And so, the end is here, with this release of the final four episodes of Matt Smiths first series as Doctor Who. While many have disliked his lack of being David Tennant, personally I think hes done a great job of taking on the almost impossible task of replacing an actor whod fast become iconic in the role. Theres enough of Tennants energy, but this time a little bit spikier and perhaps more of a sense of fun.
The disc kicks off with Vincent and the Doctor, where companion Amy who by this point has completely forgotten she ever even had a fiancé head off to meet Van Gogh. However this being Doctor Who, its not enough the painter is depressed and months from killing himself, hes also being pursued by a monster only he can see. The Doctor has to sort that out, while Amy tries to find a way to show Van Gogh that while he doesnt know it, one day hell be considered amongst the greatest talents ever to have lived.
Doctor Who has a mixed record of trying to incorporate real-life figures, with the episode involving Agatha Christie marking an absolute low since the show returned in 2005. This time it works better, and it is has a great ending, although it does rather mess around with the facts of Van Goghs life when it doesnt need to, which is slightly frustrating for those in who know what happened (and no, Im not talking about the invisible monster, which is obviously factually accurate).
Then its on to The Lodger, which sees the Doctor arriving on Earth and then being left there while his TARDIS heads off again without him. This leads him to the door of Craig Owens, whos been advertising for a lodger. Once more though, the Doctor is incapable of going anywhere without something weird happening, and while initially hes having a good time being a bit of a lad, theres an upstairs room in the house, which people are lured to, never to be seen again. It a passable episode, which does feel a bit like a stopgap until the two-part finale (and personally I had to grit my teeth to get through it, due to my irrational dislike of James Corden, who stars).
Then its onto the conclusion, which the whole series has been leading up to, concerning the Doctor and Amy having found lots of cracks in the universe, starting with one in Amys bedroom, which led to them meeting in the first place. The two-parter also see the return of the mysterious River Song (Alex Kingston), who claims to have a relationship with the Doctor in his future, which he doesnt know about yet. The main plot revolves around the Pandorica, a prison-box of legend, which the Doctor thought wasnt real, but is said to have been built in order to lock up the most dangerous creature in the universe, who could result in time and space never having happened.
The two-parter is very entertaining, with all sorts of hints and references to whats been going on throughout the series being made clear and elucidated. It also has a few surprises, a great cliff-hanger between the two parts and is generally a very fast-paced end to the series. The only problem lies in an endless parade of plot holes, which crop up left, right and centre. Holes are inevitable when dealing with time travel and something happening at all points in time and space at once, but the problems here are pretty enormous. They dont stop it being fun, but they ensure its not quite the Whovian tour-de-force it could have been.
As with the other Series 5 volume releases, this one just has a Monster Files featurette as a special feature. However if youve been holding off buying these bit-by-bit releases, the complete series will hit DVD shelves on November 8th, complete with plenty more special features.
Overall Verdict: A good ending to a series where Matt Smith has shown himself more than capable in the role, except for those wholl never accept anyone but David Tennant.
Special Features:
Monster Files Featurette
Reviewer: Tim Isaac