Doctor Who Confidential has been cancelled

[quinny06]

DoctorWhoNewsPage is reporting today that BBC3's Doctor Who Confidential will have its last episode after the 2011 Christmas special.

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

The reason given is mostly financial, and if that's the case then I'm not really surprised. I think I said earlier in the series that the show seemed to be on for longer than it had to be, and used a lot of expensive, copyrighted music.

But they didn't have to cancel it! Simply stop paying thousands of pounds for the rights to a song we'll only hear 30 seconds of during a montage of a stunt being performed. Cut the running time down, if that helps, because it did not need to be 45 minutes. Half an hour at the most, Torchwood: Declassified used to get 10 minutes and that seemed like more than enough. But basically, stop doing silly, expensive stuff like sending Toby Whithouse to Venice. Seriously, lovely to watch, but not really neccessary.

Anyway, this is a shame. We're lucky we have still have Doctor Who Magazine for any behind-the-scenes info.

[newbaggy]

Some of the cost-cutting suggestions don't actually cut costs. Confidential could afford to use "expensive" songs for 30 seconds because the BBC has a blanket agreement with the music industy. The BBC pays a single fee that allows many songs to be used in BBC-transmitted programmes (within certain limits) without needing individual clearance - and since the BBC pays centrally, the money doesn't come out of individual programme budgets. However, if the programme is subsequently made available for sale on DVD/Blu-Ray/download, the songs need to be cleared separately. Thus, the transmitted version of Revelation of the Daleks briefly features The Beatles' Do You Wanna Know A Secret?, but the DVD version is redubbed with a PJ Proby cover of the same song because the original was too costly to clear.

Yes, some of the more extravagant items - like sending Toby Whithouse to Venice - could be cut. However, simply cutting the length of Confidential might not automatically make it cheaper - you would still need the same number of "behind the scenes" camera crews to cover the shooting of each episode, do interviews, etc., but less of the material would go into the final programme because it would be shorter. Also, cut down Confidential too much, and it simply becomes a glorified DVD extra, rather than a viable programme worth transmitting - especially given the "samey" nature of some of the material (for example, there are only so many times that you can show someone dangling on wires in front of a green screen).

I suspect the latter argument is what has led to its demise. The Series 7 boxset (presumably available sometime in 2013) may include featurettes that are the equivalent of some of what we saw in Confidential. However, those (if they are made) will be financed out of the DVD production budget, not the BBC3 programme budget. From the BBC3 Controller's point of view, he has saved that money, and it means that he doesn't have to cut quite so hard elsewhere.

[quinny06]

Some of the cost-cutting suggestions don't actually cut costs. Confidential could afford to use "expensive" songs for 30 seconds because the BBC has a blanket agreement with the music industy. The BBC pays a single fee that allows many songs to be used in BBC-transmitted programmes (within certain limits) without needing individual clearance - and since the BBC pays centrally, the money doesn't come out of individual programme budgets.

I was really not aware of this. I've always presumed that Who relies more on Murrary Gold/score music because they can't afford to have an actual, chart song in every episode, in the way most US series do.

[newbaggy]

I was really not aware of this. I've always presumed that Who relies more on Murrary Gold/score music because they can't afford to have an actual, chart song in every episode, in the way most US series do.

They could use songs for BBC transmission, but from the outset, the Doctor Who team knew that every episode would be appearing on DVD and sold abroad. Therefore, it would be pointless to use songs that could not be cleared for DVD. For example, I was surprised that Britney Spears' Toxic was used in The End of the World, but since it was also used in Life On Mars, I assume that her record company licenses it on relatively reasonable terms. By contrast, Murray Gold's distorted version of Jingle Bells and his own Song For Ten replaced the intended songs (Phil Spector's versions of Here Comes Santa Claus and The Bells of St Mary's) because they could never be cleared for DVD use within budget.

Another, better, reason is that often (particularly in US shows - and certainly in a lot of movies) songs are used as a lazy alternative to a specially-composed score - particularly if the makers have half an eye on bringing out a soundtrack album. The judicious use of some songs can enhance a show, but too many U.S. episodes seem to be around around the obligatory "emotional" scene or montage that simply has to be accompanied by some awful ballad in a piece of crude manipulation that makes me want to kick the TV in. Thank goodness for Murray Gold for creating music that actually suits Doctor Who, rather than the audience being lumbered with some unsuitable would-be "chart" material that a record company is trying to promote.

[Tekken Force]

There was that episode that went with Night Terrors...I think it had Karen learning to drive and Arthur going diving. I've enjoyed Confo because Matt and the other two really take the time out for it and give us some laughs, but that episode made me wonder what did those activites have to do with the accompanying episode.

[quinny06]

Petition to save the show:

http://www.petitionbuzz.com/petitions/savedwc

Spread the word!

[WhoRU?]

There was that episode that went with Night Terrors...I think it had Karen learning to drive and Arthur going diving. I've enjoyed Confo because Matt and the other two really take the time out for it and give us some laughs, but that episode made me wonder what did those activites have to do with the accompanying episode.

I was thinking exactly the same thing. What does those activities have to do with the episode???

I didn't really had much of a laugh and was more concern about the thoughts about the episode.

Anyway, I guess the cost of being in America, doing extra unnecessary stuff tallies up. I am not sure but I thought that the original intention of the show was to self-promote Doctor Who by using bring more information about the film crew, support and the actors giving some insight and human face to the viewers. It is quite possible that the show has run it's course and that the objective has been achieved with a new era of Doctor Who is appreciated by millions of new fans young and old around the world and that the show can't do any more than it has already.