Tonight's edition of Confidential had a deleted scene from The Hungry Earth in it.

I've uploaded the clip here:

http://blogtorwho.blogspot.com/2010/...ted-scene.html

It seems like it would have been a lovely scene, but I take their point that given the need to trim the running time that it wasn't essential to the plot. Tough call.

Thanks for uploading that!

So the Doctor likes Rory. A lot. That was a bit RTDesque. Perhaps we are in for an unexpected triangle

ETA: It would be nice to have all cut scenes on a DVD with a possibility to restore them at the places where they were supposed to be.

Let us not forget he later told Rory he needs him by his side...

Is this the first hint at getting Director's Cuts version of Episodes?

I wouldn't have thought so, best we can hope is that the deleted scenes make it on to the box set.

why cant we have 60 minute episodes? is it because it's more saleable overseas as 45 mins, so that with the ads it will be an hour??

Would probably imagine so, never heard or read anything definitive about this. But 45 mins allows foreign markets to put in adverts to make it an hour

"Interestingly", the next two episodes are both scheduled for a 50 minute slot

i actually think parts of this scene were needed in the episode. I know most of us are familiar with the timey wimey nature of the whoniverse and the history of fixed points but to a casual the danger was taken out of the episode; Rory could have sat back and said, ah well everything works oout ok as i have seen both of us in 10 years time, bit upsetting whats happening but at least i know everything will be ok can just sit back and ride this one out.

IIRC the final episode of series 3, with The Master, was longer than normal in this country and some scenes featuring Martha's family were cut from the overseas version.

BBC1's Saturday schedule is very loose and free-wheeling and they could certainly get away with running different length episodes every week as the stories dictate.

I would suggest it's a question of budget. If you get longer episodes I would expect shorter series.....

They did pretty much the same thing by removing a very similar scene from Day of the Daleks in 1972, leaving a plot thread from the first episode unresolved.

This is why they should consider making episodes an hour long in future series.

Not going to happen. Overseas sales are a big part of BBC planning for a lot of shows, and Dr Who is probably the biggest of all. But the 60 mins timeslot in most countries (actually a bit less, because just like the BBC they will run channel ads as well as actual ads), means that you won't get 60mins (even shows like A2A and Spooks, timed as 60, tend to run about 53-55 mins).

Having said that, the buggest question is how on earth did they manage to end up 15 mins over? That's a third, do they have no one monitoring this?

Given that they are always moaning about budgets it seems a little curious to do this. Looked at another way, if they had managed to 'only' film 50 mins and cut that to 43, then over a series you'd have saved 10 mins per episode, or 130 mins, enough to do another two part story!

Unless the writers are the major cost element, which I'd doubt.

The BBC tend to shoot in 45 or 60 mins for Drama. They are a lot more relaxed in their screenplay formats than those aimed primarily at a commercial station market (where the final screenplay is writtten into logical Acts to fit the standard advertising slots). That is why even a recent BBC production played on a commercial channel will cut suddenly to the Ads but a programme like Lost or Fringe will have a recognised break in the action.

50 minutes would be a good length

But if they have already filmed the scenes, it seems to me it's a waste of the budget to cut them.

could it possibly be added into the dvd release - that would be great

Here's hoping!

15 minutes was cut off this episode, makes you think about the previous episodes.

Which might explain some of these plot-holes that fans complain about.

Thats the reason BUT that still doesn't tell us why WE can't have hour episodes and sell 45 minute versions abroad.

thanks for that - not been able to watch many Confidential's over here in the states (and keep forgetting to watch them online somewhere lol)

How long is the deleted scene?? Cant access it here from work.

This scene was better than the rest of the episode!