Doctor Who: Series 2 - Volume 3

David Tennant
Billie Piper
Maureen Lipman
Noel Clarke
Roger Lloyd-Pack

Director

Colin Teague; Graeme Harper; Euros Lyn

A disc that features three more superb episodes from David Tennant's first series in the TARDIS, this DVD finds Doctor Who facing one of his deadliest opponents--the Cybermen.

The lethal foes are brought back to life in the first two episodes on this disc, Rise Of The Cybermen and The Age Of Steel. They find the Doctor, Rose and Mickey in an alternative version of Earth, where zeppelins dominate the London skyline and Roger Lloyd Pack's maniac genius is hard at work on an enhanced version of humankind. Ruthlessly harvesting humans, his work is soon revealed as the all-new Cybermen, who are as fatal as ever. And while the two-part story may cut the odd corner here and there, it's nonetheless a triumphant return in an action-packed, tightly scripted story.

However, the real treat on the disc is the lower profile episode, The Idiot's Lantern. Set at the time of Elizabeth II's coronation, the Doctor and Rose find a shop offering strangely low cost television sets, and people worried by rumours of strange goings in. Buoyed by a guest appearance by Maureen Lipman, this is yet another highpoint for an increasingly confident series, by turns clever, sinister and intriguing.

In short, the best disc yet of episodes from the second new series of Doctor Who. And there's the promise of even better around the corner...--Simon Brew