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| The Eighth Doctor |
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 With the broadcast of the final episode of "Survival", at the end of 1989, no one at the time would have realised at first that the end of the original run of the show had taken place. When it was realised that the show would not return for the following year at worst it was hoped that the show would return in a few years time, like it had between Season Twenty Two and Season Twenty Three. But as the years passed it became clear that this would not be the case.
At first John Nathan-Turner was the person blamed for killing the show but as history has proved it was the exact opposite. One could argue that John Nathan-Turner actually kept the show going a lot longer than it would have – and this was despite him wanting to be moved on from the show. His desire to leave the show though had diminished when Andrew Cartmel took over from Eric Saward as Script Editor. With Sylvester McCoy more settled in the role of the Seventh Doctor and the better dynamics between The Doctor and his companion – thanks to Sophie Aldred’s brilliant portrayal of Ace – the show was at last heading in a better direction with improved storylines and a much more darker and mysterious Doctor.
But then, at the end of 1989, production on the show had ceased and it would be over fifteen years before the show would return as a regular programme. But during this period the show refused to go away. Doctor Who may have left our screens but it was not forgotten – helped by the fact that the show’s merchandise continued to grow with the steady release of past stories on VHS video and the introduction of Virgin Books’ The New Adventures series of novels which basically continued on from "Survival" telling the further adventures of the Seventh Doctor and Ace (and later, companions Bernice Summerfield, Chris Cwej and Roslyn Forrester).
During this time Doctor Who also celebrated, in 1993, another milestone event – its Thirtieth Anniversary. As the show was currently not on our screens this event was celebrated with the special mini-story "Dimensions in Time" which contained all the incarnations of The Doctor (in one form or other) and a number of companions – in a storyline that also involved the cast and sets of EastEnders.
Then in 1996 the long-awaited return of Doctor Who took place when the show returned to our screens for a proper, feature length movie. This direct-to-television film was a joint production between the BBC, Universal Television and Fox Television, and was produced entirely in Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada - to date the only Doctor Who story filmed in Canada. It was the first attempt to revive Doctor Who, following its cancellation in 1989. It was intended as a back-door pilot for a new American-produced Doctor Who television series, and introduced Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor in his only televised appearance as the character. Although it was a ratings success in the UK, the film did not fare well on American television, and so no new series was purchased.
British expatriate Philip Segal had been working since 1989 to forge a co-production deal between an American company and the BBC to make a new Doctor Who series. At that time, Philip Segal was working with Columbia Pictures, but little had come of his efforts by the time he left Columbia for a two-year stint at ABC. Subsequently, Segal went to work for Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment, and shortly thereafter resumed his efforts to acquire the rights to Doctor Who. By June 1992, he was joined in these efforts by Peter Wagg, producer of the eclectic science-fiction series Max Headroom.
The main parties involved in discussions to bring Doctor Who back were Amblin Entertainment and the BBC. Also involved were Amblin's parent company, Universal Pictures, and the BBC's commercial arm, BBC Enterprises. Negotiations stretched into 1993 but despite many difficulties by January 1994 an agreement had been reached where Philip Segal became, for all intents and purposes, became Doctor Who's newest producer.
Together with designer Richard Lewis, and studio writer John Leekley, Philip Segal prepared an expensive and extensive series bible - titled "The Chronicles of Doctor Who?", to introduce Doctor Who in general, and the proposed new series in particular. Segal had envisioned this version of Doctor Who as being largely divorced from the original BBC series - although the basic concepts of Doctor Who were adhered to, the programme's mythos would be completely rewritten.
The opportunity to produce this new version of Doctor Who was offered to the four American networks. NBC and ABC were completely uninterested. CBS had initially offered Philip Segal a two-hour pilot and six one-hour episodes but this was retracted in mid-May. Only Fox (at the time the newest American network) was interested. But they were only willing to commit to a two-hour movie with the possibility of a second. It therefore appeared that Philip Segal's dreams of producing a new Doctor Who series were fast disappearing. But then in June 1994 Fox indicated that they were interested in having the initial movie serve as a ‘backdoor pilot’ and if ratings were sufficient they may consider a full series.
