Doctor Who Blu-ray review: Season 26 presents an extensive look at the end of Classic Who

We look at Classic Doctor Who’s final season on Blu-ray. Is it a box set worth purchasing?

Image Courtesy BBC Studios, BritBox

It may only feature four stories, but the Blu-ray release of Doctor Who’s final season from its original run features a wealth of material that all fans will be interested in.

It’s been a couple of months since the release of Doctor Who‘s twenty-sixth season on Blu-ray in North America (or Doctor Who: Sylvester McCoy – Complete Season Three, as it’s been branded over here). But I’ve finally made my way through not just the original TV stories, but also many of its special features. Is this season worth the purchase on Blu-ray?

If it was just the stories themselves, definitely not. There’s nothing wrong with them – in fact, all of the serials range from entertaining to near-perfect examples of the best of Classic Who. It’s incredibly ironic that it ended when it did, just when the show was starting to find some real direction for the first time in a long while.

However, in terms of picture quality, it never rises above DVD level. This is mainly because the show was entirely shot on video at this point, and high-definition isn’t possible with any of these stories. They look good, at least, but not worth buying the Blu-ray for. Naturally, that’s where the extras come in.

Multiple versions

The first thing that leaps out beyond the original serials themselves is that, for three of the four stories included, there are multiple editions.

Along with including the original TV episodes as broadcast, both Battlefield and The Curse of Fenric feature extended episodes originally released on VHS, plus special editions with new effects released on DVD. There’s even a workprint of Ghost Light, which doesn’t exactly make the story more understandable, but it does add to it, at least.

So essentially, what would ordinarily be a four-disc box set instead features seven discs – six for the stories and their multiple versions, plus one containing additional extras.

An impressive collection

Keep in mind though that this isn’t a case where all of the special features are included on one disc. There are a huge amount of extras spread throughout this entire box set – something that’s been true of all the Blu-ray releases of the Classic Series so far.

It’s not surprising, as many of them are from the original DVD releases. Generally, the imported extras still hold up rather well. The documentaries for Battlefield, Ghost Light and Survival are all extremely informative and fascinating. Endgame is a strong solid glimpse of both the final days of Doctor Who and where the writers wanted to go next when it was canceled. And Stripped for Action is a great look at the Seventh Doctor’s life in comic form – something that became even more important when the show went off the air. These are just some of the special features included, and they’re still fantastic to watch.

Fresh reactions

Of course, this Blu-ray set doesn’t just include imported special features. There are many that are brand new and exclusive to this box set. These will be the biggest draw for many fans. So are these exclusives worth the purchase?

A regular exclusive for the Blu-rays is Behind the Sofa – essentially, Doctor Who reaction vids from people who were or are still involved with the show. Reacting to Season 26 are Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred, who reflect on their time as Seven and Ace; former companions Anneke Wills, Janet Fielding, and Sarah Sutton; and New Series writers Joy Wilkinson and Pete McTighe.

To be honest, the Behind the Sofa videos always feel the least essential to the Blu-rays. That’s not to say that the reactions aren’t informative or fascinating. (McTighe guiding Wilkinson through the Classic Series is a textbook example of how to introduce a New Series fan to the earlier era of the show.) But generally speaking, how much you’d enjoy these depends on how much you enjoy watching reaction vids in general.

Highlights

A considerably more informative special feature is The Writers’ Room. Featuring a reunion between the writers and script editor of Doctor Who‘s final season, it’s a fascinating look at the former writing team, how well they worked together, and what they think of each others’ stories. They’re all very open about what they think of their own stories and how well they worked on-screen, and it’s clear that there’s still a strong bond between this particular team.

There’s also Buried Treasure: 30 Years of Fenric, a brand new documentary on The Curse of Fenric. This new hour-long feature explores not just the making of the story, including how both the extended and special editions came about. But it also features a lovely revisit to the original locations with Sylvester McCoy (the Doctor), Sophie Aldred (Ace), and Tomasz Borkowy (Captain Sorin). Borkowy is especially a joy to watch, and it’s clear that he still has a huge amount of love for both the story and his fellow actors three decades later.

But the real highlight of this box set is Showman – The Life of John Nathan-Turner. This is an incredibly extensive look at Doctor Who‘s longest-running producer, told by so many people who knew him, whether they worked with him on Who or were even his close friends during childhood. It’s a rather emotional watch, covering the highs and lows of this man’s career, and features more than a few surprises. It’s an absolutely essential watch, one that’s worth the purchase of the Blu-ray alone.

A recommended purchase

But of course, there are many, many other reasons why this box set is worth getting. The stories themselves still hold up extremely well, and the fact that you can watch multiple versions to compare is definitely a strong incentive. The wide range of special features both old and new means that there’s something for every fan to enjoy, no matter what their favorite story is.

And – in North America, at least – it’s surprisingly great value for money, at least compared to the DVDs, where copies of individual stories can be hard to find or extremely expensive. So if you want to own a physical copy of this season, even with DVD-level picture quality for the stories themselves, the Blu-ray is still the best option.

So while Doctor Who: The Collection – Season 26 is now hard to find in the UK, Doctor Who: Sylvester McCoy Complete Season Three is still widely available in North America. (If you’re wondering what the difference is between the two, it’s purely packaging. The UK edition looks prettier on the shelf, but the content on the discs is exactly the same, at least.) So if you haven’t got it yet, it’s excellent value for money, and well worth checking out.

Are you a fan of Doctor Who‘s final season of its original run? What’s your favorite story? Have you purchased it on Blu-ray? Let us know in the comments below.