Monster Files

Monster Files
Main character(s):	Jack Harkness
Featuring:	River Song
Key crew
Writer:	Justin Richards
Director:	Ian Smith
Producer:	Ian Smith
Release details
Platform:	Multi-part webcast
Premiere network:	Doctor Who website
Release date:	2008
Next →	TARDIS Index Files

Monster Files was an ongoing webcast series of webisodes created by the BBC for its official Doctor Who website website beginning as a tie-in with series 4 in 2008. These short films profile various monsters and alien races featured on Doctor Who.

Captain Jack's Monster Files

Initially, the series was presented as Captain Jack's Monster Files, in which John Barrowman, as Jack Harkness, narrates a brief history of various creatures and races encountered by the Doctor. The clips and videos were often depicted as being information acquired by the Torchwood Institute over the years. Live-action footage of Barrowman as Harkness was incorporated into the clips.

Although Files instalments usually corresponded with the episode being shown that week, during some two-parters extra Files about old monsters were released for the first part. The Slitheen were used for the Files broadcast in conjunction with The Sontaran Stratagem, for example, and the Judoon were used for Silence in the Library. A Christmas-themed Files episode was also created, in which Jack talked about the Sycorax, the Titanic, the Empress of the Racnoss, the Roboforms, the Roboform Christmas trees, the Graske and the Changelings.

Episodes

• Partners in Crime: Adipose
• The Fires of Pompeii: Pyrovile
• Planet of the Ood: Ood
• The Sontaran Stratagem: Slitheen
• The Poison Sky: Sontaran
• The Doctor's Daughter: Hath
• The Unicorn and the Wasp: Vespiform
• Smith and Jones: Judoon
• Forest of the Dead: Vashta Nerada
• Midnight: Midnight
• Turn Left: The Trickster's Brigade
• The Stolen Earth: Dalek
• Journey's End: Davros
• 2008 Adventure Calendar: Christmas
• The Next Doctor: Cybermen

2009 Adventure Calendar

For the 2009 Doctor Who Adventure Calendar, a webisode focusing on the Weeping Angels entitled A Ghost Story for Christmas was produced. Unlike earlier instalments, it was not identified as being part of the Monster Files series, and also told a brief story as opposed to being a straight documentary. Barrowman returned to narrate the piece as Captain Jack, however.

• 2009 Adventure Calendar: Weeping Angels - see A Ghost Story for Christmas

River Song's Monster Files

The Monster Files series resumed during series 5. Narrated by Alex Kingston as River Song, and featuring specially shot introduction footage, the files now took the form of information taken from her diary. Like at the end of Harkness' videos, she has survival tips, in this case called "Useful Spoilers".

Parts

• Flesh and Stone: Weeping Angels
• The Vampires of Venice: Saturnyn
• Cold Blood: Silurians

Credits

These films were directed and produced by Ian Smith in BBC Wales, and written by Justin Richards.

Availability

The videos are streamed via the BBC's official Doctor Who website. Virtually all videos on the site are "geofenced" due to licensing and are technically not allowed to be viewed outside of the UK, though they are widely circulated anyway. None of these clips have been released on DVD or as any other form of media.