Meanwhile, John Leekley was working on the script for the movie. He submitted his first story proposal in July 1994, drawing heavily from the suggestions set forth in the newly created series bible. By now the hoped-for production date of July 1994 had long since been abandoned, due to the delays caused by CBS, and it was now planned that filming would begin in November (for a possible broadcast in May 1995), with work on a series potentially beginning the following July. For the movie, Philip Segal and Peter Wagg envisioned using Vancouver, British Columbia as their base, with some material possibly being shot in Denver or Utah.
Through mid-September 1994, John Leekley's script made the rounds of all the various organisations which had to approve it (Amblin, BBC Television, BBC Enterprises, the Fox network and Universal). Ironically it was Philip Segal's own boss Steven Spielberg who rejected this storyline as he was concerned that the script veered too closely to his own Indiana Jones franchise. Therefore by the end of September Philip Segal had to start again with a new writer.
Around the start of October 1994, at the instigation of Universal, Philip Segal met with veteran writer/producer Robert DeLaurentis who agreed to put together a new story proposal, using John Leekley's script as a starting point. However, after a draft story line, followed by a number of rewrites, Fox intervened and indicated that they were not happy with the direction Robert DeLaurentis was taking the project. At the suggestion of Trevor Walton, Fox's vice president in charge of movies, Philip Segal and Peter Wagg met with Matthew Jacobs, who had written for The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. This selection was approved by the other interested parties, and Matthew Jacobs set to work in the beginning of May 1995. Essentially discarding all the work done to date Matthew Jacobs started afresh on an entirely new script.
Matthew Jacobs composed a storyline that, unlike the earlier previous versions, continued on virtually from the end of the original series, starting by introducing Sylvester McCoy's Seventh Doctor. The Doctor arrives on modern-day Earth (in either San Francisco or New Orleans). However, The Master, who was dying, has transmogrified himself into a shape-shifting slick of DNA, and attacks The Doctor, mortally wounding him. The Doctor's body is found by a street kid named Jack who takes The Doctor to the hospital, where he is operated on - unsuccessfully - by Dr Kelly Grace (an obvious play on the name of actress Grace Kelly). In the morgue, The Doctor regenerates. Meanwhile, The Master acquires a temporary human host body. Jack has gained access to the TARDIS using gloves he pilfered from The Doctor's body. The Master raises Jack's father from the dead and through him uses Jack to take over the TARDIS. As Halloween approaches, The Master uses the TARDIS to unleash an army of the dead. With Dr Kelly Grace's help, The Doctor returns to the TARDIS and draws himself, The Master, Dr Kelly Grace, Jack and the dead into another dimension. He defeats The Master, returns Jack to Earth and leaves with Dr Kelly Grace.
Various changes were subsequently made and these were reflected in Matthew Jacobs’ first draft of his script, which he delivered in July 1995. The main changes being: The date was shifted to the days leading up to New Year's Eve instead of Halloween, San Francisco was specified as the location, after regenerating The Doctor sees a vision of his mother, Jack became Chang Lee, The Master's host body acquired a proper identity in the form of a fireman named Bruce and Dr Kelly Grace was now Dr Grace Wilson. The idea of The Master's body decaying throughout the story also made its first appearance, becoming more reptilian. The Eye of Harmony was also introduced - this being the link to The Master's death dimension. This time, when all four end up going through the Eye of Harmony, The Doctor saves Grace and Chang Lee (who is still killed and then resurrected) by embracing his past after conjuring up the ghost of his dead mother. The Master tries to repeat The Doctor's feat but is destroyed. The Doctor then departs alone, leaving Dr Grace Wilson and Chang Lee in San Francisco.
After receiving input from the various associated parties, Matthew Jacobs' next major draft was ready by the middle of August 1995. In this version The Master's plan now is to channel the emotional upswell of New Year's Eve through the Eye of Harmony, thereby reshaping the universe to his design, although the death dimension was still involved. The Doctor's half-human retinal print was now important as the focus of The Master's control over the death dimension. The Doctor and The Master now battled around the Eye of Harmony instead of inside it, and at its climax The Master was sucked down into the death dimension. Both Dr Grace Wilson and Chang Lee were killed this time around, only to be brought back to life by the Eye of Harmony.
