Made to re-launch television’s most famous time traveller, Doctor Who: The Movie is an expensive feature-length episode which attempts to continue the classic series and work as a stand-alone film. Transporting the remains of the Master, Sylvester McCoy’s Seventh Doctor is diverted to San Francisco in 1999. Regenerating in the form of Paul McGann, the Doctor gains a new companion in heart surgeon Dr Grace Holloway (Daphne Ashbrook) and must stop the Master from destroying the world. All of which might have been fine, had not the most eccentrically British of programmes been almost entirely assimilated by the requirements of American network broadcasting. Matthew Jacobs’ screenplay is literally nonsense, dependent on arbitrary, unexplained events while introducing numerous elements that contradict established Doctor Who mythology. The Tardis is re-imagined as a bizarre pre-Raphaelite/Gothic folly, while the Doctor, now half-human, becomes romantically involved with his lady companion. From the West Coast setting to metallic CGI morphing, from the look of Eric Roberts as the Master to a motorcycle/truck freeway chase, director Geoffrey Sax borrows freely from James Cameron’s Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991). Doctor Who fans should feel relieved this travesty was not successful enough to lead to lead to a series, though McGann himself does have the potential to make a fine Doctor. This is the slightly more violent US TV edit, rather than the cut version previously released on video.
On the DVD: There are two BBC trailers and a Fox promo “introducing the Doctor” to American audiences. The interview section features Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, Eric Roberts, Daphne Ashbrook, director Geoffrey Sax and executive producer Philip Segal, twice. The main interviews are on-set promotional sound-bites. However, Segal’s second interview was filmed in 2001 and finds him spending 10 minutes explaining why the programme turned out as it did, and coming very close to apologising for it. He also offers a two-minute tour of the new Tardis set. Alongside a gallery of 50 promotional stills is a four-minute compilation of behind-the-scenes “making of” footage. There are alternative versions of two scenes, though the “Puccini!” scene is so short as to be pointless. As usual with Doctor Who DVDs there are optional production subtitles and these offer a wealth of background information. Four songs used in the film are available as separate audio tracks, and John Debney’s musical score can be listened to in isolation. Finally there is a commentary track by Geoffrey Sax, which contains some interesting material but does tend to state the obvious a lot. The sound is very strong stereo and the 4:3 picture is excellent with only the slightest grain. —Gary S Dalkin
First glimpse of the Doctor who’ll destroy Gallifrey and win the Time War For any Who fan the TV Movie is definitely worth another look.All though it was much lambasted by some at the time the TV Movie aged surprisingly well. To set things up first you must remember that Doctor Who was unceremoniously cancelled in 1989, the last show, Survival, aired December 6th of that year. From the moment it was cancelled fans did everything possible to convince the BBC to renew the series. Nothing worked, the BBC seemed rather glad to be done with Doctor Who.A successful Book series was launched (The New Adventures of Doctor Who)with some fans becoming writers (like Paul Cornell, Mark Gatiss, Russell T Davies and Steven Moffat [IMHO Moffat wrote one of the best short stories of the era]) filling the gap left when the Doctor left the air and kept the stories moving forward.Enter 1996 and the TV Movie unofficially titled “Enemy Within”, some how the Americans became involved and were instrumental in resurrecting the series. All though the story leading to how they became involved is a long meandering one full of narrowly avoided pitfalls. To reintroduce the show the producers took a cheat using one of the most uniquely Doctor Who gimmicks, regeneration. They would use the introduction of a “New Doctor” to lay out an outline of who’s Who and what the series was about. It worked, good, bad and ugly, it worked.Sure mistakes were made and some things were changed that were better off left alone. But on the whole this was a loving homage to a series America knew very little about.The cloister bell rings and Paul McGanns outstanding voiceover sets the stage. The theme music is retooled to sound like it would have without Delia Derbyshire’s revolutionary interpretation, a mistake IMHO but one worth listing to.TV Movie begins after an intro with the 7th Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) finally out of the ridiculous question marked costume that 80’s Who producer (JNT) insisted upon. For the first time since the 80’s the Doctor looks distinguished -in his own eccentric way of course. The TARDIS interior looks wonderful! About time that we see what this multiphasic, multideminsional ships interior is capable of looking like. More than a couple of corridors filmed in an empty BBC building or a crumbling set of second hand Styrofoam.Also (IMO)the Doctor looks comfortable in the TARDIS, completely at home and the TARDIS really feels like his home even with the quasi museum/library deco, or maybe because of it.I won’t