Reaction to Dr. Who - The Movie
Added 2023-09-23 14:00:03 +0000 UTCHi everyone :) Surprise :) Today we are taking a step back from the New Who show that we know and love. But we are watching the movie that came out between the Classic Who and New Who series :)
Additional info if needed: You can find this movie on BritBox for example.
Comments
Well, I guess we can be happy about it. Looking at Torchwood it´s probably better, not to have Hollywood intervening :D
Nicologik
2023-09-27 13:36:48 +0000 UTCThank you for that reply. It makes me feel better :) I don´t ever want to make anyone angry. If it´s possible I always try to help :)
Nicologik
2023-09-27 13:34:44 +0000 UTCLol can't belive I can only see this reply on my mobile phone. On the PC it's non existent 🙈 Anyways thanks for letting me know 😊
Nicologik
2023-09-25 20:53:40 +0000 UTCThanks, Stephen. I was aware of the line from Hitchhiker's. I make way too many "Hitchhiker's" references in my life so I decided not to mention it this time - but I'm delighted that someone else noted it.
Andrew Vignaux
2023-09-25 19:17:21 +0000 UTCThat "Life is wasted on the living" line had appeared in one of Douglas Adam's "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" books. The scene where Zaphod holds a seance to talk to his dead grandfather, or great grandfather, I don't know if it was original even then though, or whether the write of this movie was using it as a deliberate homage.
Stephen Males
2023-09-25 18:45:34 +0000 UTCIts absolutely okay!
KrispyKrushems
2023-09-25 17:52:58 +0000 UTCI'm sorry that I worded it in a misunderstanding, so that you might think that I might be taking a break. I'm just looking forward to your reaction to the anniversary episode. I completely understand that you can't upload more episodes per week! I'm already very happy with one! But this anniversary episode is one of my favorites and I'm ready for it. P.S.: I've been through the same thing with other reactors, but I've forgotten, I'm sorry for my reaction, I wish you good health and let's spend a lot of time together!
monguru (Rose Tyler fan)
2023-09-25 11:06:31 +0000 UTCUniversal secured the rights because they hoped that the TV movie would be a big hit and bring in lots of viewers; and they would then turn it into a series. Unfortunately,it wasn't. (In the US,that is.In the UK it did very well). Universal dropped the whole idea....but they had secured the rights for seven years anyway - because they're Hollywood; and that's how corporate Hollywood works, basically.
Ian Smith
2023-09-25 10:36:15 +0000 UTCAwww that´s relly nice of you. Thank you for those kind words :)
Nicologik
2023-09-25 10:09:11 +0000 UTCI am happy to wait for you to upload in your own time, I am here to support you and it’s all fine. X
Jenny Smyth
2023-09-25 10:04:55 +0000 UTCI understand what they wanted to do with the movie now. And it explains everything that happend in those 90 minutes for me. It was a complicated job to do. And they kinda succeded I guess. For my taste the console room was a little too big, but I´m glad you enjoyed it :) I liked Paul as well, and I don´t really understand why they didn´t keep him for the first series of the new show. Thanks for the fun fact about the wig. Would have been strange to see a bald doctor :D I agree with you about the motorbike scene. That was acool way to show people how big the TARDIS actually is :) Haha yeah those eye torture device was more torture for me than for the doctor :D :D
Nicologik
2023-09-25 09:51:59 +0000 UTCI agree with about RTD and him starting from scratch. That was a good idea indeed. The movie feels as if they wanted to include everything that explains Dr. Who in just 90 minutes, which makes it feel weird and rushed, and kinda confusing for new viewers, I suppose. Haha "More batcave than TARDIS" :D :D That´s a funny one :D And I agree, although it looks much more comfy, it just doesn´t look right. I mean, we do know it´s bigger from the inside, but I think we went a little too far this time :D
Nicologik
2023-09-25 09:39:19 +0000 UTCWow, what a story ! Calling it a difficult process would be a great understatement :D In this case I think we can be glad, that the movie was produced in the first place. Sounds as if this could have went another way very easily. Also why would Universal secure the production rights for 9 years and not do anything with it? That doesn´t make sense at all. Do you know the reason for that?
