Series 4.5 (2009)

After Series 4 David Tennant was involved in a stage production of "Hamlet" which would limit his availability to work on Doctor Who. Times were changing and it was known that both Tennant and Russell T Davis were going to be leaving the show but they weren't ready to go just yet. Rather than struggle to make a new series in 2009 a set of three specials were commissioned. The Doctor would not have a new companion but would ultimately be on a journey to his inevitable regeneration. There were in fact four episodes including the double feature for Christmas and New Year which saw the whole RTD production say goodbye on a scale never seen before. (If you include the 2008 Christmas special "The Next Doctor" then it was five specials, as released in the DVD box set!)

Since these specials were not commissioned as a full series, when Matt Smith started as the Doctor he started on Series 5 which left these intermediate episodes to simply be referred to as "The Specials" or, as I prefer, Series 4.5

Special 1: Planet Of The Dead

The first episode of Doctor Who to be filmed in Hi-Definition and released on Blu-Ray. Michelle Ryan had been cast as the one-time companion and following her role as the Bionic Woman she did a great job, smooth and sexy and with just the right amount of quintessential Englishness, though people used to her east London accent on Eastenders became irritated by her far better spoken (and actually more natural for her) aristocratic voice...

My comments at the time: [Posted in the blog]

Special 2: The Waters Of Mars

Previews and publicity suggested this one would be grim and maybe too much for kids... certainly a world away from "Planet Of The Dead"

My comments at the time: [Posted in the blog]

Specials 3 & 4: The End Of Time (Parts 1 & 2)

The whole year had built up to this massive finalé. There had been tantalising clues and premonitions throughout, "He is returning, it is returning, they are returning" "He will knock four times" "The gate is waiting" There was speculation and trailer/teasers. It seemed inevitable that the Master was returning but RTD had one secret left to spring on us (and one less surprising but equally powerful revelation). What's more, it would take a double special over Christmas and New Year to finally end the reign of Davies and Tennant...

My comments at the time: [Posted in the blog]