Paul McGann : Doctor What Now?

by

Time moved slowly in The Cancellation Years.

My son and I got on with life and it is fair to say we became closer because of what we had lost. Equally, though, it was at least 1990 before I laughed properly again since that Wednesday afternoon during Curse of Fenric.

Much irritated me – all too easily. When they deviated from what I remembered from the broadcast series, the Target novels irritated me. When the VHS releases did not contain separate episodes with their cliff-hanger endings, the BBC irritated me. When Doctor Who Monthly set about creating the opinions it expected fans to have, it irritated me.

Fandom itself irritated me.

At the firm insistence of my boy, we decided to “get involved” with fandom, attending meetings, helping out with magazines and postage and all he administrative stuff that goes with a fan organisation, attended and help organise conventions, sweet talked agents about the participation of actors in various events – the list went on. It was amiable enough at first and my son liked hanging out with other fans his own age and discussing stories and memories.

But the bubble burst before long – and, simply because I had said that anyone who really thought the phrases “crotchety old man”, “cosmic hobo”, “dandy” and “bohemian” accurately and comprehensively summed up the characters of the first four Doctors had not really been paying attention to their stories, I was vilified and derided. It seemed that the “upper echelons” of fandom wanted adherence to the company line – they approved, the press approved – who was I to have a contrary view?

I remember wondering why these borderline fascists ever found anything of joy in Doctor Who at all – but the basic notion that freedom, independence of thought and the ability for people to have different views yet get along were the kind of inalienable positions the Doctor would fight tooth and nail to protect seemed to have passed them by.

I walked away from fandom then, hand in hand with my son, who was totally confused about why people were angry with us for simply having our own views – ones that did not conform to the party line.

Throughout this period, there was endless speculation about a movie that was due, apparently, to star Tom Baker. Details were scarce but there was talk of Scratchman or something like that as a title. What worried me most about this talk was the fact that Americans might have been putting up the money; that the BBC might sell off the concept for American re-imagining.

This prospect filled me with horror. The Americans had Star Trek and other series – they did not need to touch Doctor Who. Indeed, the greatest error JNT made was to think he could appeal to American audiences by altering the nature of the programme – even while in the position of most influence, he was incapable of seeing that which made the Doctor appealing as a hero was his intensely British quirkiness. What attracted people to Doctor Who, as studies in various countries have shown, was the English skill at storytelling, irony and character. Not flash effects, superficial caricatures and paltry love stories.

Happily, though, the much discussed movie never eventuated and my final fledgling and I contented ourselves with our memories.

I can’t recall exactly when it was that I discovered, from the Radio Times I think, that a new Doctor Who movie was going to be made and that it was apparently mostly funded by American interests. It was hoped, apparently, that the new movie would generate enough interest in America to warrant the funding of a new series.

I don’t think I knew that Paul McGann was to be cast as the Doctor, but I was not feeling particularly excited or interested.  And, as if to underscore my sense of underwhelment, on March 20 1996, Jon Pertwee died. In my mind, Pertwee had gone before the programme suffered a further degradation – I knew he had little time for either Colin Baker or Sylvester McCoy’s time as “Captain at the helm”.

I was sad that Pertwee had gone – he had been a good Doctor and a unique one. My son and I watched every one of his stories which we had on VHS in the couple of weeks that followed – even the direst ones. As it turned  out, looking back at Pertwee’s era absent the sting of losing Troughton was almost revelatory : there was more to appreciate and enjoy than I had perhaps understood when the loss of my Paternal Magician was still so strong, so keen.

But with other losses more devastating than that of the Second Doctor, a different perspective came to my revisiting of Pertwee. I came to find the joy wherever it could be found.

Paul McGann’s announcement as the Eighth Doctor did not excite or depress me. He was a perfectly good actor – the true question was what was he going to do with the part? And what was happening with the format?

May 27 1996 came around. And in a somewhat disturbing, but perhaps predictable, turn of events I had agreed to host dinner that night for my son, his best mate and a potential new partner that my acting friends were sure was “what I needed”. It was such an odd re-working of my first date with McLeela it was doomed to failure. Surely?

So we all gathered to watch the McGann movie. And luckily there was wine…

Because the movie was astonishingly bad. It was precisely the horror one imagined an Americanisation of Doctor Who could be.

The story, such as it was, was lamentable. But there is much in this McGann movie which would provide fertile ground for AG Doctor Who.

