Backstage at Christmas (CON episode)
Backstage at Christmas was a special mini-episode of Doctor Who Confidential included on the series 1 DVD box set. It served as a preview for The Christmas Invasion. It was the only behind-the-scenes material about that episode made by the Confidential production team.
It did not go out under the Doctor Who Confidential banner, ostensibly because it was a preview of an upcoming episode rather than a review of an episode that had already been broadcast. However, the episode had enough commonality with Confidential — including theme music, narrator and production team — for most to consider it a part of the Confidential series. It was Simon Pegg's final act of narration for the series. David Tennant, having previously narrated the Confidential team's "preview" episode, Doctor Who: A New Dimension, made his first appearance in front of the cameras for the DWC team.
Aspects of production covered[[edit] | [edit source]]
This short episode was limited in what it could reveal about the episode, as it was made available to the public before The Christmas Invasion. It focused on three minor scenes in the accompanying episode:
- Jackie and Rose Tyler trying to nurse the Doctor back to health in their apartment
- The Roboform attack on Mickey and Rose in an open-air market, with particular emphasis on the felling of a large Christmas tree
- The choreography of blood controlled extras in a suburban Cardiff street
The entire episode was bound together by the general theme of the differing time pressures that a production crew faces on night shoots versus day shoots. It also contrasted the problems of working with large numbers of extras versus the difficulties of setting up shots involving large numbers of potentially dangerous practical effects.
Additional topics covered[[edit] | [edit source]]
This episode focused exclusively on the production of The Christmas Invasion.
People interviewed[[edit] | [edit source]]
- James Hawes, Director
- David Tennant, The Tenth Doctor
- Mike Crowley, Special Effects Supervisor
- Phil Collinson, Producer
- Noel Clarke, Mickey
Music list[[edit] | [edit source]]
- "Rough & Ready" by Phillmore Oakes & Matt Backer, Album: Indie Rock X-SERIES XCD014
- "Guitarmageddon" by Barry Jamieson, Dan McBean & John Sutton, Album: Brit Rock X-SERIES XCD096
- "Freak Show" by Lawrence Rudd, Daniel Mark Farrant & Tristan Keyte, Album: Indie Rock 2 X-SERIES XCD051
- "So Far So Good" by Gavin Griffiths, Album: Rock Positiva ATMOS203
Crew[[edit] | [edit source]]
| Executive Producer Mark Cossey |
| Executive Producers for Dr Who Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner |
| Series Producer Gillane Seaborne |
| Produced & Directed by Adam Page | |
| General production staff | Camera and lighting department
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General post-production staff
Sound |
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| BBC Wales |
| © BBC MMV |
| Not every person who worked on this episode was credited. The absence of a credit for a position doesn't necessarily mean the job wasn't required. The information above is based solely on observations of the actual end credits of the episodes as broadcast, and does not relay information from IMDB or other sources. |
Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]
Though this episode goes to great lengths to suggest that the production team had only one opportunity to fell the Christmas tree in the open-air market, the later in-vision commentary to The Christmas Invasion contradicts this. Phil Collinson states there that they actually did reset the scene and film it again.
Home video releases[[edit] | [edit source]]
This episode was exclusive to the Doctor Who: The Complete First Series DVD box set released on 21 November 2005.
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