The fact that Paul McGann was so anxious about taking on the burden of appearing at conventions and entertaining crowds of fans is really touching, especially considering that he made one convention I attended one of the most memorable. I was passing the booth where he was signing autographs after escorting my friend to the line, but was too anxious to get in it myself. I was about to walk away when he called out to me, looked me in the eye, and told me emphatically, kindly, how amazing I looked. If I remember correctly, his words were something like, "I just wanted to say that you look absolutely stunning, just fantastic. Belle of the ball." I wasn't even wearing a Doctor Who cosplay or anything that would have indicated I was a fan. I was dressed a slightly-steampunk fairy in a blue qipao, and it wasn't even that great of an outfit IMHO. Still, he reached out and told me that for some reason, and that memory is still one of my fondest of all my convention experiences.
He was at a local (Cincinnati Ohio) convention before I was a follower, so had no interest in meeting him. Wish I had, now, from hearing everything about him. Sounds like a good guy.
Watched this one first (it was in my recommendations) Then when went back and watched the lot. Fantastic! I used to pass that doorway on Pilgrim Street that my Doctor Jon Pertwee went into regularly, Also had a beer with Sylvester just around the corner in the ols Casablanca bar. This series is amazing, deserves more views. I've linked all my old mates to watch them.
Absolutely spot on. I've watched them all several times and it is some of the best content I have seen on RUclips - the narration alone is excellent quality
Paul McGann was the best Doctor casual viewers never really got. If he got 3 seasons of RTD writing I have no doubt he’d be up there with Tom baker and David Tennant in terms of iconicness to the casual viewer. His big finish stuff is some of the best Doctor who stuff out there. Massively recommend it hugely !
I STILL argue that Day Of The Doctor should have given us more McGann as the War Doctor, he's an actor with the range to do a darker version of his character, John Hurt did a great job but I feel having a Doctor from the actual classic era would have been a much better way of tying it all back together, and McGann looks young enough even now to pull it off
He has that perfect mix of 5 and 10’s charm, and 2, 4, 7 and 11’s eccentricity. He would have crushed a full series. With Disney+ helping to produce DW now, and talks of doing many spin-offs, I want him to get a full series.
@danevans3333 Honestly...yeah. Much as the late John Hurt is one of my all-time favorite actors, and he does fantastic work as the War Doctor...in hindsight, the War Doctor himself is a gimmick, a big sexy twist moment for the end of Season 7, and not actually necessary to the storytelling of Day of the Doctor. Having a special incarnation just for one special (played by an already old actor who's now gone) robbed McGann of the chance to really strut his stuff in the part onscreen (especially since, as we saw in Night of the Doctor and Power of the Doctor, he looks really good all grimy and war-torn).
I kind of like how 7 regenerated. It felt kind of ironic how a man who prided himself on always having a scheme was killed by something completely out of his control.
I agree. I liked how random it was. It felt more real. Not everyone has a huge heroes death with a big lead up. especially if you're living a high risk lifestyle anyway. Sometimes shit happens.
I feel like it was a but pretentious and arrogant for fans to always expect a big massive send off. And I found the backlash extremely hypocritical as Tom Baker's death was literally just falling off a tower
@@dereknight861 What defense system? The forcefield first appeared in The Parting of The Ways, which was only after connecting the TARDIS to some different alien tech. Am I missing something?
I was sat on my own smoking a joint on a park bench in Auckland, New Zealand in 2010 and as I saw these two fellas walk in my general direction from about 50 metres away I thought "that really looks like Paul Mcgann and Sylvester McCoy". Then when they got to about 20 metres away I realised it really was them and I looked at my joint the way that guy looks at his wine in the Roger Moore Bond films. As they walked right passed me they were actually gossiping about Tom Baker! I phoned my brother back home in the UK and he told me there was a convention in NZ that week and even odder, he'd been sat opposite Mcgann on the tube in London a few days previously. Wibbly Wobbly
I think The Rani and Cruella DeVille would get on well. Although Cruella’s thing is black and white puppies 🐶 I’m sure she isn’t too much fonder of children?
The wilderness years 1989-2004 was the darkest and most depressing time for doctor who. I love how RTD created the time war, which represents the horrific events of the wilderness years. So when the doctor comes back as Christopher Eccelston, he is psychologically broken from the darkness and loss from the time war, representing doctor who recovering from the wilderness years. And this time, he was having no failure, no camp, this time he was serious, war-torn and broken.
