Maybe it’s what happens when you’re a fan of a show about time travel. Maybe it’s what happens when you’re a fan of anything. But it’s hard to live in the moment when you’re a fan of Doctor Who.

No sooner has one series ended than you’re looking forward cautiously, warily to the next. And no sooner has Santa delivered one boxset than you’re obsessing about next year’s: what will it feature now Confidential has gone to the cleaners? Will it be split in two like the next series itself?

These questions aren’t the neuroses of the average fan. Well, they’re not just the neuroses of the average fan. They’re also a reflection of the fact that, in the absence of deleted scenes or episode commentaries on every episode (boo hiss!), some of the best material on this Series 6 set comes from the Doctor Who Confidential team – long taken for granted; now already much missed.

The Confidential Cutdowns are the sort of material that, to the fan who has already taped it off the telly, feels inessential – until you realise that you’re never going to get its like again – while the Monster Files are suitably zappy accounts of the behind-the-scenes monster-making.

Of the other material, the unique selling points are the five vignettes that comprise the exclusive Night and the Doctor shorts: five mini-episodes penned by Steven Moffat showcasing his trademark wit, interest in the non-linear complexities of time travel and way with a cheeky one-liner.

Of these mini-episodes, one – a prelude to Closing Time – does not feature the Doctor at all, but two hit such telling emotional beats you wonder why the series proper ignored them.

Last Night explores the Doctor’s foreknowledge of the time and manner of River’s death, while Good Night sees Amy lament the fact that her life and timeline do not make sense. In this, it has much in common with the prequel to Let’s Kill Hitler, which also features on the set, in which Amy expresses her anxieties at not being the one to raise Melody. You can’t help but thinking that, had these two Amy-centric scenes made their way into the programme, some of the criticism of her reactions to Series 6’s tragic situations could have been avoided.

As for the rest, there is more in the way of episode fragments, in the form of the Comic Relief mini-episodes, Space and Time.

But if you’re looking for something more substantial after your Christmas dinner, the episode commentaries, few in number though they are, will do the trick. Frances ‘Eye Patch Lady’ Barber reveals herself to be quite the fan girl discussing the finale, while writer Neil Gaiman is a suitably ruminating and laconic guide to The Doctor’s Wife. His voice alone feels like an embodiment of coolness: an under-the-counter jazz LP in a velvet sleeve. More of this would have been appreciated. But let’s not be churlish at Christmas: let’s just keep our fingers crossed and make a wish for next year.

Released on DVD and Blu-ray on Monday 21st November 2011 by 2entertain.

> Buy the Series 6 DVD boxset on Amazon.

> Buy the Series 6 Blu-ray boxset on Amazon.

Watch the Series 6 trailer…