*****Doctor Who (2005) Series One

BBC, 585 minutes, NR

$99.99

(release date - July 4, 2006)

Doctor Who returns to the screen with a slam bang series. All the things we loved with the old Doctor Who coupled with quicker paced stories and better effects. (Though for some reason the subtitles say “Whoosh” when the TARDIS dematerializes when it is obviously a grinding noise) This five disc set includes all 13 episodes from the first series as well as all the Doctor Who Confidential episodes. We sat down to watch the first two episodes and ended up running through the entire thirteen episodes and most of the special features in one sitting. Long time Doctor Who fans were pleased and those new to Doctor Who became almost instant converts.

The UK release comes in a collector box shaped like a TARDIS, while the US release is a simple box set. The TARDIS is kind of fun but the box set is probably easier to store.

DVD Features: Commentaries On All 13 Episodes From The Cast And Crew Including Simon Callow, Russell T Davies, Billie Piper, John Barrowman, and Mark Gatiss; On Set With Billie, Making Doctor Who, Waking The Dead, Special Doctor Who Confidential Disc, Destroying The Lair Featurette, Mike Tuckers Mocks Of Balloons Featurette, Designing Doctor Who Featurette, Laying Ghosts The Origins Of The Unquiet Dead Featurette, Deconstructing Big Ben Featurette, The Adventures Of Captain Jack Featurette, BBC Breakfast Interview With Christopher Eccleston, Trailers, Backstage at Christmas: an exclusive look behind the scenes of Doctor Who Christmas Invasion and Booklet

Highly recommended. A July 4, 2006 release date was just announced - reserve your copy now! - Stephanie L Bannon