Average, but a great Eighth Doctor (Doctor Who - The Movie (DVD))

Member Name: ElChupacabra

Product:	Doctor Who - The Movie (DVD)
Date:	20/08/09 (2 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Links well with the original show

Disadvantages: Eric Roberts

This is something I feel forced to defend. Don't get me wrong, the movie has a lot of problems, not least it's Americanisation. But I feel very sorrry for Paul McGann.

This movie was a TV event aimed and resurrecting the cancelled BBC show and bringing it to a wider audience. Brought in for the ride was the existing, seventh Doctor, Sylvester McCoy, who promptly dies and regerates into the timelord's eighth incarnation in the form of Paul McGann. The movie was to serve as the polit for a partly American funded series starring McGann as the Doctor.

Now, don't get my wrong, this is vastly inferior to the Russell T. Davies resurrection that would happen almost a decade later with Chris Eccelston, but it's not quite as bad as people say. The plot involves the return of the Doctor's nemesis and rival Timelord, the Master, played by Eric Roberts. He's trying to steal the Tardis and take over the universe, with Earth hangong in th ebalance. Typical Doctor Who stuff. The only problem is that Roberts is awful in the role and the supporting cast aren't much good either, which means that whilst the TV movie starts of well, it quickly decends into passable TV. THowever, the greatest disservice was not to the audience, but to McGann. Because the movie was average his Doctor is generally overlooked, but on display here is a very warm and likable Doctor and I have no doubt that had the series been made the Eight Doctor would have become more popular.

Worth checking out if only to catch a brief glimpse of a Doctor that could have been.

Summary: A glimpse at what could have been