Written by Alan Barnes
Directed by Gary Russell

Doctor Who is a British science fiction television series which has been around off and on since 1963. The main character is just known as “The Doctor” and is a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey. This means he travels through time to various places. One of his favorite places to visit is Earth. Typically, he has a companion traveling with him, usually female, sometimes male, sometimes one of each. He travels in a time machine known as a “Tardis” which is disguised as a British Police booth.

A Time Lord can regenerate if fatally wounded, which has accounted for all the different actors who have played The Doctor throughout the years.  Doctor Who: The Infinite Quest is an animated spin-off from Series Three with David Tennant as the Doctor and Freema Agyeman as Martha Jones.  The two voice the animated characters here.

The two have just wrapped up dealing with a space pirate named Baltazar and head off to Earth.  Unfortunately, they haven’t heard the last of Baltazar, who is intent on now recovering an ancient spaceship that has the power to grant its possessor everything their heart desires – something dangerous in the wrong hands to be sure.

Doctor Who: The Infinite Quest is lacking in many areas to be sure. The story doesn’t feel as developed as it should be, especially considering it comes out of the newer incarnation of the series, which breeds high expectations.  At just a 45-minute running time, it’s about the same length as an episode of the show, but with it being animated it felt like there was the ability to expand the story much more.  The animation was rather flat to me and felt like it should have been richer with more detail.

Where it makes up for this is in the talent involved. David Tennant and Freema Agyeman are as good as ever in their roles and manage to do as good of a job voicing animated characters as they do when they are acting out live roles. Anthony Head is superb as the voice of the villain. Anyone who’s caught him in his other role on the series – as the evil headmaster in the episode School Reunion – knows what he can add to the show and he doesn’t let down here. I believe a lesser talent would have left the role of Baltazar lacking in many ways.

Another plus is the packaging of the DVD. Like all the other Doctor Who DVDs, this doesn’t take shortcuts in terms of DVD extras.  It’s loaded with background information on this animated feature as well as interviews with those who participated and more.

I think Doctor Who: The Infinite Quest could have been better, but it does fairly well regardless. I would have liked a bit richer animation which I think would have bumped it up a star in my eyes. Still, for fans of the series, it’s worth watching.



EXTRAS

• Character Profiles
• Actor Interviews (David Tennant, Freema Agyeman, Anthony Head, Toby Longworth, Gary Russell)
• Animation Tests
• Photo Gallery
· Previews
• Behind the Scenes – With the Animators
• Behind the Scenes – With the Voice Artists (featuring Barney Harwood)
• Dialogue Recording – Episode 1
• Dialogue Recording – Episode 9
• Animatics & Deleted Scenes