All of this underwent major changes in the ensuing month, and the draft that appeared in September featured some further modifications. The death dimension was now gone, with the focus of The Master's schemes now an intergalactic roving force field called the Millennium Star which passes near Earth every thousand years. The Master intends to use the Eye of Harmony to harness the power of the Millennium Star, which will permit him to refashion the universe. The Master poses as a false messiah in order to influence Dr Grace Wilson and Chang Lee. The Doctor no longer experiences a vision of his mother shortly after his regeneration; instead, The Master causes this during their confrontation at the Eye of Harmony.
It was at this stage that some of the key crew positions started to be filled, most notably British director Geoffrey Sax, whose work included episodes of Bergerac and Lovejoy. Because the movie would be filmed in British Columbia, Canadian regulations meant that most of the rest of the crew would come from that country. This included production designer Richard Hudolin, whose major task was a redesign of the TARDIS Console Room. Philip Segal wanted to invoke the Jules Verne feel of the wooden version of the set used during Season Fourteen, but on a much grander scale. Construction on the TARDIS sets began very early on, during September, before the project had even been officially given the go ahead. Around the start of October 1995, Fox announced that the film would air in mid-May 1996.
Meanwhile, both Fox and Universal had approved Matthew Jacobs' script, leaving only the BBC to give their approval. Philip Segal was becoming concerned that further delays on this front might threaten the start of preproduction, and so arranged a meeting directly between Matthew Jacobs and the BBC, out of which several more changes arose. The story now began with The Doctor transporting The Master's remains back to Gallifrey, only to have The Master escape in his snake form. The TARDIS lands on Earth and is inadvertently killed as a result of Chang Lee's actions (instead of by The Master; this would eventually become a Chinatown gang shoot-out). Bruce is now an ambulance attendant who sees to The Doctor, while Chang Lee allies with The Master out of sheer greed. This also introduced the idea of The Master being tried and executed by the Daleks (the BBC had always been very keen on including the Daleks in the script in some fashion) and The Doctor needing a beryllium atomic clock. The clock's inventor was named Professor Wagg as a tribute to Peter Wagg's involvement in the project – who by this time had left to return to his family in London but who had stayed in touch to offer assistance, when required, to Philip Segal.
The next step was to cast the major roles. Sylvester McCoy had already agreed to appear, fulfilling a promise he had made to himself in 1989 to hand over the role of The Doctor to a successor in proper fashion. It was in fact Jo Wright (This films’ third producer who had been assigned by the BBC to represent their interests in this production), who had wanted Fourth Doctor Tom Baker to appear instead, but Philip Segal was adamant that the film continue on from where the original series had left off. Philip Segal also briefly considered the idea of including a role for Sophie Aldred as Ace, the Seventh Doctor's final companion. This, however, was quickly vetoed by the BBC. Philip Segal did decide to give the Seventh Doctor a new wardrobe, having long disliked both the umbrella and the question-mark pullover which were hallmarks of the original outfit. Costume designer Jori Woodman composed a new costume which echoed the earlier version but appeared much more refined. To Philip Segal's delight, Sylvester McCoy brought with him the hat he had worn throughout his time in the show.
As early as August 1994 a frontrunner had emerged to play the part of the Eighth Doctor. This was Paul McGann who had starred in a number of feature films, including Withnail And I, Alien 3 and The Three Musketeers. He had also been prominent on television in programmes such as The Monocled Mutineer and The Hanging Gale. Paul McGann was the first choice of both Philip Segal and Geoffrey Sax to play The Doctor, but they needed more possibilities to satisfy Fox who were worried about casting an unknown performer in the lead role. Finally, Philip Segal agreed to cast a better known actor in the role of The Master if they would agree to Paul McGann playing The Doctor. Fox finally agreed to this and so in January 1996 Paul McGann was unveiled to the world as the Eighth Doctor.
