I don’t know if a television character has ever received such a lovingly crafted and thorough farewell as David Tennant‘s Tenth Doctor gets in the Doctor Who: The Complete Specials Blu-Ray set. Fans of the series know that rather than offer a fifth season of the latest incarnation of the long-running series, 2009 saw five extra-length specials that would wrap up Tennant’s run.
While standalone adventures of the Doctor, most featuring new companions and completely new storylines, there was a sense of foreboding as we worked our way through them. As with the “Bad Wolf” references that permeated the first Christopher Eccleston season of the current series, Tennant’s Doctor started getting warnings about three knocks.
It all came to a head with the final two specials, which made up the two-part “The End of Time.” By the time these specials were over, the Master had returned and we were offered a glimpse of virtually every significant character Tennant had interacted with in his run at the doctor. It was a very touching, and somewhat controversial, regeneration sequence for the Doctor, but it was a touching tribute to the work Tennant had brought to the character.
That tribute expanded across virtually all of the more than 7 hours of special features in this set. It always amazes me to consider just how huge Doctor Who is in the UK. As a cultural phenomenon it appears to surpass even Star Wars or Star Trek at its height, with merchandising and cultural awareness.
Unlike in the US, Doctor Who airs on a standard broadcast network in the UK, and the people love it. Where science fiction shows in the US struggle to find a wider audience on television (while setting box office records in the theaters strangely enough), it’s mass-market popular over there.
How else could they support Doctor Who Confidential, a companion series often as long as the original episodes themselves. These specials take us behind-the-scenes to the filming of each of the specials, interviewing cast members and production staff as well. Going into the filming of the first special, “The Next Doctor,” everyone knew these five were saying goodbye to Tennant, and that tone permeates throughout all of them.
The Confidential for the final special offered a touching tribute to the entire series so far, as well as the final moments on-set with Tennant himself. The set also features “David Tennant Video Diary – The Final Days,” which offers an alternate look at Tennant’s work throughout the year, as well as a far more personal and intimate look at the actor himself.
Freema Ageyman, who played companion Martha Jones on the third season, served as host for “Doctor Who at The Proms,” a musical tribute to the series. The Proms is an annual celebration of classical music that’s been performed for more than 100 years at the Royal Albert Hall, though I’m not sure they’d seen anything like this spectacle. Daleks and Cyberman and various other denizens of the Who-verse traversed the audience. And just for fun, they premiered a mini-Doctor Who adventure, with Tennant interacting with the orchestra and audience.
Russell T. Davies is back to offer up some more deleted scenes, though there aren’t any amazing revelations in those. Still, it’s always fun to see not only those moments that didn’t make the final cut, but to hear why they were snipped in the closing moments.
Only the two-part “The End of Time” offer audio commentaries, but Tennant is on both, which means we have yet another take on his departure from the series, this one from a more reflective perspective. He’s joined by director Eruos Lyn on both of them, with Catherine Tate (companion Donna Noble) on the first and John Simm (The Master) on the last.
While many fans are sad to see David Tennant leave the role of The Doctor, they can’t be sad at the extended tributes and love shown to him throughout this beautiful Blu-Ray set. We didn’t get any of the types of features you usually expect with Blu-Ray, like video commentary, games and other interactive things, but it doesn’t really seem to matter. The Blu-Ray aspect is worth it to see the specials in stunning HD, and they still managed to pack hours and hours of extras on the 5-disc set.
Clacked by Jason Hughes 
on Feb 21, 2010 @ 14:37 EST5EDT
