering how they can top all this next time round…–Simon Brew
Disappointing packaging! Bought this set for my son’s Christmas,and felt very disappointed with the cyberman head box. Very flimsy and the seals take off all the silver colour from the box when you remove them,no matter how careful you are! I thought the head would be made of tin/metal,so it not worth paying more than […] plus for,compared to the basic box set.At least my son will have hours of happy viewing,as he is Dr Who crazy!!
Stellar Performances I was as petrified as everyone else of a new Doctor spoiling what had been a fantastic run of new Doctor Who stories featuring Christopher Ecclestone. But I shouldn’t have worried, David Tennant took the reigns and made the character his own almost straight away. I say almost, because there were times during The Christmas Invasion that I gritted my teeth, particularly the shoehorning in of an Arthur Dent reference, but the series after that just got better and better.STORIESThe Christmas Invasion. It had all the elements of a Christmas story, cheese, action and robot santas. If you could bear the cheese part, this story went down as well as your roast potatoes with Christmas dinner, it worked as a one off and as an introduction to the new Doctor, though comparing it to the later stories it comes up a bit short.New Earth. Great start to the new series. The Cat Nurses are great and, of course, Cassandra is back. It’s the first real chance to see the new Doctor and Rose working together and Billie does a wonderful job as Rose being possessed by Cassandra.Tooth and Claw. Too much forced humour between The Doctor and Rose, but otherwise a really good traditional story.School Reunion. The return of Sarah Jane and K9 could have overshadowed a story in lesser hands, but the story here, featuring the great Anthony Head, holds its own against the backdrop of having one of Doctor Who’s greatest assistants return. The fighting between Rose and Sarah Jane is classic.The Girl In The Fireplace. An emotional rollercoaster and clockwork droids make this one of the best stories this season. Great acting all around, Mickey being useful and The Doctor showing his feelings.Rise Of The Cybermen/The Age Of Steel . They’re back. I’ve always loved the Cybermen and the team have done them justice in their new guise. Nice that they didn’t tread over the existing origins by creating a new race of Cybermen too. Perhaps we’ll see the originals battling these new ones someday?The Idiot Lantern. Possibly the worst of this season’s stories, its still entertaining, though not as well written as the rest.The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit. Sound effects from Doom (didn’t anyone else notice this?) and the funny named Ood make up a tightly scripted 2-parter that really keeps you on the edge of your seat all the way through. Probably the most frightening story of the series.Love and Monsters. Doctor Who without the Doctor? It shouldn’t work, but it does. Despite the monster being created by a Blue Peter winner, the story is full of humour and good ideas. One of the weaker ones compared to the rest of the series though.Fear Her. Great idea, but for some reason the story felt a bit rushed.Army Of Ghosts/Doomsday. A fans idea of heaven. Possibly not enough actual battling, but aside from that it’s a case of saving the best till last, and what an emotional climax.THE SETSeries 2 manages to outdo the first series on all attempts, and the extras here do the same. Video diaries (Tennant promises more this year) . More episodes of Confidential take us behind the scenes of the episodes and how they come up with all the ideas. Commentaries give us another view of each episode, some of which are more entertaining than the episodes themselves! It makes the whole package much better value than those single disc versions with their lack of any extras.The box itself is an accurate model of a Cyberman head. Many people have already pointed out how this is only held on by a small amount of glue, but mine has been on and off of the shelf a lot as well as being handled by my Doctor-who obessed 3 year old daughter and it’s still in good shape.At the end of the day, you still get the same package inside, but for a few pounds more you get the Cyberman box on top, so it’s still worth getting. That said, the words `Limited Edition’ seem to mean nothing when you think that this set is still available!
I like it ! Contary to what most others seem to be saying i really like the Cyberman head boxset. Just be careful when you peel off the stickers at the side i used a quick heat blast from a hairdryer so as not to rip the silvering on the box. For just a few quid more than the standard boxset this has to be a great buy and could even prove to be a nice little investment if you ever come to sell yours in the future !.