Doctor Who - The Complete Third Series

Two and a half stars. The disgust factor outweighed the entertainment value, for me, a fan since the 1980's. Why? The manic pacing in a 40 minute story arc has been my main quibble since the Eccleston debut. Oh it's indeed entertaining, for the most part. But my "love/hate" relationship with all the newer "series" tipped to hate and disgust with the last two episodes here; when, it finally dawned on me--that the current producer is no longer paying homage to what came before his tenure (IF he ever did), but is instead trashing the entire program's history! The trail of dead is enormous; he's killed off the Daleks (for the most part), and (his own creation) the "face of Bo", he's killed off the entire planet of Gallifrey, and also, K-9, (looked that way), and lastly the character of the "Master". He changed the Master to a clean shaven, effete Joker...and with that, I bade farewell to watching any more from this production; because now, it's clear that's it's no longer homage, but nose thumbing, self important aggrandizment, ignoring long time Who fandom, in order to over romantisize and elevate the Doc in a sort of ever accruing messianism. Mark my word, if this continues, the program will get harder and harder to write scripts for, and thus cliches will suffice for ideas, because the ready made history will be lost. As old Tom Baker's doctor would say, "how very odd indeed".

I, like so many other folks of my generation, grew up entertained, thrilled, and scared out of my mind by Doctor Who. When the new series began airing in 2005 I was more than a little concerned (in the way one is concerned when remembering that a movie version is never as good as the book it was based off of or how a remake is never as good as the original). But much like Rose, Christopher Eccleston's Doctor had me at "Run". And the fantastic David Tennant does it even better.

Whether he's taking out an army of spider people in "The Runaway Bride" (props to the incredible Catherine Tate) or being dismayed at the lack of math taught in the future in "42" (what the heck is recreational mathematics anyways?) Tennant is absolutely brilliant as the Doctor, the time-travelling Time Lord from Gallifrey.

While the third season (or series as the British say) does feature everything anyone has ever wanted from or expected of the Doctor Who franchise, there are a few pitfalls along the way. Most notably the replacement of Billie Piper by Freema Agyeman as the Doctor's newest companion. While Martha Jones (Agyeman) is suitably plucky and adventurous, fans of the previous two seasons will find her pale in comparison to the truly awesome Rose Tyler (Piper) especially when it comes to the chemistry with Tennant's Doctor, which occasionally falls flat.

But where the show occasionally fails to live up to expectations it also frequently manages to live up to, and even surpass, them. The season's Christmas special is an absolute gem, much like season two's which first introduced us to the tenth doctor, and the three-part ending alone is well worth the purchase of the entire set. Also in the season is the fantastic stand alone episode "Blink" for which writer Steven Moffat won a BAFTA award. This episode is spooky in the way that Doctor Who was always meant to be.

Also present in the 6 disc set are a group of awesome special features including the continuation of David Tennant's video diaries, the Doctor Who Confidentials for the year, and the documentary/recording of the Doctor Who concert "Music and Monsters".

This season is absolutely fabulous just as all the series before it have been and I absolutely would buy it, whether your an old hat at this Tardis business or have only just discovered the wonders of this universe. Fantastic set and fantastic show.

The best episodes of this season are PHENOMENAL. That said, it seemed like the writers didn't know what to do with the gorgeous Freema other than let her whine. Every episode. About how mad she is about the Doctor. And how he doesn't even look at her. Sigh. In fairness to her character, I don't like the way the Doctor was written in this respect either. I know he's hurting because Rose is gone, but hello.......how old are you? Appreciate Martha for the gem she is. The better episodes are the ones in which their relationship is downplayed. (In the exceptionally excellent "Blink" she's hardly there.)

Overall, very very good. The only weakness is the (lack of) relationship between this Doctor and this companion.

I felt that Season 2 struggled a bit; although David Tennant took to the role and made it his own, in my opinion not enough time was spent on Rose's adjustment to his regeneration. Instead everything was sweetness and light from the get go. There were certainly high points and the finale was heartbreaking enough to make me cry, but Season 3 starts off with that emotional impact and that makes it all the better.

Season 3 is really all about the Doctor, as it should be, and his pain. He struggles constantly with his need for a companion (he is a social animal, after all) and his conflicts about the nature of his relationship with a companion and his reluctance to get hurt as deeply again as he was by the loss of Rose. Yet Martha proves her worth and her devotion to him, over and over, in fact. Her voyage is important but secondary to his.

After the lose of Rose Tyler I did not think the Doctor could find another worthy companion, but he did in Martha Jones. Excellent new adventures in this third series collection.