CD REVIEW - DOCTOR WHO - SERIES 4: THE SPECIALS


Doctor Who - Series 4: The Specials
Music by Murray Gold
Silva Screen Records SILCD1340
Disc 1 - 21 Tracks 52:12 mins
Disc 2 - 26 Tracks 64:19 mins

The final Doctor Who series to feature David Tennant as the last Time Lord was something of a disappointment. Instead of a proper series, we were treated to just three adventures (the last split into two, airing on Christmas and New Year's Days), none of which were particularly inspiring. In fact, the last one was almost irritating, its long, drawn-out ending coming close to that of the final Lord of the Rings film. He was only regenerating, guys, like he's done many times before - not dying as such! Personally, I never really liked Tennant's Doctor and he had become almost unbearable as his episodes (and specials) progressed, so I was glad to see the back of him. Young Matt Smith has replaced him, and I'm finding him more tolerable - just - must be my advancing years!
Murray Gold has written the music for the character ever since he was resurrected and has produced some memorable stuff, with the able assistance of Ben Foster and the musicians of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, here supplemented by the Crouch End Festival Chorus. This splendid double-disc set presents their efforts for the specials, the first disc featuring music from The Next Doctor and Planet of the Dead, with Disc 2 featuring the scores from the two-parter The End of Time. As always, there is great variety in the music, with high adventure and exciting action moments, stunningly beautiful interludes, and not a little comedy, with also reprises of some favourite themes from past series. And of course there's a good dose of pathos to the scenes that lead to and see Tennant's Doctor take his leave. It's all great stuff, as anyone familiar with the soundtracks of previous Doctor Who series (all on Silva Screen, of course) will appreciate, and I just wish I had time to go into detail here; but I'm still playing catch-up and therefore will have to do the next best thing by pointing you in the direction of some more detailed reviews of the collection at http://blogcritics.org/music/article/music-review-doctor--who-series-4/ and www.denofgeek.com/Reviews/145914/doctor_who_series_4_soundtrack_cd_review.html.
The collection comes complete with the usual splendidly illustrated accompanying booklet, featuring the composer's introductory notes and cue-by-cue guide to the music presented.
Go to www.silvascreenmusic.com, where you can sample the tracks before purchasing your copy on CD or as a digital download.
Incidentally, the label has announced the release of yet another double-disc presentation of Doctor Who music, this time from Matt Smith's adventures in Series 5. The album will be released on November 8th and I hope by then to be able to bring you a more detailed review of this music.