Doctor Who Blu-Ray Box Set Collects Seasons 1 – 7, Upgrades Early Seasons To Full 1080p

By David Wharton | Published

This article is more than 2 years old

WhosThis November is going to be a big one for Doctor Who fans. The much-anticipated, no doubt epic 50th anniversary episode premieres on November 23. That same month will see the airing of An Adventure in Space and Time, a TV movie about the origins and making of Doctor Who, starring Harry Potter’s David Bradley as the spitting image of First Doctor William Hartnell. Now Who fans can add another bullet point to their list of reasons “Why November 2013 Will Be Awesome.” On November 5, BBC Home Entertainment will release the Doctor Who: Series 1 – 7 Limited Edition Blu-ray Giftset.

The set will collect the adventures of the three most recent Doctors: Christopher Eccleston’s Ninth Doctor, David Tennant’s Tenth, and Matt Smith’s Eleventh. More importantly, seasons 1 – 4 have been remastered into full 1080p high definition, which should be a real treat since those seasons had previously only been available on standard DVDs. The set will also include the standalone specials that wrapped up Tennant’s tenure as the Doctor.

All the bonus features from the earlier releases will be included in the set, along with a new Blu-ray disk with three new-to-Blu-ray specials:

  • “The Doctor Who Ultimate List of Lists”
    From BBC AMERICA’s The Brit List – BBC AMERICA’s pop culture correspondent, Asha Leo, is joined by special guest John Barrowman (Torchwood, Doctor Who) to announce the rankings of the “Top Five Companions,” “Top Five Scariest Moments,” “Top Five Best Monsters,” “Top Five Guest Stars” and “Top Five Things You’ll Only See on Doctor Who.”

  • Doctor Who at the Proms 2010
    Doctor Who’s own Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill host a spectacular evening of music from the series played live by the London Philharmonic Orchestra at London’s historic Royal Albert Hall. Includes video projections, appearances by the monsters and a special guest appearance from 11th Doctor Matt Smith. For the first time, the collection will include the full 90-minute concert and has been remastered in 5.1 Surround Sound.

  • Doctor Who: The Best of the Christmas Specials This previously unreleased special from December 2011 takes an inside look at the very best moments from the incredible Doctor Who Christmas specials that have captivated audiences around the world. A collection of fans from the celebrity, comedy, sci-fi and digital worlds discuss their favorite moments from both David Tennant and Matt Smith era Christmas episodes.

You can pre-order the set from Amazon or Amazon UK, with the sets currently going for $314.99 and £167.25, respectively. The U.S. version will also include a snazzy 11th Doctor Universal Remote Control Sonic Screwdriver. You may not be able to open sealed airlocks with it, but you can change the channel. Back onto Doctor Who, presumably.

WhoBox

The press release doesn’t explicitly say it, but I think we can safely assume that this set will not include the 50th anniversary special, given that it comes out weeks before that will first air. Then again — time travel.