Doctor Who Confidential Comes to an End

[Allyn Gibson]

This Saturday's Doctor Who Confidential will be the last, according to the BBC. It will feature a short Doctor Who episode, "Death is the Only Answer."

The Guardian chalks the cancellation up to the BBC's budget cuts and austerity budget: "with the corporation facing budget cuts of up to 20% across its output as part of its "Delivering Quality First" initiative, BBC controller Zai Bennett has chosen to axe the show at the end of its current series."

Confidential had a good run, I suppose.

 

[MacLeod]

Which is odd because DW Confidential is usually of a good quality, unlike some of the other rubbish the BBC churns out.

 

[Andrew_Kearley]

Can't say I'll miss it particularly.

 

[23skidoo]

According to the Doctor Who News Page, the last Confidential will actually be the one produced for the Christmas special (which makes sense as the special is currently in production).

http://www.doctorwhonews.net/2011/09/dwn280911123008-doctor-who-confidential.html

Very sad news, because Confidential was quite a unique aspect of the franchise. But with the BBC apparently in money problems I suppose I'd rather it go than Doctor Who itself be cancelled or downgraded. Personally, I'm expecting the BBC to drop back to having only one channel in a few years. Licence fees can only be stretched so far, and unless the UK is willing to start seeing ads for McDonald's on the Beeb, some things have to give.

The ramifications for future DVD releases of the revival series are pretty serious though as Confidential has been responsible for quite a bit of the bonus features related to the new series. Hopefully 2 Entertain will be able to pick up the slack. I would have loved to have seen Confidential do a 50th anniversary episode, though.

Alex

 

[VDCNI]

It has been getting horribly tired lately as they ran out of things to talk about.

Probably for the best.

 

[wamdue]

it has been pretty good this year, Matt & Karen were always a joy to watch.

BBC 3 once axed EastEnders: Revealed, but you still get similar shows on BBC 3.

 

[Shazam!]

part of its "Delivering Quality First" initiative

ie. more repeats

 

[23skidoo]

It has been getting horribly tired lately as they ran out of things to talk about.

Probably for the best.

I'm going to disagree with you on this. Granted, the "day in the life" segments were a bit variable, but this season (and last) Karen, Matt and Arthur really got involved in Confidential, to the extent I thought they should be credited as co-hosts. They also gave us great segments like Karen visiting Greenwich last year and Karen and Arthur "facing their fears" a couple weeks back. And this Saturday Confidential is even featuring an original mini-episode, which might have been followed up by more of the same. And although the DVDs could only include Cutdowns, the show was being sold overseas, either in Cutdown or full-length formats, so it's not as if there wasn't commercial value in it.

The sobering thought is, at a time when the Guardian and other media in the UK seem hellbent on putting a death watch on Doctor Who as a series, the cancellation of Confidential, Totally Doctor Who, Torchwood Declassified, The Sarah Jane Adventures and with the future of Torchwood uncertain, what was once a thriving multi-show franchise has contracted to just a single show (I won't count K-9 because it's not a BBC production and it's remained relatively obscure and we don't know for certain if there'll be a second season). That's not necessarily a bad thing (Star Trek remains the poster child for franchise fatigue), but I'll feel more comfortable when the BBC gets a Madame Vastra spin-off going or something like that. Heck, I'll take a Craig Owens sitcom!

Alex

 

[VDCNI]

The Guardian has made the odd blog post about the show which actually have been essentially fair - it is not trying to get DW cancelled.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Wow, this is very disappointing. I love watching Doctor Who Confidential because we get wonderful insights in the production of the series. I have to also agree with Alex that the show wasn't getting tiring and, for one, loved the "Day in the Life" segment (even if it got a little silly with 3rd director assistant or whatever it was a couple of weeks ago). The episode for "The Doctor's Wife" was especially fun because of Neil Gaiman and his enthusiasm not just for Doctor Who, but also for Confidential. Matt, Karen, and Arthur have greatly attributed to Confidential which I think has picked up the show in the last couple of years.

Here's hoping we do get a special Confidential episode for the 50th anniversary.

