Doctor Who - The Complete 9th Season - Blu-ray

Content: The Doctor (Peter Capaldi) and his companion Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman) are back for new adventures, once again saving various worlds or even the entire universe from doom. Whether the heavens are frozen, the Doctor must venture into the heart of the Dalek Empire, they face ghosts in an underwater station, or Earth is threatened by the Zygons, a dangerous race of shape-shifters, the Doctor and Clara together always find a way out of even the most dicey situations. But in a mysterious street in the middle of London, of all places, the two encounter a deadly challenge that they don't seem to be up to. And so it's time to say goodbye. only to whom?

When the 56-year-old Scotsman Peter Capaldi was signed on as the twelfth Time Lord at the end of the seventh season, there was a lot of skepticism, especially among fans of predecessor Matt Smith. It quickly became clear that Capaldi's Doctor would be quite different from his younger predecessors. And also his relationship with Clara develops on a different level than it was the case with the Eleventh Doctor. This took a bit of getting used to in the beginning, but has developed nicely in the ninth season. The Doctor may be a bit grumpier and more cynical, but that only makes him more interesting as a character. And Clara has now finally learned to deal with these new sides of the Time Lord and has become a more than equal companion for him.

Of course, the two also meet some old acquaintances in the new episodes. After all, you want to give the fans what they want to see. A season without Daleks would be unimaginable. Nevertheless, the creators around Steven Moffat have also tried to try something new here and there. For example, there is one episode with a found footage look, while another episode is almost entirely carried by Peter Capaldi alone. An experiment that has some lengths, but overall makes for one of the most interesting episodes of the season. In general, what can be said about the quality of the season is that, as is so often the case with Doctor Who, it varies from episode to episode, sometimes quite significantly. Although the creators are trying to diversify and mix sci-fi with horror, comedy or classic adventure stories, there are simply some stories that don't work as well as others. And at some points it is also clear that the series after all these years simply repeats itself and has little really new to offer.

Dennoch: Season 9 of the new Doctor Who series proves once again that the cult series even after more than 50 years can still fascinate, entertain and surprise and has its own charm, which no other series could copy so far. Even if there are not only highlights and especially the double episodes drag on a bit, the adventures of the doctor are still a lot of fun. And even if the end of the season leaves a bittersweet impression - why, of course, is not revealed here - one is already looking forward to season 10, with which Peter Capaldi allegedly wants to say goodbye to this role. But until that happens, you can enjoy this great season box set, which clearly deserves an Absolutely Worth Watching.

Picture + Sound: Technically, there's no cause for complaint in the conversion of the new episodes for the Blu-ray. The picture is absolutely clean, detail sharpness is at a high level, and colors come across very powerfully. For a TV series, this is truly excellent. The sound is in a pleasantly dynamic DTS-HD 5.1 mix, which repeatedly offers really good, powerful surround effects, but at the same time also transports the dialogue well understandable from the speakers. For this there is a very clear: Very good!

Extras: With the bonus material, the creators have given themselves as with the previous season boxes really a lot of effort. So fans are offered next to some audio commentaries still almost 5 hours of really worth seeing extras. The first disc contains trailers, a cut scene (approx. 0:43 min.), a review of season 8 (approx. 3:41 min.), a prequel to season 9 (approx. 6:22 min.) and a prologue to the first episode (approx. 1:57 min.). There's also an in-depth interview by Will Weaton (Star Trek: Next Generation, Big Bang Theory) with the two leads (approx. 42:11 min.), a behind-the-scenes look at the first two episodes (approx. 5:55 min.), and a featurette on the Daleks (approx. 5:56 min.). And that's just the beginning.

Disc 2 offers more cut scenes (approx. 3:30 min.), a behind-the-scenes look at Episode 3 & 4 (approx. 8:22 mins), two trailers, plus another interview (approx. 11:54 mins), a look at the prop room (approx. 2:01 mins) and an exclusive visit to the set of the TARDIS (approx. 11:19 mins). Disc 3 also has cut scenes (approx. 9:14 min.), a behind-the-scenes look at episodes 5 & 6 (approx. 8:26 min.), trailers, and clips from a fan show (approx. 15:30 min.) on board.

Similarly, the fourth disc continues. The highlight here, besides the cut scenes (approx. 2:40 min.), the behind-the-scenes look at episodes 7 & ( (approx. 8:18 min.) as well as 9 (approx. 6:56 min.) and the trailers for the episodes, is the recording of the panel from Comic Con in San Diego (approx. 59:18 min.) - an absolute must for fans! Disc 5 again offers the usual program of cut scenes (approx. 8:35 min.), behind-the-scenes features on episode 10 (approx. 6:48 min.) as well as 11 & 12 (approx. 13:10 min.) and trailers for the individual episodes. Also included is a short documentary about a screenwriter's work on the series (approx. 14:02 min.), a featurette about Clara (approx. 18:27 min.) and the special Sublime Online (approx. 21:57 min.).

On the final disc, which includes the Christmas special, there is a making of to go with it (approx. 19:29 mins), a cut scene (approx. 0:53 mins), a trailer, and a featurette on River Song (approx. 9:42 mins). Very good!

Conclusion: Doctor Who is still cult and extremely successful after more than 50 years. The latest season isn't among the best the series has to offer so far, but it's a lot of fun due to some really good ideas and the coherent chemistry between Peter Capaldi's Doctor and Jenna Coleman's Clara. The Blu-ray box presents the episodes in very good picture and sound quality and also has again a lot of worth seeing extras to offer. For this there is a very clear: Absolutely recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp