Series 1
Synopsis
Cover notes
DVD contents
Disc 1 |
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| Rose | Russell T Davies Phil Collinson Julie Gardner |
commentary track |
| The end of the world | Phil Collinson Will Cohen |
commentary track |
| The unquiet dead | Mark Gatiss Euros Lyn Simon Callow |
commentary track |
| Special Features | ||
| BBC Breakfast interview with Christopher Eccleston [2005] | Christopher Eccleston (Russell T Davies) (William Hartnell) (Patrick Troughton) [Star Trek] (Tom Baker) (Jon Pertwee) (Sydney Newman) (H.G. Wells) |
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| Destroying the lair [2005] | Mike Tucker [James Bond; The man with the golden gun] (Colin Mapson) (Mark Holt) (Perry Bryan) sp? [Mark Holt Effects] [Model Unit Workshop, Kendle Avenue, West London] |
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| Making Doctor Who with Russell T Davies [2005] | Russell T Davies Julie Gardner [Millenium Stadium, Cardiff] (Keith Boak) (Chris(topher Eccleston)) [Cardiff Royal Infirmary] (Phil Collinson) Annie Frederick (Billie Piper) Mark Benton [The Mill, special effects] |
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| Waking the dead [2005] | Mark Gatiss [White City] (Russell T Davies) [Chula, 116 King Street, Hammersmith, London, W6 0QP] Steven Moffat Paul Cornell Robert Shearman (Phil Collinson) (Christopher Eccleston) (Lorraine Heggessey) (William Hartnell) (Lawrence Lowellyn Bowen) (Debbie McGee) [Lisbon] (Billie Piper) (Robert Holmes) [Millenium Stadium, Cardiff] [Brae Studios; Miss Marple] (Alan David) Euros Lyn |
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| Laying ghosts [2005] | Mark Gatiss (Alan Bennett) (Charles Dickens) (Jon Pertwee) (Russell T Davies) [Chula] (Simon Callow) (Euros Lyn) |
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| Launch trailers [2005] | ||
| Storyboard of opening trailer [2005] | ||
Disc 2 |
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| Aliens of London | David Verrey Julie Gardner Will Cohen |
commentary track |
| World War Three | Annette Badland Phil Collinson Helen Raynor |
commentary track |
| Dalek | Robert Shearman Dave Houghton Nicholas Briggs Bruno Langley |
commentary track |
| Special Features | ||
| Deconstructing Big Ben | ||
| On set with Billie Piper | ||
| Trailers | ||
Disc 3 |
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| The long game | Brian Grant Christine Adams Bruno Langley |
commentary track |
| Father's Day | Billie Piper Phil Collinson Shaun Dingwall Paul Cornell |
commentary track |
| The empty child | Steven Moffat John Barrowman Dave Houghton |
commentary track |
| The Doctor dances | Steven Moffat John Barrowman Dave Houghton |
commentary track |
| Special Features | ||
| Mike Tucker's Moxx of Balhoon | ||
Disc 4 |
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| Boom town | Annette Badland John Barrowman Phil Collinson |
commentary track |
| Bad wolf | Russell T Davies Julie Gardner Phil Collinson |
commentary track |
| The parting of the ways | Julie Gardner John Barrowman Billie Piper |
commentary track |
| Special Features | ||
| Designing Doctor Who | ||
| The adventures of Captain Jack | ||
| Trailers | ||
Disc 5 |
Doctor Who Confidential Cut Down |
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| Bringing back the Doctor | Julie Gardner (Jane Tranter; drama commissioner, BBC Wales) Christopher Eccleston Russell T Davies Billie Piper Keith Boak Clayton Hickman (Tom Baker) (Peter Davison) (Paul McGann) Jordan Murphy (Nicola Bryant) Gary Russell Lucinda Wright |
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| The good, the bad & the ugly | Russell T Davies Euros Lyn Yasmin Bannerman Will Cohen Alex Fort Christopher Eccleston (Zoë Wanamaker) Chris Petts |
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| TARDIS tales | Christopher Eccleston Billie Piper Edward Thomas Clayton Hickton Russell T Davies (Charles Dickens) Euros Lyn Mark Gatiss Ernie Vincze Phil Collinson Davy Jones Will Cohen (Zoe Thorne) |
While there have been nine Doctors, there is only one TARDIS. But if a big blue box landed on your doorstep, wouldn't there be a few questions on your mind? |
| I get a side-kick out of you | Billie Piper (Charles Dickens) Christopher Eccleston Noel Clarke Russell T Davies |
What does it take to be the Doctor's new companion? Rose Tyler is ready for the ride. |
| Why on Earth? | Russell T Davies Noel Clarke Christopher Eccleston Will Cohen Paul Kasey (Slitheen) Alan Ruscoe (Indra, played by Navin Chowdry) Elizabeth Fost Annette Badland David Bowman |
Of all the planets in all the worlds, the Doctor has to land on ours. But why would a 900 year old Time Lord want to mingle with us mere humans? He may look human, he may sound human, but anyone from Gallifrey is a long way from home. So why is he on Earth? And what's he hiding? |
| Dalek | Christopher Eccleston Billie Piper Lorraine Heggessey Phil Collinson Edward Thomas Russell T Davies Barnaby Edwards Robert Shearman Nicholas Briggs Murray Gold Neill Gorton |
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| The dark side | Simon Pegg Russell T Davies Christopher Eccleston Billie Piper Brian Grant Will Cohen Dave Houghton Corey Johnson (Tamsin Greig) |
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| Time trouble | Billie Piper Phil Collinson Shaun Dingwall Russell T Davies Christopher Eccleston Paul Cornell Chris Petts David Bowman Will Cohen Paul Jeffries Lin Davie Camille Coduri |
