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Best of the Monsters was an Embassy Row production that aired as one of a trio of "punditry segments" on BBC America in August 2011. It aired in the run-up to the premiere of Let's Kill Hitler, ostensibly to offer North American viewers a "memory jog" prior to recommencement of series 6.
Like all episodes of this series, it was notable for featuring exclusively North American celebrities opining on aspects of the Matt Smith era of Doctor Who.
The show was also aired on Space in Canada during the same week as the US broadcast.
Topics covered
The programme was split into the following titled segments:
- The Daleks
- Prisoner Zero
- The Dream Lord
- Ask a Whovian
- Scott Adsit asks "Amy lived with Prisoner Zero for years, what monster would you like to live with?"
- The Weeping Angles
- The Neighbor Upstairs
- The Silurians
- Ask a Whovian
- Danielle Harris asks "What monster from Doctor Who scares you the most?"
- The Silence
- The Siren
- Ask a Whovian
- Paul F. Tompkins asks "What kind of new monster would you like to see fight the Doctor?"
- The Gangers
- The Headless Monks
- Ask a Whovian
- Scott Ian asks "Do you think the Doctor would get bored without monsters to fight?"
- The Crack
- The Pandorica
- Ask a Whovian
- Eugene Mirman asks "If you were an alien fighting the Doctor, how would you defeat him?"
People interviewed
- Mark Sheppard, Actor
- Reggie Watts, Musician, Comedian
- Chris Hardwick, Host, Nerdist Podcast
- Adam Rogers, Editor, Wired Magazine
- Scott Ian, Musician
- Hugh Douglas, Former NFL Defensive End/Radio Personality
- Eugene Mirman, Comedian, Actor
- Natalie Morales, Actress
- Scott Adsit, Actor, Comedian
- Paul F. Tompkins, Actor, Comedian
- Alison Haislip, Actress, G4 Correspondent
- Amanda Palmer, Musician
Music list
- "Night and Fog" by Christopher Slaski, Album: Orchestral & Orchestral Effects ANW 1194
- "Serpent" by Tim Garland, Album: Mystery, Malevolence & Murder ANW 1628
- "Waltz Macabre" by Debbie Wiseman, Album: Magic, Ghosts, Mystery 2 ANW 1306
- "Blue Mist" by Debbie Wiseman, Album: Period Drama ANW 1556
- "Sorcerer's Dream" by Paul Mottram, Album: Magic, Ghosts, Mystery ANW 1071
- "Frozen Teardrop" by Tom Quick, Album: Magic, Spooks, Mystery ANW 1534
- "Cunning Plan" by Tim Garland, Album: Magic, Spooks, Mystery ANW 1534
- "Hand of Fate" by Debbie Wiseman, Album: Orchestral Drama 4 ANW 1299
- "Stella March" by Nick Ingman & Terry Devine-King, Album: Blockbuster Movie Trailers ANW 1392
- "Out of the Mist" by Luke Richards, Album: Orchestral, Contemporary Drama ANW 1407
- "Chaos Cypher" by Adam Skinner & Dan Skinner, Album: Cinematic Horror ANW 1464
- "Symphony for the Stars" by Luke Richards, Album: Evocative, Cinematic ANW 1589
- "Out of the Darkness" by Paul Mottram, Album: Contemporary Minimalist, Orchestral 2 ANW 1309
- "Forbidden Forest" by Debbie Wiseman, Album: Orchestral Drama 4 ANW 1299
- "Dark Tales" by Debbie Wiseman, Album: Period Drama ANW 1556
- "Empire's Dawn" by Terry Devine-King, Album: Orchestral Drama 2 ANW 1216
- "Resistance is Futile" by Dan Skinner & Adam Skinner, Album: Blockbuster Drama ANW 1500
- "The Spider" by Simon Lambros, Album: Orchestral Drama, Horror ANW 1148
- "Return Journey" by Simon Lambros, Album: Orchestral Subterfuge ANW 1569
- "Catacombs" by Adam Skinner & Dan Skinner, Album: Cinematic Horror ANW 1464
- "Jupiter Rising" by Terry Devine-King, Album: Blockbuster Movie Trailers 3 ANW 1600
Crew
- Executive Producer - Michael Davies
- Co-Executive Producer - Stephanie Masarsky-Sloves
- Series Producer - David Tuohy
- Executive in Charge of Production – Tammy Johnston
- Producer - Craig Jenest
- Producer - Ben Gruber
- Casting Director – Robin Reinhardt-Locke
- Unit Manager - Josh Ricks
- Field Producer - Greg Groggel
- Associate Producer - Mack Gelber
- Business Affairs - Michael Erlinger
- Business Accountant - A.C. Caraballo
- Editor – Benjamin Flaherty
- Post Production Supervisor - Chris Pecoraro
- Motion Graphics - Mantra Design
- Post Production Services - Creative Group
- Camera - Thomas Arnold, Steven Wacks, Daryl Studebaker
- Audio - Chris White
- Camera Assistant - Chris Starbody
- Hair Stylist - Emily Heser
- Makeup Artist - Kristi Fuhrmann, Summer Parham, Cool Benson
- Utility - David Dejesus
- Gaffer - Henry Coccetti
- Production Assistant - John Hale, Charles Marks
For BBC America:
- SVP, Programming - Richard De Croce
- Executive in Charge of Production - Erin Jontow
- Executive Producer - Jennifer Wagman
- Production Manager - Erica M. Staufenberg
- Special Thanks - Fiona Eastwood, Kate Bush, Piers Wenger, Beth Willis, Katherine Russell, Nikki Touchard, Louisa Jones, Christopher Landry, Laura Willis, Morgen Dye, Brandon Cuicchi, Dave Nathan, Christine Black, Amy Mulcair, Hilary Leavitt
- Embassy Row
- BBC Worldwide Sales & Distribution
Notes
Since this episode was broadcast prior to Let's Kill Hitler, it maintained the deliberate misdirection in The Impossible Astronaut that the Silence was a species.
Unlike other segments, this episode contained slivers of opinion from ordinary American viewers. Some attendees of the San Diego Comic Con were canvassed for their thoughts on the programme's scariest monsters. These thoughts were sprinkled throughout the episode.
Home video releases
This special was included on the Doctor Who: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe DVD & Blu-ray released on 16 January 2012; and the Doctor Who: The Best of the Doctor 2005-2011, The Documentaries DVD (Region 4 only) released on 8 January 2014.
The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe DVD cover
The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe Blu-ray cover
The Best of the Doctor 2005-2011, The Documentaries DVD cover
It was also made available on iTunes[1], Amazon Prime[2] & Google Play[3]; it was listed as Doctor Who: Best of Specials, Season 1, Episode 2.