Saturday, 11 April 2015

(696) The TV Movie

The TV Movie was the first Doctor Who that I actually watched when it was transmitted for the first time. After still being relatively new to the fandom, I could feel what long time fans had felt but hadn’t had the feeling for seven years. The tagline for this story was “He’s Back and its about Time” which if I were being cynical then I would say was a rather lazy tagline. The episode starts off with the voice over of the new Doctor explaining about the Master being exterminated by the Daleks. I think that they should have used McCoy’s voice for this as McGann’s voice should have appeared when he make’s his first appearance.

The question of who the longest serving Doctor was is a question that has two answers. Based on how long they had on screen then Tom Baker is the longest with 2,275 days as Doctor but from regeneration to regeneration it is Sylvester McCoy because he was Doctor for 9 years or 3,185 days. This TV Movie was intended as a backdoor pilot and could have led to a full series had it worked on American TV.
There is another question of whether the story was right to have McCoy appear for the first 15 or so minutes is one that I have changed my opinion of in recent years. Before 2005 I thought it was a good idea because it was good in the name of continuity however in recent years I have changed my mind because Eccleston’s time started fine without a regeneration. McGann is basically playing catch up with only about an hour as the Doctor in an 85 minute TV drama. I think when he walks through the warped glass is the first time that I think he comes across as the Doctor. Paul McGann does a good job of playing the Doctor and brings his own style to the role. It’s only via Big Finish that we know how good he would have been had the series worked. Despite only having an hour to play the role there is something to warm to about the character and within minutes I had forgotten about Sylvester McCoy and accepted that he was the Doctor.

The story sees the Master force the Doctor to land his TARDIS in San Francisco on December 31st 1999. The first few minutes sees the Doctor in the TARDIS minus Ace. In one way it would have been nice to have something about Ace’s departure but time constraints (and others) prevent this from happening. The TARDIS set is truly breath-taking. It’s the first time that it has looked like it should. Every time I listen to a Paul McGann Big Finish adventure, this is the TARDIS console room I think of. In terms of the plot basically the Doctor has to find the TARDIS before midnight on January 1st 2000 and that’s basically it. To be honest I wasn’t really focusing on the story because I was just mesmerised with what I was seeing on screen.
There was a bit with the gang shooting at Chang Lee which I think got cut out of the transmitted version. It was years before I saw this as part of the TV Movie. Chang Lee is a character which doesn’t come across very well which isn’t really the fault of Yee Jee Tso. He does his best with what is basically an artful dodger type role. Adric for the last 1990’s. By the end of the movie, he is less annoying and it’s easy to see how he and Grace could have been companions. He gets convinced by the Master that the Doctor is the enemy and just works out that it’s a lie just before he is killed by the Master before being bought back to life by the TARDIS.

I think that it’s a shame that the Doctor got gunned down. It makes it too ‘real’ in my opinion. The Doctor should be forced to regenerate by some heroic act of kindness not being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I thought that Sylvester McCoy was just as good as he had been during his original time. His final moment before his actual regeneration is going AAAARRRGGGHHH on the operating table. It’s a damn sight better than Carrot Juice, Carrot Juice, Carrot Juice. The regeneration scene is very good and one of the more impressive regeneration scenes that the show has had. Even 19 years later it’s still visually impressive.
Eric Roberts get the daunting task of playing the Master but he doesn’t come across as believable as a paramedic called Bruce. The Master undergoes his own regeneration when he starts off as a snake and then gets itself stuck down Roberts’ throat and becomes the Master. The Master seems just as aggressive as he was in Survival. First he kill’s Bruce’s wife by snapping her neck and then adopts a black leather coat and shades. I do think that Roberts is more believable as the Master. I don’t find myself comparing his performance with Anthony Ainley or Roger Delgado’s versions. It’s not the greatest version of the Master buts it good on its own merits.

The only thing that Roberts does wrong as the Master is when he comes down the stairs in the TARDIS in the campest scene ever to feature the Master. Even Anthony Ainley wouldn’t have done this or done it in a camper fashion.  
It takes 50 minutes for the new Doctor and the new Master to be but it’s quite understated. I thought the scene in the back of the ambulance with them and Grace was quite fun and horrific when we see goo dripping from the Master mouth after he ‘spits’ on Grace. I like how that scene happens and its’ not until Grace and the Doctor enter the TARDIS before this becomes relevant. This is how the Master starts to take control. The final battle between the two of them is very good and it short but sweet. I don’t know how sincere the Doctor is when he holds his hand out to help the Master. The Master ends up by being sucked into the Eye of Harmony. It’s never explained how he ended up being in the Time War after this story (or certainly not in any form I’ve heard).

Daphne Ashbrook becomes one of the companions in this story but ironically is the one that is responsible for the Doctors regeneration. The surgery scene that she is involved in is quite an intense and dramatic scene. I feel sorry for her because Grace clearly seems like a good Doctor and is just unlucky to have someone like the Doctor on her operating table. She is also quite a smart person which immediately shows an improvement on pre-Ace companions. The snog that Grace has with the Doctor caused quite a stir I remember back in 1996 but nowadays its common place. She could easily have become a companion as I mentioned earlier and the goodbye scene between her and the Doctor (and another kiss) is sad and shows how well Grace has worked in a ridiculously short amount of time.
There are nice nods to the past such as the double hearts x-ray from Spearhead from Space (1970) and the John Smith name used throughout the show’s original time. Another nod is the key of the TARDIS which was used during the Pertwee era. It’s nice that they went to the trouble of doing this because its not getting in the way of the story but nice for long-time fans. This story also sees the return of the Sonic Screwdriver which hasn’t been seen since The Visitation.

There is only one aspect that really doesn’t work in this story is the business at the Institute of Technological Advancement and Research. It’s only purpose was to allow the Doctor to get the beryllium part for his TARDIS. I just find myself somewhat disinterested with it but thankfully it doesn’t have much time in the story.
The direction of this story is superb and is consistent with the quality that you would expect from any kind of US drama. Geoffrey Sax manages to keep the action scenes entertaining and the quieter scenes worth watching until the next action scene came along. Sax brings his own style to the show and seems to have fun with it. He brings a filmic quality to and that is something the show hadn’t had before.

This is the first story had lots of money behind it. It cost around $5 million dollars. $300,000 came from the BBC, Fox provided $2.5 million whereas Universal and BBC Worldwide came up with the rest. This was the first time that it looked like the show was getting the money spent on it that it deserved and proved to Michael Grade that if he had put his hand in his pocket once or twice then this is what he would have got for his money. I think that this level of luxury was helped because its easier to produce on US TV but I think that something just as good could have been achieved on British TV.
Jon Pertwee died just days before this was transmitted on UK television and there was an on screen tribute to him and I think that this would have been something he would have approved of. On one hand I am very disappointed that this TV Movie didn’t lead to a TV series because who knows what would have happened but then we wouldn’t have had the run of adventures that we have had and I suppose now I will find out whether the new series is any good. The only episode of Doctor Who to air in the 1990’s is a very impressive and enjoyable adventure. Yes there are something that don’t quite work but I have never watched this story and been bored by what I saw. If anything I have become even more impressed with Paul McGann’s Doctor and will now go and listen to one of his many Big Finish plays to enjoy. Onto the Eccleston era and a certain Rose Tyler.

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