And the even sadder part about pertwee's death is that in an interview, he was told about a Dr who movie being made and he said that he'd watch it.. But he died a week before it was broadcast😭😭
I always thought that McCoy's regeneration had a kind of poetic quality. The most crafty, deliberate and far-sighted Doctor is cut down without ceremony and in a way that he couldn't predict. Essentially a senseless death, something I'd like to see the new show try (tell me that wouldn't have been a great way for Capaldi's Doctor to reach his end...)
I would agree, but I also quite like that 12 died trying to save as many people as possible while still trying to reform Missy (at least I think that’s what happened, I’ll admit it’s been a while)
@@gooper3644 I liked that storyline enormously but still, if 12's arc of trying to redeem the only two time lords in existence ended in "falling over a brick", I'd have loved it more. Bravery in the face of futility is a trope that I always hoped the show would lean into.
The Moxcast I definitely see how purposefully making a death not over the top can be good, but I still think the more dramatic death fit that episode more. It would be kind of laughable if all that build up led to the doctor having an awkward fall and accidentally hitting himself on the head. The seventh doctor’s very sudden and non-dramatic death worked quite well because it wasn’t at the end of an intense story with a powerful threat, I don’t think you could have the doctor regenerate from something small like that at the end of a story about an army of cyber men
Doctor Who has been incredibly lucky to have landed literally such fantastic leads that have never had scandal. That clip of Jon putting the coat on the boy was great. Love him, thankful that Baker got his due & McGann got a proper chance at bat with Big Finish. Great docU series!
@@nectarinedreams7208 yeah but Jhon did Play one of the major characters and was the Protag of a major spinoff the other actor i forgot what the other actors role was
I had the pleasure of meeting Paul just last week. It’s only taken me 45 years to attend my first convention and not only did I find myself in a room packed full of genuine love and joy, but to get to meet one of my favourite actors and tell him how much appreciate his work, was a day I’ll treasure forever. A really kind and lovely guy. 😊
I met Paul mcgann at Chester comic con and he was such a nice guy , he took the time to talk to me before and even after his Q and A , no one had yet gone up to his table to get an autograph and although I wasn’t paying for a picture or anything he had a full conversation with me ,I told him he was my favourite doctor and he seemed genuinely elated by that
As much as people deride the TV movie I will say it spawned one of the better versions of the theme - starting on the middle eight was a stroke of genius
Generally it's a good theme, and there's a lot I like about it. But, for me, the first note should not have been messed with. To me that's butchering the tune, and I find it irritating to the point of being distracting. Technically speaking, we lose the dramatic "1-octave" jump in the melody. It also means the tune no longer begins on a perfect cadence. All of this makes the tune sound flatter, duller, less dynamic and dramatic. Years later, Murray Gold would remove this first note altogether from the 11th Doctor's theme tune, a bold move, which I didn't like, but even that was preferable than this.
God bless Big Finish for giving not only McGann's Doctor a chance to shine, but also the 5th and 6th Doctors as well. The quality of their productions and writing is endlessly entertaining!
McGann would have been fantastic as a Doctor entering the Time War. The brief glimpse we got showed how well he would have been as a Doctor desperately trying to prevent complete destruction of countless worlds while attempting to stay outside the war.
I was blown away by that! Especially since I had no idea that McGann had anything to do with Doctor Who since 1996. I always wished we could have a McGann series, but assumed he would never return to the role, so when he turned up saying "I'm a doctor…" it knocked me for six. One of the most exciting moments in the entire series history. Just _such_ a shame he didn't stick around for the actual episode and appear alongside Tennant and Smith :(
I recommend you give the big finish audio dramas a listen, the 8th doctor series is really good (if a few of the enemies are a little “cheesy or cliche”)
The wilderness years 1989-2004 was the darkest and most depressing time for doctor who. I love how RTD created the time war, which represents the horrific events of the wilderness years. So when the doctor comes back as Christopher Eccelston, he is psychologically broken from the darkness and loss from the time war, representing doctor who recovering from the wilderness years. And this time, he was having no failure, no camp, this time he was serious, war-torn and broken.
TBH, just judging his TV stuff, Colin isn't that bad. He only had two bad stories, Twin Dilemma and Timelash. He's not like Davison, where most of his era is sleep inducing.
@@MephProduction i dont like the way hes written in twin dilemma, but you can just ignore that due to post regenerative whatever. In every other story he was great.
Paul is one my favorites. He combines all the good aspects of the past 7 before him. His style of character also sets the stage for future doctors. His Tardis greatly reflects that as well.....
