7 years after the classic Doctor Who series was discontinued this TV Movie was produced. It was devised with the possibility of it being a pilot for a new series but failed to get enough positive reaction to encourage any follow up. This was a collaboration between BBC who had produced the original series and American producers and was made to appeal to American audiences. Sadly this is probably where the production went wrong. Many existing Doctor Who fans were put off by the movie's Hollywood style and the way they messed about with existing lore in order to make what they thought would be more exciting and appealing. Hollywood often abandons existing story/lore when adapting pre-existing material in order to create what they think will attract new audiences and this does the same. On the plus side though this is far more glossy, action packed and fast paced than many classic Who stories with higher budget and more impressive visuals. It is nice to see our beloved show given some budget at last and it makes for an entertaining adventure which is great fun to watch.
The story begins with the character of the Doctor still in the form of the 7th Doctor played beautifully by Sylvester McCoy. We are told he was summoned to transport the remains of his fellow Timelord and arch enemy the Master home to Gallifrey. This in itself is odd but we are told the Master was executed by the Daleks which is even stranger as the idea of the Doctor's main foes the Daleks collaborating with the Timelords and asking their greatest enemy the Doctor to transport his nemesis the Master's remains just sounds against all we know from the classic series. Also the Master inexplicably is shown to be able to become a slimy creature that escapes his supposed deceased form and crawls out to seek a new host body. This is certainly not in keeping with what the show has established in terms of Timelord powers. The Master had been previously shown to escape death and take over another being's body so it is not totally unacceptable but the way it is done seems very much a Hollywood addition which is enjoyable but rather jarring.
We then get a gangland scene in San Francisco set in 1999, approaching the millennium celebrations. A young Chinese American is chased by a gang with machine guns and the Doctor materialises the TARDIS in the middle of the confrontation. He steps out of the TARDIS and is dramatically shot with a machine gun. This is very different to classic Who style as is his subsequent regeneration. Following medical team botching his surgery due to confusion from his alien anatomy he regenerates in the morgue with rather ugly effects showing his form change in a way very unlike earlier regenerations. This is made fun by a nice link in to the mortuary attendant watching the scene in Frankenstein where the monster is reanimated at the same time intercut with the Doctor regenerating. I liked that aspect of it. The Doctor then becomes the 8th Doctor, played by Paul McGann.
Meanwhile the alien substance form of the Master enters a paramedic's body and we get martial arts movie actor Eric Roberts as the new Master. Roberts is a rather cheesy and over the top but menacing and entertaining Master. There is darkness, especially as he murders the paramedics partner and a real sense of evil from this Master as well as amusing one liners and camp showmanship. I actually quite like the characterisation although it is not quite a match for other incarnations of the Master in my opinion.
McGann makes a thoroughly convincing and engaging Doctor. His characterisation is in keeping with the established behaviour we would expect and is very enjoyable. I really like McGann as the Doctor and his costume is perfect for the role. His delivery of dialogue and manner is lovely. The problem comes in the writing because for some reason they decide to make him say a number of things which sound contradictory to the lore we know. Most problematic is the announcement that the Doctor is supposedly 'half human on his mother's side'. If this was just a throw away line it could be dismissed as a joke (as subsequently attempts are made to smooth over this discrepancy) but it is made part of the plot with the Doctor's half human DNA being made important in the storyline involving the Eye of Harmony. This knocks my enjoyment because it really is introduced without good reason seemingly to make the Doctor more relatable and I find it a cheap addition which causes unnecessary problems in continuity. I actually have no problem with adding to the lore and changing what we know as long as it does not clash and introduce ideas that do not fit. The half human idea just does not fit for me. Neither does the superpowered TARDIS/Eye of harmony that is used in the end to reverse time and return the dead to life.
This aside, the story is very pleasant mix of action, humour, dark threats of the world's destruction, human drama and scifi/fantasy. If they had kept true to the lore of the show or developed it in a way that worked better it could have been really good but several ideas and several other bits of dialogue just feel wrong and it detracts from my appreciation. To be fair it is not out and out illogical, it only is problematic in terms of the existing history of the show. Therefore I do not judge it too harshly and overall still find this a positive viewing experience. I am not a fan of the romantic aspect introduced here as the Doctor we know would not suddenly become romantically interested in someone he just met and am not a fan of some of the storyline and dialogue but other aspects are really good.
