Disturbing yet enthralling

Best movie ever!

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

It's an unusual thing about Doctor Who that there can be so many different versions of the Doctor besides the ''official'' versions. Here in 2003 there lurks the mysterious Shalka Doctor, an alternate ninth incarnation, played by Richard E Grant and visible only by animation. He has his own TARDIS interior, sonic screwdriver, companions and title sequence. In fact until Russell T Davies showed up this Doctor was THE Ninth Doctor.The plot of Scream of the Shalka is typical ClassicWho fare: the Doctor arrives, meets some monsters, stops them and then he's off. In this edition he also acquired a new companion in the form of Alison joining him in his TARDIS where there also resides the Master in an android body. There's also some involvement from UNIT but they prove that without one of the Lethbridge-Stewarts they're little more than ''Red Shirts''.REG's performance is of a Doctor who appears disinterested but will still get the job done, even if he may need an incentive. Can he be trusted? What's happened to the Doctor since his previous McGann-shaped incarnation? That's the question that Paul Cornell sets out to ask but not necessarily answering it. I'm reminded of the "Am I a good man?" arc from series eight and the Twelfth Doctor. In fact the Shalka and Twelfth Doctors are quite similar personalities in lots of ways.The true highlight of the show is Derek Jacobi's Master. It's a shame he doesn't get much screen time but he's great during a limited period, just like his official Master from Utopia.This is an unusual look into what could've been but now never will be, an important lesson for Doctor Who obsessives to learn about. In a universe where the show never got back on the BBC as the mighty juggernaut of British Television it is today then this is how the show would exist now.It's a shame we never got more of this Doctor. All we have are three stories. Scream of the Shalka and its novelisation, a short story online called The Feast of the Stone (which is really really good) and Simon Clark's unfinished Blood of the Robots. I wish he'd blow the dust off his scripts and treat us to that sometime!

Doctor Who: Scream of the Shalka is one of my all-time favorite Doctor Who episodes and that's saying a lot because I'm not normally a fan of animated features unless they're from Disney! I was more than a bit skeptical going into this. A few of the reasons that I enjoy the live action series so much is the little nuances and amusing facial expressions of the actors on the screen. It's impossible to catch the twinkle of the eye or even something like the movement hair. Surprisingly, even though these details weren't present in this feature, the actors voicing the Doctor, Alison, and even the Master really brought the characters to life. Richard E. Grant, Sophie Okonedo and Derek Jacobi are just a few of the famous actors who lent their voice talents to this little masterpiece and later starred alongside the Doctor in the live action series. You know how great they were in the new series so you can imagine how wonderful they were in this animated bridge between classic and new Doctor.Now for the monsters -- the Shalka. The Shalka, a reptilian-like alien species didn't have much to say, but as you may have guessed from the title of the DVD, their screams are quite grotesque -- not to mention the fact that they took over human bodies to lead earth and humanity into death and darkness. Aliens that can grow out of human foreheads is enough to give anyone the shivers! The Shalka are indeed a very frightening alien, up there with the Weeping Angels and the Silence. I was very impressed with the animation, the story-line, the monsters, and each of the characters. As much as I enjoyed this, I was a little disappointed that the ending was left open for more adventures with the Doctor and Alison but to my knowledge, there never were any. Still, Doctor Who: Scream of the Shalka is yet another wonderful DVD for anyone who loves Doctor Who and for those who want to build their DVD library with shows the whole family can watch and enjoy together.~ My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars ~ *I received a complimentary copy from the publisher/publicist for review purposes. I received no compensation. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.*

I hate reviews where the watcher/reader clearly hasn't seen or read the whole thing. Unfortunately I must now deliver such a review. I had wanted to watch the entirety of this animation but I found myself unable to do so. Not only didn't it engage me but within 3 'parts' I found myself starting to have negative feelings about Dr Who...This seemed to have everything in it that people have taken the Mick out of Whovians for. The Dr Who animated episodes that I saw were stilted and frankly a huge disappointment. I won't say anything more as it is terrible to badmouth something someone has put a large amount of effort into.Thank goodness for the news series and thank goodness they decided to ditch this animated concept.Perhaps watching this twice a day may help with withdrawal symptoms from the excellence new series... the problem is you might be so turned off by it that you decide not to tune in for the Christmas Invasion.

...however I have just watched the new series of Dr Who, 2005, the last episode was aired today as it goes. It was an excellent series and the writing, acting and production were first class!The writer for the entire series was Russell T Davies, creator of "Queer as Folk".Christopher Eccleston (The Dr) decided shortly after the first episode was aired that he would not do a second series so the last episode features a famous Time Lord regeneration phase at the very end, the Dr for the 2006 series emerges as none other than David Tennant (mentioned as the Caretaker's voice in this listing and recently seen in "Casanova" on the BBC). I highly recommend the series aired in 2005, a cracking return to TV after the last series in 1989 (when it looked like Dr Who was to be canned for good!) and if "Casanova" was a judgement call then Tennant will be every bit as good in 2006!