The whole notion of the TARDIS as a vessel for unimaginable power, power that can revive lives, foreshadows what happens with Rose in Parting of the Ways. Not to mention the jump-starting trick which is also reminiscent of what Mickey does to help Rose in the same story.

The TARDIS interior is utterly different and a kind of an echo of the sort of interior we would eventually see with the arrival of the Pond era. It’s not the same, at all, but you can see it as a launch-pad for the imagination. It also bears some similarity to the machine seen in The Lodger.

Then there is the Eye of Harmony – inside the TARDIS powering it?  This is finally returned to in Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS and, at least in my view, makes a kind of sense with all that had been revealed in Deadly Assassin.  If you look at the Doctor’s explanation to Leela about transcendental engineering in the famous Robots of Death speech and accept that one of the cornerstones of Time Lord power is to have X in one place at the same time as having X elsewhere, why couldn’t the Eye of Harmony be on Gallifrey as well as inside every functioning TARDIS?

It is interesting, in the post Clara world, to consider what the Doctor himself here says his name might mean:

DOCTOR: I remember! I was with Puccini before he died.

GRACE: Name dropper.

DOCTOR: No, I was, I was, I was.

GRACE: Shush. Oh, my god.

DOCTOR: You see? That’s no echo. He died before he could finish Turandot. Alfano finished it based on his notes. It was so sad.

GRACE: You have two hearts. Who are you?

DOCTOR: I was dead too long this time. The anaesthetic almost destroyed the regenerative process.

GRACE: Yeah, right. I’m going to get a syringe. I’m going to take some blood. I want to know what’s going on here.

DOCTOR: No, no, no, no, Grace, Grace, Grace, Grace. Don’t you see? I have thirteen lives.

GRACE: Please! Okay, you’re trying to tell me that you’ve come back from the dead.

DOCTOR: Yes.

GRACE: No, sorry. The dead stay dead. You can’t turn back time.

DOCTOR: Yes, you can.

GRACE: I’m not a child. Don’t talk to me like I’m a child. Only children believe that crap. I am a doctor.

DOCTOR: But it was a childish dream that made you a doctor. You dreamt you could hold back death. Isn’t that true? Don’t be sad, Grace. You’ll do great things.

I always quite liked the notion that Doctor meant “holding back death”…

Of course, the movie poses some conundrums for both the Master and the Daleks.

Where in the time line of the Master does this little excursion take place? Is this a post-Survival event? Or a pre-Deadly Assassin event? Or something else?

And what has happened to the Daleks? They consider justice important and conduct trials? On Skaro? So, this is before Remembrance of the Daleks then? Are these the “humanised” Daleks the Second Doctor set in play in Evil of the Daleks? Is this at some point in the (yet to be created) Time War where there is a truce between Daleks and Time Lords? ( Mind you, essentially in BG Doctor Who, Genesis of the Daleks aside, the Time Lords never seemed bothered by the Daleks) And more than that, the Daleks let the Seventh Doctor come and go as if he had a passport? I have to say that I thought this was a mistake – a kind of Klingon/Earth peace pact equivalent: but something which went entirely against the nature of the Daleks. Klingons might negotiate – Daleks should not. It was, if you like, the Americanised notion of the particular evil that was the Daleks.

Paul McGann himself I found inoffensive and potentially interesting. He had a style that was midway between Pertwee and Tom Baker, a quick dry delivery and the ability to convey urgency and gravitas well. And he was funny.

GUARD: Sorry. No one beyond this point.

GRACE: Oh, this is Doctor Bowman from London. They’re waiting for him. Come on.

GUARD:  You’ll be allowed in with everyone else.

GRACE: I’m on the Board of Trustees.  ( Pause) Thank you very much. Come on.

ANNOUNCER: Welcome to the Institute of Technological Advancement and Research. After dinner, Professor Wagg will invite you to join him in celebrating the official starting of the world’s most accurate timepiece, the San Francisco Beryllium Atomic Clock.

GRACE:  How will we get up there on the back of a bike?

DOCTOR: We only need the tiniest piece of it.

GRACE: People are starting to stare. Why don’t we just make conversation?  So, time travel’s possible?

DOCTOR: Anything’s possible.

GRACE: And why don’t you have the ability to transform yourself into another species like the

DOCTOR: Well, I do, but only when I die.

GRACE: And that rival Time Lord, the Master?

