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Doctor Who: How the movie helped to make me a fan

By James Aggas

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Some love the TV movie, others hate it. But for this writer, it was a key reason for making him a fan.

(Image credit: Doctor Who/BBC.

Image obtained from: official Doctor Who website.)

The TV movie from 1996 might not be one of the most popular stories in Doctor Who. But it did help me become a fan of the series for several key reasons…

When ranking all of the regeneration stories in Doctor Who, quite honestly, the TV movie came at the bottom of the list. That’s not to say that I hate it, quite the opposite in fact, and I’ll get to why in a moment. But it was a weak regeneration story for the Seventh Doctor, and Sylvester McCoy really needed a more dignified exit from the series.

However, despite that, there’s still a lot that I like about the TV movie. More than that – in many ways, it actually helped make me a fan of Doctor Who for life.

When it was originally broadcast in 1996, the TV movie hadn’t been my only exposure to Doctor Who. Just a couple of years previously, the BBC had shown repeats of several classic stories for the show’s thirtieth anniversary. The ones that I had mainly caught were of Jon Pertwee’s Doctor. The combination of his shock of white hair, dandy outfits and very distinctive voice helped to make his Doctor iconic for me.

Not quite getting it

However, I must admit that as someone who was very young when he first watched the series, I didn’t quite understand the series fully. For example, while I knew that he traveled through time and space in a phone box like Bill & Ted, I had no idea that it was bigger on the inside.

(Keep in mind, the first three years of Jon Pertwee’s Doctor had him stranded on Earth, with only the occasional visit off-world given to him by the Time Lords. So many of his stories on Earth wouldn’t need to feature the TARDIS at all.)

I didn’t even know why, when I caught a tiny part of a Tom Baker story later, there was more than one Doctor. I knew that different actors played James Bond, but it was like they didn’t even try to find someone similar to replace Pertwee!

If I’m really being honest, five-year old me mainly watched the show because the Doctor looked cool and the theme tune was awesome! There wasn’t anything else like it on TV, and there still isn’t.

The big return

Cut to three years later. After seven years, Doctor Who was finally coming back. There was a big announcement that Paul McGann would play the new Doctor in a brand new TV movie. The BBC were constantly showing trailers for it, and there was a lot of promotion for it. The hype, in the UK, at least, was huge.

Of course, what grabbed my attention was when a trailer for the movie played and I instantly noticed the theme tune. It was very different, with a version played by a huge orchestra instead of the strange noises I had originally heard, but it was unmistakably the Doctor Who theme tune. Naturally, I had to watch it. But I also had to find out a lot more, too.

Which is where The Doctor Who Movie Special comes in.

The Doctor Who Movie Magazine Special also helped in my fandom, as I learned about key concepts like regeneration for the first time.

(Image credit: Doctor Who/BBC.

Image obtained from: official Doctor Who website.)

The Doctor Who Movie Special

The Doctor Who Movie Special was a souvenir magazine released specifically for the movie. It did more than give information on just the film itself, though. It gave a quick, easy guide to the history of Doctor Who, including brief descriptions of the previous Doctors, the TARDIS and regeneration.

This little special was actually pretty important to me. Before this point, I really didn’t have the slightest idea about some of the basic concepts of the show. This was the first time that I found out that the TARDIS was bigger, much bigger on the inside this whole time. That I found out how many Doctors there had been before – I had no clue that there had been so many!

But what really drew me in was the concept of regeneration. That really blew my mind. Finding out that – on some level – all the Doctors were not only the same person, but that there was an actual story reason why he always looked completely different, was just amazing. The moment I found out about the concept of regeneration, that made me doubly keen to check the movie out.

As I said before, as a regeneration story for Seven, the TV movie is frankly disappointing. But I’d be lying if I said that seeing my first regeneration – even for a Doctor I hadn’t grown attached to – wasn’t a huge moment for me. The moment McCoy changed into McGann, I knew I was hooked.

Speaking of which…

Of course, one core reason why I became a fan was Paul McGann’s excellent performance as the Eighth Doctor.

(Image credit: Doctor Who/BBC.

Image obtained from: official Doctor Who website.)

Paul McGann

Something else that grabbed my attention was McGann as the Doctor. Even when Eight couldn’t remember who he was, (shouting “Who!…Am!….IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII?!” before pulling a Jesus pose,) the character fascinated me. He was eccentric, funny, clever, and had such an alien quality to him.

And he looked so cool, too! Old fashioned, sure, but the costume seemed to work, and the long curly hair was awesome! (The latter of which may or may not have been an influence on my choice of hair length later in life.)

Despite enjoying the Third Doctor, it was the Eighth Doctor who really grabbed my attention. He was a character unlike any that I had ever watched before. It’s actually really amazing just how strong McGann’s debut performance is, and I still maintain it’s one of the very best. He’s incredibly confident in the role, and the script handles his character and establishes it brilliantly. This is a man who cares about life, who would rather point a gun at himself than at others. I had never seen a hero like this ever before.

I sought out more Doctor Who on VHS afterwards, (kids, ask your parents,) and my first choice was Jon Pertwee. And I enjoyed many of his stories. In fact, I enjoyed many other Doctors on video.

But it would be several years before I’d get to hear McGann play the Doctor again. Before I heard my Doctor again. And far longer before he would show up on screen once more. But in both cases, it was worth the wait. (Just.)

Along with a great Doctor, the TV movie gave us an amazing TARDIS set, too.

(Image credit: Doctor Who/BBC.

Image obtained from: official Doctor Who website.)

The TARDIS

There was one other thing that drew me into the series: the TARDIS. Now admittedly, it probably wasn’t introduced to new audiences in the best way. There’s a scene where Chang Lee enters the TARDIS, goes “Nope!” before walking back outside, walks around it to check, before heading back in. It’s a brilliant scene, one that’s Russell T Davies basically copies in Rose.

More from Winter is Coming

But the key problem with how the TV movie uses it is that it’s done long after the audience has already been introduced to the TARDIS. And when the TARDIS is introduced, we see a box travelling through space before seeing a huge spaceship setting. Perhaps not the best way to ease the audience into the whole “bigger on the inside” concept.

Not that I cared about this when I was eight, of course. Mostly because it looked so amazing!

I mean, seriously. Seeing the inside of the TARDIS for the first time was already a huge step for me. But seeing that TARDIS set? Wow. I was absolutely blown away. It was just absolutely huge. It looked Gothic and atmospheric and just so cool. And you know what? I still think that. To this day, that TARDIS set is my favorite. And, of course, it was only ever used for this story on-screen. A real shame really, as it was an absolutely marvelous design.

Still, once again, it was enough to get me hooked. To see other TARDIS designs. To find out more about Doctor Who. To find out more about the Doctor and the Master. No matter what the quality of the story of the movie, it was enough to get me hooked for life. So while I accept that the film certainly has its flaws, it’s also something of a soft spot for me, and it always will be.

Next. Ranking all the regeneration stories. dark

What are your thoughts on the TV movie? Did it make a strong impression on you when you first watched it? And what story drew you into Doctor Who? Let us know in the comments below.

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