The TV Movie

I don't think there is another story in the history of Doctor Who that I both love and hate. There is so much I enjoy about this story and so much that I detest. As such I shall divide my review into two sections, positive and negative.

Positive:
The Doctor.
Paul McGaun absolutely steals it in this story and is a truly innovative Doctor. He has charm, dark moments, humour, seriousness, humanity and alien qualities. No other Doctor has, in my opinion given as good a performance in their first episode. As well as this, McCoy is brilliant as an worldweary, aged timelord and is given an brilliantly subtle performance.

Grace.
For a one time companion I really like her. She’s funny, stands up for herself and I think she gets a bad rap. The scenes where they talk about her motivations to become a Doctor and her fear of death are genuinely brilliant. I enjoy her interactions with the Doctor and she really works well.

Chang Lee.
Some people call him a companion but I’d say he’s more of a side villain. And he works super well. It’s amazing how well he develops and I just really enjoy him as a character.

Death of Seventh Doctor.
So brutal and realistic. For a Doctor who is dark and gritty this is so unexpected and works well. It’s not being gunned down by Daleks or dying of radiation. Real people die like this and this shows the tragedy.

Production.
Amazing, this story feels truly cinematic. The effects are on point and the direction is so well done. I love the title sequence and that theme music! And of course the TARDIS looks actually amazing. This is the best TARDIS design of all time, both exterior and interior.


Negative.
The Master.
Eric Roberts was so poorly cast. I think that the Master should be more manipulative than powerful and this Master seems stupid. The worst thing is that he is so inconsistent. It’s like he’s a different character every scene he’s in. He goes from being creepy in the bed scene, to annoying, to threatening and manipulative, to suave and finally ending up as stupidly flamboyant. None of these “archetypes” work well I must note. It would have been better there was more of that side to him we saw in the ambulance scene, where he corrects Grace’s grammar. Just generally being snarky and pedantic.

Lack of Subtlety.
So on the nose. Clocks in the TARDIS, reading HG Wells, lightning striking as the Doctor talks ect ect ect.

The Plot.
Just a bit stupid. The Master mucks up the Eye of Harmony to get more lives. Why didn’t he do it years ago in his own TARDIS? Also why does putting the master inside of the Eye solve everything. The whole ending makes no sense. An extra ten minutes would have really helped here.


In conclusion, the story works so well and fails so much. However I do recommend this story as it is truly unique in Doctor Who, in both production and my opinions. It is also very enjoyable and I would have love to have seen a series made from it.
7.5/10

Reviewing this one in retrospect is pretty odd, particularly with how far Paul McGann's incarnation has shaped itself over the years. It is still a major bummer that we never got to see more of him in the TV spotlight, but hey, at least we got Big Finish.

Willing to admit that this is still enjoyable even if its kinda not all that great. Biggest issue hanging over it is the writing, ranging from the continuity hiccups, weak characterization, screwed up misunderstanding on how to handle the Master or other mistakes.

On the other, there's some good that holds it together. The production is pretty solid on the whole. Especially the gorgeous TARDIS interior and neat opening title sequence. Paul McGann's performance is wonderful, bringing a serious yet exciting and energetic feel to it all.

Overall its not very good and doesn't hold up all that much, but if you want something on for the background often, its just eh.

I love the pantomime of this master , I love Paul as the doctor and I love this tardis interior. Much else is messy , silly or shaky canon expansion (half human cough cough)
But I oddly like this movie and suggest it at the very least! .... as a curiosity.

Doctor Who - The Movie is a curious part of Doctor Who history. Intended to launch a new TV series produced by the BBC, Fox and Universal, instead due to poor viewing figures in America it has become something of a missing link between the classic and new series. So what was at fault?

Well, it feels like it was a mistake to include Sylvester McCoy as the Doctor at the beginning of the movie. This would no doubt have been confusing for new viewers who didn't previously follow the series; the TV movie did, after all, air seven years after the last episode of the classic series. The mistake was later corrected when Russell T Davies brought the show back in 2005, when he opted to start without a regeneration.

It's a shame that executive producer Paul Segal made the decision to include Sylvester McCoy although it's understandable. He is a Whovian after all, so the temptation to include a regeneration sequence was likely too much to resist. Overall, he did make a great movie though with an engaging plot and great actors.

The plot of the Master trying to steal the Doctor's remaining regenerations and nearly causing the end of the world by opening the Eye of Harmony is a good one that feels largely in character for the Master. Paul McGann and Daphne Ashbrook are fantastic as the Doctor and Grace Holloway too; so believable in their roles that many wish to see them reunited in the form of a Big Finish audio. I don't even mind the idea that the Doctor is half human on his mother's side; it makes sense given his fascination with Earth. My only real complaint besides what probably didn't work for new viewers is at times the Master appears more Count Dracula than the Master himself; this is largely down to Eric Roberts' performance, who seems too theatrical and hams it up a little.

Overall, the Doctor Who TV Movie is a great film that should have been successful but is let down by a couple of poor decisions like bringing Sylvester McCoy back as the 7th Doctor for a regeneration scene and Eric Roberts playing the Master too much like Dracula.