Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #67 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-09-01
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 135 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Since Doctor Who came back to our screens in 2005, have we had a season finale quite like the one that saw out the triumphant fourth series since its revival? Certainly the final three episodes, brought together here on one DVD, saw the show out with one mighty bang.

First up is Turn Left, an episode where the Doctor himself is left on the sidelines to allow Catherine Tate’s Donna to take centre stage. It proves a wise choice, as Donna has to face tough choices and extreme danger on the way, when a strange encounter at the start of the episode puts the Doctor and many of his allies in mortal danger. Well constructed and as hard-faced as any episode in the series, Turn Left also manages to squeeze in the return of Billie Piper as Rose Tyler, and set things up for the even greater dangers that lie ahead.

Those dangers really come to a head in The Stolen Earth, a hugely ambitious blockbuster of an episode that throws in a stunning cliffhanger to top things off. It brings back the likes of Martha Jones, Captain Jack Harkness and Sarah-Jane Smith, but ultimately finds the Doctor facing one of his deadliest enemies, in the shape of the maniacally evil Davros (with a little help from his new army of Daleks).

And if the cliffhanger is squandered a little by Journey’s End, the final episode of the series, there’s so much crammed in that it’s hard to quarrel too much. It’s a boisterous, ambitious 65 minutes with action, resolution and one or two clumsy steps. Yet while it doesn’t quite measure up to the majesty of The Stolen Earth, repeated viewings do show it to be a good conclusion to a terrific series.

With regular episodes of Doctor Who now off our screens until 2010, this superb DVD--while bereft of extra features--could prove to a very strong way to help bridge the gap. Strongly recommended. --Jon Foster

Synopsis
DOCTOR WHO returns for a fourth instalment with a familiar face alongside the Doctor. Award-winning comedienne Catherine Tate returns as the Doctor's new companion, revisiting her 'Christmas Special' role as Donna Noble. This release includes the episodes 'Turn Left', 'The Stolen Earth', and the heart-stopping series finale 'Journey's End'.

Customer Reviews

Where did it all go wrong...?
This DVD concludes series 4 with the final three episodes which work as a single story arc. I was one of the fans eagerly awaiting this years finale but unfortunately it left a bitter after taste (and to explain why I will include SPOILERS).

The first episode, Turn Left, was an ok affair. The premise for this storyline is Donna, due to the results of a time beetle, experiences what her life would have been like had she not have met the doctor. This episode sees the return of Billie Piper as Rose Tylor, who comes back to help Donna in this alternative reality. Overall the episode is alright but it does drag at times and feels like it's reaching an inevitable conclusion (we all know the Doctor's coming back). Rose's return is a little anti climatic and partnered with the fact Billie Piper seems to have forgot how the character speaks, the return is frankly quite odd. However I assumed that her role would be expanded upon and given significance in the final two episodes (oh how wrong I was!).

The Stolen Earth, the second episode on the disk, is by far my favourite. The premise for this episode is pretty simple, Earth has been stolen and moved into the Medusa Cascade by the daleks. The Doctor must try to figure out what's happening by confronting the Shadow Proclamation. Meanwhile Earth's heroes (the Torchwood team, Sarah Jane, Martha and Rose) must attempt to contact the doctor in the time of crisis. This episode also sees the return of the infamous villain Davros (who is used a little too sparingly in my opinion). Make no bones about it, this isn't a well written, well rounded Doctor who episode like those written by Moffet, however cheap thrills are gained from seeing all the spin off shows come together and seeing massive dalek numbers invading Earth in scenes fitting for a movie. The problem is that all this is fitted into 50 mins so there's no real deep storyline development. Rose, again, feels rather shortchanged considering her comeback has been continously hinted at throughout series 4. However the doctor and her do get one emotional moment where they (rather cheesely but I loved it) run towards each other, however they are interupted by a Dalek shooting the Doctor down and him beggining to 'regenerate'.