Y'know for all the faults the movie has, I'm at the very least glad that it brought me my favourite Doctor. He's had some of my favourites/experimental stories ever put out into Doctor Who. He's had some of my favourite companions with people like Charley, Lucie, Fitz, Anji, etc (Fitz probably being my favourite companion next to Jamie). He's got a wonderful, yet unpredictable personality; he could be kind, happy and energetic one moment and then turn into a manipulative psycho the next (I call Doctors 6, 7 and 8 the psycho phase). I would argue that the 8th Doctor is more manipulative than the 7th Doctor and just as mysterious as the 1st Doctor. I mean, leaving a friend named Dobbs to die by fire elementals and then leaving a begging villain to be flooded and trick him to thinking that the Doctor will save him in the Burning or burning a person's body alive so he doesn't get possessed in Eater of Wasps, how cold is that? And that's just scratching the surface in terms of what 8 has done. While I thought that the VNA'S had made the stories and the Doctor a bit too edgy for my liking, I would say that the EDA books bring things down to reality while being mature, yet imaginative. In fact, next to the Pertwee era, the Eighth Doctor Books era is my favourite era in the history of Doctor Who. Stories like the Crooked World, Father Time, The Adventuress of Henrietta Street, Banquo Legacy, Alien Bodies and The Sleep of Reason are just sublime. Don't get me wrong, I adore Big Finish and I love what they did with the 8th Doctor, especially in the Lucie Miller era, but I have way too much love for what the writers have done for the Books. My favourite Tardis interior, my favourite outfit, one of the best actors to play the Doctor, 8 is just a joy to behold.
@@Scripture-Man canonicity in Doctor Who will always be a fraught topic. At the time of the 7th Doctor New Adventure Novel Range and then the Eight Doctor Adventures those book lines were considered (and marketed as) the continuation of the tv series. Then Big Finish came along and as they had the 'current' Doctor, many people considered them as the true continuation. To complicate things it is almost impossible to reconcile the Eighth Doctor audio adventures with the book range and also what Big Finish have done with the Seventh Doctor too also is very hard to work with the New Adventure book range. Coupled with that the tv series has said very little about the Doctor's adventures between the two iterations of the tv series, though the night of the Doctor (where we saw McGann regenerate into Hurt) actually namechecks the eight Doctor audio companions, which arguably canonises them and the Big Finish range. Ultimately it is up to the individual to decide what is canon for them in Doctor Who (as even the tv series contradicts itself many times), but they way i see it those novels and audio plays contain hundreds of additional Doctor Who stories, many of them wonderful, and for those of us who actively followed them during the wilderness years they are Doctor Who, every bit as much as the old and the new series is.
@@ComMaxil Thank you for that fascinating summary. I wasn't really aware of the books or audio novels until recently and know almost nothing about them. (The TV show is all I've ever known.) But if, as you say, McGann mentioned the actual names of audio companions in Night of the Doctor, then I would say this effectively canonises the audio novels, because it represents the TV showrunner's deliberate and willing acknowledgement of their validity and legitimacy. I believe a single line of dialogue can canonise an entire series. Having said all that, my views about canon have changed a lot in recent years. I no longer believe something is canon merely because it appears in the TV series. If, for example, a TV series is relaunched with a completely different tone and values to the original show, so as to be barely recogniseable, and to be destructive, contrary, or grossly disrespectful to the original franchise, then I think fans have an absolute right to reject its canonity. That has certainly happened with Star Trek recently (Discovery), and many of us believe that has happened with Doctor Who as well. I can no longer watch (or tolerate) Doctor Who, which is part of the reason I'm here on RUclips looking at videos about the classic episodes. I will not accept, nor watch, a "female Doctor", which I consider asinine. Women and men are fundamentally different creatures, and by no means interchangeable.
21:00 "This so-called special came along to show them..... how truly crap Doctor Who could be in the wrong hands." A most profound statement! Thank you, thank you! for making these series of introspections. It is balm to my wounded heart over what has happened to my favorite character over the years.
I always assumed him being half human was to explain why he made himself the protector of Earth. 'Cus he could go anywhere but he always comes back to Earth, they probably felt he needed a narrative connection to it.
I like to imagine that the focus on Earth was just Hartnell deciding to come back time and time again to that mediocre planet he was linving in with his grandaughter. Just for the gigs
The FASA RPG for Dr. Who explains Earth as being a critically important force in the distant future, thus anything messing with its history would be especially important to investigate. The half-human thing makes even more sense, but I don't want him to be half human.
RTD has said he was going to address that by saying the Doctor had a case of some sort of space flu at the time and believed that he was half human at the time! Love from Australia!
