Comic Relief: Doctor Who - The Curse of Fatal Death (1999) (TV)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

John Henderson

Writer:

Steven Moffat (writer)

Release Date:

12 March 1999 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy | Sci-Fi

Plot:

Before the Doctor can settle down to married life, he must face one last confrontation with his deadly enemy of certain death - the Master. |

Plot Keywords:

Time Machine | Time Travel | Charity | Satire | Regeneration

Cast

Rowan Atkinson	...	The Doctor
Richard E. Grant	...	The Doctor
Jim Broadbent	...	The Doctor
Hugh Grant	...	The Doctor
Joanna Lumley	...	The Doctor
Julia Sawalha	...	Emma
Jonathan Pryce	...	The Master
Roy Skelton	...	Daleks (voice)
Dave Chapman	...	Daleks (voice)

Also Known As:

Doctor Who: The Curse of Fatal Death (UK) (video box title)

Runtime:

23 min (4 parts)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Certification:

UK:PG

Trivia:

Rowan Atkinson had actually been a serious contender for role of The Doctor in the regular TV series.

Quotes:

[the Master has emerged from the sewers accompanied by Daleks]
The 17th Master: Observe, Doctor. I am no longer merely a Time Lord. My body has been augmented by superior Dalek technology!
[he pulls of his right hand and reveals that it has been replaced by a Dalek suction cup]
Emma, The Assistant: So what can you do with that, then?
The 17th Master: [realises he doesn't know] What?
Emma, The Assistant: You don't know, do you?

Movie Connections:

Edited from "Doctor Who" (1963)

A funny and surprisingly apt nostalgia piece

Being American, I was unable to watch this 4-part, 30-minute skit in all its PAL-encoded glory. Instead, I watched it in the grainy RealVideo version provided for a short time by the BBC. I was blown away.

Astonishingly, this comedy sketch captured the essence of "Doctor Who" better than the 1996 film (although Paul McGann's performance was magnificent, the rest of the film was mediocre). There are cheap sets, identical corridors to run down, backstory to be related by the Doctor, popular old villains (including the Master and the Daleks), the TARDIS.... Even the music was genuine, recycled from many old "Doctor Who" episodes.

Plus, this skit had quite possibly the most star-studded cast "Doctor Who" will ever have. And they were all working for free.

Rowan Atkinson played the Ninth Doctor surprisingly straight; if the series does pick up again, he'd be an admirable choice for the part. Julia Sawalha portrays his companion (and fiancee!) Emma, a classic Who companion who manages to never look stupid when she asks the Doctor to explain the situation. The incomparable Jonathan Pryce plays possibly the hammiest Master yet, with strong shades of Anthony Ainley showing through. And as beautiful as the past voices of the Master might be, Pryce has a real gift in his voice for playing villains.

In the last episode, the Doctor regenerates repeatedly, showing us Richard E Grant (the Doctor has now been played by both Withnail *and* I!), Jim Broadbent, Hugh Grant and, of course, Joanna Lumley. All characterizations of the Doctor, although done for laughs, are flawless. The Daleks are their usual horrid selves.

This skit was the highest-rating portion of the Comic Relief marathon. Perhaps this should tell the BBC something? For instance, it could tell them they *don't* have to do a big-budget "Doctor Who" to satisfy their audience!