Doctor Who (1996) (TV)

Director:

Geoffrey Sax

Writer:

Matthew Jacobs (written by)

Release Date:

14 May 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

He's Back... And It's About Time

Plot:

The newly-regenerated Doctor takes on the Master on the turn of the millennium, 31 December 1999.

Plot Keywords:

Regeneration | Telephone Box | Time Travel | Death Of Hero | Doctor Who

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Paul McGann	...	The Doctor
Eric Roberts	...	The Master / Bruce
Daphne Ashbrook	...	Dr. Grace Holloway
Sylvester McCoy	...	The Doctor
Yee Jee Tso	...	Chang Lee
John Novak	...	Salinger
Michael David Simms	...	Swift
Catherine Lough Haggquist	...	Wheeler (as Catherine Lough)
Dolores Drake	...	Curtis
Will Sasso	...	Pete (as William Sasko)
Jeremy Radick	...	Gareth
Eliza Roberts	...	Miranda
Bill Croft	...	Motorcycle Policeman
David Hurtubise	...	Professor Wagg
Joel Wirkkunen	...	Ted

Also Known As:

Doctor Who: Enemy Within (UK) (informal title)
Doctor Who: The Movie (UK) (DVD title)

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

USA | UK | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Ireland:12 | Australia:M | UK:12

Filming Locations:

San Francisco, California, USA

Company:

Universal TV

Trivia:

Bruce the ambulance driver is seen waking up next to his wife Miranda, after being possessed by The Master. Miranda, who is then promptly strangled by The Master, was played by Eric Roberts (Bruce/The Master) real life bride Eliza Roberts.

Goofs:

Continuity: The position of Doctor 7's bullet wound, from when he is shot and hit in the right shoulder, to where the wound disappears while being x-rayed, to reappearing on the right hand side of his chest in the operating room.

Quotes:

[first lines]
The Doctor: [voiceover] It was on the planet Skaro that my old enemy the Master was finally put on trial. They say he listened calmly as his list of evil crimes was read... and sentence passed. Then he made his last and I thought somewhat curious request. He demanded that I, the Doctor, a rival Timelord, should take his remains back to our home planet; Gallifrey
The Doctor: [pause]
The Doctor: It was a request they should never have granted...
The Doctor: [Cue the opening credits]

Movie Connections:

References 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Oh, dear.

The summary says it all: Oh, dear.

I don't particularly like it when Hollywood attempts to "glamourize" an existing phenomenon in order to rope in lots and lots of new viewers (to make money, of course, what other reason can there be?) but I've grown to accept the fact that it's an established part of the entertainment business. I approached this movie with what I hoped was an open mind, and I was even slightly intrigued by the first five minutes or so of the movie...

This changed, of course, when suddenly stuff started blowing up, pointless FX started popping up all over the place, and the scriptwriters apparently forgot that they were writing for DOCTOR WHO and seemed to think that they were employed by Chris Carter and the X-FILES, as they started a direct rip-off of the black oil creature, which is suddenly all that's left of the Master. (That this flies in the face of all previous background established by a show that had run for over twenty-five years is only to be expected; after all, it was only a cheesy little British sci-fi show and everyone KNOWS that Hollywood knows best, after all!) I was left with my mouth hanging open, aghast at the mess to which I was being subjected.

Paul McGann tried. God, how he tried. I can almost see him as the Doctor if I squint. This has nothing to do with the man's acting ability, which is superb, nor does it have to do with his comparatively young age--he was about the same age as Peter Davison was when he took over the role, after all. I just could not believe in a Doctor who was playing second fiddle to a completely new and fictitious TARDIS--say, last time I looked, wasn't the Eye of Harmony something to do with Rassilon back on Gallifrey?

Let us mercifully pass over the spectacle of the Doctor's first on-screen kiss--except to say that if he was never tempted by some of the companions in his past (particularly Romana, who at least was of the same species!) then why the heck would he be tempted by some jittery Earth woman who didn't particularly like him?

Please, o scriptwriter, if you're going to use characters and equipment that have been established over a quarter of a century, does it not make sense to have some passing familiarity with what you are writing? Or am I being ridiculous?

Never mind. At least I still have access to all of the videos of the classic episodes. Be sure that this travesty is one that I have zero interest in acquiring. If you're a fan of the television series, avoid this movie or spend the duration of it weeping for the mess they've made of DOCTOR WHO. If you've never seen the series and are a big fan of on-screen stuff that is really special effects in search of a movie, well, this will be right up your alley. Just don't subject a true fan to this nightmare, please.