Nicologik
2023-09-25 09:33:48 +0000 UTCWow, that is such an interesting way to watch this reaction :D I´m glad you found a solution and it was even more entertaining as well, I guess :D :D Thanks for letting me know about the joint production. Makes sense then, that they had more money in that case :) I agree with you about the movie not beeing a good introduction into the TV show. If I had seen this movie first, i would have probably never watched the show to be honest. I also agree with you about the missed oppportunity to give those actors a part in the TV show. So Paul only played a doctor for one movie, and then he was gone? That´s really strange, that they then casted Christopher instead.
Nicologik
2023-09-25 09:29:49 +0000 UTCAn "interesting failure" :D :D Thanks for making me laugh today :D I can understand why this movie isn´t loved by fans. I guess it was an interesting first watch for me, but I think I will not go back to rewatch it. And I completey agree with you about the TARDIS interior, I´m glad they changed that again for the TV show.
Nicologik
2023-09-25 09:24:02 +0000 UTCI´m sorry you were disappointed in this weeks upload. I do understand that you want me to continue with the show itself. However those upcoming weeks will be different from the usual uploads. I would do double uploads as well, but at the moment that is just not possible for me to do. I will upload a schedule later today, with the next uploads so you can decide for yourself, wether you maybe want to take a break from Patreon for the next weeks, or not. And when to come back. I hope that helps :)
Nicologik
2023-09-25 09:21:31 +0000 UTCOh thatnk you for the timeline. What an interesting process :)
Nicologik
2023-09-25 09:17:56 +0000 UTCI´m so sorry you don´t have access to the movie yourself. I would love to upload the footage with the reaction, but I don´t want to get into legal trouble.
Nicologik
2023-09-25 09:16:35 +0000 UTCThank you for clarifying :)
Nicologik
2023-09-25 09:15:21 +0000 UTCHello Radócz, I completely understand that you are not happy with this weeks upload. However I do have a schedule that I have to stick with and sometimes there are other things than weekly episode in this schedule. Everything belongs to the big Dr. Who universe. We are now in a time period of the show where lots of special stuff has been released and I am just following that order. I´m sorry if this is unpleasant for you. But I do not have the capabilities to film more than one reaction in a week, at the moment. I have to look out for my health, mentaly and physically first. And that means I am not able to rush this process. I´m sorry for this, but it´s either that or me breaking down under that pressure in the upcoming weeks. This is not my fulltime job, but just a hobby. And I do have a fulltimejob that´s really stressfull at the moment and will be during the next months. So I have to step down in my freetime, to stay healthy. I hope you understand. I will be posting a schedule today, with all the info you need for the upcoming weeks, so you can decide wether you want to maybe take a break from Patreon, or continue. This is up to you. All I can do is give you the needed info and tell you the reason why I´m not able to do what you would want me to do. Like I said, I totally understand, I´ve been in the same situation with my Patreons before. But I´m just a human, and I have my limits, I hope you understand.
Nicologik
2023-09-25 09:14:35 +0000 UTCThis is rated worse than I think it deserves - IMDB 6.3. The TV movie did win an award for Best SF TV Program that year - an award won many years later by the "Torchwood: Children of Earth" series. Because it was intended as a relaunch of Doctor Who after the end of the classic series (with the gap between 1989 to 1996), the story had to satisfy two audiences - the devoted Classic Who fan and the new viewers. There would be new viewers because it was intended as a pilot for a series that could run on an American TV channel. Because of this balance between of the two audiences, some screen time is given over to presenting the new viewers with part of the 26-season Classic Who back-story (Skaro, the Daleks, Gallifrey, regeneration). As Jade mentioned, when RTD brought back the show in 2005, they didn't overload new viewers with the all history, but instead gradually indicated over many episodes there was a larger history prior to the series we were watching. It is nice they brought back Sylvester McCoy (the 7th Doctor) and gave him a regeneration scene - probably confusing, unless you know the Classic Who history. However, the 7th Doctor's companion didn't get a good final episode which was a bit disappointing. I do like the new console room - much bigger and more relaxing that the previous Classic Who console rooms. But I didn't really think that the medieval castle-style "Eye of Harmony" room for the finale scenes fitted the TARDIS interior environment though. I like Paul McGann as the 8th Doctor and I think he would have been great if the pilot had been taken up for future series. Much later, the Big Finish company