The Ultimate Guide (2013 documentary)

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:

Though the soundtrack definitely skewed towards 2013, the odd older track made its way in, such as when 's "" was used to introduce the character of Mickey Smith, or "" for the Fourth Doctor.
 * "" by, underscoring a discussion of Leela
 * "" by the Sugababes, underscoring a discussion of Peri
 * "" by, underscoring a discussion of Ace
 * "" by, underscoring a discussion of the Fifth Doctor's self-sacrifice in The Caves of Androzani
 * "" by, beginning the discussion on the Tenth Doctor
 * "" by, underscoring a discussion of the Eleventh Doctor's development in The Eleventh Hour

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.

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.