DOCTOR: He’s on his last life, fighting to survive. And the science has shown us over and over, in the fight for survival there are no rules. Also, Grace, if I tell you a secret, you must promise not to tell…

GRACE: Oh, Professor Wagg. This is Doctor Bowman. He’s from London. He was just going to share a secret with us.

DOCTOR: Yes. Er, Professor, is there a chance of a closer look at the clock?

WAGG: No! No, I’m afraid that I am the only person allowed up there.

DOCTOR: Oh, can’t you just bend the rules a little?

WAGG: No.

DOCTOR: Oh, but you see…

WAGG: Grace says you have a big secret. What is it?

DOCTOR: I’m half human. On my mother’s side.

WAGG: Very clever. Happy New Year.

GRACE: Yes, I think you must be.

 

There was, of course, the business about being half-human. Given the Master said it and the Doctor confirmed it, what did it mean? Was it a problem?

It always seemed more likely than not to me that the Doctor’s child, Susan’s parent, married an Earthling. It would, at least in part, explain his interest in and attachment to Earth and humans. But, of course, it works equally well if it is the Doctor who is half-human – then his attachment comes from his own genesis.

All of this ties in with the notions underpinning the AG River/Amy/Rory story.

Equally though, you could easily take the view that the Doctor was lying to Wagg. Indeed, he probably is.

But…This was, after all, the first renewal or regeneration not to occur either within the TARDIS or a short distance away from it.  Given Tenth Planet had demonstrated that it was possible for life energy to be drained from Earth, if the Doctor needed energy to complete the regeneration process, did he take it from Earth, thus altering his perception to the Master? I always preferred that explanation…

But the sad truth is that one suspects the American powers that be thought, Spock-like, it would be best if the Doctor was half-human. The entrenched notion that something completely alien was evil or at least not someone to be loved, at that time still had a long way to unravel. Possibly still does…

The AG obsession with the Doctor kissing his companions starts here too, and it is an entirely American obsession which did not need to be grafted onto the Doctor’s predilections.

GRACE: What is it?

DOCTOR: Something’s happening. Something’s happening. Something’s happening.

GRACE: Oh my God!

DOCTOR: I know who I am!

The Doctor kisses Grace.

DOCTOR: I am the Doctor!

GRACE: Good! Now do that again.

This overt flirting is unnecessary and diminishes the Doctor. Nothing makes him less mysterious, less alien, less remarkable than a willingness to snog his companions. The rot, picked up by RTD and accentuated by SM in AG Doctor Who, starts here. And to me, nothing is more regrettable in AG Doctor Who than this.

This Doctor is capable of kicking open morgue doors – was it necessary for the Doctor to suddenly acquire super-strength? In this new quasi-American vision of the Doctor’s travels, were super-powers mandatory? Certainly, there was a lot of Christian symbolism at play in the notion of the Doctor in resurrection mode; he even gets the equivalent of a crown of thorns.

This is the first time we see the post regeneration escape of life-breath too – a notion that RTD would run with in AG times. It is also the first time we see the red vortex/travelling field which would one day come to be the opening titles.

The other profound influence on AG Doctor Who is the central role of the companion – re-inforced here by the Master effectively having a companion too. In truth, McGann’s one outing should be called Grace – because it is all about her. The audience meets, assesses and accepts/loves the Doctor because of her, not him. The precise template for Rose, albeit the latter did it in a classier and much more satisfactory way.

This is not to say that earlier companions did not have a central role – they did. But Liz Shaw and the Brigadier, for instance, did not introduce us to Pertwee and our response to Pertwee was not governed or influenced by their perceptions. It is the same with Sarah-Jane with Tom Baker, Tegan with Peter Davison, Peri with Colin Baker and Mel with Sylvester McCoy – none of them introduce or shepherd the new incarnation to the audience. Even Ben and Polly do not introduce Troughton to a puzzled audience. Each Doctor makes his own mark his own way, sometimes challenged by the companion. But McGann is teased out by or through Grace – quite deliberately.

I have to hand it to Eric Roberts – he is so unimaginably awful as the Master that I found myself almost aching for Anthony Ainley. There is nothing good to say about anything he does and a great deal to complain about. I think I actually spat out my wine when he kissed the poor Lee character. Both the Doctor and the Master kissing their companions? Oh my giddy Aunt! He couldn’t die quickly enough – or painfully enough –  for me.

And yet…you can see almost a straight line from this performance to John Simm’s. The difference between Ainley and Simm is astonishing – but the difference between Roberts and Simm is much less: insane, giggling idiot, ridiculous powers; the real difference is that Simm is a vastly better actor than Roberts. But in a startling number of ways, Simm’s Master appears modelled on Roberts’ version rather than any of the other versions.

