The Star Beast: Behind the Scenes (documentary)

The Star Beast: Behind the Scenes
Subject:	The making of The Star Beast.
Broadcast with:	The Star Beast
Release date:	25 November 2023
Runtime:	14 minutes
Key crew
Interviewees:	Russell T Davies, Yasmin Finney, Catherine Tate, Jacqueline King, Karl Collins, Danny Hargreaves, Rachel Talalay, Robert Strange, Stephen Love, David Tennant, Ruth Madeley, Robyn Paiba, Dave Gibbons, Pat Mills, Joel Collins, Phil Sims, Phil Collinson
Full video
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Documentary series
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The Star Beast: Behind the Scenes was a Behind the Scenes documentary released on YouTube on 25 November 2023 following the broadcast of The Star Beast.

Covering the production of that story, it included many interviews with cast and crew. It was completely separate and in addition to Doctor Who: Unleashed, giving a more in-depth look at other parts of the production process.

Made by the same production company, the most apparent difference was the lack of Steffan Powell as a presenter.

Main subject

The making of The Star Beast.

Topics covered

• The read through for all three 2023 specials on 3 May 2022.
  • The fact that notes are made after the read through, leading to a new draft.
  • The fact that they start filming six days after the read through.
• Yasmin Finney's casting as Rose Noble.
• The returning casts' opinions on returning to the show.
• The prepping of the interior of Donna Noble's house for an explosion.
• The invasion of Donna Noble's house by the Wrarth Warriors
  • The use of paintball guns and "zirconium hits" (a material that sparks upon contact).
• The use of a disused steel works outside of Cardiff as the set for the Meep's crash site.
  • The use of CGI to create the top-half of the Meep's rocket.
  • The building of the lower-half of the Meep's rocket and the dressing of the set around it.
  • The visit of Pat Mills and Dave Gibbons to this location and their opinions on the adaption.
• David Tennant's reaction to seeing the script and the fact that it's an adaption of Doctor Who and the Star Beast for the first time, and his love for the comic story.
• The use of puppets and VFX to create the Meep.
• The fact that the Meep was originally not going to look as close to the original comic strip as it ended up doing, including showing some original designs briefly.
• The Wrarth Warriors.
  • The use of a handheld scanner to create a 3D mould of the Wrarth Warriors' actors that can then be used to create the suits.
  • The use of "digi-legs" for the Wrarth Warriors.
  • The application of the Wrarth Warriors' actors' prosthetics.
  • The limited visibility of the Wrarth Warriors' actors and how they practised with a COVID-19 mask worn as a blindfold that they'd cut small holes into.
  • The use of earpieces by the Wrarth Warriors' actors to be able to hear instruction from the 1st AD and creature choreographer.
• The filming of the battle scene on a residential road.
  • The explosion of the Land Rover in this scene.
• The new TARDIS interior and Donna's spilling of coffee on the console.
  • The creation of the flames on the TARDIS console using "witches' fingers".

People interviewed

• Russell T Davies, Writer & Executive Producer
• Yasmin Finney, Rose Noble
• Catherine Tate, Donna Noble
• Jacqueline King, Sylvia Noble
• Karl Collins, Shaun Temple
• Danny Hargreaves, SFX Supervisor
• Rachel Talalay, Director
• Robert Strange, Wrarth Warrior 1
• Stephen Love, Wrarth Warrior 2
• David Tennant, The Doctor
• Ruth Madeley, Shirley Bingham
• Robyn Paiba, Supervising Art Director
• Dave Gibbons, Artist - The Star Beast
• Pat Mills, Writer - The Star Beast
• Joel Collins, Executive Producer
• Phil Sims, Production Designer
• Phil Collinson, Executive Producer