BritBox has emerged as a significant player in the UK streaming landscape, particularly for fans of British television. With a rich library of classic shows, its appeal was amplified even further by the arrival of a vast collection of Classic Doctor Who. Having spent considerable time exploring BritBox, especially its Doctor Who offerings across various devices, here’s a detailed look at whether it lives up to the hype for Whovians.
BritBox Explained: Your Gateway to British TV Classics
For those unfamiliar, BritBox is a streaming service born from a collaboration between two of the UK’s broadcasting giants, the BBC and ITV. Its core mission is to provide a comprehensive catalogue of British television box-sets, ranging from timeless classics to more recent gems. Think of it as a curated treasure trove of British TV history, available at your fingertips.
The anticipation for BritBox in the UK was palpable. While UK viewers often enjoy perks like early access to certain films and ad-free BBC channels, the wait for dedicated streaming services can be lengthy. BritBox was one such service that felt like it was a long time coming, similar to the anticipation surrounding Disney+ before its UK launch.
BritBox finally launched in the UK on November 7th, 2019, priced at £5.99 per month (with a 30-day free trial for new subscribers). While it had been available in the US prior, the delay in the UK launch likely stemmed from complex licensing agreements. Initially, a key element was missing from the service that was crucial for many fans: Doctor Who. However, BritBox quickly addressed this, making it a central selling point.
Doctor Who Takes Center Stage on BritBox
It’s no exaggeration to say that BritBox, especially in its early days, could easily have been nicknamed “WhoBox” due to its prominent focus on Doctor Who. The marketing and user interface heavily emphasized the Doctor Who content, signaling its importance to the service. Upon logging in to the BritBox app, Doctor Who is prominently featured in the top-level navigation – a prime spot no other show occupies. This immediate accessibility highlights the platform’s understanding of Doctor Who’s draw.
The marketing campaigns surrounding BritBox’s launch further reinforced this Doctor Who focus. Advertisements weren’t just promoting BritBox as a whole; they were specifically showcasing the extensive Doctor Who library available. Interestingly, even ITV, traditionally a rival network to the BBC, aired commercials highlighting Doctor Who on BritBox, an unusual move that underscored the significance of this content for attracting subscribers.
Delving Deep into the Classic Doctor Who Universe on BritBox
The real test for BritBox’s Doctor Who offering came with the Boxing Day addition of almost the entire Classic Doctor Who collection. Excitement was high as fans logged in to explore the depth and breadth of content. Did BritBox deliver a truly comprehensive experience? The resounding answer is yes, with a remarkable amount of content and some welcome extras.
Unlike other shows on BritBox with their standard layouts, Doctor Who is treated to a dedicated section within the app. Clicking on Doctor Who, whether from the top navigation or homepage sections, transports you to a unique hub. Here, you’re greeted by the iconic Doctor Who logo and various pathways to explore different Doctors and eras of the show, alongside curated content highlighting specific Doctors and special features. It’s crucial to note that currently, BritBox UK focuses solely on Classic Doctor Who, not the modern series.
Let’s look at the impressive statistics that showcase the scale of Classic Doctor Who available on BritBox:
- Content Volume: A staggering 627 items of Doctor Who content are available.
- Complete Stories: This includes 129 complete stories, totaling 558 individual episodes.
- Animated and Restored Episodes: Four stories (22 episodes) – The Tenth Planet, The Moonbase, The Ice Warriors, and The Invasion – are presented using a mix of original surviving footage and animation to fill in missing episodes. Shada is available as a 130-minute special.
- Fully Animated Stories: Two entirely animated stories, The Power of the Daleks and The Macra Terror, are included and presented in HD, offering a fresh way to experience these lost stories.
- Orphaned Episodes: BritBox includes 5 “orphaned” episodes from incomplete stories: The Crusade, Galaxy 4, The Space Pirates, and The Celestial Toymaker, providing fragments of otherwise missing narratives.