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| Special effects | Russell T Davies Phil Collinson Steven Moffat Will Cohen Billie Piper Christopher Eccleston [The Mill, special effects] Bryan Hitch James Hawes Ernie Vincze John Barrowman Neill Gorton Richard Wilson (Chris Petts) |
From bomb blasts to barrage balloons, Spitfires to spaceships, the Blitz has never been seen like this before. Doctor Who Confidential is about to track down the men in the firing line, who have brought these special effects to life. |
| Weird science | Phil Collinson Steven Moffat Russell T Davies (Prince Charles) Christopher Eccleston Edward Thomas [Barry Island] James Hawes [The Mill, special effects] Clayton Hickman |
The nano-genes may be the science of the very very small, but its implications are huge. Welcome to the mad science world of Doctor Who. |
| Unsung heroes & violent death | Christopher Eccleston Russell T Davies [Millenium Centre, Cardiff] John Barrowman Clayton Hickman Noel Clarke [Cardiff Bay] Billie Piper (Cathica, played by Christine Adams) (Jabe, played by Yasmin Bannerman) Helen Raynor (Margaret, played by Annette Badland) |
Everywhere the Doctor goes, death is close behind. He leaves a trail of distruction in his wake. Doctor Who Confidential calls to question the Doctor's right to kill. |
| The world of Who | Russell T Davies Billie Piper (Anne Robinson) Alan Ruscoe Neill Gorton Charles Bluett Paterson Joseph Phil Collinson (Paul Simpson) John Humphrys (Karen Davies) (Ged Sweeney) [Brighton Pier] Jason Mannix [Blackpool] [Trinny and Susannah] John Barrowman ("Tim ?? to the Terminator") |
After 900 years of time travel, Doctor Who has gone global. He's been bought, sold, and admired. But when it comes to fighting the Daleks, the fun and games are at an end. So will Rose have all the answers? Will Captain Jack be able to rise to the occasion? It's time to avoid the droids, and prepare for battle; time travel just turned nasty. |
| The last battle | John Barrowman Christopher Eccleston Russell T Davies Billie Piper Andrew Collins Helen Raynor |
With the Doctor called to arms one last time, Doctor Who Confidential gets set for the ultimate fight: the Last Great Battle of the Time War. The Doctor faces his final test, and there can be only one winner. |
| Backstage at Christmas | James Hawes David Tennant (Camille Coduri) (Billie Piper) Ernie Vincze Mike Crowley Phil Collinson Noel Clarke |
BluRay contents
Disc 1 |
||
| Rose | ||
| The end of the world | ||
| The unquiet dead | ||
| Aliens of London | ||
| World War Three | ||
| Special Features | ||
| BBC Breakfast interview with Christopher Eccleston | ||
| Destroying the lair | ||
| Making Doctor Who with Russell T Davies | ||
| Waking the dead | ||
| Laying ghosts | ||
| Launch trailers | ||
| Storyboard of opening trailer | ||
| Deconstructing Big Ben | ||
Disc 2 |
||
| Dalek | ||
| The long game | ||
| Father's Day | ||
| The empty child | ||
| The Doctor dances | ||
| Special Features | ||
| On set with Billie Piper | ||
| Mike Tucker's Moxx of Balhoon | ||
| Designing Doctor Who | ||
| The adventures of Captain Jack | ||
| Trailers | ||
| (easter egg) | ||
Disc 3 |
||
| Boom town | ||
| Bad wolf | ||
| The parting of the ways | ||
| Special Features | ||
| Bringing back the Doctor | ||
| The good, the bad & the ugly | ||
| TARDIS tales | ||
| I get a side-kick out of you | ||
| Why on Earth? | ||
| Dalek | ||
| The dark side | ||
| Time trouble | ||
| Special effects | ||
| Weird science | ||
| Unsung heroes & violent death | ||
| The world of Who | ||
| The last battle | ||
| Backstage at Christmas |
Commentary
[2022-04-09] I've just received and watched Series 13 - Flux... talk about a confused mess. So for a refresher, I returned to Series 1 which I haven't viewed at in at least a decade. Remembering the anticipation and dread before it's release, and the relief when it delivered beyond our wildest hopes, it's still thouroughly enjoyable and stands up very well.
Like all Doctor Who, it has continuity issues. Doctor Who never had a "bible" or "canon keeper", and certainly has not the type of Universe Consistency imposed on modern science fiction shows. [see Lou Anders' introduction, Terrance Dick's forward, and Paul Cornell, Martin Day & Keith Topping's preface to their 2004 revised edition of The Discontinuity Guide for a wonderful set of prose on the matter.]
Even ignoring the classic stories, Series 1 generates its own inconsistencies. Prime example: Harriet Jones, three terms as Prime Minister heralding Brittain's new Golden Age - but out of office following the Christmas special. You can either go into majorly twisted contortions to retcon a timeline to fit,... or just gloss over it and enjoy the show.
I still would have liked at least one more series with Christopher Eccleston but less can be more. Do we really need a The face of evil prequel? No. Eccleston's Doctor has been through the Last Great Time War but as evidenced in Rose, this is a very recent regeneration; he does not appear to have looked in a mirror before, and is still figuring out what he is and isn't good at. The Doctor is out there dealing with survivor's guilt, not least because it's hinted it was he who ended the war. Heavy stuff, but handled well.
Looking back on my original release date notes: "So what did we get? Thirteen episodes that at worst were good and two Doctors – yes, we got a completely unexpected regeneration; all of twenty seconds of screen time with David Tennant as the 10th Doctor, and I'm already convinced he can carry it. Roll on series two!"
| serial code : | |
| episode count : | 13 |
| initial broadcast date : | 2005-mm-dd |
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| part of the x boxset | |