At least the studeo doing DR.WHO could use him or someone like him for proofreading the scripts. I guess that was the major reason of a lot of Dr. Who mistakes that writers and crews used strange scripts in their best intention without the real knowledge what they were doing. Even though the CAPALDI scripts were well done
Fun Fact: Back in the Sixties Roddenberry was doing exactly that, proofreading the final manuskripts for flaws and mistakes. The harsh differences in the first two seasons came from disagreements with the studio haeds, first on requesting more Western style action and later on trying to bring down STAR TREK TOS by shortening the funds for the show. Shortsightedness for the quality of the SF program as with DR: WHO you can say.
So glad there’s somebody else who loves Eric Roberts’ Master and realizes that he doesn’t spend all his time “drezzing for the occasion”! I’ve enjoyed all the videos in this series, and I’d be interested to see what comes next!
As someone who watched modern who, this is the last of the videos where I did not experience these episodes/time periods first hand. Even when I originally watched Series 1, it was 2012 so we were midway through the eleventh doctor's run. These videos gave me the opportunity to appreciate classic doctor more, and honestly, I haven't really watched doctor who since series 8 but i feel that after I finish catching up with the series I may try catching up with the show.
Your analysis of the Amblin rebooting of the concept of Doctor Who is SPOT ON! This is the most concise and honest exploration of that era in Doctor Who history that has ever been put to film! I'm constantly enamored by your purest documentary approach to the subject matter.
38:38 - "You spend like three full days on a set, waiting to say a line and by the time the camera comes to you, you're so surprised, you forget what you need to say," - Paul McGann at a local convention, talking briefly about his role in Alien 3.
Ah, Paul McGann era. One of the best in history of the show. Yeah, season 37 was a little weak, but at least regeneration story was satisfying. And Season 36 is wonderful, underrated gem. Who expected Looking into the Eye to be that good? Not to mention such masterpieces like Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust, Never Mind the Rogue or Project Lazarus with surprising return of Sylvester McCoy! Season 34 might have been the weakest from the duo Garwood/Aaronovitch, but how not to appreciate it with the stories like BAFTA-awarded Time Will Tell or Douglas Adams's triumphant return in the Web of Time? I can't wait for your retrospective of Richard E. Grant era. It's sad that he got only two and a half season, one of which was Moffat at its worst, but at least he got some wonderful stories in Season 39 and left with a bang in 40th anniversary movie- Wait, did I mess the timelines again? Oh, fish sticks.
@David Blyth Thank you, though the credit shouldn't be given to me, but to Benjamin Windibank, the creator of wonderful What If Doctor Who Wasn't Axed series. Check it out here! ruclips.net/user/DaDoctorWhoFan
19:00 Dang, that’s a cool design for the Cybermen! I wish we would’ve gotten to see that in the show or novels at some point. Great documentary as always!!
very well done, concise, a lot of information that I did not know. As always your work is high-quality and professional, the BBC should hire you. Can’t wait for the new era.
I'm so glad you're continuing to make videos. I'd watched Dr. Who only haphazardly before, but this series made me go back and watch many of the classic eps. Thanks again.
I friggin love McGann's Tardis console room. Nothing in the new revived series has even touched the massive holographic display thus far. How Victorian Gothic and eerie yet futuristic with its innate design. It truly showed off the whole dynamic of the ship (Timelord time capsule?) being vastly bigger on the inside. than even the classic series ever did!
I'm so glad you made this docu-series and especially glad because it introduced me to the Big Finish audio books. I hope you will always be able to keep making these and please - never stop being brilliant!
Well I thought 'How the heck do you fill over an hour on the 8th Doctor when there was only one movie?' As it turns out you fill that hour + with some of the most interesting information about the Doctor and the sagas of production hell, and triumph against the odds that I have ever hear. I thought I know a bit about Dr Who but it seems that we are in the presence of a master😊 Well done.
All the others are still up...with this one you shouldn't worry about the BBC, crap as they are. You need to worry about FOX for this one and you know who just bought them.
I actually liked Sevens death. I liked how random it was. It felt more real. Not everyone has a huge heroes death with a big lead up. especially if you're living a high risk lifestyle anyway. Sometimes shit happens.
Marc Platt's origin story of Gallifrey is incredibly well done. I watched that segment twice. Thanks for making this, because it made a lot of the story make sense.
You're very welcome! Thanks for your kind words as that took the most work out everything. In total, I spent 3/4 days creating that using Photoshop, CGI imaging software and the edit. I'm quite pleased with the result!