By this time the part of Dr Grace Wilson went to Daphne Ashbrook, who had numerous film and television credits to her name, including the title role in the "Melora" episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Given his concession regarding The Master, Philip Segal initially wanted Christopher Lloyd (of Back to the Future fame), a choice which met Fox's approval. However, Universal stalled due to concerns over Christopher Lloyd's fee, and by the time they gave the deal their approval, Christopher Lloyd was no longer available. After numerous other actors were considered Eric Roberts (brother of Pretty Woman's Julia Roberts), was cast - and, ironically, he earned a larger fee than Christopher Lloyd had been asking.
With production now just weeks away, Matthew Jacobs was working on fashioning his script into a finished form. BBC’s in-house script editor, Craig Dickson, passed on a number of comments and from this came the decision to eliminate the Millennium Star concept, with The Master's focus now simply to take over The Doctor's body. Matthew Jacobs’ final draft was ready by the end of December 1995 and this was fundamentally the version which was recorded. Other small changes that were eventually made included changing Grace's surname from Wilson to Holloway; having The Master break Bruce's wife's neck instead of shooting her; and excising a scene where The Master callously kills a hospital patient who resembles the Seventh Doctor. Much of Chang Lee's background had also been lost due to timing reasons by this stage.
Numerous other difficulties though still remained to be overcome. Geoffrey Sax had originally been promised a luxurious thirty-day shoot, but this was subsequently curtailed to just twenty-five days in order to save money. Then it was discovered that the BBC did not actually own the rights to the familiar Doctor Who theme music - this rested with Warner/Chappel Music, who wanted to charge a hefty fee for its use. Universal balked at this, but finally Philip Segal convinced the BBC to pick up the cost. The new theme arrangement would be composed by John Sponsier and John Debney.
Meanwhile, Richard Hudolin had completed work on the enormous TARDIS set, only a small fraction of which would actually be seen in the finished movie. Enormous detail went into the design - everything from busts of Rassilon's head visible in the Cloister Room, to a roundel-type design on the main doors to echo the look of the original Console Room. Every control on the main console actually did something, and the rotating panels indicating the current location and era made numerous references to Doctor Who lore: Gallifrey, Argolis ("The Leisure Hive"), Calufrax ("The Pirate Planet"), Manussa and the Sumarans ("Snakedance"), Sarn ("Planet of Fire"), the Kraals ("The Android Invasion"), and the Sensorites ("The Sensorites").
Location filming began in January 1996 which was interlaced with studio work. Various sites around Vancouver were used, including a disused wing of a children's hospital, the Plaza of Nations, and several street exteriors. No filming was actually carried out in San Francisco – for the establishing shots, stock footage was employed. The studio itself was located in nearby Burnaby.
During recording some problems were found with the script - such as the question of how The Master managed to get into the TARDIS when he first encounters Chang Lee - which had to be simply ignored. The final battle between The Doctor and The Master had been only briefly sketched, and had to be quickly fleshed out for filming. Geoffrey Sax had hoped to have images of all the previous incarnations of The Doctor to appear in the Eye of Harmony, but could not get clearance on the images in time. Ultimately, the production went four days over schedule, and even then some sequences were greatly simplified to save time - such as Chang Lee's death scene.
Post-production saw further trims being made. These included the loss of the scene where The Master confronts the security guards who are later found ‘slimed’. The Dalek voices were originally in keeping with the original series, but were changed due to concerns that they weren't audible enough. The BBC also expressed concerns that The Master's snake form was too comical, but little could be done about it at this stage. Several other errors were also discovered, most notably a reference to The Doctor having ‘twelve’ lives. This was subsequently amended to the correct number, thirteen.
Since making this film Paul McGann has continued his successful acting career, including roles in the movie FairyTale: A True Story and the Horatio Hornblower television series. Daphne Ashbrook has appeared in a variety of television programmes, such asJAG and Pacific Palisades. In February 1998, Philip Segal briefly entered into discussions with the BBC about the rights to remake the two Dalek feature films from the Sixties, but quickly decided there was little potential in the venture. In 2000, he co-wrote a book detailing the making of this film, entitled "Doctor Who: Regeneration". Philip Segal continues to work with his own production company.
