• Welcome! The TrekBBS is the number one place to chat about Star Trek with like-minded fans.
    If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Any Eighth Doctor fans here?

I

I am not Spock

Commodore
Commodore
My favourites are Pertwee, Tom Baker, Patrick Troughton, David Tennant, and Matt Smith (I'm sold on the new Doc. He's marvellous). But anyone else really fond of McGann's Doctor? The actual movie he was in was so-so, but I thought he made a marvellous Doctor. It was a shame we never saw any more onscreen action with him. I liked his Byron-esque Victorian look, and the fob watch. I LOVED his steampunked out TARDIS layout.

Anyone else wish that he'd continued for a little while, had the movie been picked up as a series, and then we may have seen the Time War, and him regenerate into Christopher Eccleston?
 
I liked Paul McGann's Doctor. I was disappointed when they didn't bring the show back with him in it.
 
I love The Eighth Doctor. While it's a shame we've only seen him once onscreen in a subpar story, McGann is marvelous in the Big Finish audio plays. I've only started listening to them in the past year, but I love what I have listened to so far (a dozen or so with The Eighth Doctor).
 
I am not Spock said:
Anyone else wish that he'd continued for a little while, had the movie been picked up as a series, and then we may have seen the Time War, and him regenerate into Christopher Eccleston?
Click to expand...
That's the thing: had the movie been picked up as a series, we wouldn't have seen the Time War or Christopher Eccleston.
 
I think McGann had and has a lot of potential as the Doctor. I was disappointed that Eccleston didn't tough it out for a second season because I thought there was huge potential there too however, in the same way they do with the audio stories, there is no hard reason why they can't film prequels with previous doctors as TV movies. Modern filming is so gruelling, I think a year of three or four TV movies as standard in year three might be a good format.

If Matt Smith ever wants a break rather than out and out retirement, I hope they consider prequels as a option. Alternatively, I think it would be great fun if Smith bumped into McGann for a double Doctor episode. At the end of the show, the assistant ends up on the wrong TARDIS and we can follow some adventures with the old Doctor for a series or a few TV movies - I think that would be a great twist on the regeneration theme that extend the longevity of a particular actor's run - if McGann could be persuaded.
 
Hmmm... yes, I'd liked to have seen much more of Eccleston too but, as in the case of McGann (14 years ago now) that ship has well and truly sailed.

I don't think we saw enough of McGann for me to form an opinion on his take on the character (except that the movie he appeared in was a dog turd)...
 
McGann is my second favourite Doctor, after Tennant, so yeah i'm a fan. While the movie wasn't great, he is really fantastic in the audio dramas he's appeared in.
I remember the heady days of 1996, when it seemed a new Doctor Who series was imminent. The Radio Times had a weekly section devoted to Science Fiction, complete with 8th Doctor comic strip. But then it all fizzled out and we had to wait almost a decade before Doctor Who returned.
 
There's a review of the TVM over at The Agony Booth by the Wily Badger (no relation).
http://www.agonybooth.com/movies/Doctor_Who_1996.aspx

Personal opinion: McGann was brilliant, it looked great, there were a number of excellent moments. But the plot doesn't stand up to scrutiny, and elements of the series mythology (Daleks, Time Lords, regeneration etc.) are thrown into the mix too fast. It's a very poor introduction for new viewers.
 
Orcus said:
Hmmm... yes, I'd liked to have seen much more of Eccleston too but, as in the case of McGann (14 years ago now) that ship has well and truly sailed.

I don't think we saw enough of McGann for me to form an opinion on his take on the character (except that the movie he appeared in was a dog turd)...
Click to expand...

What about his rhomp in the Shada "cartoon"?
 
I think most of the folks in here have a soft spot for McGann - he was a good Doctor.

However, the movie itself was horrid.

I am not Spock said:
Anyone else wish that he'd continued for a little while, had the movie been picked up as a series,
Click to expand...

Although a part of me is curious as to how that would have turned out, Fox is altogether the wrong network to have Doctor Who on. I think if they had of picked it up as a series it would have done irreparible harm to the franchise.
 
He's my second favourite after Colin. McGann was robbed by RTD, but then he's far too good for most of the rubbish in the first series (council estate, chav, flatulence). Though his Doctor could have suited the quality stories like Unquiet Dead, Dalek, and Empty Child very well. I think he's the one Doctor who could make a genuinely decent appearance with the Eleventh Doctor. It's not too late.
 
I still want to see McGann back, not full time, just want to see more of the 8th Doctor. I always thought this was the Doctor involved in the Time War and the ending of that was when he regenerated. Not expecting to survive but he did, as the 9th Doctor.
However if McGan's series had gone ahead I think it would have been a bit of a reboot of the current Doctor Who continuity. It would have changed too much.
 
