by Helen Langdon
Only three days left to go until Doctor Who returns to our screens! And you might think that we’d heard all of the news about the series, what with yesterday’s announcement of episode titles, writers and directors. But wait – because today, the BBC announced that each episode would be accompanied by a ten-minute behind-the-scenes episode of Doctor Who Extra.
Only three days left to go until Doctor Who returns to our screens! And you might think that we’d heard all of the news about the series, what with yesterday’s announcement of episode titles, writers and directors. But wait – because today, the BBC announced that each episode would be accompanied by a ten-minute behind-the-scenes episode of Doctor Who Extra.
Doesn’t that sound slightly familiar? Well, yes, because when Doctor Who first returned to our screens back in 2005, it was accompanied by behind-the-scenes documentaries, in the form of BBC Three’s Doctor Who Confidential. But that was cancelled in 2011 as part of a cost-cutting exercise by the BBC. Fans petitioned, writers complained, Matt Smith criticised, but all to no avail. The last episode of Doctor Who Confidential was the one which corresponded with season six’s “The Wedding of River Song.”
BBC Season seven wasn’t without its featurettes, but compared to the Confidential episodes (which were mostly about the length of an average Doctor Who episode) these were tiny. Mostly under five minutes long, the behind-the-scenes glances were released on the Doctor Who website.
Each episode of Doctor Who Extra will be ten minutes long, released on both iPlayer and on the red button. It promises to be a cut-down version of Confidential (hopefully without the filler). The official BBC press release says it’ll be following Peter Capaldi “every step of the way throughout the creation of his first season as the Doctor.” That means contributions from Capaldi (who might anger fans with his insistence upon calling the Doctor “Doctor Who”), Jenna Coleman and new companion Samuel Anderson, as well as the guest stars (including Keeley Hawes, Frank Skinner and Ben Miller). Oh, and we’ll be hearing from writers and directors, including showrunner Steven Moffat.
But it’s not just a making-of, with Doctor Who Extra aiming to please all audiences. The BBC are hoping that the format will be fun and fast enough for casual viewers, but they’re also planning on appealing to hardcore fans with a “quick dip into the archive for every edition, reflecting on how Doctor Who’s history is echoed in this current series.”
Doctor Who returns on Saturday 23rd August on BBC One with a feature-length episode, with Doctor Who Extra available immediately afterwards. Hopefully the new show will give us both an insight into the creative decisions, as well as a more practical look at exactly how much work a show like Doctor Who takes to produce.
Each episode of Doctor Who Extra will be ten minutes long, released on both iPlayer and on the red button. It promises to be a cut-down version of Confidential (hopefully without the filler). The official BBC press release says it’ll be following Peter Capaldi “every step of the way throughout the creation of his first season as the Doctor.” That means contributions from Capaldi (who might anger fans with his insistence upon calling the Doctor “Doctor Who”), Jenna Coleman and new companion Samuel Anderson, as well as the guest stars (including Keeley Hawes, Frank Skinner and Ben Miller). Oh, and we’ll be hearing from writers and directors, including showrunner Steven Moffat.
But it’s not just a making-of, with Doctor Who Extra aiming to please all audiences. The BBC are hoping that the format will be fun and fast enough for casual viewers, but they’re also planning on appealing to hardcore fans with a “quick dip into the archive for every edition, reflecting on how Doctor Who’s history is echoed in this current series.”
Doctor Who returns on Saturday 23rd August on BBC One with a feature-length episode, with Doctor Who Extra available immediately afterwards. Hopefully the new show will give us both an insight into the creative decisions, as well as a more practical look at exactly how much work a show like Doctor Who takes to produce.
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