DVD releases

A number of Doctor Who stories have gotten released on DVD, principally by the BBC.

History
Doctor Who, like many other television programs, has seen many episodes released to DVD since the late 1990s. The first story to be released in this format was a remastered and reedited version of DW: The Five Doctors. Since then, BBC Video, later in conjunction with 2 entertain, has released many classic-series stories in the format, often with commentary, documentaries and other features. Some serials, such as The Ark in Space, have included the option to view with upgraded special effects, while some releases such as The Curse of Fenric have included extended versions with previously unbroadcast material.

Serials from all seven original Doctors have been released to DVD in both the UK and North America, while the 1996 telefilm has also been released in that format, but in the UK only. Except for the two season-long story arcs, The Trial of a Time Lord and The Key to Time, BBC Video/2|Entertain has chosen to release individual serials, rather than complete seasons, for the classic series, although several themed releases, or multi-story arcs, have been issued as well. A special release, Lost in Time, collected "orphaned" episodes from the 1960s (the remainder of the stories in question having been wiped).

The revived series has been released differently, with BBC Video choosing to initially issue "vanilla" (special feature-lite) single-disc releases of two or three episodes, followed by a full-season box set (with extras) later. Included in the box set are specially edited versions of Doctor Who Confidential, as well as, when applicable, charity mini-episodes such as Time Crash. North America consumers have been able to buy the full-season box sets for all four series to date, although so far only Series 1 (2005) has been issued in Region 1 in the UK "vanilla, single disc" format, too. The spin-off animated adventure The Infinite Quest has also seen DVD release.

All official Doctor Who spin-offs have also been issued to DVD: K-9 and Company: A Girl's Best Friend, Torchwood (including its behind-the-scenes spinoff series, Torchwood Declassified) and The Sarah Jane Adventures, although the second season of SJA has yet to be issued.

In 2009, a magazine called Doctor Who DVD Files was launched in the UK, featuring photos and stories built around an enclosed DVD featuring two episodes from the revived series. Due to licensing issues this publication is presently only available in Great Britain.

As Doctor Who enters its "gap year" of specials, BBC Video has so far released the 2008 Christmas Special The Next Doctor to DVD; it remains to be seen if similar single-special releases will occur as the year progresses, and whether any of these will be issued in North America, or if a box set will instead be issued there, presumably in early 2010.

Region differences
Doctor Who DVDs tend to debut in Region 2, with releases later coming in Region 1 and 4. Generally, there are only minimal differences between a Region 2 and Region 1 release of any particular Doctor Who adventure. The most obvious difference is mainly in the packaging of the particular adventure. Releases of the "old" series (i,e. Season 1 through Season 26, starring the first seven Doctors), Region 2 releases have a distinctive packaging format which is mostly shared with Region 4 releases, but is quite dissimilar to Region 1 packaging.


 * See DVD region for a general discussion of Region codes for DVD's.