**squeak squeak squeak*

Cap wheels in his 'Alternate Universe Viewing Window'. He positions it so we can see his PC in the other universe where wikipeida displays the page for 'Doctor Who (US version)'.

Careful examination of the page reveals that the series lasted a total of one season before plummeting ratings resulted in it's cancellation. Yet another series killed off by Fox.

AltCap then switches to 'Doctor Who' main page and we see that the show was likewise revived in 2005 with Christopher Eccleston appearing for two seasons before leaving and being replaced by David Tennant, who is currently starring in the fifth season, the second featuring Donna Noble played by Catherine Tate.

Cap drags the window away.
*squeak, squeak, squeak*
 
I would love to see a Time War feature film with McGann - but I dunno how marketable that would be...even in this age where Doctor Who (and now Torchwood, if not more-so) are more mainstream-popular here in the US market than they ever were (before if was just a weird low-budget fringe-series that only really die-hard fans who were considered the nerdiest-of-the-nerdiest watched late night on local PBS stations...)...

No...Hollywood would *insist* on a big-name star like Johnny Depp - but for *real* this time...

Plus, how would you set up all the Doctor Who tropes - Time Lords and regeneration and why his ship is a funny blue box that says "Police" - all in one two-hour movie...it would feel too crammed in too fast...just like the Fox TV movie was...

But still, I would *LOVE* to see it attempted...
 
I love number 8 and Charlie is me favorite BF companion. Wasn't very keen on Lucy replacing her though. But Charlie was excellent with Colin Baker.
 
bryce said:
I would love to see a Time War feature film with McGann - but I dunno how marketable that would be...even in this age where Doctor Who (and now Torchwood, if not more-so) are more mainstream-popular here in the US market than they ever were (before if was just a weird low-budget fringe-series that only really die-hard fans who were considered the nerdiest-of-the-nerdiest watched late night on local PBS stations...)...
Click to expand...
No less marketable than the proposed Red Dwarf movie, the "Bottom" (comedy series) movie. If it's a British production funded in the UK with some American backers then why can't there be a future movie? It would be a massive hit in the UK at the very least.

No...Hollywood would *insist* on a big-name star like Johnny Depp - but for *real* this time...
Click to expand...
So nuts to that idea. Make it a UK production.

Plus, how would you set up all the Doctor Who tropes - Time Lords and regeneration and why his ship is a funny blue box that says "Police" - all in one two-hour movie...it would feel too crammed in too fast...just like the Fox TV movie was...
Click to expand...
If they did the Time War we would get Timelords, Daleks, we could see the 8th Doctor regenerate into the 9th. The funny blue police box can easily be explained in 30 seconds of dialogue.

I often wondered if RTD invented the Timewar backstory with a possible view to doing it as a movie in future.


Captain Pike said:
it's Eccleston, not Ecclestone :)
Click to expand...
Ok. Ecclestone :techman:
 
Ok, let's get this straight. RTD invented the Timewar to give him a (good) excuse to leave a lot of the show's baggage behind, either permanantly or until such time as he felt people had got used to the show again and he could bring it out once more. It gave a good reason why the Doctor was the last of the timelords, and provided a good excuse for 8 having regenerated into 9 (by the way on that topic Bones, I love it, RTD stole the role from McGann? Do you even know for sure if he offered it him, or even if McGann would have been interested? I always got the impression, back in the day, that McGann's feelings towards Who were quite similar to Eccleston's, ie he was somewhat embaressed by it all. Obviously this feeling faded with time, wisdom and fewer and fewer new acting gigs...)

Anyway, the Time War. We should never, EVER, see more than a glimpse of it, because it can never, ever live up to expectations. Seriously the Time War in my head, in all of our heads, is probably way cooler than we could ever seen on screen.

And the 8th Doctor? I liked McGann in the movie, and personally I think it would be cool to see him in an episode some day maybe, but it isn't essential. And lets be honest if you were planning to make a Who film you have two choices;

.1 You use the current or recent Doctor who people still widely assosiate as the Doctor and who has good recognition. ie Smith or Tennant.

.2 You go the Cushing route and hire a big name people know well.

Bubble bursting time; McGann fits into neither category.
 
Starkers said:
Anyway, the Time War. We should never, EVER, see more than a glimpse of it, because it can never, ever live up to expectations. Seriously the Time War in my head, in all of our heads, is probably way cooler than we could ever seen on screen.
Click to expand...

Yes, I agree. It's the same problem with the Clone Wars in the SW prequels. It sounded so cool and mysterious in A New Hope, and when we saw it, the mystery was gone.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Sign up / Register


Back
Top