- The Eighth Doctor TV Movie: The 1996 Doctor Who TV Movie starring Paul McGann is also part of the collection.
- Telesnap Reconstructions: Stories like The Underwater Menace, The Wheel in Space, and The Web of Fear, which have missing episodes, are supplemented with telesnaps – still photographs taken from the original broadcasts – to help viewers follow the narrative.
- Pilot Episode and “An Adventure in Space and Time”: The very first episode, An Unearthly Child – The Pilot Episode, is available, alongside the acclaimed docudrama An Adventure in Space and Time, which tells the story of the show’s creation.
- Spin-off Content: The Sarah Jane Smith spin-off pilot, K-9 and Company, is included, expanding the Doctor Who universe.
- Documentaries: BritBox offers supplementary documentaries such as More than 30 Years in the TARDIS and Doctor Who: Doctors Revisited, adding further depth for fans.
Browse by Doctor
Browse Doctor Who stories by era on BritBox.
With the inclusion of orphaned episodes, BritBox offers virtually the entirety of Classic Doctor Who that still exists in some form. While completely lost stories like The Daleks’ Master Plan, The Evil of the Daleks, and The Abominable Snowmen remain unavailable, this is due to the unfortunate loss of the original recordings, not a limitation of BritBox. Perhaps, in the future, we might see even audio reconstructions added, but for now, BritBox provides an incredibly comprehensive archive.
Navigating the TARDIS Library: Browsing Doctor Who on BritBox
Finding your way around the vast Doctor Who library on BritBox is generally straightforward. If you know which Doctor or story you’re looking for, navigation is simple. You can select a Doctor from the illustrated artwork at the top of the Doctor Who hub. This takes you to that Doctor’s section, displaying stories grouped together. However, within this view, you can’t select individual episodes directly – you’d need to start playing from part one and skip ahead.
For episode-level browsing, BritBox offers a dedicated section labeled “Over 600 Doctor Who Classic episodes” with a “browse by episode” button. This leads to a more detailed view where you can navigate through each series and select specific episodes.
One notable drawback is the search functionality. While searching for “Doctor Who” will yield results like “Doctor Who Classic” and documentaries, it doesn’t allow you to search for specific episodes directly. Even more strangely, searching for an actor like “Peter Davison” will show results for other shows he’s in but not Doctor Who. Therefore, to find a particular story or episode, you need to navigate within the Doctor Who section of the app.
Another area for potential improvement is the consistency of episode artwork. While each Doctor’s series uses a consistent photo of the Doctor, the episode thumbnails themselves are a mix. Some use what appears to be DVD cover art, complete with DVD-style title text and logos. It’s unclear if this is a deliberate UX choice to highlight certain episodes or simply a matter of incomplete thumbnail creation. Consistent episode-specific artwork for each thumbnail would enhance the browsing experience, as the Doctor and series are already clearly indicated.
Curated Collections: Guiding Your Doctor Who Journey
Beyond browsing by Doctor or episode, BritBox enhances content discovery with curated collections. This is a particularly helpful feature for viewers who are in the mood for Classic Doctor Who but are undecided on what to watch. Decision paralysis when faced with such a large library is a common experience, and these collections offer a solution.
Collections like “New to Who” present a curated selection of popular stories, one from each Doctor’s era, alongside An Adventure in Space and Time and Tales from the TARDIS. Other collections are themed, such as “Villains: Cybermen” or “The Fourth Doctor: 10 of the Best,” or even actor-curated lists like “Tom Baker’s favourite fourth Doctor stories.” These collections streamline the viewing decision process, offering starting points based on themes, Doctors, or popularity.
BritBox also uses full-width banners to highlight specific Doctors or stories like the TV Movie or the Tales from the Tardis documentary. This level of curation and dedicated presentation of Doctor Who content clearly demonstrates BritBox’s commitment to making it a central attraction for the service.