But the lasting memory of McGann’s one-off stint as the Doctor is how overwhelmingly American it felt. The way it looked, the pace, direction, even the story-telling – all foreign to anything that had gone before in Doctor Who. Foreign and plain wrong. AG Doctor Who feels more like BG Doctor Who than this sorry outing.

Not at all the fault of Paul McGann, but this movie depressed me in a fundamental way.

Curiously, or perhaps not, because the movie went so badly for me, the whole “date” seemed not so bad. There was even kissing – and a promise of more another time. “Perhaps when your mind is not so occupied with Doctors…” Yes, I think that was the phrase…

While cleaning up after dinner, my son came down from his room to help. When we were done, he opened a bottle of wine and poured me a drink.

“I know tonight was hard for you, Dad,” he said. “Disappointing Doctor Who and facing up to being with someone who is not Mum, but I just wanted to say I love you.”

It was so surprising. He was not usually so demonstrative or sentimental. He gave me a big hug and waited for me to stop crying and start drinking.

I guess he waited a little while. But he was patient.

I sat down eventually at our piano, thinking to play some Mozart badly. McLeela adored Mozart.

He hovered and then came over, putting a hand on my shoulder.

“It will get better Dad. You won’t always feel this down about Doctor Who.”

“I guess, mate,” said I, “but I confess to not being perky tonight.”

He smiled and hugged me again.

Then he said: “Look. Sorry to do this while you are down, but I figure there will not be a better time. And I feel Mum everywhere tonight. So…”

I looked at him, worried. I thought he had been diagnosed with cancer.

“I am very grateful that Doctor Who was so bad for you tonight because it means that you are so low already, you won’t react badly to what I am going to tell you. And I invoke Mum too!”

All I could do was look at him, one eyebrow raised and try to think about whatever McLeela would say about whatever it was he was going to confess.

We both took deep breaths.

“Dad, I am gay.” He scrunched up his eyes and waited for my response.

Well, of course, I just laughed at him. What could he possibly be talking about?

I knew that he was gay. Parents know.

He was shocked, then happy, then elated. His best mate turned out to be something all the more special than that and he came down and we all had a drink and eventually my son let me hug him too.

It was a whacky night.

When they decided enough wine was enough, they went up to bed. But before he went, my son said: “Thanks Dad. I am so glad the movie was shit because it gave me the courage to talk to you and Mum tonight. Doctor Who comes through – even when its shit”.

We both laughed and off he went. So so happy.

“Don’t think this means you get out of providing grandchildren,” I called after him. The sound of two laughing, happy voices, the voices of people clearly in love, filled me with joy.

So I forgot the Mozart, took the wine and sat outside, with the stars, McLeela, the lost children and my little brother. And looked, on and off, for a TARDIS which I was confident was out there, and not in America.

The McGann Boy, as my son’s partner became anointed, is still with him and they are due to marry on November 23 this year. He turned out to be exactly who my boy thought he was. He told me he knew from the first day he met him, and I figured I had passed on at least one good skill.

So this Fiftieth Anniversary of Doctor Who has triple value for me: my boy’s wedding, a drink with Nanna on the 41st Anniversary of her death and a television programme with ( at least ) three Doctors.

What’s a bridge for, eh?

 

 

 

 


22 comments

  1. I knew that there was some deep cosmic reason why the TV Movie was so shit. It was to provide your son with the necessary courage!

    The best thing about ‘The Enemy Within’ is the 7th Dr’s tweed jacket, setting up the most important convention in AG Who!

    One can imagine the half-human revelation being a  regular occurrence if the 8th Dr had got a series.

    Davros returns and reveals that he’s actually half Thal on his Dad’s side, the Daleks’ biological parents turn out to be Smash Robots, K-9 is outed as being part cat…

    The show is proof-positive that trying to please everybody pleases nobody. An invaluable lesson for AG creators on how NOT to make Dr Who.

     

  2. @HTPBDET – I wrote my comments on the Faces of the Doctor thread about how Americans could only ruin the essential Britishness of Doctor Who before I came here to read your blog entry … and I see that you have said similar things.  But you expand on the argument with details that are quite pertinent: the super-hero powers, religious iconography, the requirement to be half-human because of the national dread of ‘aliens’, changing the Daleks so utterly that they actually prize justice??

