02x00 - Backstage at Christmas

[bunniefuu]

(SIMON) It's the height of summer

and the Doctor Who team
are sh**ting the Christmas special.

This year it looks like Christmas cheer
is going to be in very short supply.

The Christmas episode is invasion Earth.

It's called Christmas Invasion.

It is about, if you like,
mankind's first experience

of the thr*at of an alien
landing on the planet.

Action!

And cut. Reset straight away, please.

The real twist for this episode,
given that it's Doctor Who,

is the Doctor is in the middle of his
regeneration when this happens

and he ain't there to save us.

- We should take him to hospital.
- We can't.

A lot of this week I'm spending flat on
my back in a postregenerative trauma.

Which basically means I just lie there
and everyone comes and mops my brow.

And is terribly nice about me

and listens to my heart
and worries about me.

Camille and Billie have to sort of
pore over me and look after me.

It's tough but I'm getting there,
I'm coping with it.

And, er, so far I think I'm doing
a damn fine job of being unconscious.

It's some of my finest work, actually.

(TENNANT) I've been tucked in
by all sorts of different departments.

It's lovely.
Is anyone else going to tuck me in?

- Aw.
-(WOMAN) Take three.

- Very quiet in the studio, please.
- , take .

Set.

Action.

- Both working.
- What do you mean, both?

- He's got two hearts.
- Oh, don't be stupid.

- Anything else he's got two of?
- Leave him alone.

Cut.

We're halfway through week two. We did
a week in London, now we're in Cardiff

for the first of INA-something weeks
on the second series of Doctor Who.

So far, so good.
I've had a great time so far.

I hope I'm still saying that at week .

But no, it's been great. Very friendly,
very welcoming atmosphere.

And, you know, it's great.
We're getting to...play at Doctor Who.

Here we go. Tina the cleaner's
got this medical student.

No, she hasn't, she's got a lodger.
There you go.

(HAWES) As good as far as it went.
Still rolling.

Medical student?

Thank you. Erm, there was...

SIMON". Back on the streets of Cardiff,

the day has only just begun
for the cast and crew.

If we clear everybody
for the plate sh*t.

Okay, everybody stand this end
for a plate sh*t.

And then we need to get everybody
in the new positions.

(HAWES) We have an -hour sh**ting day

so we use some of those hours now
to get some of the daylight scenes.

And then we have to do a location move
and go on into the small hours.

Let's wait for a little bit of shade.

I know that when it comes
to the small hours

with all the complexities of
special effects and lighting for night,

we will be up against it.

This, frankly, is frustrating
because we've got time at the moment.

We're waiting for the extras to come
back in a new set of costumes.

We've got time to do that.

It's a luxury I can afford now. It's a
luxury I'm going to regret later on.

(SIMON) In the centre of town,

steps are being taken to ensure
the night goes off with a bang.

Within Doctor Who, you've got
computer effects, model effects

and then you've got prosthetic effects.

I play the physical effects
part of that team.

It's my responsibility
to explain to the assistant directors

what is going to happen,
where the safe distances are

and, therefore, how you control it.

We have to do something
that no one else can do,

we have to do it safely,
we have to do it on time

and, obviously, within budget.

That's pretty difficult sometimes.

There's always an element of risk
but it's about controlling that risk.

And action.

Whenever we come outdoors
on something like this,

it's to do something big.

(MAN) Go back! Go down, down, down!

We've got great big wide sh*ts
of the buildings around here.

We've redressed Howells,
which is the main store in Cardiff.

Looked very good to me.

We've got a whole market that we've
shipped in from, I think, Cornwall.

The council are doing up their lights
for us, so it's a big sh**t.

It feels like Christmas to me.
August? Is it August? I hadn't noticed.

It's cold, look. See, it's winter to me.
It just feels Christmassy.

People are walking around
singing Christmas songs and stuff

so you kind of get into the Christmas
spirit way too early.

SIMON: Doctor Who has all the right
ingredients for a cracking Christmas.

But tonight's Santa: are not armed
with presents.

The Santa Clauses basically form
a four-piece band...

(MAN) Right, just step forward
a bit further, please.

...and each of their instruments
becomes a lethal w*apon.

One of them has a tuba
with a flamethrower in it.

There are two trumpets
that fire b*ll*ts.

And there's a trombone
that fires mortars.

A loud bang? It was more of a fart!

Action.

(ROSE SQUEALING)

Cut!

The scenes we're filming tonight
around here,

as you can see,
with all these angels and stuff,

is Rose and Mickey
doing their Christmas shopping.

It's Christmas,
I'm begging her, “Please,

“let's just have
nice Christmas shopping.“

There's a huge tree here,
I don't know if you can...

(CLICKING FINGERS)

(LAUGHING) just turn
and see this tree here,

which, later on, is going to fall down.

(SCREAMING)

And cut.

We've actually done three
special effects sh*ts tonight already.

You know, it's great,
the whole team are working hard.

And we've got muzzle flash, effectively.

And we're about now to, erm...

We're about to topple the Christmas tree
that's behind me.

And that comes down
and squashes one of the Santa Clauses.

So it's kind of fingers crossed.

(SIMON) There's only enough time
to film the falling tree in one take

so the pressure 's on
to get it right on the first attempt.

- Santas over there.
- Yes.

- Cameras back here.
- Camera here to foreshorten the fall.

Exactly. And then I was going to put
the second camera just looking up at it.

A step back away, so we'll have
that sense of it coming down towards us.

Every set-up takes a while.
You can't make this go any faster

because they have to set it safely, they
have to know where it's gonna go bang.

Huge set-up, stuntman,
special effects team.

I have to get that money
on camera somehow today

to tell that bit of the story.

It's now about
to three in the morning.

What I said to you earlier
about wanting more night-time,

well, here's where we want it.

I've got minutes left on the clock.

Now, where is that tree falling to?

- I'm concerned...
- That it might go that way. Okay.

So, in other words,
the camera is safer here.

I've had to cut a couple of sh*ts
that would've been, I guess, finessing.

I've got to just keep asking myself,

-“What's telling the story?“
- ON WALKIE-TALKIE: Positions, please.

Here we go. Thank you.

So, smoke in...

(MAN O N WALKIE-TALKIE)
Keep the background clear, please.

And action.

(HAWES) Cut it. Thank you.

- Good?
- Yeah.

(MAN) That's a wrap.
Thank you very much, everybody.

It was a bit of a rush at the end

but we had enough time to make sure
we'd covered all the angles.

We got some good camera angles on that
and action and it fell.

So, yes, couldn't be happier.

- Well done, mate.
- Nice one.

SIMON". And in months' time,
they'll be doing it all again.

We've also been commissioned to make

a Christmas special for next year,
for as well.

So I would hope this is going to become
the norm for the next couple of years.

Bye-bye. Thanks, you guys. Thank you.