The Eighth Doctor will be Back
The Sun continues to spill Doctor Who secrets and today they report that Paul McGann is headed back to the franchise to reprise his role as the eighth Doctor. He will be seen in one of the four Specials to be shot this fall for 2009 airing. His Doctor will appear in flashbacks that will finally show people aspects of the Time War. The long locks he sported in the 1996 feature film will be a gone.
The tabloid’s usual unnamed source told them, “Fans loved Paul’s Doctor and feel he was never given the proper chance to shine. Reference is often made to the Time War which wiped out the Time Lords and this will give them a taste of that.” David Tenant, the current Doctor, will of course also be in the episode.
McGann agreed to play the Doctor ina telefilm as the BBC, Universal Studios and the Fox network attempted to reboot the franchise and hoped the film’s success would lead to a new series. The telefilm aired in the states on May 14, 1996 to an audience not yet familiar with the Doctor and the abysmal ratings derailed series plans. It did phenomenally well in the UK where The Doctor was still very popular.
McGann, did though, play the Doctor in a series of audio dramas from Big Finish Productions. He also allowed his likeness to be used for covers of original novels featuring his incarnation’s further exploits.
He actually CONTINUES to play the Eighth Doctor in audio plays that are aired on BBC7, continuing adventures he's been starring in for the past 8 years and his likeness was used to portray the 8th Doctor in the DOCTOR WHO MAGAZINE comic strips for several years (comic strips with Russell T Davies had mentioned that he considers canon).
From what I can recall, I didn't mind that TV movie and thought McGann did a decent job. I think it was just the inside of the Tardis, which was redone as a gothic cathedral or something, was kind of weird. But, again, my memory is hazy.
I liked McGann and wish he had a real shot at the character. I've listened to about a half-dozen or so of his Big Finish shows as well and enjoyed them.My problem with the movie was that it was too American. Doctor Who is essentially British in culture. I had the same reaction to making James Bond an American in the original television version of Casino Royale, which was otherwise quite good. That version offered us the always excellent Peter Lorre as Le Chiffre; the Doctor Who movie had a completely miscast Eric Roberts as The Master.There were a lot of hardcore Doctor Who fans at the time who didn't think as much of it as I did. But the movie makes for a decent transition to the current television series — Sylvester McCoy "dies" and becomes Paul McGann, and now we presumably get to infer that McGann is indeed the immediate predecessor to Eccleston.My question is this: will Russell T. Davies get his way and get Catherine Zeta-Jones for the Doctor Who theatrical movie? For that matter, will Russell T. Davies actually be involved in the production of that movie? Will it actually happen?
Another thing that's fun about the audio plays is that McGann got to really have his incarnation grow and change. The way he behaves now is more sarcastic and guarded than when he originally began 8 years ago, almost a half way point between how the Doctor appeared in the telefilm and how the 9th behaved.It's so weird that the telefilm was so American considering the script writer and producers were british, IIRC. But you're right. I think another problem with the telefilm was it relied on at least a marginal foreknowledge of the character. it could've been much better if it had begun with McGann not knowing who he was and then through flashbacks we learn of the Doctor and his TARDIS and the Master, etc. Instead, it threw new fans into the pool.On the WHO IS THE DOCTOR? web-site (put up by the BBC), an eye-witness who saw the Ninth Doctor moments after his regeneration said that (while he was whimpering "they're all dead") he was wearing an Edwardian coat and cravat. SO that, and the fact that Russell T. Davies originally wanted the regeneration from 8 to 9 to appear in the Doctor Who Magazine comic strip, has almost flat-out told us McGann was the direct predecessor.
There has never been any doubt that it was a direct succession from McGann to Eccleston, the Ninth Doctor.How much time passed between the end of the Time War and the start of the series revival ("Rose") is unknown, but the bigger question has always been whether the Ninth actually fought in the Time War or was a direct result thereof.Despite whatever creative personnel and fans may feel, to date the BBC only considers the filmed television material canonical.That may change if plans for a theatrical film (with David Tennant, number 10), as reported elsewhere on this website, go through; although the Peter Cushing outings are still noncanonical.So while the Time War and its consequences are established facts, most of the details to this major event are still (officially) a mystery.
The Peter Cushing films were reworks of previous televised Dalek episodes, so the question of their being canonical really shouldn't come up. There have long been rumors that McGann might be in one of the specials dealing with some aspects of the Time War and I'm glad to see that might actually happen.In the first episode of the new series, Rose, it seems to be implied that the Doctor had recently regenerated as he is inspecting his "new?" look in the mirror.
Neil:I grant you the back story validity of the Peter Cushing outings, but in the films he played a human based on the character that just happened to be named Doctor Who (no first name known) who just happened to invent a time travel machine that he named the TARDIS. So the noncanonical issue stems from this Doctor not being part of the established line from William Hartnell onward.
I'd have to say the 9th Doctor is a direct result because in the first episode "Rose" he stops when he sees a mirror and says "Oh, it could've been worse. Look at the ears." So that says to me he's maybe been in this body for just a few hours.
I play with my ears every time I look in a mirror; doesn't mean I've just regenerated. ;)
My understanding is that The Sun is not the most reliable source, so giant salt boulder might be necessary here.
That's certainly the case, but they've been surprisingly reliable about Doctor Who stuff before.But… maybe not this time. The Beeb took the rare move of denying the McGann story. "At present."
While I am all for a multiple Doctor story, the closest we may come to this (after Journey's End) at present is the Doctor Who limited series The Forgotten that just started from IDW. Before the conclusion, the current incarnation will at least be reminescing about his past selves, if not actually teaming up with them.
The Sun today wednesday 17 out did themselfs by saying this years christmas special was changed as David Tennant was to have said the idea sounded like a spoof. The special was to have had JK Rowling in a starring role, being attacked by giant space bug and her imagintion, full of victorian magic replaces the present day world. The Doctor would have to battle through the witches and wizards with wands and spells to reach JK Rowling at the heart of it all.
It could also be said that somone jumped the gun by naming McGann before he was actually signed, and this might even queer the deal if the announcement was premature. Let's wait and see, but I'd welcome McGann back in some fashion as I didn't see him as the problem with the Fox-made tele-film. That blame lies directly on the shoulders of the screenwriter and director, and partly with the producers for attempting to "Americanize" something inherently British…
"attempting to "Americanize" something inherently British…"This is not new. There are so many TV shows that started as Brisith ones. As far back as All in the Family (adapted from "Till Death do us Part") and Sanford and Son ("Steptoe and Son"), the US has been mining the UK for television gold. They tried Red Dwarf twice, and while the US Doctor Who had flaws (named Eric Roberts) it wasn't terrible.
Paul Mcgann is the best doctor period. Bring him back for his own series please!!!!!