    Those latter two appear to be direct lifts from Star Trek, as you note, and show another side of American entertainment production that I find so frustrating – the unwillingness to believe that something completely brand-new (‘alien’ as, ‘soaked in British sensibilities’) could be embraced by a mass American audience.

    My brother, who is the typical Yank in not having a passport, simply adores Red Dwarf, Are You Being Served?, and believe it or not, he thinks Hyacinth Bucket (‘Boo-kay’) is an absolute hoot; but he is admittedly in a teeny-tiny minority of American viewers who just ‘get’ British humour.

    I wonder if, as you imply, that RTD wrote John Simm’s version of the Master with Eric Roberts’ characterisation in mind?

    Congratulations on your son’s wedding!

  3. I glanced at my face in a mirror when I finished that and noticed a broad grin: at last something good from the telemovie! Okay, that’s an exaggeration: there was the TARDIS set, which I thought was magnificent, and the Eighth Doctor himself. Plus I add Chang Lee to my list of “weren’t companions but should have been”. But yeah: this came from America all too obviously. The America that tried to remake Fawlty Towers without Basil.

    The half-human thing was so obviously a lift from Star Trek that I nearly laughed out loud. As for Eric Roberts as the Terminator Master… that’s all I can bring myself to say about that.

    If anything the worst of it was the attempts to reassure us it was Doctor Who just by telling us. “He’s British” “Yes, I suppose I am”. And the sudden obsession with tea! Okay, the Doctor didn’t mind a cuppa, but, as Five put it, he rather liked it, but nothing more. No, now the show is British through American eyes, he wants the stuff all the bloody time.

    At times, I tried filling in the gaps and wondering how much Doctor Who would have looked like this if it has carried on in the meantime. I don’t blame the telemovie for the kissing: regrettably, that was bound to happen sooner or later, but I had to answer the question overall with: not much.

    Still, as I say, this piece was a joy to read, especially after last month’s tragedies. I hope you, your son and your son-in-law have a wonderful day on November 23rd!

  4. Ahhh, lovely.

     

    The TV movie was the first Dr Who I saw, my Dad wasn’t really into it (he kinda likes the new one) and my therefore my older brother wasn’t.

    My Sci-fi was Star Trek, Star Wars and Red Dwarf (+ Galactica, Buck Rogers and Robotech).

    Having said that, I remember being entranced by it at the time and thinking it was really cool, only to sit a week later and realise it was a bit rubbish.

    What the bejeezus was the Master snake thingy?

  5. Congratulations to your youngest on his upcoming nuptials! I hope it doesn’t come across too badly if I say I have been worrying since your last blog that something awful would happen to your youngest fledgling – and that the grin on my face after reading this reached somewhere just behind my ears!

    I’d love to know whether your issue with the Doctor and kissing is just in reference to his insistence on bashing face with his companions (which I really dislike – I find it a little creepy considering these women are supposed to be surrogate grandchildren for him), or more broadly with romance being a part of his life in general (which I feel much more positively about)?

    Couldn’t possibly agree more regarding Eric Roberts – he’s the worst thing in the TV Movie by a country mile, although the entire plot is trying its hardest to be as bad.

  6. @HTPBDET, So happy that you’re back with us, and continuing your memoir-cum-critique.

    I haven’t seen the McGann movie yet.  I’ve got to say that  your informed and considered blog post hasn’t exactly inspired me to rush right off and see it.

    The BEEBAmerica will feature the Eighth Doctor at the end of August:  a half-hour intro (similar to the Colin Baker one @Craig? or some other mod posted last month), followed by a representative episode.  I’ve always been pretty diligent about doing my homework, so I’ll probably watch it some time or another in the next month.  At least McGann has those lovely Romantic poet’s curls, it’ll give me another chance to see McCoy (however briefly), and I do so love San Francisco.

    You truly saved the best for last.

    What wonderful news from your final fledgling and the McGann Boy! I wish them much happiness.  And I do hope they take your desire for grandchildren under serious advisement.

    TardisBlue

  7. @JamesUnderscore – that’s a good point to raise, in re the Doctor smooching his companions, and how the template was set from the beginning that the Doctor’s companions were his granchild and his granchild’s schoolteachers.

    But I’m also interested in your assertion that ‘romance being a part of his life in general’ makes you feel positive about the character of the Doctor.

