Who Review Round 8: Doctor Who- The Movie

Doctor Who was put on indefinite hiatus in 1989, due to falling ratings and a lack of leadership on set. While reduced at times to a low rumble, there were consistently efforts to bring the show back. In the mid-1990's, these efforts took the form of a collaboration between American producers and BBC Worldwide. The result was Doctor Who: The Movie, a two hour television movie which aired on Fox in May 1996.

Often abbreviated to TVM by American fans, the movie, featuring the Eighth Doctor (Paul McGann) and Grace Holloway, was intended as a backdoor pilot for an American co-produced television series. The movie tried to serve as a Doctor Who primer for an American audience- highlighting the Time Lords, the TARDIS, sonic screwdrivers, several key enemies, even regeneration (Sylvester McCoy makes a cameo as the Seventh Doctor before dying and regenerating into the Eighth)- while also trying to appeal to a stereotypically American taste- featuring guns, car chases, and, for the first time in the show's history, romance between the Doctor and his Companion.

While a solid success in the UK when it eventually aired, it flopped in the US. And understandably so- it was pretty ridiculous. Don't get me wrong, there was a lot to like- Paul McGann was a terrific Doctor; Daphne Ashbrooke portrayed an intelligent, independent, and delightfully sassy Companion in Grace Holloway; the TARDIS interior was absolutely gorgeous; Eric Roberts played a good Master (in that so-bad-it's-good sort of way); and the movie was written as a continuation of the classic series instead of a full reboot, lending it the credibility it needed to be taken seriously. But overall, it was campy in a bad way, the dialogue was downright awful in spots, and the continuity errors (in so much as Doctor Who even HAS continuity, which some have argued against) were big and distracting enough to mar the experience.



Unfortunately, picking an Eighth Doctor television story to review was easy, since this was the only one produced. Due to the low American ratings, there was no series pickup, and, except for novels and audio dramas, Doctor Who went back into limbo for another nine years (until the premiere of the BBC Wales restart in 2005). Which is unfortunate- for all of TVM's faults (and they are legion) it showed great potential for an Eighth Doctor run and a faithful continuation of the classic series. As it is, we're left with a teasingly-campy vision of what Doctor Who would have been in the 1990's- high production values, lots of action, and plots reminiscent of the syndicated science fiction programs popular in the late 90's and early 2000's.

Who Review Round 6: Attack of the Cybermen

There was a lot to dislike about the Sixth Doctor era. Exemplifying the worst excesses of both the 1980's and John Nathan-Turner, the brief yet tumultuous period was known for some of the worst stories in the history of Doctor Who (despite admirable work from the lead actor). Attack of the Cybermen, graciously, bucks this trend.

Featuring the Sixth Doctor (Colin Baker) and Peri, Attack has a lot going for it. You have the Doctor trying (successfully, for the most part) to repair the Chameleon Circuit on the TARDIS, causing it to materialize as something other than a big blue police box for the first time in the show's history. There's a nod to the past with a revisiting of the junkyard the First Doctor and Susan Foreman occupied at the beginning of the programme. A plot by the Cybermen to change the events of the First Doctor's final adventure in their favor. And, at the end of Part II, we see just how sneaky and manipulative the Time Lords can be, as the Doctor realizes that he was sent to deal with this crisis by the High Council without ever receiving the courtesy of being told what was going on.

Plus, there's the Doctor being a total BAMF:



If you want to give the Sixth Doctor a spin- but aren't terribly keen about seeing him on trial for several months- Attack is a good starting point.

Who Review Round 2: The Mind Robber

Next up in my Who Review series is The Mind Robber, featuring the Second Doctor (Patrick Troughton), Jamie McCrimmon (who has a special place in my heart because of the kilt), and Zoe Heriot.

The Doctor isn't a tough guy. He generally eschews weapons and violence, and some of his incarnations have been straight-up pacifists. He doesn't use force or aggression to save the day (which puts him in stark contrast with many American sci-fi protagonists), but instead he expresses his heroism by being clever.

A criticism that some people make about the Doctor is that he's too powerful (and thus un-relatable from a story perspective). Further, his power comes from his tools- the sonic screwdriver, the psychic paper (in recent years), and, most notably, the TARDIS. The argument is that, even with advanced intelligence and de facto biological immortality, the Doctor is essentially useless without his toys.

Some of my favorite stories, then, are the stories where the Doctor saves the day without access to his stuff.

This is especially true with stories where the TARDIS is inaccessible, malfunctioning, or presumed to be destroyed. Mind Robber is a good early example of this trope. The cliffhanger at the end of Episode One shows the TARDIS being rent asunder, and the inhabitants thrown into the Void.



So here we have the Doctor in a sort of fantasy realm outside normal Time and Space. No TARDIS. No sonic screwdriver. His Companions are missing. Even his cleverness will only carry him so far, since the rules of the world he's operating in are in flux, and change specifically to thwart him! And he finds a way to prevail anyway!

There are a few stories where the Doctor loses everything and still manages to save the day (The Eleventh Hour being an excellent recent example). The Mind Robber is a classic example of that, and quite possibly my favorite Second Doctor story.