This was a very worthwhile practice run for returning the show I think and 9 years later Russell T. Davies brought the show back on the BBC with a few aspects of this movie being built upon. Davies got it just right and made the show a success. In that 9 year gap McGann was accepted as the 8th Doctor for other media and he went on to appear in Big Finish audio adventures as the Doctor which continue to this day with excellent 8th Doctor audios starring McGann still being released. He also appeared in a one off mini TV episode for the show's 50th anniversary where we got to see him regenerate into the War Doctor. McGann was a great addition to the world of Doctor Who. It is also nice to see the show get some higher budget glitzy production values.
My rating: 6.5/10.
The story begins with the character of the Doctor still in the form of the 7th Doctor played beautifully by Sylvester McCoy. We are told he was summoned to transport the remains of his fellow Timelord and arch enemy the Master home to Gallifrey. This in itself is odd but we are told the Master was executed by the Daleks which is even stranger as the idea of the Doctor's main foes the Daleks collaborating with the Timelords and asking their greatest enemy the Doctor to transport his nemesis the Master's remains just sounds against all we know from the classic series. Also the Master inexplicably is shown to be able to become a slimy creature that escapes his supposed deceased form and crawls out to seek a new host body. This is certainly not in keeping with what the show has established in terms of Timelord powers. The Master had been previously shown to escape death and take over another being's body so it is not totally unacceptable but the way it is done seems very much a Hollywood addition which is enjoyable but rather jarring.
We then get a gangland scene in San Francisco set in 1999, approaching the millennium celebrations. A young Chinese American is chased by a gang with machine guns and the Doctor materialises the TARDIS in the middle of the confrontation. He steps out of the TARDIS and is dramatically shot with a machine gun. This is very different to classic Who style as is his subsequent regeneration. Following medical team botching his surgery due to confusion from his alien anatomy he regenerates in the morgue with rather ugly effects showing his form change in a way very unlike earlier regenerations. This is made fun by a nice link in to the mortuary attendant watching the scene in Frankenstein where the monster is reanimated at the same time intercut with the Doctor regenerating. I liked that aspect of it. The Doctor then becomes the 8th Doctor, played by Paul McGann.
Meanwhile the alien substance form of the Master enters a paramedic's body and we get martial arts movie actor Eric Roberts as the new Master. Roberts is a rather cheesy and over the top but menacing and entertaining Master. There is darkness, especially as he murders the paramedics partner and a real sense of evil from this Master as well as amusing one liners and camp showmanship. I actually quite like the characterisation although it is not quite a match for other incarnations of the Master in my opinion.
McGann makes a thoroughly convincing and engaging Doctor. His characterisation is in keeping with the established behaviour we would expect and is very enjoyable. I really like McGann as the Doctor and his costume is perfect for the role. His delivery of dialogue and manner is lovely. The problem comes in the writing because for some reason they decide to make him say a number of things which sound contradictory to the lore we know. Most problematic is the announcement that the Doctor is supposedly 'half human on his mother's side'. If this was just a throw away line it could be dismissed as a joke (as subsequently attempts are made to smooth over this discrepancy) but it is made part of the plot with the Doctor's half human DNA being made important in the storyline involving the Eye of Harmony. This knocks my enjoyment because it really is introduced without good reason seemingly to make the Doctor more relatable and I find it a cheap addition which causes unnecessary problems in continuity. I actually have no problem with adding to the lore and changing what we know as long as it does not clash and introduce ideas that do not fit. The half human idea just does not fit for me. Neither does the superpowered TARDIS/Eye of harmony that is used in the end to reverse time and return the dead to life.
This aside, the story is very pleasant mix of action, humour, dark threats of the world's destruction, human drama and scifi/fantasy. If they had kept true to the lore of the show or developed it in a way that worked better it could have been really good but several ideas and several other bits of dialogue just feel wrong and it detracts from my appreciation. To be fair it is not out and out illogical, it only is problematic in terms of the existing history of the show. Therefore I do not judge it too harshly and overall still find this a positive viewing experience. I am not a fan of the romantic aspect introduced here as the Doctor we know would not suddenly become romantically interested in someone he just met and am not a fan of some of the storyline and dialogue but other aspects are really good.
This was a very worthwhile practice run for returning the show I think and 9 years later Russell T. Davies brought the show back on the BBC with a few aspects of this movie being built upon. Davies got it just right and made the show a success. In that 9 year gap McGann was accepted as the 8th Doctor for other media and he went on to appear in Big Finish audio adventures as the Doctor which continue to this day with excellent 8th Doctor audios starring McGann still being released. He also appeared in a one off mini TV episode for the show's 50th anniversary where we got to see him regenerate into the War Doctor. McGann was a great addition to the world of Doctor Who. It is also nice to see the show get some higher budget glitzy production values.
My rating: 6.5/10.