    What is so ‘alien’ about the Doctor, in my PoV, is that he doesn’t experience ‘romance’ in the way we humans do.  What can you do when you know that you will always outlive everyone you encounter?  This sentiment was achingly expressed in The Name of The Doctor, in that final (?) scene between River Song and 11.

    Whatever we are in for in terms of the 50th, and the Christmas special, and the next series … I for one truly hope that we can go back to a non-romance, non-romantic ideal of the Doctor travelling with someone who shows him how to be better [on this point alone, I agree with American entertainment production that there must be an aspect of seeing the main character ‘grow’], but without either of them succombing to ‘lurrve’.

  8. @Pedant

    I am, alas, too dim to understand the reason for your raised eyebrow

    @Craignixon

    That snake…another piece of religious symbolism but otherwise, utterly incomprehensible.

    @arkleseizure @jamesunderscore

    Thanks. I think you and I are at one about the kissing issue.

    I have no objection to paternal or friendly kisses nor even fun, silly ones if they are rightly judged.

    But pseudo-sexual ones seem to me to just be wrong. As I have said before, such episodes merely, in my view, seek to humanise the Doctor in unnecessary ways.

    I have no issue with a proper romance story for the Doctor if one is strong enough and plausible enough to work.

    While I like River enormously, I don’t care for the fractured romance angle – because we never get to see the reason for the Doctor’s apparent love. I found the scene in Name of the Doctor baffling more than anything else – but it is the trope Moffat adopts and one must run with it. He states something in the narrative and so we must accept it. I much prefer to see how a relationship works rather than just be told it does. And maybe, before Smith goes, we will see more of the River and Doctor interaction. Perhaps?

    For my part, I would like the new Doctor to go back to a sense of self where his travels help the companion improve/get better or they just help each other as they have adventures together. I think we have had enough of the Doctor needing to be improved. But that is just me.

    @Tardisblue

    Trust me, they know I am serious about the grandchild! 🙂

    But, happily, they want children as much as I want grand-children. 🙂

    @Shazzbot

    I don’t think it is necessary that the Doctor “grow” – the wide-eyed adventures where he intervenes and makes things better were enough for most of the BG Doctors. And I think that could still work today.

    Thanks to everyone for their kind words and well wishes. Much appreciated.
     

  9. @HTPBDET – on the aspect of seeing the main character, (i.e., The Doctor) ‘grow’ –

    There are obvious reasons why this show has lasted for 50 years.  The main one being, as you put it in your Regeneration blog, is that this programme uniquely (and through exigency) found a way to change the main protagonist not only in physical form – the actor – but also in changing the protagonist’s character.

    And in creating this unceasing change of character, Doctor Who is the uber-template for a long-running show – one which allows the protagonist to change.  Not just in changes of actor and mannerisms and catch-phrases, but by really allowing the main character to develop.

    Perhaps I should have used ‘develop’ rather than ‘grow’?  The latter implies an arc toward greater goodness, whereas the former simply implies that different character traits will be seen and experienced by the audience.

  10. @Shazzbot – I guess I mean that, however alien the Doctor might be, he is still, like all organisms, compelled to pass on his genes, and I’m not saying that I need that to be shown in a human, boy girl love story framework, but that I think it’s important that the Doctor is shown to be a creature, like all of us, and not a kind of sexless, ageless god. Yes, falling in love with humans or other organisms with short life spans is hard for him, but there are plenty of other possibilities for love stories – you could even have one that flips it on its head – the Doctor falling for someone/thing even more long lived than he.

    TLDR: I think it’s important that the Doctor is shown to be able to love in more than just a platonic way, and I really loathe all the sexless Doctor rubbish in the fandom and some of the spin off materials (time lords not born but grown on genetic looms? seriously? and if that were the case, is that not exactly the kind of self hating conservatism that the Doctor was fleeing when he left Gallifrey?)

    @HTPBDET – I have very much enjoyed River’s arc, and in NoTD, I really did believe (at last) that the Doctor loved her, and she him, but I have to agree that it’s really not clear why this is the case – we’ve seen very little of the relationship, and I think Moffat hasn’t quite achieved what he was aiming for in those glimpses. But I’m glad for that arc nonetheless: it opens the door for more love in the Doctor’s life, and with a person like the Doctor, there is no limit to the strange, wonderful loves he could experience.

  11. @HTPBDET – I’m glad something good came out of the movie; at least it made your son realise that things couldn’t possibly be worse if he did tell you.

    My best wishes for the wedding. If they’re anything like you, I’m quite sure your son and his husband will be wonderful parents.