put out dozens and dozens of audio stories for this 8th Doctor - I'm way, way behind listening to all of them. Paul McGann is wearing a wig. The wig and the costume give him the feel of the Classic Doctors which is a nice touch. McGann had just played a role that required him to shave his hair and he suggested playing the Doctor with a shaved head - but they decided to use a wig. That was probably for the best. And there was a nice scarf callback. Eric Roberts does make a good job of playing the Master's human body. He has also participated in the Doctor Who world afterwards, and has made some audio stories with Big Finish as his version of the Master. The tearing off of the Master fingernail is the remaining aspect of a plot idea that the Master's new human body had been decaying since it was possessed - giving an urgency to the Master's actions. I enjoyed the motorcycle driving into and out of the TARDIS - a bit silly perhaps, but it does show the new viewer how big the inside of the TARDIS is. We've seen the Doctor drive out of the TARDIS on a motorcycle in New Who - first David in "The Idiot's Lantern" and later with Matt in "The Bells of Saint John". The "Bells" scene with the Doctor and Clara on the motorcycle reminded me of the Doctor and Grace on the motorcycle scene in this movie. I knew before watching this episode that the business with the eye torture device wasn't going to be comfortable for you - sorry about that. Hm - this whole "half-human" thing. This was an idea that I suspect would have been picked up had there been a continuing series. It's similar, I think, to RTD's concept of the Doctor being the Last of the Time Lords and allow future episodes to let us know more details. As it is, the "half-human" idea is only mentioned briefly and there was no follow-up series so ... we'll just pass over it. "Life is wasted on the living.", The Master, "Doctor Who: The Movie"
Andrew Vignaux
2023-09-25 01:19:42 +0000 UTCSo as others have pointed out this was basically an American pilot movie made after the classic series had ended, with the aim of making an American series. While the movie did well in the UK it didn't do so good in the US and so the series never happened. I watched this when it first aired and I liked it, and still like it now. The first Doctor we see is one from the classic series so it's clearly a continuation of the old series and as a fan I really liked seeing this Doctor back for a bit. However I think in hindsight this may have been pat of why the movie didn't do so well. It leads to a lot of exposition and must of seemed a bit confusing for non fans. I think RTD got it right when he brought the series back, starting from scratch with Christopher Eccleston and just slowly bringing in the references to the old series over time. But McGann as the Doctor is fantastic, despite this one off movie he went on to do many audio adventures as the Doctor for a company called Big Finish (other classic Doctors, Eccleston and Tennant have also done audios for them. I also think it's a great bridge between the classic era and the new series and there are elements here that we see in the new series. It has both dark and funny moments. I really like the console although I think the room is too large and doesn't look right with all those candles, it seems more Bat cave then Tardis. But I do like the idea of the Doctor just having somewhere to sit and relax when the Tardis is in flight.
Jade Ellis
2023-09-23 21:06:02 +0000 UTCThe story of the tortuous process to get this movie off the ground is probably more interesting than the actual movie itself! There have been several books written about it; and,as recently as last year, there was even a documentary film ("Dr Who Am I?"), featuring the writer looking back on his experiences. In a nutshell,the Dr Who Movie was an awkward collaboration between the BBC and Universal AND Fox TV - each one demanding different things. The BBC insisted on series continuity. Universal wanted the half-human stuff. Fox wanted a romance and car chases. What we ended up getting was a mish-mash of all these things. I like it greatly....but it's important not to think too much about ANY story elements, because youll just get befuddled :D. McGann is terrific,imo. Eric Roberts is a fun Master - I had the good fortune to meet him last year and have our photograph taken together. He was genuinely larger than life,and fascinating to talk to! The reason there was a gap of 9 years between this movie and the revival of the BBC series is because Universal secured the production rights for seven years, and the BBC wasn't allowed to touch it. Btw,the gummy bears are also called Jelly Babies. They are a reference to the Fourth Doctor - they were his favourite snack.
Ian Smith
2023-09-23 20:28:39 +0000 UTCYou've reminded me to mention something else to Nicole! In "The Parting of the Ways" it's revealed that the Dalek race has been rebuilt by using human DNA, and the Daleks scream that "those words" (i.e. "half human") are "blasphemy". Definitely an in-joke about the controversial line from the TVM.
