Doctor Who: The Movie

Doctor Who: The Movie – A man who met his death via machine gun suddenly wakes up in the morgue but with a new face and no bullet wounds. This man is The Doctor, an alien called a Timelord who can regenerate upon his death. Now, The Doctor finds his old foe, The Master, has come to Earth with a dastardly plan in mind so he teams up with Doctor Grace Holloway to put a stop to him. But as The Doctor is still weak from his regeneration, can he stop The Master before the Earth is destroyed? 

Doctor Who: The Movie (1996) – Director: Geoffrey Sax

By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3763586

Rating: 12

Running Length: 89 mins

Starring: Paul McCann, Eric Roberts, Daphne Ashbrook

Genre: Science Fiction

REVIEW: ‘DOCTOR WHO: THE MOVIE’

‘Doctor Who: The Movie’ was originally designed as a soft reboot intended to lead into bringing the long running classic British TV series back with the aid of American money. Unfortunately it didn’t do so well across the pond so it is now a stand alone curio featuring the one and only appearance of Paul McGann as the 8th Doctor (baring a canon-cementing turn in a 2013 mini-episode of the revived series). It was also sadly the last time we saw Sylvester McCoy as the 7th Doctor who meets a disappointingly tragic end.

Focusing on the the essential parts of Doctor Who is a wise choice to bring in audiences who may not be knowledgeable about the show and introduce them to a very English-styled alien with two hearts who never really dies and comes complete with his own long-time nemesis.

The movie itself suffers from a seemingly low budget. Even by the standards of the mid-90s the special effects aren’t great and the overall feel is that of a made for TV movie. However the visuals belie a decent story with good acting. Paul McGann is excellent as an eccentric but kind and brave Doctor and it is a real shame he was unable to do much more with the role. Eric Roberts hams up The Master for a delightfully over the top villain who certainly ups the scary threat factor from other appearances of the character.

The plot itself struggles to fill its run time and could have done with a tighter script as it does drag at times under the burden of trying to get new viewers all caught up before unleashing the narrative itself but seeing McGann excitedly run about the screen with ineffable enthusiasm while a confused Grace tries to catch up with who he is and what he’s trying to do is oodles of fun.

‘Doctor Who: The Movie’ isn’t a fantastic film. It is very much of its time and it is unlikely to appeal to kids who aren’t already fans of the TV series. However it is a perfectly enjoyable watch for anyone who enjoys race against time sci fi and, with much of the world still in some form of lockdown, chances are this could be the start of a Doctor Who love affair for those wanting an easily accessible in!

CONTENT: IS ‘DOCTOR WHO: THE MOVIE’ SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN?

There is sudden a close-up of dead fish’s head which is promptly chopped off with a cleaver.

A few teenagers are chased by a gang who shoot at them with machine guns. One is cornered but at the last moment, he is saved. However another man is shot instead.

The man who was shot is worked on by doctors who are confused by the inner workings of his body and disregard what the man is desperately trying to tell them. Eventually, the man has a seizure, opens his eyes, cries out and then flatlines. A cover is placed over his head, indicating his death.

A strange malevolent entity moves around like a snake. It leaps into the mouth of a sleeping man and possesses him. Later, when he wakes up, his wife is unaware of what has happened to him; she flirts with him but when she sees his glowing eyes, she screams. He attacks her violently although the camera focuses on his face so nothing too graphic is shown.

At night in a morgue, a worker hears banging coming from down the corridor. One of the bodies seems to still be alive, he sits up and there is a medical tube sticking out of his chest which has a small amount of blood around it. He then pulls it all the way out. The lighting and shot selection of this scene is of a horror type and could be scary for some kids.

The Master pulls off one of his fingernails and flicks it away. He doesn’t suffer but this is quite graphic.

The Doctor and Grace are in an ambulance unaware that they are in danger. The Doctor blasts a fire extinguisher into someone’s face. They recoil and spit what appears to be green venom which burns on impact. This isn’t graphically shown and isn’t remarked upon later.

A character points a gun at their own chest.

An established character is possessed by the Master, their eyes go black and they attack The Doctor unexpectedly.

The Master kills a character by snapping their neck on screen. Another character is thrown from a height and dies when they hit the ground.

Towards the end, the Master’s face distorts grotesquely and is quite frightening.

There is quite a lot of flashing images in the finale of the movie.

CAN I SEE A CLIP?

VERDICT: IS ‘DOCTOR WHO: THE MOVIE’ FOR KIDS?

‘Doctor Who: The Movie’ may struggle to move away from made-for-tv territory but it is still a good introduction to all things whovian for those unable (or, let’s face it, unwilling) to catch up on several decades of back catalogue. We recommend this film for kids aged 7 and over.

• Violence: 3/5
• Emotional Distress: 2/5
• Fear Factor: 2/5
• Sexual Content: 1/5
• Bad Language: 1/5
• Dialogue: 0/5
• Other Notes: Deals with themes of death and regeneration, the end of the world, time travel, possession and amnesia.

Words by Laura Record