  12. @HTPBDET Another incredibly moving blog-post, which made me cry again – sad ones, but happy ones as well this time. I shuddered at your description of the real life fans you encountered. It’s sad enough being an anonymous internet troll, but ARSE fans in real life must be terrifyingly depressing.

    Am so happy for you that you have found this place, and even more happy for us that you have.  I hope your personal story (both strands – 1990s and now!) continues on the up.

    I have a bit of a personal question. As your son is getting married on 23 Nov – do you have a viewing session sorted out after/at the wedding? With everyone, or just you and the newly-weds?!  Or is it the iplayer later?

    @Bluesqueakpip says – I’m glad something good came out of the movie; at least it made your son realise that things couldn’t possibly be worse if he did tell you.

    More than that – he and his partner can credit the Movie as signalling a new stage in their relationship, when they were included in the family as a couple.  Instead of being a darkish blot in Who history, it now has a little shiny glow in your own personal history.

    The mysterious and magical  Dr Who/HTPBDET family intertwining continues, with your nephews and your son. Are you sure your surname isn’t Pond…?! <ducks!>

  13. @Bluesqueakpip @ScaryB

    Thanks for the wedding good wishes.

    ScaryB – afternoon wedding followed by afternoon tea and speeches and crying and then a service for my grandmother and more speeches and crying and then everyone gets to watch the Anniversary Special together ( some guests have struggled with this but as the couple were determined that was that ) and then dinner and dancing under the stars.

    Well – that’s the plan. Nephews not too keen on the dancing bit…

    But you are spot on – the McGann outing does have a shiny lustre because of that night and once again Dr Who was central to a key family moment.

    @Jamesunderscore – I too am glad about aspects of the River arc – I think though that I would have liked more River/Doctor time, just them doing whatever – but meeting Jim The Fish for one.

    Despite what some may think, I am just an old romantic at heart.

  14. I’ve only seen the TV Movie once (when it was originally broadcast) and I have to say, while I can’t remember specifics, I quite enjoyed it. Whether that’ll still be the case when I finally get round to buying is another matter.

    But there is much in this McGann movie which would provide fertile ground for AG Doctor Who

    I don’t think this applies to just SFX or the storytelling aspects. The use of incidental music also changed with the TV Movie as well. From my (admittedly vague) memories of BG Who, the ‘music’ seemed to be based on the notion of “It’s sci-fi so we have to use weird, electronic ‘sounds’ “.

    The movie soundtrack seemed to break from that tradition and gave us a fully orchestrated score. And just as this was quite likely inspired by Star Wars and the Star Trek movies, so it seems to me that Murray Gold’s arrangement of the Main Theme may well have been inspired by John Debney’s version.

    Also, the timpani/kettle drums that occasionally accompany the trailers and “next time” sequences of AG Who are strangely reminiscent of the start of JD’s arrangement.

    Finally, a request. As I have an aversion to watching/downloading/buying movies from the internet, does any-one know if  the TVM available in shops as a stand-alone DVD? The only versions I’ve seen on sale so far are as part of box-sets containing episodes I already have so, understandably, I’d rather not have to buy them again for a movie I might not enjoy.

  15. A lovely installment in the ongoing autobiography and like several other posters, there were tears, both happy and sad. You convey  a depth of emotion that makes for compelling reading @HTPBDET

    I am very glad that things have worked out so well for your son and my congratulations to him and his partner on their forthcoming nuptials. I like the wedding plans and it is so fitting that, Dr Who having been such an important part of your son’s life that he is married on the anniversary.

    I enjoyed the romance between Doctor and River and was pleased when he referenced having had family back on GAllifrey. I would however prefer that he does not become involved with every single companion though because it humanises him too much. He made that distinction very clear with Amy and they become “mates” aided by the presence of Rory which is why the later’s function as part of the Tardis team was so vital. S.M. has explored different kinds of relationships that are not simple boy/girl. Clara is almsot a part of him, a part of his time stream. She becomes his guardian through time.

    I don’t recall just when we watched the movie but looking at the date it was months after our first son was born which would explain why my memory of it is so vague. I do recall my bitter disappointment and relief that there was no series. Had the movie not failed we would not have got our Dr Who back.

