Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20478 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-06-25
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
The latest DVD release from the third season of the revived Doctor Who is one many fans will have been eagerly awaiting, due in no small part to the return of the iconic Daleks.

A pity, then, that of the four episodes on this DVD, it’s the Dalek double-header that’s the weakest. So let’s deal with those two episodes first. "Daleks In Manhattan" and "Evolution Of The Daleks" are set in 1930s New York, where the Daleks have hatched their most daring plan to date: to use the biology of a human to evolve their own, resulting in a hybrid human/Dalek creature.

Yet in spite of some neat moments across the two episodes, the double-header never really clicks, and the hybrid creation utterly fails to convince. It leaves a few good lines, some neat action sequences and the sheer status of the Daleks to drag the episodes through.

Things perk up though with the other two episodes on this Doctor Who DVD. "The Lazarus Experiment" is a fun romp, with The League Of Gentlemen’s Mark Gatiss experimenting, with predictably chaotic results, in age reversal. What marks this episode out though is the intriguing building of the story that’s set to pay off later in the series.

Finally, the best episode on the disc, 42. While derivative, it’s pacey, funny and has a real-time feel to the action that works extraordinarily well. Some smashing direction too, not least when the episode goes silent as the Doctor mouths "I’ll save you" to a seemingly doomed Martha.

In all then, a mixed bag of Doctor Who, but still a terrific value DVD given the four episodes it contains. Even if the best of series three is yet to come... --Simon Brew

Customer Reviews

PUT A SEC IN IT
Series Three of DOCTOR WHO is where The Act Finally Gets Together. There are no elements that lack in comparison to others. It's a perfectly balanced production that delivers on every technical and emotional level.

The varied nature of the stories still means there's going to be some episodes better than others, but the beauty of it all is that the standard is so impeccably high. It's fair to say we have never had it so good.

DALEKS IN MANHATTAN and EVOLUTION OF THE DALEKS, a two-parter set in Depression-era New York, is probably the least effective story of the season. However, I will immediately qualify this by saying that the visuals are generally stunning and the scope is impressive, but the flaw remains in the realisation of DALEK/HUMAN SEC. It slightly diminishes the whole by not being 100% convincing and that's a terrible shame. Credit must go to Director JAMES STRONG, however, who is mostly on the money (note: I initially disliked the marching human/hybrid army dissolves, then saw in it a lovely homage to the Flash Gordons'/Buck Rogers' Republic serials of the time, a very nice touch) - but for my money, and for sheer visual and visceral impact, he'll need to sit on another Zarbi anthill before he tops THE SATAN PIT.

What an absolute delight THE LAZARUS EXPERIMENT is. Elements of Frankenstein, Dr Jeckyll and Mr Hyde, The Fly, Quatermass and The Pit - all rolled into one big, skeletal mess of a monster. MARK GATISS makes the most of his part as the age-reversal experiment gone wrong and draws out an effectively mean 'n moody performance from his best mate DAVID TENNANT. FREEMA AYGEMAN likewise continues to impress with her measured performance, wholly without the clinginess that made late-era BILLIE PIPER so irritating. The climax in the Cathedral is another great set-piece and leads nicely to the ending, where the "Mister Saxon" element is ramped up considerably to generate palpable fear in the mind of Martha's mother and the man her daughter's Tardishacked-up with. Great stuff.

'42' was never going to exceed expectations, mainly due to Danny Boyle's 'Sunshine', but for a primetime British television show, the story of a mining ship being dragged into a star was beautifully realised. With forty-two minutes left before destruction, there's a terrifying real-time twist to unfolding events which highlight the true nature of 'cause and effect'. That said, I tend to blow a little hot(!) and cold about Director GRAEME HARPER's work on this show (blame the slightly indifferent Cybermen for that), but the pace he generates and his striking colour palette cannot be faulted here. Allied to The Mill's superb CGI, there were moments as the escape pod fell into the sun that simply took my breath away. Hopefully yours too. "I'll save you!" "I'll Save You!!" "I'LL SAVE YOU!!!" I'll say no more.

I'm sure I've missed things out, but where do you stop? Music, performances, set design...everyone involved firing on all cylinders, all passionate about their work. How jealous am I? How lucky are we.

Wizzard were right. You know...the seasonal hit they had? Doctor Who is the fulfilment of that wish and we are spoiled rotten. Every Saturday night. Every Year. For thirteen wonderful weeks. And THEN Christmas Day comes and...


HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Good episodes
There are some very good episodes on this dvd and I really enjoyed them, although none of them are brilliant. In my opinion this dvd is better than the on before it.

Daleks In Manhatten/Evolution Of The Daleks= This is a usual Dalek episode with a twist because there is a Dalek Human. This double episode is very good and entertaining but the problem is ( as other reviewers have pointed out ) that the Daleks are in so many episodes that they become very over-used. This episode is set in America and the Daleks have a plan that has to do with the building of The Empire State Building ( 7/10 ).

The Lazarus Experiment= This episode is about the Doctor taking Martha back home, but a man is doing an experiment to make himself younger and the experiment fails and he occasionaly turns into a mutated monster. I didn't really enjoy this episode much but I still think it is ok ( 5/10 ).

42= This episode is about people in a spaceship hurtling towards the sun and some of the people aboard the ship are turning evil and burning people to death. This episode is exciting and intriguing and it is great to watch. I don't know why people think it is like The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit, because the plot is nothing like that except that they are in a spaceship ( 7/10 ).

There are some episodes definitely worth watching on this dvd but it is not the best in the series.

not the best eps
The revived Doctor who has been somewhat of a mixed bag since it began 2 yrs ago,sometimes brilliant episodes would be followed by horrid ones. This collection from season 3 is ok but no more than that. The dalek 2 parter is pretty lame,theres barely enough material here for 1 episode let alone 2,theres virtually no action and a load of actors doing fake american accents running around!!..writr helen raynor will be contributing another 2 part story for season 4,lets hope it better than this!

The Lazurus experiment is although stoeywise pretty flimsy it's quite an enjoyable episode and prob the best ep on this disc

42 is a story by chris chibnell..the main writer on torchwood. This is another mediocre story..all too reminiscent of last yrs impossible planet 2 parter..why do another take on a similar theme this soon?? doesnt make sense..some nice fx in this at the end but again it's not that great.

Fortunatley the next volume is excellent with the family of blood 2 parter and the amazing blink...this is how it should be done..avoid this volume and get the next one.