Doctor Who: The Collection - Season 15 Limited Edition Box Set

It’s almost here. Mine has been dispatched (I ordered from HMV this time). Anyone else getting this? What stories or features are you looking forward to the most?

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I’m a standard edition guy simply because I missed the limited Season 12 and only started collecting them when they started doing the standards.

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Although I do have Season 24 as limited edition because, as everyone here recognises, it is the GOAT.

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Friend recommended these to protect my blurays & I am also recommending them lol

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If you order it via the Amazon link on here, I get a small commission :smiley:

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Email from Royal Mail. Mine has arrived. Out for the day so it will be my lazy Sunday viewing

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Here it is.

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As we already have the complete classics on DVD, this extra collection seemed like too much of an undertaking. So I have only collected Seasons 19, 23 and 24 and had each signed by their corresponding Doctors - it was how I justified buying them :joy:



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Cool. I have never had any Doctor Who on physical media before so am buying most of these, eventually.

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Darkness and Light – The Life of Graham Williams is a fantastic documentary. A real insight into the man. So thoughtfully made as all these feature length documentaries are.

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Really looking forward to watching this - the Douglas Adams, JNT and especially David Whittaker docs were fantastic. Great to hear a good review for it.

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The new Horror of Fang Rock making of documentary is really good (watching with popcorn & an IPA lol)

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For all that I’m aware that season 15 isn’t held in the highest of regard, I absolutely adore it! I’m hugely nostalgic about this season, and rate three of the stories as all-time classics:

The Horror of Fang Rock is just a sublime lesson in claustrophobic sci fi horror in a rich historical setting. The upgrade FX here really do add to the viewing experience. Not necessary, but beautifully done. The reimagined Rutan is, in my humble opinion, a masterpiece. I love it so much! Utterly fantastic design that is entirely loyal and respectful to the original. This story has lost none of its power. Pretty much perfection in my book!

Image of the Fendahl is a deeply atmospheric mood piece, borrowing heavily from Quatermass and the Pit, folk horror tropes and the like. The low key music allows other sounds to come to the fore, specifically the hum and bleep of the time scanner. This lends a sense of menace and builds the tension deliciously for me. ALL this and Granny Tyler to boot. “That ain’t the way to make a fruitcake.”

The Sun Makers is Doctor Who at its most savage and socially aware. The script is a total delight, the concepts are rich and bitingly satirical. For all that the setting is somewhat shoddy, it weirdly fits the story. Henry Woolf is extraordinary value as The Collector and Richard Leech really hams it up splendidly as Gatherer Hade. Also, a story that makes fantastic use of Leela.

Season 15 is such a break from the Hinchcliffe years. For all their quality and consistency (despite occasional blips), the episodes in seasons 13 and 14 felt much more uniform in terms of overall aesthetic and tone. There’s a real sense, from season 15 onwards, of wild creativity, exploration, big concept science fiction and otherworldly travels. Is it perfect? Nope. But it’s a damned good ride, and it all starts here!

Got to say that this collection set really makes the most of these episodes. As always, plenty of lovely VAM. You can see the love that has gone into this set. It is my sincerest hope that the set facilitates something of a re-evaluation of this run of stories.

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Honestly, agree 100%. There isn’t a single episode in this season that I don’t like - yes, even Underworld!! I think most people are being mean when they dismiss this series outright, it really has some gems in it and Leela absolutely shines. The Invisible Enemy is one of my all time favourites even though it’s silly <3

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I’m so pleased to read this! Thank you @sircarolyn !

I cannot help but grin the whole way through The Invisible Enemy. It’s bonkers BUT it’s bright, creative sci fi with fantastic physical effects for the spacecraft etc. Episode 1 deserves a huge amount of praise and eps 2-4 are constantly entertaining. As a small child, I even found the giant prawn to be a frightening monster. The scene back on Titan, with the nucleus trapped in the breeding chamber contains some lovely model work and is pretty revolting if you stop to think about it.

Likewise, Underworld has such a poor reputation, yet I find it creative and thematically quite rich. Of course the production struggles once they’re stuck with green screen, but I can’t fault its ambition. I’d rather live in a world with Underworld than a world without.

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Honestly I think people sh*t on The Invisible Enemy so much because it looks really silly and the costumes are dumb, but really if bad effects and hammy acting is enough to turn you off, why in the world are you watching DW…?

They aren’t perfect episodes by any means, but as you say, the ideas in there are very interesting and the writing and directing isn’t as bad as reputation would have you believe. As, I tend to find, is true for a lot of popularly hated episodes.

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Plus, do you see the parallels in ambition, diversity and creativity between the Graham Williams years and Doctor Who under RTD? I do. Very distinctive tones for each story. Very different colour palettes from week to week, story to story. Big ideas. Sometimes ambition gets ahead of itself, but I LOVE my Doctor Who like that. It’s experimental, unpredictable and frequently brilliant!

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I’m going to be Mr Pedantic and point out there is no The in Horror of Fang Rock :smiling_imp:

Oh and I love Image of the Fendahl. Ma Tyler is wonderful!

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