Watch everything you need to see from this week’s epic trailers including Captain Marvel, "Maniac," and Mary Poppins Returns.
"The Sinner" star talks us through his arc in the show's just-finished Season 2.
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Title: Doctor Who (TV Movie 1996)
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| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| 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 Sasso) | |
|
|
Jeremy Radick | ... | Gareth |
| Eliza Roberts | ... | Miranda | |
| Bill Croft | ... | Motorcycle Policeman | |
|
|
David Hurtubise | ... | Professor Wagg (as Dave Hurtubise) |
|
|
Joel Wirkkunen | ... | Ted |
The Doctor, an alien time traveller from the planet Gallifrey, is transporting the remains of his nemesis, the Master back to their homeworld. However the Master is not as dead as the Doctor thinks. The Master's essence escapes and sabotages the TARDIS, the Doctor's time machine causing it to crash land in San Franscisco on December 30th 1999. The Doctor requires a beryllium atomic clock to repair the TARDIS, but is shot as he leaves it. Taken to hospital, the Doctor's seventh regeneration is triggered by a surgeon, confused by his alien physiology, while the Master takes over a paramedic's body. He needs a Time Lord's body to survive and be able to regenerate again so he needs the Doctor's. The newly regenerated the Doctor must fight to save his own eighth body, and the world when the Master sabotages the TARDIS' power source. By midnight on December 31st 1999, the Earth will be pulled through this power-source, a mini-black hole, and only the Doctor can stop if only he can remember ... Written by Dave Gardner <is6131@dcs.napier.ac.uk>
This is one of the most over-analyzed pieces of television ever produced. "Doctor Who" fans are such a dedicated bunch that they'll buy camcorders and film their own episodes when the show is not in production; it stands to reason that they'd pick apart the only "official" new episode produced for TV in the 1990s, but the chorus of their dissenting voices sometimes really grates on me. Thanks to all the controversy, I still can't honestly say what I think of this movie, even all these years later; every time I see it, I have a different opinion.
I'm not on board with some of the usual criticisms. I don't care about the romance (it barely features), and I don't really mind that the Doctor is half-human (it's a side issue that doesn't alter the plot, hardly worth complaining about). What I do dislike is the fast-paced, action-oriented nature of the story, which prevents character development (Chang Lee is the chief offender here) and doesn't allow any room for the Doctor to act like a detective (which is his usual schtick).
Still, good effects, a rockin' music score and some nice arty camera work elevate this far above the average TV production. Perhaps the only thing that really matters is that it's entertaining; why analyze it beyond that? The only real problem here is that the original series is, generally speaking, even more entertaining, but that's one tough act to follow!
An ex-roommate and good buddy of mine perhaps summed it up best: "That was fun, but could you put on a cheesy one now? They're more interesting." I bet her opinion of it wouldn't change on a second viewing; I, alas, am afflicted with the curse of fandom!