This leads on to Journey's End, the final episode. Needless to say the Stolen Earth did a good job of building up enough excitement for this episode, and it would seem that all Russel T. Davies actually had to do is give it a reasonable conclusion and it would have been a great finale. However instead we are given one of the worst episodes from the new Doctor Who, largely because it doesn't deliver on things it has desperately tried to set up. The first thing that's wrong with this is all the cliffhangers from the last episode are resolved in about 10 seconds each, leaving you feeling rather cheated. Secondly everything from the past episode appears to have been a waste of time. Torchwood are quickly written out, Martha is sent on a trip to Germany with the Osterhagen Key which turns out to be a ludicrous dead end subplot, Mickey and Jackie are brought in despite the fact there are clearly too many chracters to manage already, the shadow proclamation never reapear and Rose is barely given ten minutes screen time. Frankly the episode is quite boring, with the dramatic action sequences from the previous episode being swapped with pointless wads of dialogue between the doctor and Davros. Then there's the rediculous plot that a second 'human' doctor is created, and Donna becomes part timelord. The daleks are then quickly got rid off in a lazy plot deivce where a few switches are flicked and a load of techno babble is spewed. This has utterly destroyed any menace the Daleks once had, they are just too easily beaten. But the ultimate tragedy with this episode is the shambles that is the conclusion. First of Earth is pulled back through space and experiences nothing more than a few rumbles (where has Doctor Who's pseudo science gone)? Despite the promise, no-one actually dies (again), which is rather negative to the overall plot as despite the huge threat that is the dalek invasion, no main character is actually killed by one. The worst conclusion, however, is that of Rose. Having had no real moments with the doctor she is then taken back to the parallel world and has the second doctor dumped on her. She is then left there once again...this time with a doctor wannabe (he's not the doctor! He's got traits of Donna). I can't understand why they chose to devalue the wonderful ending of Doomsday by bringing back the character of Rose for no good reason, and then giving her a fob off conclusion. Surely Rose alone would have been a better finale, rather than having to share the screen with every new Who assistant. The only ending that is handled well is that of Donna, which is a heartbreaking ending to a brilliant assistant.

Overall Turn Left is ok, the Stolen Earth is enjoyable nonsensical fun and Journeys End is a disaster. How can a storyline which had so much promise be delivered so badly? Where did it all go wrong...?

brilliant!
This film had me glued to the screen!
Daleks are finally back and so are the Doctor's companions - YEY!
This was the best DVD of Doctor Who I have ever seen!
Keep it up!

'The Children of Time are moving against us!'
This is the fourth (and final) instalment of the fourth season of Doctor Who, featuring 3 episodes starring David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor and Catherine Tate as his companion Donna Noble.

First comes `Turn Left', which could be seen as a stand alone episode, but for me, makes up the first instalment of the epic 3-part season finale. It's a very interesting episode. Fairly similar to `The Butterfly Effect' in it's premise. Execution wise, it's brilliant. I love the way writer Russell T Davies managed to re-use past events of his Doctor Who era and completely turn them on their head, resulting in quite possibly the bleakest episode of Doctor Who ever. The episode is notable for two things, in my opinion. An absolutely stunning performance from Catherine Tate as Donna Noble, combining so many different emotions, veering seamlessly from despair to anger to hope. It was also nice to see a more Runaway Bride-esque version of Donna again. It was like coming full circle and also demonstrated brilliantly how far Donna has come as a character since meeting the Doctor. It also pin-pointed the moment that I decided that Donna was my favourite companion ever to board the TARDIS... sorry Sarah Jane! It also sees the return of Rose Tyler, played by Billie Piper, last seen trapped in a parallel universe at the end of Series 2. Oh, and just wait `til you see the cliffhanger... 10/10

The Stolen Earth/Journey's End follow straight-on from `Turn Left', and make up the most epic, ambitious finale to date. Okay, so they're not perfect, but for me, they come close. It's so good to see so many characters together on screen again. Such a massive cast, including David, Catherine, Billie, Freema Ageyman, John Barrowman, Elisabeth Sladen, Penelope Wilton, Camille Coduri, Noel Clarke, Bernard Cribbins, etc. Brilliant. And every single one of them rises to the challenge and acts their socks off. As you'd expect from RTD, the script is top-notch - exciting one minute, devastating the next. It also features the return of the Daleks creator, Davros, brought to life wonderfully by Julian Bleach who gives a chilling performance. This is the best incarnation of Davros we've seen since the Michael Wisher original in `Genesis of the Daleks', and it is clear that Bleach used that `blue-print' for his inspiration. The Daleks also return, en-mass, and are probably the best they've been in New Who. I won't give away too much about the finale, but for me, it's a joyous piece of television. One for the fanboys anyway! 10/10

So, Davros, Daleks, a massive cast of familiar faces and a brilliant conclusion to possibly the best season of the revived Doctor Who make this a must-buy DVD. Highly recommended.