Despite being the only televised story for the Eighth Doctor he continued to have further adventures. In 1997 BBC Books took over the mantle of Doctor Who publishing, producing monthly adventures for the Eighth Doctor – now accompanied by London runaway Samantha Jones. These adventures continued until September 2005 and introduced further companions. These included: Liverpudlian Fitz Kreiner, Faction Paradox agent Compassion (nee Laura Tobin), London securities broker Anji Kapoor, and a stowaway, Trix MacMillan. In the midst of his further travels, The Doctor lost his memory and his homeworld of Gallifrey and found himself battling against a new foe, Sabbath.
Meanwhile, in 1999, Big Finish Productions acquired the license to produce new audio adventures, with Peter Davison, Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy stepping into the role of The Doctor alongside former companions and enemies. Then at the beginning of 2001 Paul McGann himself also returned, as the Eighth Doctor, for even more adventures. He was joined by India Fisher (playing the part of Charley Pollard. Other companions have since joined the Eighth Doctor on his travels including the alien C'rizz (played by Conrad Westmaas).
Ironically the Eighth Doctor’s era became the longest running (it is two months longer the Seventh Doctor’s era) at just less than nine years long (from June 1996 to March 2005). And this is despite this film being the only televised story for the Eighth Doctor.
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| The Seventh Doctor |
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Right from the start as soon as the opening credits finish we get what would become the final moments for the Seventh Doctor. It has been reported that Sylvester McCoy wanted to carry out a regeneration scene when his time to leave the show came around. After a wait of over 6 years he was able to properly hand over the reins to the Eighth Doctor.
Before the regeneration scene itself we get to see the Seventh Doctor relaxing in the TARDIS reading the H.G. Wells novel ‘The Time Machine’ and drinking a cup of tea. But this peace is soon shattered - along with his tea cup - when remains of The Master, whose ashes he is delivering to Gallifrey, escape from a sealed casket and manage to infiltrate the TARDIS console.
With the TARDIS out of control a forced materialisation takes place and the TARDIS lands in an alleyway in 20th Century San Francisco - right in the middle of a battle between rival gangs. Unfortunately, for The Doctor when he exits from his TARDIS he is met by a hail of bullets. This results in him being taken to a nearby hospital and operated on by Dr Grace Holloway who, because of The Doctors' alien anatomy, inadvertently kills her patient.
It is the regeneration scene that follows that is possible remembered the most. After the Seventh Doctor apparently 'dies' on the operating table his body is taken to the hospital's morgue. There The Doctor regenerates. Strange lightening takes places inside the cubicle while outside one of the morgue technicians is watching a scene from the film 'Frankenstein' where the creature comes to life after being given an electric shock - so mimicking what is happening to The Doctor.
Finding himself locked in the cubicle The Doctor eventually breaks free by knocking the door down. The morgue technician, on having witnessed The Doctor coming back to life, faints.
Later that night, after The Doctor has left the hospital in Dr Grace Holloway's car, The Master arrives looking for The Doctor. What follows is a number of scenes that have been described as being very similar in style to those seen in the Terminator movies. This involves The Master dressed in dark clothes and wearing dark glasses as he gains entry to the hospital. One really good scene is were the black and white checkerboard tiles in a corridor start to flow forming into The Master - again very similar in style to when the liquid parts of the Terminator flow back together into a human form.
Another scene worthy of comment is the motorbike chase through the streets of San Francisco. The Doctor and Dr Grace Holloway, after escaping from the ambulance being driven by Chang Lee and The Master, steal a police motorbike to continue their journey to the Institute for Technological Advancement and Research where The Doctor wants to visit so he can steal a beryllium clock that he needs to repair the TARDIS. With The Doctor and Dr Grace Holloway on the motorbike and The Master and Chang Lee pursing them in the ambulance a hair-raising chase through the streets takes place.
This film ends with The Doctor parting company from Chang Lee and Dr Grace Holloway where it is thought, at first, that Dr Grace Holloway may be tempted to accompany The Doctor on his travels. However, he re-enters the TARDIS, alone once more. As he sits down, with his book and cup of tea, everything is peaceful once more with the usual hum of the TARDIS the only sound as the time-machine takes The Doctor towards further adventures...
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(Position = 24 out of 31)
(Position = 26 out of 36)
