Doctor Who at Comic-Con 2009
Comic-Con, held annually in San Diego, is a huge convention attended by about 125,000 people over four days, originally showcasing comics, science-fiction/fantasy and film & television, now expanded to take in horror, animé, video games and more. This featurette is a video journal of the highlights of Doctor Who's visit in 2009 with Russell T Davies, David Tennant and Julie Gardener as representatives.
As a video journal style piece don't expect super production values, but it's competently assembled and an interesting, if limited, look at the biggest convention of its type in the world. The highlight is the, err, highlights of the 'Doctor Who Panel' where they all answer questions from a 4000 strong audience of fans (yes, they sorted out who'd be asking the questions beforehand!) which goes to show David, Russell et al all know how to work a crowd and, in return, the crowd are appreciative and enthusiastic. I found myself wishing we could have seen the whole panel and maybe some more background footage but, still, a enjoyable little watch.
17 minutes
Deleted Scenes
One of my favourite extras (and a favourite of a lot of people I know who aren't the uber-DVD fans that I am) these are enhanced here by Russell T Davies introducing each one with a short explanation of why it was cut from the final transmission. So long as the reason isn't "cut for time" (and hardly any of these are, despite what Russell says in his opening overview) I find this sort of back information about cut sub-plots and deliberate attempts to stop an early reveal of a plot point interesting so I appreciate the way these have been done all the more.
21 minutes
Doctor Who Prom 2008
The Doctor Who prom showcased the music of Doctor Who, as composed by Murray Gold, as well as other non-Doctor Who pieces. This, however, is the cut down version of the Prom, as transmitted in early 2009 on UK TV which removes the non-Doctor Who/Murray Gold portions.
Presented by Freema Agyaman (Martha) the show is obviously a treat for old and young alike who were there and does a great job of showing off Murray's music as well as entertaining the crowds with live action monsters and charcters and a specially recorded 'mini-episode' featuring David Tennant which was cleverly integrated into the narrative of the prom as a whole. Whether you are one of those watchers who think the music on the show is too intrusive and constant, or (like me) tend not to even notice except knowing it does its job of subconciously introducing moods and characters through specific themes, I think you can still enjoy it in this setting...
... and I confess that (even though I'm not really one for going "ahhhh" in response to "the smiles on little kiddies faces") the reaction of the youngsters (and some of their parents) as they sit or stand with looks of wonderment, excitement and nervousness on their faces, sometimes clinging onto a parent or hiding behind a chair (no sofas) or pointing excitedly as Cybermen, Sontarans, Ood, Judoon and Daleks with their leader Davros invade the Royal Albert Hall to the accompaniment of a crashing musical score brings a lump to my throat and occasionally a small tear to my eye...
Approx 1 hour
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