Doctor Who Am I

What a load of absolute rubbish!

This is a cash grab for the Christmas DVD market if ever there was one.

What's it even about? The making of the doomed 1996 TV movie? Not really. Fandom? Possibly

This documentary (and I use that word lightly) doesn't seem to know what it is, and to be honest, I soon lost interest in finding out.

To me really it's Matthew Jacobs (who comes across as a very unlikable and bitter man with some axes to grind) going through a 'bitter struggle' of sitting behind desks and being paid to sign photos from the film that was always destined to fail in the first place. You can get a strong whiff of sour grapes from the moment you open the DVD case.

Save your money and indeed your time.

I have seen documentaries about niche fan conventions before. Cosplay, Comicon, Retro Con, Trekkies and the list goes on. What sets this doccie apart from the rest is the unexpected connection that is forged between the somewhat unsuspecting Matthew Jacobs and the Dr Who fandom community as he seeks out the true heart of the community. At the same time he delves into his own life long involvement in the franchise through a rather intimate exploration of family bond and common interests shared with the fans. Ultimately Matthew discovers that Dr Who am I really is Dr who are we as it becomes apparent that there is more to the community than mere fandom, and Matthew discovers a strange sense of belonging through the process of travelling back in time down memory lane and ends up establishing a rather charming connection with this oddball community.

This isn't a documentary on Doctor Who. Or on the other hand it is, depending on how you look at Doctor Who. This is a documentary about fandom, the people who took Doctor Who from a British children's show to an international sensation.

So would Doctor Who be Doctor Who without the fans?

As advertised, this is viewed primarily from the perspective of a screenwriter who wrote a largely unpopular movie that tried to Americanize Doctor Who-- and failed. So what? It came back in 2005 and was a fine smash hit for several years and added some Doctors to the lineup.

What this really focuses on is what kept Doctor Who alive for those years. While fans may seem a little "bonkers" to other people-- those same people may themselves be bonkers about football or car races or fishing or whatever they're obsessive about.

If anyone has been part of fandom, they'll recognize the authentic accuracy of this presentation. It is true-to-heart. Unlike some other documentaries I've seen, this explores what it really means to escape into science fiction conventions and leave the real world behind for a while. It speaks of the camaraderie. It takes Doctor Who out of the studio and out of the historical documentary (although there is a bit of that)... and it puts it right in the middle of fandom.

Anyone looking for a history of Doctor Who is watching the wrong film. That's not what this was advertised to be. It is an introspection by a writer, by actors, and one writer who avoided fandom for years, was introduced to it and gradually comes to understand what it's all about. This is a fascinating dive into culture, and it gets up close and personal with both the people involved in the movie... and people who both loved and hated it.

But beyond the movie, it focuses on the fans themselves and why they stuck with Doctor Who despite a mixed-reception movie... and the changes that this show-- a mere science fantasy-- has made in their lives. Good or bad, beneficial or not, it presents these things as they really are, no "staged drama", bias or glossing things over. Above all what I appreciated was the honesty and the accuracy.

Probably one of the best documentaries I've seen when it comes to telling things like they really are. Watching this reminds me of the pre-Covid days when I attended conventions, and it's a bit nostalgic. It reminds me when I myself dressed up as the 4th Doctor because I physically resembled him a bit... and made a big hit at a convention with 100,000+ attendees.

That's what it's all about-- just throwing the outside world away for a while and having a bit of fun. Isn't that what any type entertainment is about?

If you've ever been to a Dr Who convention, or have an interest in the Dr Who TV movie, you'll love this. It's quite niche (or Nitch as people seem to say in this) but it's fascinating, and personal and full of interesting moments.

Featuring primarily the screenwriter Matthew Jacobs as he starts attending Dr Who conventions like Gallifrey One after initially avoiding them for fear of being lunched by angry fans. He finds instead a community, almost a family, of fans, fellow writers and Dr Who actors who embrace him for the role he played in Dr Who history. Jacob's father appeared in an early Hartnell episode, so it becomes a very personal journey and towards the end quite melancholy.

The 8th Doctor, Paul McGann features quite a lot too, I think it's the most I've seen McGann talk about his role so from a fan viewpoint it's worth watching just for that. Jacobs comes across well too though and he admits early on that his two biggest mistakes were letting the Dr kiss and making him half human, so he knows how to get fans on board.

Recommended for Who fans, or wannabe screenwriters.