App Performance and Viewing Experience
BritBox’s app performance is commendable across various platforms. Testing on Google Chrome (browser), Apple TV, and iPhone revealed a well-developed and responsive experience on all three. Apple TV emerged as a preferred platform for watching Classic Doctor Who, offering an excellent big-screen viewing experience and seamless integration with other streaming apps like Netflix and Twitch. Navigation within the app is smooth and intuitive, with quick loading times and no noticeable glitches.
Picture quality is generally excellent, especially for content like An Adventure in Space and Time and Spearhead from Space, which are presented in HD. While the app indicates HD streaming for all episodes, this refers to the output signal, not necessarily the original content resolution. The overall picture quality for the rest of the Classic Doctor Who content is comparable to the quality seen on the DVDs. Naturally, there’s no 4K available, with streaming in native resolution or upscaled HD. Audio quality is similarly on par with the DVD releases, with no noticeable issues or audio remixing.
The Future of Doctor Who on BritBox: What’s Next?
Looking ahead, the question of future Doctor Who content on BritBox is intriguing. For Classic Doctor Who, it’s reasonable to expect the addition of upcoming animated reconstructions of lost episodes, such as Fury from the Deep and The Faceless Ones, as well as any other missing parts that may be recovered.
Beyond Classic Doctor Who, the big question is whether modern Doctor Who (post-2005) will ever become available on BritBox. Currently, BritBox is positioned as the “first complete digital home of Doctor Who Classic,” with a clear emphasis on the classic era. While BritBox primarily focuses on classic TV, it does offer some more recent shows like Downton Abbey and Gavin & Stacey, indicating a potential for broader content in the future.
The inclusion of modern Doctor Who likely hinges on licensing agreements and broadcast contracts. Modern Doctor Who is still broadcast on the W channel in the UK and is freely available on the BBC’s iPlayer. This existing availability might complicate its addition to BritBox in the near future.
Spin-offs are another area to consider. Currently, The Sarah Jane Adventures, Torchwood, and Class are not on iPlayer or being broadcast on UK TV channels. These spin-offs, particularly The Sarah Jane Adventures as a natural successor to K-9 and Company, seem like ideal candidates for BritBox. However, licensing agreements likely play a significant role here as well.
Reflecting on the physical versus digital media debate, many Doctor Who fans, including myself, still value physical media releases. Box sets and individual DVDs hold a special appeal. However, the convenience of having the entire Doctor Who library accessible within an app is undeniably attractive. The ability to seamlessly browse through classic and potentially modern Doctors, explore specific monsters or storylines across eras, is a compelling concept.
While physical media offers its own appeal, the accessibility of instantly streaming any Doctor Who episode from a vast library is a significant advantage. It encourages spontaneous viewing and exploration of the Doctor Who universe, even if it does promote a bit more couch time.
Browse by individual episodes
Explore individual Doctor Who episodes on BritBox with ease.
Final Verdict: BritBox – A Must-Have for Classic Doctor Who Enthusiasts
BritBox, in its current form, is a fantastic streaming service, particularly for fans of Classic Doctor Who. Initially skeptical, the ease of access and the sheer volume of Classic Doctor Who content available have made it a compelling offering. The curated collections are a welcome addition, simplifying content discovery and encouraging exploration of different stories.
While minor UX improvements could be made, such as enhancing the search functionality to include episodes, the BritBox app is well-designed and performs reliably. Episodes load quickly, and playback is smooth, making for an enjoyable viewing experience.
The future inclusion of modern Doctor Who remains an open question, but even focusing solely on Classic Doctor Who, BritBox provides significant value. It’s a worthwhile service for anyone planning a comprehensive Classic Doctor Who re-watch or for those wanting to explore the origins of this iconic series.
For now, BritBox stands as the definitive digital home for Classic Doctor Who, offering a robust and user-friendly platform to delve into decades of time-traveling adventures.
