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Doctor Who Confidential
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Doctor Who Confidential is a documentary series created by the British Broadcasting Corporation to complement the revival of the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Each episode is broadcast on BBC Three on Saturdays, immediately after the broadcast of the weekly television episode on BBC One. The running time of the first two series was 30 minutes, being extended to 45 minutes in the third.
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Doctor Who Confidential is a documentary series created by the British Broadcasting Corporation to complement the revival of the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Each episode is broadcast on BBC Three on Saturdays, immediately after the broadcast of the weekly television episode on BBC One. The running time of the first two series was 30 minutes, being extended to 45 minutes in the third. BBC Three also broadcasts a cut-down edition of the programme, lasting 15 minutes, shown after the repeats on Sundays & Fridays and after the weekday evening repeats of earlier seasons.
Described as focusing on the human element of the series, Confidential features behind-the-scenes footage on the making of Doctor Who through clips and interviews with the cast, production crew and other people, including those who have participated in the television series over the years of its existence. Each episode deals with a different topic, and in most cases refers to the Doctor Who episode that preceded it.
To date, there have also been two episodes of Doctor Who Confidential broadcast apart from the showing of Doctor Who episodes: in November 2006 an edition subtitled "Music and Monsters" was produced going behind the scenes of a televised concert of soundtrack music produced as part of that year's Children in Need appeal, and on 3 January 2009, a special edition was broadcast to announce the actor chosen to play the Eleventh Doctor.
Series 1 (2005)
The first season was narrated by Simon Pegg (who played the Editor in "The Long Game") and produced and directed by Gillane Seaborne, airing at 7.45pm. In addition to being broadcast on BBC Three, each episode of Confidential was also made available for viewing on the Doctor Who Confidential website. Initially, repeat airings of the series were the full length episodes; however, beginning with Episode 6, BBC Three broadcast fifteen-minute versions, entitled Doctor Who Confidential: Cut Down, containing only the new series-related footage. These more easily clearable versions — since they contained no old series clips or pop music tracks, there were few licensing issues to overcome for commercial release — were released on the Series 1 DVD box set. There are no plans to release the full versions of the episodes in any format.
Two documentary specials were made for broadcast on BBC One, incorporating material from the Confidential episodes. The first was broadcast on the evening of the first episode, "Rose", and was narrated by David Tennant, prior to his being named as the Tenth Doctor. The second was broadcast immediately prior to the final episode, "The Parting of the Ways", and was narrated by Pegg. These episodes were not given the Confidential title, and are therefore separate from the series proper. Thirdly, a special DVD-only episode of the series, containing behind-the-scenes information on "The Christmas Invasion", was also made by the production team for release on the set.
| Episode # | Original airdate (UK) | Episode title | Doctor Who episode |
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| S1 | 26 March 2005 | "A New Dimension" | Preview |
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| S2 | 18 June 2005 | "The Ultimate Guide" | Episodes 1-12 |
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| 14 | DVD only | "Backstage at Christmas" | "The Christmas Invasion" |
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Series 2 (2006)
A second season of Doctor Who Confidential was commissioned to accompany the 2006 series. Mark Gatiss replaced Pegg as narrator. A special episode of the programme was produced for BBC's Doctor Who Night on 9 April 2006. Due to a wide range of schedule changes that either delayed or altered transmission of Doctor Who, the series aired at various times during its run. Unlike the first series, no episodes were webcast. These were also released on the DVD in edited-down format (once again subtitled Cut Down); the first episode of the season - "One Year On" - was not released to DVD.
A documentary special was made for broadcast on BBC One on the day of the 2006 Christmas Special, "The Runaway Bride". The special was broadcast with the Confidential title (albeit with "Christmas Special" attached), opening theme, and unique titles (with images from "The Runaway Bride") - it was narrated by the series three narrator, Anthony Head, and followed the creation of the Doctor Who: A Celebration concert. This is noteworthy as being unrelated to its companion episode — although a brief preview of the episode appeared as part of the concert.
Series 3 (2007)
Anthony Head (who played Mr Finch/Brother Lassar in "School Reunion") replaces Gatiss as narrator for this series, whilst David Tennant did the entirety of the series' tenth episode himself. The episode running length was increased to 45 minutes, with 30-minute and 15-minute versions also prepared for broadcast. The 15-minute versions are available for download from the official website. As per previous seasons, all regular episodes were edited down into shorter versions for inclusion on the DVD release (although this has resulted in some noticeable content loss, such as "Do You Remember the First Time" omitting cast interviews relating to the episode Blink in its "Cut Down" version); for the first time, however, a complete Confidential episode is included on the DVD release: the "Music & Monsters" special.
One episode, covering the making of the Children in Need special "Time Crash" was posted on the Children in Need website after the scene's airing. After the 2007 Christmas Special "Voyage of the Damned", an episode was broadcast on BBC Three, again narrated by Anthony Head.
Series 4 (2008)
Anthony Head is narrating the series for the second year in a row. Each episode had its own unique title sequence, with behind-the-scenes shots from that week's episode of Doctor Who. The 2008 Christmas special is the first to be accompanied by its own Confidential episode.
The next episode reviewed all 10 previous incarnations of the Doctor, and revealed Matt Smith as the actor who will portray the upcoming Eleventh Doctor.
| Episode # | Original airdate (UK) | Episode title | Doctor Who episode |
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| 59 | 3 January 2009 | "The Eleventh Doctor" | Series 5 |
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Other Shows in Confidential Format
Following the popularity of Doctor Who Confidential, Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood was produced with its own set of backstage episodes, entitled Torchwood Declassified. Torchwood Declassified returned with the second series of Torchwood.
The BBC has also created Heroes Unmasked also narrated by Anthony Head, in the same format to complement the NBC series Heroes, shown on BBC2, and Greek Uncovered narrated by Fearne Cotton for the comedy-drama Greek when it was shown on BBC Three.
The BBC 7 broadcasts of Big Finish Doctor Who audio dramas are followed by a 15-minute backstage programme called Beyond the Vortex.
External links
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