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PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Doctor Who-Twice Upon a Time-2017 Christmas Special (Blu-ray) (2017)

Doctor Who-Twice Upon a Time-2017 Christmas Special (Blu-ray) (2017)

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Released 7-Feb-2018

Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Science Fiction Main Menu Audio & Animation
Featurette-Two
Interviews-Cast & Crew-ComicCon Panel
Rating Rated PG
Year Of Production 2017
Running Time 59:54 (Case: 58)
RSDL / Flipper Dual Layered Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 4 Directed By Rachel Talalay
Studio
Distributor

Roadshow Home Entertainment
Starring Peter Capaldi
Pearl Mackie
Matt Lucas
David Bradbury
Mark Gatiss
Case Amaray-Opaque
RPI $64.95 Music Murray Gold


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame None English DTS HD Master Audio 5.1
English Descriptive Audio DTS HD Master Audio 2.0
Widescreen Aspect Ratio 1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
16x9 Enhanced
Video Format 1080i
Original Aspect Ratio 1.78:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles English for the Hearing Impaired Smoking No
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits No

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

     It is hard to believe that any television show could run for 50 years, let alone what started as a little sci-fi series designed for kids on the BBC. This series has enthralled, excited and inspired generations of children and adults alike. There have been spin-off series, movies and more over the years. Season Eleven of the new series is due to begin later this year, 2018, with a female Doctor for the first time (although not the first female time lord).

     To round out the time with the show of Peter Capaldi as The Doctor, Pearl Mackie as Bill and Stephen Moffat as the show runner, this fantastic Christmas special for 2017 was produced, also featuring David Bradley, standing in for William Hartnell, as the first Doctor. The special is entitled Twice Upon a Time and kicks off with footage of the first doctor from "709 episodes ago", where the William Hartnell doctor does not want to regenerate. The old footage is from a serial from the fourth season of the original Doctor Who, the last one to star William Hartnell, called The Tenth Planet (1966). He is at the south pole, fighting the Cybermen, when due to a time glitch he meets the Peter Capaldi doctor, who is also fighting regeneration after the events of the finale of Season 10. He is trying to decide whether Doctor Who should continue by regenerating or whether his time is up and he should allow himself to die. Stuck in a moment in time, they meet, compare Tardis's and are then joined by a World War I Captain (Mark Gatiss) who has been plucked from the battlefield by a previously unknown alien race, "Testimony". The doctors and the captain are soon taken in the Tardis by the aliens who have an offer to make involving Bill. How will either of the Doctors react to this challenge?

     This is a wonderful Christmas special, to my mind one of the very best, if not the best that has been made during the new series of Doctor Who. It starts with an excellent story, includes great nods to the history of the show, revives seemingly dead characters, has excitement, thrills, sadness, pathos and loads of fun. After the slight misfire of last year's Christmas special this is a superb return to form. It is a very fitting end for the time of Stephen Moffat as the show runner and head writer, he conceived and wrote this final episode and what a great one it is. It is also is a great finish to Peter Capaldi's time as The Doctor, paving the way for Jodie Whittaker to take over.

     This show is a must see and really the only decision is whether to buy it on this standalone release or wait for the Season 11 box set which is pretty likely to include it. Highly Recommended.

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Transfer Quality

Video

     The video quality is very good, at a similar quality to Season Ten.

     The feature is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio which is the original aspect ratio. It is 1080i rather than full 1080p.

     The picture was reasonably sharp and clear throughout, without ever looking spectacular. Shadow detail was very good.

     The colour is excellent, really showing off the sets and locations for this special.

     There was some minor motion blur during fast movement and some little bits of aliasing.

     There are subtitles available in English for the Hearing Impaired which are clear and easy to read but included some mistakes.

Video Ratings Summary
Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     The audio quality is very good without being at feature film quality.

     This disc contains an English soundtrack in DTS HD-MA 5.1, plus an Audio Descriptive track in DTS HD-MA 2.0.

     Dialogue was quite clear throughout.

     The music by Murray Gold is excellent as usual adding significantly to the show.

     The surround speakers were well used for lots of directional effects such as during action scenes plus significant atmosphere and music and the subwoofer supported the TARDIS sounds, music and action scenes.

Audio Ratings Summary
Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Extras

     A good collection of extras are included. They are 1080i and DTS HD-MA 2.0.

Menu

     The menu features scenes and music from the show. Audio Navigation is available as an option.

Dr Who Extra - Twice Upon a Time (22:22)

     An extended making of covering the casting of David Bradley, including Bill, The Captain, Rusty the Dalek, recreating the old Tardis control room and setting up the location for the World War I scenes. Interesting and well worth watching.

The End of an Era (20:47)

     A retrospective of the Twelfth Doctor's time in the Tardis and of Stephen Moffat's time with the show. Includes footage of the final read through before filming, loads of episode highlights and interviews with Capaldi and Moffat about their time on the show. Very worthwhile.

San Diego ComicCon - Doctor Who Panel (56:37)

     Full panel discussion at ComicCon just after the wrap of shooting on the Christmas special. They show a clip from the show and then introduce Peter Capaldi, Stephen Moffat, Pearl Mackie, Matt Lucas, Michelle Gomez and Mark Gatiss. Worth watching but many of the crowd questions are pretty obvious and clichéd, like what is your favourite scene or who is your favourite Doctor?

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

    This special is available globally seemingly in the same format.

Summary

    The final Christmas Special of Peter Capaldi as The Doctor is the best since the show relaunched.

    The video quality is very good.

    The audio quality is very good.

    The extras are a good selection of mostly worthwhile content.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Daniel Bruce (Do you need a bio break?)
Thursday, February 22, 2018
Review Equipment
DVDPanasonic DMR-PWT500, using HDMI output
DisplaySharp LC52LE820X Quattron 52" Full HD LED-LCD TV . Calibrated with Ultimate DVD Platinum. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080p.
Audio DecoderBuilt into amplifier. Calibrated with Ultimate DVD Platinum.
AmplificationMarantz SR5005
SpeakersMonitor Audio Bronze 2 (Front), Bronze Centre & Bronze FX (Rears) + Sony SAW2500M Subwoofer

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