Doctor Who: The Complete Eleventh Series, now available on Blu-ray, introducedJodie Whittakeras the series’ 13th Doctor, and the first female lead for the long-running sci-fi show. New and returning fans alike will find a lot to love in Whittaker’s performance and the many and varied stories this new cast of characters tackles throughout the season. Also starringBradley Walsh(Coronation Street),Tosin Cole(Star Wars: The Force Awakens),andMandip Gill(The Flood),Doctor Whocarries on the proud tradition of the series in the 11th run, a perfect addition to your home video collection.
The three-disc set includes all 10 episodes from the recent series, with “The Woman Who Fell to Earth” kicking things off and ending with “The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos.” Sharp-eyed fans will note that the series release doesnotinclude either the lead-in episode/Christmas special “Twice Upon a Time”, which featuresPeter Capaldi’s last hurrah as the Doctor, nor does it include “Resolution”, 2019’s New Year’s special. The Blu-ray set boasts a ton of bonus content, however, most of which can be found in the curated episode commentaries; more content can be found throughout the three-disc collection in the form of featurettes and fun behind-the-scenes peeks with the cast and crew. The episodes themselves are absolutely worth a watch (and rewatch), while the bonus content makes the Series 11 Blu-ray an easy buy for fans of the series.
Here’s a look at the special features you’ll get, followed by our more detailed breakdown below:
Whether it’s your first time watchingDoctor Whoor just the latest experience in a long line of fantastic sci-fi stories, the eleventh series honors the show’s core identity and brings it into contemporary times in a big way. Obviously, Whittaker taking on the title role is a huge step forward for the franchise, but the supporting cast goes a long way toward bringing some fresh faces to the screen as well. Alongside Whittaker’s Doctor are Walsh’s “grandad” Graham O’Brien with Cole’s bicycle-challenged Ryan Sinclair and Gill’s law enforcement officer Yasmin Khan. This team-up pairs two young people of color with the 58-year-old Walsh as they assist the recently descended Doctor, making for four leading roles that defy the standard demographics.
More than “diversity for diversity’s sake”,Doctor Whouses its cast of fully fleshed-out characters to play up some social commentary. The most obvious case is in the third episode of the season, “Rosa”, in which the team travels to Montgomery, Alabama in 1955 and end up playing a part in Rosa Parks' famous stand for civil rights. Rather than just hit viewers over the head with the importance of the story, they work in side stories for their characters as people of color who find themselves out of sorts in a highly racist environment. Or there’s the episode “Demons of the Punjab” where Yasmin gets a chance to reconnect with her grandmother during the violent partitioning of India and Pakistan, a story which has both a personal and a national focus at the same time. The episodes don’t dig too deeply into the thematic material but do a serviceable job of telling familiar tales and historical truths from a new point of view.
But that’s not to say it’s all historical fiction and no sci-fi fun; far from it. There are giant spiders, literal witch hunts, deadly games on alien planets, and android servants with an ax to grind. In other words, there’s a lot of fun to be had in these 10 episodes. And if you want to take a deeper dive still, there’s a lot of bonus material for you to enjoy.
Commentary
“The Woman Who Fell to Earth” - DirectorJamie Childsand starJodie Whittakeroffer commentary.
“Rosa” - Commentary comes from writerMalorie Blackman, starMandip Gill, and producerAlex Mercer.
Closer Looks- Behind-the-scenes featurettes
“The Woman Who Fell to Earth”
“The Ghost Monument”
“Arachnids in the UK”
Video Diaries- Cute, one-minute, behind-the-scenes videos featuring some of the cast and crew.
“Bradley on a Train”
“Mandip’s South Africa Video Diary”
“Becoming the Doctor”
“Regenerating Doctor Who”
“Directing Doctor Who”
“The Tsuranga Conundrum”
“Demons of the Punjab”
Closer Look
“Kerblam!”
“The Witchfinders”
Closer Looks
“It Takes You Away”
“The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos”
“Friends of the Doctor”
“Everything You Need to Know about the TARDIS”
“Making the Theme Tune”
“Best of Social”
Here’s the official synopsis for the latest series ofDoctor Who:
Meet the new Doctor. The universe just got more exciting.
The dazzling Thirteenth Doctor (Jodie Whittaker,Broadchurch, Wired) falls out of the sky just in time to thwart an alien huntsman who is stalking human prey. With little time to spare and the population of Sheffield (and Earth!) at risk, the Doctor recruits three new friends – gentle Ryan, no-nonsense Yasmin, and Ryan’s step-grandfather, Graham – who soon feel more like family than companions. Join the foursome in ten fresh and enormously thrilling roller-coaster adventures across time and the universe.
