The Ultimate Guide (2013 documentary)

The Ultimate Guide
Subject:	Doctor Who's 50-year history
Broadcast on:	BBC Three
Broadcast date:	18 November 2013
Runtime:	118'08"
Key crew
Interviewees:	Sophie Aldred, Colin Baker, Nicola Bryant, Noel Clarke, Peter Davison, Karen Gillan, Louise Jameson, Bruno Langley, Katy Manning, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, Steven Moffat, David Tennant
Narrator:	Russell Tovey
Director:	Tom Cohen
Producer:	Tom Cohen
Executive producer:	Mark Cossey

You may wish to consult The Ultimate Guide for other, similarly-named pages.

The Ultimate Guide was a documentary made by BBC Events Production in London which aired on BBC Three in the run-up to the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who. It gave a broad overview of the show's history, and interviewed many people involved in its production over the years, including five of the actors who portrayed the Doctor: Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann and David Tennant — as well as the current executive producer and head writer Steven Moffat.

The documentary also featured former Doctor Who cast members Nicola Bryant, Sophie Aldred, Noel Clarke, Karen Gillan, Louise Jameson, Bruno Langley, and Katy Manning. Moreover, it contained interviews with a series of British personalities, such as Tom Craine, Jon Culshaw, Joel Dommett, Rick Edwards, Konnie Huq, McFly, Al Murray, Ricky Norwood and Kayvan Novak.

The documentary was book-ended by a short sketch, known as The History of the Doctor, featuring the Eleventh Doctor and Clara Oswald in the TARDIS.

Minisode

For the in universe minisode that bookended this documentary, see The History of the Doctor for more info.

Musical tracks

Although the documentary wasn't produced by the same team that had done Doctor Who Confidential, it shared with Confidential a musical soundtrack dominated by extremely modern music. Indeed, most of its soundtrack came from no earlier than 2008, with many tracks coming from 2013 itself, including:

• "Roar" by Katy Perry, underscoring a discussion of Leela
• "Get Sexy" by the Sugababes, underscoring a discussion of Peri
• "It's My Party" by Jessie J, underscoring a discussion of Ace
• "Letters from the Sky" by Civil Twilight, underscoring a discussion of the Fifth Doctor's self-sacrifice in The Caves of Androzani
• "Yeah Yeah" by Willy Moon, beginning the discussion on the Tenth Doctor
• "Short Change Hero" by The Heavy, underscoring a discussion of the Eleventh Doctor's development in The Eleventh Hour

Though the soundtrack definitely skewed towards 2013, the odd older track made its way in, such as when Beck's "Loser" was used to introduce the character of Mickey Smith, or "Baba O'Riley" for the Fourth Doctor.

Crew

• With thanks to - Matt Smith, Jenna Coleman, Dr Who Production Team
• Narrator - Russell Tovey
• Motion Graphics & Titles - Peter Anderson Studio
• Additional Graphics - Ollie Smith
• Camera - Heath Greenslade, Nigel Dupont, Mark Thompson
• Sound - Stephen Hodge
• Makeup - Nadia Altinbas, Sarah Burrows, Anna Cash, Laura Szydlowski
• Production Coordinators - Liane Zuchelkowski
• Production Accountant - Marc Wall
• Production Manager - Kate Jones
• Production Executive - Paul Williams
• Assistant Producers - Katy Kendrick, Tim Thompson, Richard Ward
• Archive Consultant - Jeremy Moorhead
• Archive Producer - Richard Molesworth
• Celebrity Producer - Jay Miller
• Offline Editors - Andy Bedwell, Jon Bignold, Paul Mills, Sam Ralli, Andy Richards
• Online Editors - Victor Riva, Alex Leask
• Dubbing Mixer - Matt Stronge
• Edit Producer - Paul de Freitas
• Head of Events - Phil Dolling
• Commissioning Editor - Pinki Chambers
• Executive Producer - Mark Cossey
• Produced & Directed by - Tom Cohen
• BBC Events Production London

Cut downs

A Cut down version is available in at least two parts.

Notes

• The opening credits from Series 7B are used to open the documentary, but omitting the screen credits for Smith and Coleman and a writer credit. The closing credits, however, are the Series 7A version of the credits.

Home video releases

This documentary was released individually on DVD (Region 4 only) on 16 April 2014; and was included on the Doctor Who: 50th Anniversary Collector's Edition DVD & Blu-ray box set released on 8 September 2014.

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  The Ultimate Guide DVD cover.

• 

  50th Anniversary Collector's Edition DVD cover.

• 

  50th Anniversary Collector's Edition Blu-ray cover.

The Ultimate Guide is available as part of BBC iPlayer's Whoniverse catalog of Doctor Who content.

External links

• Official site for the programme