Tardisode
Tardisodes were mini-episodes which accompanied each episode of Series 2 of the BBC Wales version of Doctor Who.
They were each approximately one minute in length. Downloadable via the internet or by mobile phones, they were initially made available in the week prior to the initial broadcast of each accompanying regular episode. As no Tardisode was made for The Christmas Invasion, there were thirteen Tardisodes in all. (That said, the Children in Need Special mini-episode that was broadcast in advance of The Christmas Invasion served the same purpose as a Tardisode, although it is not considered one.)
Scripted by Gareth Roberts, these featured different production personnel than the series proper. However, they were all directed by prolific Torchwood director, Ashley Way.
They did not feature the Doctor or Rose Tyler, but focused on other characters and monsters. Most served to set up elements of the episode's story line; in one case, School Reunion, the Tardisode was a direct prequel, explaining how Mickey Smith recruited the Doctor and Rose Tyler to investigate the school in question.
2|entertain Ltd did not include the 2006 series TARDISODEs on the Season 2 DVD release. No TARDISODEs were produced for the 2007 series.In 2007, the BBC's annual report said of the TARDISODEs that they "were not the hit we expected although they were popular on broadband", presumably why they were discontinued after series 2.
Current Availability
The BBC chose not to include the Tardisodes with the DVD release of Series 2. This, coupled with the fact they are no longer available online as of 2008, renders these mini-episodes officially lost. Though they have continued to be available on video sharing sites such as YouTube.
Update: Even though the links to the tardisode's have long since disappeared from the official BBC site the tardisode's are still within the BBC media selector. Links to these media selector tardisode clips can be on each individual Tardisode article in the "External links" section .
List of Tardisodes
- Tardisode 1 - Prelude to New Earth
- Tardisode 2 - Prelude to Tooth and Claw
- Tardisode 3 - Prelude to School Reunion
- Tardisode 4 - Prelude to The Girl in the Fireplace
- Tardisode 5 - Prelude to Rise of the Cybermen
- Tardisode 6 - Prelude to The Age of Steel
- Tardisode 7 - Prelude to The Idiot's Lantern
- Tardisode 8 - Prelude to The Impossible Planet
- Tardisode 9 - Prelude to The Satan Pit
- Tardisode 10 - Prelude to Love & Monsters
- Tardisode 11 - Prelude to Fear Her
- Tardisode 12 - Prelude to Army of Ghosts
- Tardisode 13 - Takes place during Doomsday
Continuity
- In an interview with Noel Clarke for Totally Doctor Who, he revealed that his hair was noticeably shorter during the filming of Tardisode 3 than in the episode it accompanied, "School Reunion". For this reason, to maintain continuity, he wears a hat for the duration of the TARDISODE.
- Images of the Doctor are shown in two of the shorts. In TARDISODE 10 a drawing of him is seen on a computer; in TARDISODE 12 he appears in drawings and in an antique photograph.
- TARDISODE 12 references "Tooth and Claw" and "The Christmas Invasion".
Production
- Before a TARDISODE, the time vortex is briefly seen. If the main episode is set in the past, the vortex is blue and if the main episode is set in the present or future, the vortex is red.
- A new set was built for Tardisode 4.
- Tardisode 8 was filmed entirely in the BBC Wales Canteen.
- As of 2006, there is no "East London Council" as seen in 2012 in Tardisode 11, although various amalgamations of London borough councils have been proposed.
