Sadly, Paul McGann hasn’t appeared as Doctor Who enough times to guarantee a place in my Top 601. Thankfully, though, his debut effort is good enough, meaning that each & every Doctor will now find a place on this list. And again, this is done through merit & not just me squeezing them in: this is a story that I genuinely love, for many good reasons – all of which outweigh the negatives.
I still remember the excitement of waiting for this story. 7 years after the show last aired a new episode, and about 5 after I realised it wasn’t coming back, we were getting New Doctor Who!!! I’ve always said there’s no finer feeling than knowing New Doctor Who is coming, and this is where it stemmed from. From the initial announcement, to the casting being revealed, to the first promo shots, to the trailer full of motorbike chases, to the broadcast itself – this was excitement like nothing I’d ever experienced. I still remember where I was when it aired: in a cottage in Scotland during the half-term holidays, sat square in front of the TV, knowing that my VHS was set to record at home so I could enjoy it again and again when I got home.
And enjoy it I certainly did!! It was perfection at the time. This was the era of Babylon 5, Star Treks The Next Generation & Deep Space 9 – with Voyager just around the corner. That was the standard of Sci-Fi we were used to – a Quantum Leap2 away from what we were left with in the 80s in terms of vision & appearance. That’s what we wanted our show to look like, and that’s what we were finally given. From the opening credits, to the vast, cathedral like TARDIS interior (still my favourite), to the operatic ending via the action on the freeway – this was epic!! It was exciting!! It was a lavishness that Doctor Who had been screaming out for all it’s life…!!! DOCTOR WHO WAS BACK, IT WAS AMAZING AND THE FUTURE WAS GOING TO BE SOOOOOOO GOOD…..!!!!
Of course, the future wasn’t quite *that* good. Not everyone else was as enamored with this episode as I was, and the proposed series didn’t take off. Years passed, nothing else happened; Paul McGann wandered off to a little-known company called “Big Finish”3 to make some audio plays, as that seemed very much like the only way New Doctor Who would survive. “Doctor Who” had shot its best shot, but – despite the best efforts of all involved – it had fallen short.
Thankfully, because of the genius of a Fan from Wales, we only had to wait another 9 years before we got some New Doctor Who on our screens. And we can now look back to the spring of 1996, and appreciate how brightly “Doctor Who” burned.
As fans, there’s a helluva lot more that could have went wrong with “Doctor Who” that did. It could have been a complete reboot, a fresh start with new elements, but it’s not: it’s a continuation of the story we left in 1989. The tea may or may not be cold, but we have The Doctor we last saw, in a police box, with the same theme tune (albeit rearranged in a bit of a marmite way), fighting his oldest enemy, right from the very start – just before everything gets turned up a notch. And that’s the first success of the story: it gives Slyvester McCoy a proper send off.
Others will disagree with me, and feel that RTD got it right in Rose by giving us our Doctor fully formed & through the eyes of the companion; drip feeding us the elements rather than bombarding us with lore from the start. It’s a position it’s hard to argue against, given the success RTD made of the reboot compared to what happened here, but the fan in me can’t help but love McCoy’s swansong. He only gets a few scenes, a handful of lines, but he does them beautifully, filling the part like he’d never left, but still giving us a Doctor who has moved on in time. There’s more versions of what happened to Ace out there in other media now that you can just pick your favourite & work with it, but we know what happened to the 7th Doctor. His appearance is a warm, comforting reminder of the past before we embrace the future.
Because the next – and most important – thing “Doctor Who” got right is the 8th Doctor, Paul McGann. As a 16 year old fan of the film “Withnail & I”, McGann was perfect casting, and still is. The thrill I had knowing who the new Doctor would be translated perfectly to the screen; this was an actor I knew, someone I could picture in the role, which added to the anticipation. We have to wait for him to arrive, but it’s worth it. McGann has less time than you’d expect to make his mark, but he knocks it out the park: his Doctor is full of energy & eccentricity, charm & mystery. He’s a delight: from “These shoes…!!! They fit perfectly…!!!” to remembering Gallifrey; through “Stop or I’ll shoot myself!” to the final thump on the TARDIS console to get it going, he’s a perfect Doctor, making a perfect impression, and we were truly robbed that we didn’t get more of him on screen.
Believe it or not, I also really rate Eric Roberts’ turn as The Master. He’s slicked back & suave, yet utterly sinister – if he’s camp as tits by the end, then which Master isn’t? He has an effortless charisma that draws the eye every time he’s on screen. And what’s not to love about Daphne Ashbrook as Amazing Grace Holloway? The money behind the scenes is transferred to screen not just in the effects & sets, but the talent as well4.
After such a great start, it seems inevitable then that the wheels would fall off at the end. No issues here with dressing for the occasion, but the plot resolution itself is about as deus as you can get. Temporal orbits bringing people back to life? It’s a load of old bobbins, isn’t it….? Likewise, no issues with the kiss: if we were running on from the previous series then you may object, but going into the 90s the issue needed addressing one way or another, and this was the best way. Don’t forget Rusty has his Doctor kiss every one of his companions at some point, and the chemistry between Ashbrooke & McGann is undeniable & you’d be daft to ignore it. Half human? Well, it does explain some stuff, but it’s also been really easy to ignore, hasn’t it…?
So a few issues, enough to knock the story down the list a bit, but not enough to spoil its enjoyment. It’s a superbly made, acted & realised story that sits now as a perfect bridge between the “Classic” and “Nu” serieses, combining elements of both. It totally earns its place as one of Doctor Who’s Top 60 Stories.
COMING TOMORROW: “Steve Jobs would never disrespect a Montgomery police officer, sir….”
Skies Full of Diamonds 