More actions
Beginning in 2008, the Case File format has been used across a number of series to communicate information about the characters and species of the Doctor Who universe.
Precursors
Alien Fact File
- Main article: Alien Fact File
The Alien Fact Files were included on the Doctor Who website when it launched in 1998. Unlike later iterations on the concept, these Files constituted static webpages rather than webcasts, and there was no indication given of whom was presenting the information to the reader. The files were designed to be printed as cards and used in a card game.
Tardisode
- Main article: Tardisode
After the revival of television Doctor Who in 2005, the BBC experimented with formats of webcasts accompanying each episode. The first of these experiments were the Tardisode webcasts, short stories which served as prequels to the episodes of series 2. However, these failed to catch on, and no webcasts were produced to accompany series 3.
Mr Smith's data updates
- Main article: Mr Smith's data updates
When The Sarah Jane Adventures began airing in 2007, the episodes were accompanied by webcasts called Mr Smith's data updates. Each episode was less than a minute long, recapping the events of the accompanying television stories. They were narrated by Alexander Armstrong as Mr Smith. These continued through series 1 and 2.
Torchwood
The Torchwood Mission Game included multiple webcasts and tied in with series 2 in early 2008, and episodes of the motion comic Web of Lies were released alongside series 4 in 2011. However, despite tying into the events on television, these focused on independent stories, and they did not use the "File" format.
Monster Files
Captain Jack's Monster Files
- Main article: Captain Jack's Monster Files
Following the failure of the Tardisodes, the next attempt, released to accompany series 4, were Captain Jack's Monster Files.
Each webcast included Captain Jack's survival tips.
River Song's Monster Files
- Main article: River Song's Monster Files
Three "Monster Files" narrated by Alex Kingston as River Song were released in May 2010 to accompany series 5. River Song's Monster Files used a format identical to Captain Jack's Monster Files, with the survival tips renamed "Useful Spoilers", and citing River Song's diary rather than Torchwood's files.
| Title | Accompanying episode | Runtime | Originally available |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeping Angels | Flesh and Stone | 3'36" | 1 May 2010 |
| Vampires | The Vampires of Venice | 3'43" | 8 May 2010 |
| Silurians | Cold Blood | 3'25" | 29 May 2010 |
Webcasts were released to accompany each episode in series 6 and 7, but they returned to a format similar to the previous Tardisodes: full-cast short prequels.
Alien Files
The Alien Files
- Main article: The Alien Files
With series 3 (SJA),
Sarah Jane's Alien Files
- Main article: Sarah Jane's Alien Files
For series 4 of The Sarah Jane Adventures, the . Uniquely, these Files were broadcast on CBBC and included extra information beyond what was given in the accompanying episodes.
TARDIS Index Files
- Main article: TARDIS Index Files
On 23 November 2013, a short webcast called Zygon Stats was published on the BBC America YouTube channel to accompany the release of The Day of the Doctor on that day. The video description called it a "full report on the Zygon from the TARDIS's Index Files". Three years later, this became the basis of a new series of Files.
Unlike previous renditions of the format, these were not narrated but merely presented on the TARDIS scanner, with ambient TARDIS noises as the only audio. Additionally, they aired in 2016 between Doctor Who series 9 (Doctor Who) and 10 rather than alongside related episodes.
| # | Name | Subject | Release date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Who Are the Silurians? | Silurians | 24 February 2016 |
| 2 | Who Are the Weeping Angels? | Weeping Angels | 21 March 2016 |
| 3 | Who Are the Silence? | The Silence | 28 April 2016 |
| 4 | Who Are the Ood? | Ood | 21 May 2016 |
| 5 | Who Is Davros? | Davros | 20 June 2016 |
| 6 | Who Is the Master? | The Master | 18 July 2016 |
| 7 | Who Are the Zygons? | Zygons | 3 August 2016 |
| 8 | Who Are the Sontarans? | Sontarans | 14 September 2016 |
| 9 | Who Are the Cybermen? | Cybermen | 26 October 2016 |
| 10 | Who Are the Daleks? | Daleks | 26 November 2016 |
Case Files
Yaz's Case Files
- Main article: Yaz's Case File
Yaz's Case Files was a series of webcasts released on the Doctor Who website in 2018 and 2019 to tie in with Doctor Who series 11. The webcasts were scripted by Jacqueline Rayner[1] and provided mini-recaps of the accompanying episodes from Yasmin Khan's perspective.
P.R.O.B.E. Case Files
- Main article: P.R.O.B.E. Case Files
The P.R.O.B.E. Case Files, produced by BBV Productions rather than the BBC, reimagined the format of the Monster Files and Yaz's Case Files in the context of BBV's P.R.O.B.E. series. Each episode featured Giles discussing the files and activities of the Preternatural Research Bureau.