The Collection
- You may be looking for the short story.
The Collection was a series of Blu-ray box sets. Each set collected a season from Doctor Who.
Set description
Sets were released in the UK as "Doctor Who: The Collection" followed by the season number. Each set comes in identical cardboard packaging, with artwork displaying the Doctor superimposed by villians from the season on the front and a notable moment from the season on the back. The spine of each box featured clean artwork of the Doctor's face from the cover (except season 23, where due to an oversight the villians were added by mistake), the Blu-ray, BBC and Doctor Who logos, the words "The Collection", the season number and another BBC logo at the bottom.
Opening the box reveals the discs, which each have an image featuring characters from the specific story, and are stored in a flippable disc tray stuck to the right side of the interior. Behind the disc tray is an image of the face of the relevant Doctor, which can be seen by removing the last disc.
On the left side of the box interior, there is an openable card case, which is sealed with plastic Velcro and opens horizontally. The front of this case features artwork with the TARDIS, taken from a memorable or significant moment from the season. Behind this cover is another piece of artwork, with the type of artwork varying from season to season. Some seasons, such as 12 and 19, used a montage of the main characters from the season. Usually though, they featured another memorable or significant moment from the season. This artwork is on two flaps, which open out vertically. Stored underneath is a booklet, which featured the same artwork as the vertical flaps. This booklet contained an introduction to the season, lists of special features and a detailed article on each story, along with various images. This booklet is tucked in front of a small diorama of the TARDIS console room from the season.
The box has a cardboard wrap, called a J-card, which helps protect the box from wear and tear. The back of the J-card is the same height as the box, while the front and sides are about a quarter of the height. The back of the J-card features a description of the season, a list of new special features and technical specifications. The J-card can be removed and optionally discarded, revealing the cover unencumbered by branding, logos or text. The spine of the J-card features the season number, the BBFC age rating and the BBC logo.
In Australia, the logo and cover text were reduced in size to accommodate the Australian age rating on the front cover. The Season 12 and 19 releases matched that of the UK release, minus the J-card, which was slightly different. Subsequent releases, starting with season 18, were put out in two separate styles. One of these was a slipcase style, with a grey sleeve replacing the interior card case, resulting in a loss of several pieces of artwork. The other was a standard Blu-ray packaging style. However, the discs remained the same.
In the US, the sets were numbered based on the actor playing the Doctor - for example, season 10 was released in the US as "Doctor Who: Jon Pertwee Complete Season Four". As with later Australian releases, these sets come in standard Blu-ray packaging, resulting in varied widths depending on the number of discs when compared to the uniform width of the UK packaging. The discs were slightly different, with a small number of special features absent due to rights issues.
Content
Each set contains every serial from the season in question, along with all previous bonus content produced for the DVD range - these specials, like the show itself, are upscaled. Additionally, new features such as Behind the Sofa are produced in HD, and where possible previously unreleased versions of serials, such as the omnibus edition of Genesis of the Daleks, are included as well.
In some cases, visual effects have been improved - improved exterior shots of the Pharos Project were used to replace models in some instances, including brand-new location shots filmed using drones. As with such improvements on the DVD range these changes are optional, and can be enabled or disabled at will. Serials have also been remixed in 5.1 surround where possible.
Marketing
Starting with season 19, the second set released in the collection, BBC Video began producing short videos promoting the upcoming release. This initially began with a tongue-in-cheek airline safety video presented by Tegan Jovanka, and eventually evolved into videos such as Jo Grant Returns and Ace Returns, which depict present-day adventures with the characters that hark back to the adventures contained in the sets they were produced to market.
In the US, the release of Tom Baker - Complete Season One was marked with a screening of the aforementioned omnibus edition of Genesis of the Daleks in theatres across the country. The release of Tom Baker - Complete Season Seven was similarly promoted with an omnibus screening of Logopolis, demonstrating the revised visual effects. Both screenings featured exclusive bonus content after the showing, and were organised by Fathom Events in partnership with BBC Studios.
Published titles
| Season | UK release date | US release date | Webcast promo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 12 | 2 July 2018 | 19 June 2018 | None |
| Season 19 | 10 December 2018 | 4 December 2018 | The Season 19 Safety Video with Tegan Jovanka |
| Season 18 | 18 March 2019 | 19 March 2019 | Season 18 Announcement Trailer |
| Season 10 | 8 July 2019 | 15 October 2019 | Jo Grant Returns |
| Season 23 | 7 October 2019 | 3 December 2019 | The Sixth Doctor is on trial AGAIN! |
| Season 26 | 27 January 2020 | 24 March 2020 | Ace Returns! |
