Things I've Learnt from Watching My Favourite Doctor Who Stories: Part 41 - Doctor Who The TV Movie

41: Doctor Who - The Movie

You need the right shoes (and someone to kiss on New Years Eve!) 



"He's back and it's about Time!" so said the strapline from the BBC.for the long awaited return of the Doctor in 1996. Bit rich considering they were the ones who tried to get rid of him in the first place! Ever since Alan Yentob's teasing words at the end of Kevin Davies' excellent 30 Years in the TARDIS documentary, we'd been waiting for an announcement. 

When that announcement came and there would be a pilot movie co-production with Fox in the US, many fans got the jitters about the show being in American hands. The names bandied around to play the Doctor ranged from the sublime (Peter Capaldi, Liam Cunningham, Michael Palin) to the ridiculous (David Hasselhoff) Eric Roberts being cast as the Master was seen as a bit of a gamble but the casting of Paul McGann as the new Doctor was widely praised. Sylvester McCoy flying in to do the regeneration gave it a nice link to the old series but confused some of those watching in the States.

Then, after waiting over five years, it all seemed to go very fast up to the Premiere in the UK on the Bank Holiday Monday. Over here we were slightly annoyed the US got to see it a couple of weeks earlier and then the terrible news that Jon Pertwee died, put a dampener on events. 

On the night itself, I invited a group of friends over to watch and from memory (can it really be 27 years ago?) they seemed to enjoy it. It was certainly nothing like old Doctor Who from the flashy opening sequence and ER-style hospital scenes that weirdly felt reminiscent of Spearhead from Space but mixed with the clock from Groundhog Day! 

Daphne Ashbrook as potential companion Dr Grace Holloway doesn't get off to a good start when she accidentally kills off the old Doctor. Her arrival - all ball gown and Puccini - is a world away from either Ace or Rose; slightly highbrow as an audience identity figure but fortunately Ashbrook is adorable and believable. 

Meanwhile the Master transforms himself into a snake which then dives into ambulance driver Bruce's mouth. This Master is unlike all the rest yet has flashes of the others, Eric Roberts has a ball, camping it up and dressing for the occasion and also displaying a ruthless streak in murdering Bruce's wife. His subjugation of Chang Lee reminds us of how he similarly uses the likes of Rex Farrell, Trenchard and Chancellor Goth as his minions. 

The recovering Doctor meanwhile finds an Old Bill Hickock costume and crashes into Grace's life. McGann is instantly the Doctor, childlike in his wonder, talking fast, thinking faster and knowing he has to save the earth. He even has time for a kiss, which caused such an uproar at the time, yet now seems so innocent. (Ashbrook's exclamation of "Now do that again..." not so much, the saucy minx!) 

But the chase is on, the plot moves at lightning speed, almost in a desperate attempt to cover any plot holes or tearing up of continuity about the Eye of Harmony (There'll be complaints in DWM!) and the Doctor being half human. For those bemoaning the Timeless Children idea, how many times has the Doctor said he's half human since the TV Movie? Answers on a postcard please...

After nearly 85 minutes, there's some bafflegab about atomic clocks and temporal orbits, the Master is sucked into the Eye of Harmony, the Doctor uses energy from the TARDIS to bring Grace and Chang Lee back to life (more complaints!) and they return to Earth to celebrate the Millennium.

The Doctor and Grace (looking like runners up in a Belinda Carlisle lookalike contest) kiss as the fireworks go off (or is it certain fans exploding with fury?) my friends went "Aww" then "Hang on, is she not going with him?" and that was it... 

The film was a hit over here but bombed in the states. Fans all thought it was over for good, until that nice Mr Davies turned up eight years later. But for 85 minutes on that Bank Holiday Monday in May 1996, Doctor Who was spectacularly back. In a way it had never been before, nor since. 


Next Time : Courage isn't just a matter of not being frightened... 



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