go in the details of the plot just in case you are one of the few who hasn’t seen it yet, perhaps one of the new series fans (who weren’t born with this first aired 😉 )Instead I’ll concentrate on what they got right. The Master’s eyes (ala Survival), the seal of Rassilon, The Cloister room and the eye of harmony (some set pieces reused in final SG1 seasons, if you’ve got a good eye for it you’ll catch it), TARDIS controls (instead of the futuristic flashing buttons they went for a retro Victorian look that felt right for the Time Lords.), the half Human revelation fed right into the shows mythology about the Doctor being Merlin, The Cloister bell, and last but not least the New Doctor Paul McGann, perhaps one of the best casting choices since Tom Baker (and before David Tennant).The TV movie has one of the most gripping Regeneration sequences in the shows history, the 7th Doctor dies screaming and alone. The 8th Doctor wonders around lost and still injured. Sad really, the Doctor always has a companion around who (with the audience) mourns the passing of the old Doctor and helps the new one get on his pins.There is a very alien feel to the death and resurrection of the Doctor, making it unique and memorable.Part of the criticism included the Doctor riding a motorcycle and kissing his (would be) companion. In retrospect what a load of rubbish those criticisms were. The 3rd Doctor always found his way into driving some outlandish vehicle or another. Why wouldn’t the Doctor know how to ride a motorcycle? Not to mention drive like a Bat out of Skaro!As for the kissing being verboten the new series put that controversy to rest. Now a days it is more difficult to find when the Doctor IS NOT kissing his companions, who by the way fancy him like mad.The Master by Eric Roberts was not to my liking but more tame than the outlandish, overacting John Simm.It must be remembered that one of the main weaknesses of this Movie is that it was never intended to be a standalone, one off, production. It was intended to be followed by 13-22 more shows, and those would have defined the series. It would be like watching “Rose” from the new series and never seeing the rest of the episodes that followed. On its own “Rose” is a weak introduction to Doctor Who, and unremarkable, but followed by the rest of Series 1 it is well fitted.The Biggest waste was never re-using…
Not bad, but not great either I admit to being very excited when this was first made – new Who after what seemed like an age of false starts, daft rumours and general disappointment. Unfortunately, what we got was a bit of a mixed bag, a half-British-half-American hybrid that set out to please everyone, but which was ultimately destined to never be.The plot is a bit of a mess – the first half of the movie is fine, quite atmospheric in places and very nicely directed. Unfortunately it then becomes just another desparate race against time yarn that doesn’t really deliver anything and with some plot holes you can fly a TARDIS through. However, the performances are generally good, Paul McGann is outstanding in the role and really deserved a better crack at the whip. Eric Roberts seems to divide fans as the Master, but I admit to liking him – somehow, his Master actually seems like a very dangerous person, rather than the slightly pantomime villain he was in the original series.The production itself looks good, although I think I’m one of those few fans who doesn’t really like the TARDIS interior in this show. I liked the wooden control room in the original series, but this one just seemed out of keeping. By making it so huge, the TARDIS actually seemed smaller as a result to me, and appeared to only consist of two rooms. I love the console, though – one thing they did get right. If only they had put roundels on the walls – it would have felt much more TARDIS-y.All in all, a mixed bag. Entertaining enough, and a glimpse of what could have been if it had gone to a series. Then again, we probably wouldn’t have got the series we’ve got now, and I for one am grateful for that.
McGann was robbed of the Doctor! I enjoy this movie very much but it made far too many mistakes to recieve more than 3 stars.Its americanisation is understandable considering it was a collaboration with Fox but the doctor was the ONLY british thing apart from the tourist poster for London in the background when the Tardis materialises in San francisco. There were 2 doctors, sylvester Mccoy provides a great turn as our hero but is let down by his over the top death sequence. McGann is an amazing doctor and while watching this i couldn’t help but think about the tragedy that he never got his own tv series. He is the same childish joyful man we have seen before and it is important for who fans because this is the last time we will se that man on screen before the ‘time war’ and the scarred doctors of the new series.Ok now i’m going too deep so here are my main issues, the story(too many coincidences e.g ‘i need an atomic clock’ looks to TV, the reporter talks about an atomic clock!), an over the top campy master, a companion who thinks she’s an intellectual equal with the doctor when she is clearly not(she is clever for one of us apes though :)) and a romance that wasn’t necessary and cheesy in the extreme. If you want a good doctor who romance watch the new series with the doctor and rose!