Andrew Gwilliam
2023-09-23 18:41:52 +0000 UTCI also don't have BritBox and considered doing what I did with Amazon Prime and signing up for a free trial. Fortunately I also have a Patreon account with another Doctor Who reactor who has done the TV movie. With the whole thing playing on part of her screen. So I watched both of them, side by side! And miraculously the two of you hardly ever spoke at the same time. It was almost like a conversation at times. You definitely disagreed about the outfit that the Master changes into! I watched the movie when it was first broadcast so I had seen all of the classic Doctors including number seven. But New Who wasn't even a dream. This movie was supposed to be an attempt to get the series going again but it just didn't take off. The thing was a joint production between the BBC and an American TV company. Hence the better effects (more money!) and the guns, car chases and general level of violence. As others have said, this was first broadcast in 1995. The final episode of the "classic" series went out in 1989 and we didn't get Doctor Who back as an actual series until 2005 so this certainly filled a gap. We had a ten year wait after this! I quite enjoyed it at the time and I still do now. Plenty of quibbles. It is too Earth based for me, we don't get introduced to the Daleks or any other classic enemies of the Doctor, which might have been nice for new viewers. As it was, it would have been hard for anyone watching for the first time to understand what the show was really about. The stuff about being "half human" was a big mistake in my opinion even if it was meant to be taken as a joke and the violence was definitely overdone. But Paul was great. I loved Grace and Chang Lee. Sylvester McCoy (7th Doctor) got the Tardis of his dreams for two minutes at least, which was great for him. And we got to see his regeneration scene. The Master was good in parts. Hated the bizarre finger self-mutilation when he goes back to the hospital but loved most of the other stuff, outrageously over the top as it was. It's a real shame we didn't get to see a series with Paul, preferably with Daphne Ashbrook (Grace) and Yee Jee Tso (Chang Lee) as well.
Stephen Males
2023-09-23 17:24:53 +0000 UTCI have a feeling we'll have to wait more than a week...
monguru (Rose Tyler fan)
2023-09-23 16:36:48 +0000 UTCIt would be fair to say that the TV movie isn't widely loved by fans, although everyone seems to agree that Paul McGann was a good choice for the Eighth Doctor. (This version of the Tardis interior is also popular with fans, but it just doesn't work for me as it simply looks like a big room inside a large building and not something inside a space-time machine.) When I rewatched the TVM recently, for the first time since its original broadcast, it was interesting to see it with the added perspective of 17 years of New Who... but I still don't like it. I think it does almost everything wrong! At best, I'd describe it as an interesting failure. For whatever it's worth, IMDb rates it a 6.3 out of 10.
Andrew Gwilliam
2023-09-23 16:33:46 +0000 UTCI just watched the intro and the round up, as I’ve seen the movie a couple of times. I didn’t rate the story very highly, although I like Paul McGann’s doctor. I didn’t do the watch along as like a few others I don’t have britbox anymore. I was a bit disappointed we have to wait a week for the next episode but I’m a big girl and I’ll get over it. It is important that you see this film at this point, so I understand your choice. Looking forward to next week.x
Jenny Smyth
2023-09-23 16:27:11 +0000 UTCSeries 1 of New Who was broadcast in 2005. 2008 was when a dubbed version was first broadcast in Germany. Anyway, New Who was commissioned by the BBC in (I think) 2003, so this TV movie was made long before then; at the time, it seemed like the final time we'd see a completely new episode, as the US network that commissioned it wasn't interested in making anything more.
Andrew Gwilliam
2023-09-23 16:23:22 +0000 UTCYes, I will try to stay alive, at least until 2024... And yes, Nicole mentioned that she has a lot of material for the next part...
monguru (Rose Tyler fan)
2023-09-23 14:37:21 +0000 UTCOoh this is unexpected, I wont be able to watch since I don't have BritBox anymore, but I'm glad you enjoyed it!
KrispyKrushems
2023-09-23 14:31:34 +0000 UTCTo answer a question from your Introduction - one of those three names of the future evil Doctor is taken from a certain Classic story which specifically addresses this very subject. "What if a future incarnation of the Doctor becomes completely evil?". Something to look forward to, when/if you work your way through the Classics
Ian Smith
2023-09-23 14:26:55 +0000 UTCI would try to stay alive for maybe a bit longer than that..? Nicole implied last week that she has several reactions lined up as part of the 50th
Ian Smith
2023-09-23 14:14:58 +0000 UTCSurprise, but it's not pleasant Because I didn't expect that... But I understand why you shared this. I can wait another week and if in the meantime e.g. I die? Then I'll never see your reaction to the anniversary part... PS. I accept it as a bonus, but I don't like it so much as a weekly reaction!
monguru (Rose Tyler fan)
2023-09-23 14:05:51 +0000 UTC
