As ye olde blog thing wraps up our November Nineties AND we've also been celebrating the return of brand new Doctor Who, this post is the 2nd of two posts where the Venn diagram intersects those two topics.
The 1990's were not easy for Doctor Who fans, a time referred to by Whovians as the "Wilderness Years" between the cancellation of Doctor Who in 1989 and it's eventual revival in 2005.
There were two spots of light in the darkness in those wilderness years. Last week we reflected on the 1993 Children In Need special where Doctor Who crossed over with Eastenders. That light sputtered and faded to a wisp of smoke.
This week we look at another time where the light of hope flared to life once more in 1996.
We are referring the Doctor Who TV movie that was developed as a co-production between Universal Studios and BBC Worldwide. It was the first on screen appearance of Paul McGann as the Doctor.
And for 17 years, it was the last on screen appearance of Paul McGann as the Doctor.
Spoiler: this movie will not end well.
The 7th Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) is in the TARDIS transporting the remains of the Master to Gallifrey after he was executed on Skaro by the Daleks.
Now as much as the fanboy in me is geeking out over these references, you can see the problem where we're shoving a lot of backstory at any potential new viewers.
Despite being a puddle of goo in a box, the Master still causes problems by futzing with the TARDIS, forcing the Doctor to make an emergency materialisation in San Francisco's Chinatown on December 30, 1999.
The Doctor steps out of the TARDIS and is gunned down by a roving street gang.
Does that seem wrong to you? It seems wrong to me.
Chang Lee, a young man who was being chased by the street gang, calls for an ambulance and escorts the unconscious Doctor to a hospital.
The Master (in the form of Ooze) takes over Bruce, the ambulance driver.
At the hospital where cardiologist Dr. Grace Holloway fails to save his life during surgery because... what the hell? Did this guy have 2 heartbeats or is Grace just rattled from stress?
Chilling out in the morgue, the Doctor regenerates and it screws up his memory and he doesn't remember who he is.
So our title character is...
1) played by one actor and then is shot dead in the first 5 minutes of the movie
2) and then is played by another actor but now the Doctor has no memory of who he is.
If you're new to Doctor Who and you're not impressed with the Doctor so far, well, who can blame you.
And if you are a long time fan of Doctor Who, well, you're probably struggling with all of this.
The Master (now in humanoid form thanks to taking over Bruce) lays a mind whammy on Chang Lee as part of a plot to get back in the TARDIS and open up the Eye of Harmony for... the evulz. (Bare with me, it's been awhile since I last saw this.)
Meanwhile, the Doctor is hanging out with Grace trying to unscramble his eggs.
We also get our first Doctor/companion kiss.
Old school Whovians lose their shit.
OK, there's a lot more stuff to talk about but let's turn on the afterburners to bring this post in for a landing.
The Doctor finds out the Master is up to shit that will bring about the apocalypse.
The Doctor and Grace race against time to get stuff 'n' junk to stop the Master.
But oh no! Grace and Chang get killed!!
But in an epic throw down, the Doctor shoves the Master into the Eye of Harmony and things get all glowy, time re-verses and Grace and Chang get un-killed.
No apocalypse today!!
Grace and Chang opt to do other things and the Doctor toddles off all alone in the TARDIS to explore time and space.
Some good things:
The TARDIS interior for the first time ever looks like a real space and not just a set in a TV studio.
The Doctor as a romantic lead. OK, I'm not saying the Doctor and a companion has to have a physical relationship but it seems a given that there would be some deep emotional connection between the Doctor and a companion. As unprecedented as it was for the Doctor to kiss Grace, it felt right at the moment and more real than the "no hugging" edict placed on the original series.
Where the movie falls apart is the lack of focus on the lead. Paul McGann as the Doctor is NOT the Doctor for 1/4 of the movie and then spends another quarter of the film with his marbles unsorted.
It underscores the wisdom of Russell T Davies in 2005 to just kick things off with the Doctor in place and making the focus on Rose Tyler who is befuffled, terrified and eventually enthralled by this mysterious man from beyond the stars. We get to know the Doctor through her eyes.
Dr. Grace Holloway goes through those stages as well but the Doctor spends too much time being befuddled as well.
A big objective of the movie was to use it to revive Doctor Who as an ongoing series as a co-production of the BBC and an American studio.
The movie did well enough in the UK but not so much in the USA where it aired on a still nascent FOX TV network for an audience that did not know what the hell they were watching.
Buried at the core of the Doctor Who movie was not a bad story with a dynamic new take on the Doctor by Paul McGann. It suffers mostly from trying to shove too many appeals to long time fans while not making this accessible to new viewers.
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Last week, I wrote that a condition of everyone doing "Dimensions In Time" for free was that it would not be made available for sale. As one would expect from the internet, there are ways of seeing this special and when I wrote it was a mess, I was not just reciting what others have said. I've seen it. It is bad.
Also I had forgotten there was one other new Doctor Who special from the 1990's, the comedy special "Curse of the Fatal Death". I didn't write a separate November Nineties post about it because of it is a comedic parody and is not canon.
Also I forgot.
Click here for the Wikipedia entry for more info.
The blog will back with NEW Doctor Who on Monday with the 2nd of the 60th anniversary specials, "Wild Blue Yonder".
Until next time, never be cruel or cowardly. And never eat pears!
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