We Interrupt This Broadcast

Can't blog about comics today--too busy watching this:

Yeah, I know, there are new Doctor Who DVDs released every month.

But this one is special for a couple of reasons. First, in the grim period between 1989 and 2005, The Television Movie (great title, guys) was the only televised Doctor Who of any sort.

And more importantly, here in the States, it was only broadcast once--once, without ANY re-runs. And thanks to some rights clusterfrak, it has never been released on home video here. Ever. So this is a most welcome release (and it means I can finally ditch my decaying VHS-taped-off-the-TV-broadcast copy).

Now, some folks will tell you that this story is an abomination, the worst thing ever.

To which I have a couple of replies.

First, while it surely is not great, and does some questionable things in the Pyrrhic quest to "Americanize" Doctor Who, it is at heart a fun little story, which if nothing else captures the spirit of Doctor Who, with good performances by Daphne Ashbrook and Paul McGann. And while Eric Roberts as The Master is...well, pretty much exactly the same as Eric Roberts in anything, I ask you--is he any worse than Anthony Ainley's hamistry in Time-Flight or The King's Demons?

Further, with hindsight, many of the things that fans decried in The Television Movie were pretty clearly adopted into the 21st century relaunch, such as real romantic involvement between the Doctor and his companions--so maybe they weren't so bad, after all.

And finally, Paul McGann doesn't get enough respect for his work here, and I'm sure he would have proved most royally, had he been put on. Let's not forget that, in the late 20th century, a Doctor's first story was often weak, indeed often his weakest. (Go ahead, tell me with a straight face that the Television Movie is worse than Time And The Rani.) Like any pilot, there was still room for a proposed new show to find itself, so to judge the whole effort on the basis of one story is a teensy bit unfair to the poor Eighth Doctor. With a few tweaks (OK, several tweaks), this could have been a viable project.

Anyway, go buy it or rent it. It's history, baby.

And, to learn a bit more about the long history of Doctor Who, view this infographic (from Bob Canada)...click to embiggen to full boldness!