 

[Starkers]

I've had quite a variable relationship with Confidential. To be honest a lot of the time I forget its even there. When I have seen it it's often been very interesting and informative but...but, on occasion it's been more than a little smug and self satisfied. That's just my opinion but I'd rather the BBC spent the money on something else (hopefully that something else being a halfway decent replacement for SJA!)

I don't think Dr Who needs spin off shows to be succesful.

 

[VDCNI]

I do wonder if part of the reason is they are planning some proper documentaries for the 50th and need the cash for that.

 

[23skidoo]

I (and others) stand corrected. The Doctor Who News Page item has been updated to indicate there will not be a Christmas Special edition after all. As originally posted above, the final episode will indeed air this Saturday. I really feel sorry for the Confidential crew because presumably they are in the midst of producing the Christmas edition.

I don't think Dr Who needs spin off shows to be succesful.

Oh I agree with you there. The point I was making is that for whatever reason (and several blogs in particular Kasterborous have been writing a lot about this recently) a fair amount of UK media have started to act like sharks in the water with regards to Doctor Who, claiming (often via creative interpretation of things like overnight ratings numbers) that the series is fading fast. This despite other evidence to the contrary. The cancellation of Doctor Who Confidential in my opinion will just add fuel to that fire, even though the series never needed Confidential to be a success. Nor did it need SJA or Torchwood, for that matter. It did perfectly fine on its own for 26 years, after all.

But there is still something to be said for a series "spearheading a thriving franchise" and we can't really say that anymore. Torchwood is in limbo and may or may not return (that's up to RTD and Starz), SJA of course has ended through no fault of anyone's (no one blames the BBC for that decision; much as we like the supporting characters a Clyde and Rani series really wouldn't have been viable - Sarah Jane was the show), and K9 may or may not be back for a second season and the impression I get is we're lucky if 1 in 50 Doctor Who fans have ever even seen that one. And the other behind-the-scenes shows - Torchwood Declassified and Totally Doctor Who - are long gone. It's just a shame.

That said - the fact the franchise has contracted to one core show isn't necessarily a bad thing because it might open the door for, indeed, another spinoff, whether that be Vastra or something else. Plus I can't imagine the BBC won't commission some sort of documentary series for the 50th anniversary.

Alex

 

[Captain Crow]

Not surprising really. To be honest, it probably should have ended after the first or second series.

 

[MacLeod]

The BBC could in theory do another series of TW without Starz and even RTD. Unlikely given the 20% cuts the Beeb is facing.

Just look forward to more repeats and cheap make over shows.

 

[captcalhoun]

if the Beeb wants to save money, they should give the Welsh a big FUCK YOU and shut down S4C, it gets fewer viewers than some of the obscure digital channels from what i read.

and the BBC is not going to go back to one channel. it might drop 3 and 4, Parliament or even drop CBeebies, but it sure as shit won't drop CBBC, BBC News or 2.

 

[Lonemagpie]

TBH, it should have gone ages ago. The half-hour "making of" shows were good, but stuff like "Arthur visits an aquarium" are a sign that it was well past its use-by date.

 

[Meredith]

Don't worry they will still have DVD special features that will cover the same crap.

 

[Chaos Descending]

According to the Doctor Who News Page, the last Confidential will actually be the one produced for the Christmas special (which makes sense as the special is currently in production).

http://www.doctorwhonews.net/2011/09/dwn280911123008-doctor-who-confidential.html

Alex

If you follow the very link you've posted, it says this:

"The producer of the behind-the-scenes documentary series Doctor Who Confidential, Zoe Rushton, has confirmed on Twitter that the show will no longer be produced by the BBC. The final edition of the show will be broadcast this coming Saturday at 8:35pm on BBC3 (with Rushton clarifying that previously reported production for a Christmas edition is no longer occuring)."

 

[Savage Jaw]

Don't worry they will still have DVD special features that will cover the same crap.

Maybe not. A lot of the DVD special features were culled from Confidential. If they keep them, 2Entertain are going to have to fund it themselves (I presume 2E were already paying the BBC to use Confidential footage, but it wouldn't be as expensive as having to fund it themselves).