    Cheers

    Janette

  16. I remember when the ‘movie’ was announced. I looked forward to that movie the way a kid looks forward to Christmas morning…. and just just as disappointed as that kid who didn’t get the pony she wished for. I don’t recall much about Doctor Eight, except ‘leave it to the Americans (I’m American so I can say that) to mess up a perfectly good theme/movie/idea/plot/show.  I have half heartedly looked for Doctor Eight on VHS or DVD, and haven’t found it yet. I said I looked ‘half hearted’.  I seriously am not familiar with the actor. I have only seen his name related to Doctor Who. And I am not faulting him. I remember thinking it was the whole storyline.

    When the new series was first announced I was ecstatic. And nervous. I was so afraid it was going to follow the path of the ‘movie’. I cannot tell you how pleased I was with the whole run of Christopher Eccleston. And David Tennant. And Matt Smith. Admittedly, it took two episodes to warm up to David. And just a tad longer to accept Matt. But I knew I would like them eventually. I went through the same thing from my first Doctor (Tom Baker) to the next one, Peter Davison.

    I learned about the Doctor from PBS. During that time, PBS didn’t pick up the new regeneration. I think it had something to do with money (?). But they did run earlier episodes where I fell for John Pertwee, and  moaned, laughed, and cried over the First, Second, and Third Doctors.

    My son was six and my daughter was only nine months old. When Doctor Who came on the TV, the three of us gathered together to watch the show. My son dreamed of the day he would have his own ‘big blue box’, and a ‘cool’ scarf like Baker’s.

    As to my very young daughter, I really didn’t think she ‘watched’ the show with us, until one afternoon when I happened to observe that her back was to the TV set. She was in the playpen playing with a stuffed animal. When the music came on, she dropped the toy and turned around to watch with us. It was then that I knew Doctor Who fans can be ‘very’ young. Now my grandsons are fans as well. And we are all looking forward to the Christmas show and eagerly await the 12th Doctor.

    Regarding the ‘romance’ of Doctor Who (sigh), even as a kid I thought the romantic touch in ‘any’ movie took away from the action and adventure.  That’s what ‘chic flicks’ are for, was and still is still my opinion.  I did like the Rose/Doctor Ten involvement, because they weren’t really ‘involved’. And I was happy with Rose/Doctor 10.1 ending. Amy Pond’s attempt at seduction of Doctor Eleven was funny, and I was happy when ‘the fiance’ joined them. I loved River Song, and I truly believe it was the actress as much as the character that pulled this off. And I especially loved that ‘details’ of their ‘romance’ was kept out of the storyline. Except for a few kisses, and  some innuendo, IMO there was no romance. I, for one, was pleased. However, I do like River Song, and hope very much that she can join us in future episodes.

    Back to my original subject… Doctor Eight… I will look with definite intention for a copy of the  DVD, rewatch the movie with every intention of finding something good.

     

  17. First of all, I shall say “rest in peace” and I hope the after-life, heaven, or wherever souls go to after death is treating you well, sir. I enjoyed reading this article, so very much, and you were a true writer for sure, Mr. HTPBDET, 🙂

    My favorite part is:

    The Americans had Star Trek and other series – they did not need to touch Doctor Who. Indeed, the greatest error JNT made was to think he could appeal to American audiences by altering the nature of the programme – even while in the position of most influence, he was incapable of seeing that which made the Doctor appealing as a hero was his intensely British quirkiness. What attracted people to Doctor Who, as studies in various countries have shown, was the English skill at storytelling, irony and character. Not flash effects, superficial caricatures and paltry love stories.

    I found myself yelling at my screen, “Damn right!!!” and all fired up, it’s so very true! It’s not just Star Trek, but we already have a great number of sci-fi shows in the US. What drives the American fan-base to Doctor Who is that it is intensely British and therefore wonderfully “new” to us. We can and do appreciate the English skill of storytelling, irony, and character. And some of us are bored of the overly flashy special effects, superficial caricatures, and paltry love stories. Bleh! If Doctor Who was in fact Americanized to be such a show, it wouldn’t be so popular here and would blend in with the rest of the shows as one of the usual, not bad but not extraordinary either, I would think. This is why I haven’t yet seen Paul McGann’s movie, however I know that I should because it is part of the Whoverse, no matter that I hear often how poorly done it is.

    And I’ve learned something too… I never knew that the Doctor was to be half-human. It would explain a lot on why the Doctor is so very protective and interested in Earth and humans. And it does make the River/Rory/Amy story seem a little less mad. Hmm… I have much to think about this weekend. Thanks for leaving your legacy of great writing. I shall read more on other Doctors soon! I can’t wait! 🙂

Leave a Reply