Doctor Who: The End Of Time
Netflix Streaming
DVD | Blu-ray
Directed by Euros Lyn
Produced and Written by Russell T. Davies
Starring David Tennant, Matt Smith, Bernard Cribbins, John Simm, Timothy Dalton, Billie Piper, John Barrowman, Elisabeth Sladen, Lawry Lewin, Sinead Keenan
BBC Worldwide
Originally Broadcast: December 25, 2009

It’s not long too go now for the Doctor Who fans that have been waiting very patiently for the beginning of Series 7, featuring Matt Smith reprising his role as the Doctor. So, with the impending premiere about to explode with Daleks and timey-wimey stuffs, I thought it would be an appropriate selection for our Netflix Review this week to take a glance at one of the streaming features containing our favorite Time Lord: The End Of Time.

The End Of Time, fundamentally, is the bookend closing point for the Russell T. Davies and David Tennant era of the series. Matt Smith makes his first appearance at the end, with an iconic and memorable regeneration scene, but the key rationale for this adventure – an episode in two parts – is to bring many of the Davies storyline threads to a close, just before handing over to then-new producer Steven Moffat.

Series 7 of Doctor Who is only days away, but as the fame of the show increases here in the United States (and elsewhere in the world, too!), I’m increasingly coming across new fans who have either just discovered the show, or are curious in checking it out.

Doctor Who might have originated in 1963, but for a while it was absent from the television screen. In 2005, Russell T. Davies spearheaded the return of Doctor Who, with Christopher Eccleston playing the Ninth Doctor.

Although there is some continuity, the coolest thing about Doctor Who is that you don’t necessarily have to cling to it and follow it from first episode to last. I’m paraphrasing Neil Gaiman here, but you can pretty much take a seat to watch any episode and enjoy it as a standalone adventure – essentially, it’s the story of a time traveler, who spins through space and time in a big blue box.

He materializes in places where something is screwy and wicked, but manages to fix everything and save the universe in the most eccentric and/or ridiculous, yet clever, manner imaginable.

So, are you new to Who? If so, check out a few of our recommended episodes below.

Doctor Who: The Waters Of Mars
Netflix Streaming
DVD | Blu-ray
Directed by Graeme Harper
Produced by Russell T. Davies
Starring David Tennant, Lindsay Duncan, Peter O’Brien, Aleksander Mikic
BBC Worldwide
Originally Broadcast: November 15, 2009

With the landing of Curiosity on Mars by NASA during this previous week, and the impending premiere of the next Doctor Who series this month, today’s Netflix Review was an easy choice. The Waters Of Mars is a crowning achievement from the Russell T. Davies and David Tennant epoch of Doctor Who, exploring a darker side of the Time Lord from Gallifrey previously unexplored, while he pops by the Red Planet for a bit a visit.

Set in 2059, the Doctor materializes his TARDIS on Mars with the goal of a bit of wandering and a bit of fun. Companionless since Donna Noble departed, he is essentially running from both responsibility and prophecy, the Doctor comes across the first Earth colony on the Red Planet, named Bowie Base One. Knowing that the base is destined for disaster, the Doctor finds himself in a crucial tipping point – should he interfere with a fixed point in time?

Whether you like or inexplicably loathe Russell T. Davies, you have to admit that the man expanded the world of Doctor Who, working to fill it with a roster of unforgettable side characters like Rose, Jackie Tyler, River Song, The Doctor Donna, Wilfred Mott, Mickey, Martha Jones, and Captain Jack. Davies didn’t just let these characters roam though, he serviced them and made us care and even long for their return appearances.

Doctor Who, in the time of Steven Moffat, has not similarly excelled in this area. Oh sure, the love story of Rory and Amy will be written in the stars and spoken about for the whole of time (or something), and Moffat has more fully realized (for better or worse) River Song, his creation, but they don’t seem right for a spin-off and for the most part we only get snippets of other, smaller characters who we would love to get to know more.

It’s being reported that David Yates and the BBC are set to develop a Doctor Who movie with hopes of turning the property into one of the next big franchises.

Yates is working with BBC Worldwide executive vice president of programming and production Jane Tranter, and potential writers are being looked at right now. Yates says that they’re not rushing the project, and that two to three years will be taken to make sure they get things right, explaining that it will require “quite a radical transformation to take it into the bigger arena.”