I've been looking forward to this for months, so excited to see it finally out! Your reviews have been incredible so far and I find myself constantly revisiting them. Just a minor correction, the Dimensions in Time 3D glasses weren't the traditional red and blue effect, but rather a different 3D method. One that uses a darker lens over one eye, delaying visual information by a fraction of a second and resulting in two different perspectives being fed to the brain, despite only one being filmed. This was to ensure viewers without the glasses could also enjoy the programme, although for the effect to work the camera needs to constantly be in motion. This lead to the nauseating cinematography of Dimensions in Time. There's a great Tom Scott video explaining this style of 3D.
47:20 - Right on target! I watched this when it first aired and turned to my friend and said, "Blast! They are trying to make him into Spock, who is also half human on his mother's side! Why? Why?"Another thing I did not like was they gave Sylvester McCoy only one line of dialogue.
1) Damn you, sir! Damn your eyes! I came across this series of wonderfully produced videos one night when I couldn't sleep. I then proceeded to sleep even less... In all seriousness, thank you for the time and effort you've put into these. 2) This clip draws a comparison of Masters, so of course Anthony Ainley is mentioned. I'd like to share an anecdote so surreal that you know it must be true: A friend of mine ended up becoming friends with Mr. Ainley, and told him how much I loved the character of the Master. His initial reaction was apparently - and anxiously - "Me or Delgado?" As much as I love Delgado, he was relieved to hear that my answer was him. It wasn't until a few years later that I got the chance to finally meet him (I was quite young when all this started), and he was so nervous that his hands were shaking. The Master, so afraid of letting some fool fan like ME down that his hands were shaking. Unreal. And every time we crossed paths over that convention weekend, he'd stop what he was doing and come over to chat for a bit. He was an absolutely wonderful person.
I really like 8, sad to hear how fans treated him initially. I’d love for him to get his own series (preferably with long hair, he looks better with it)
I just love that you used the Eighth Doctor music from the first Big Finish EDA series. They evoke such a wonderful time for me, binge listening from Storm Warning to Neverland and gasping at what might happen next. I was reeled into DW in 2013 with The Bells of St. John, but I dare say my best memories of Doctor Who were with Big Finish’s forays. Eight is my favorite Doctor, and I simply loved this episode. I was also glad that you went extremely in-depth with the VNA and the EDA books - both housing a style that I hope the New Series would go with the Thirteenth Doctor.
@@elijahfordsidioticvarietys8770 No, stop seeng her as the Lady Doctor that must be loved for one to be in the moral right and start seeing her a the luvvie, an avatar of complacent middle class mediocrity.
Been waiting on this one, that theme song made my heart swell. McGann is currently my favorite doctor and I’m glad someone is talking about the wilderness years
Poly Peptoad I love the big finish stories (despite how little of it I’ve listened to) but I have to admit I really like him from his movie weirdly as well as night of the Doctor
Poly Peptoad that’s me. I started 3 months ago on Spotify. I planned to listen to all the doctors but for now I’m so in love with McGanns Doctor I only listen to his stories. Just finished Dark Eyes 3. Tenth was my favourite for 13 years with both McCoy and Capaldi fighting for that spot for years and years and now McGann came and stole my heart in his first episode. He is brilliant
@@thursoberwick1948 that’s valid! I’ve seen some of his other stuff too and he’s a great actor but I just have a soft spot for his portrayal of the doctor
I just discovered Big Finish (American here), and I’m so thrilled at the resurgence of the 6th Doctor thanks to them, seeing as he was the first Doctor I ever saw, back on PBS. He finally has stories worthy of his character, and I already love the Evelyn Smythe character. I’m looking forward to checking out the 8th Doctor stories too, as the samples in this video are quite enticing.
Yes, it is all in the eyes of the beholder, to borrow from Shadespeare, to me one of the greatest writers ever. My suspicion is also that the TV series SLEEPY HOLLOW also became influenced over the American DR:WHO venture. Think of it a strange but highly intelligent man supported by a policewoman/women if you add the last seaseon in the godlike fight against all kinds of creatures.
I am glad the news articles on Speilberg's DW movie project re-surfaced. I remember reading about them before they ended without a trace. Apparently Robin Williams, John Cleese, Donal Sutherland, Harrison Ford, John Hurt, Billy Crystal and Stacy Keach were all in the running to play the Doctor (and I swear I remember Dudley Moore's name being mentioned as well) before Sutherland got the eventual nod to star in the aborted project. Can't help but think of what might have been.
Been waiting so long for this Started watching the second you dropped it these are literally good enough to be broadcast on the BBC it’s only a matter of time before this channel is huge thank you for making these it must take an insane amount of work and it’s so worth it keep it up thanks a lot
Extremely well done video. The "wilderness years" are exceptionally interesting. There are a lot of Dr. Who documentaries on youtube, and many of them are truly excellent, but your spin on things is unique, fascinating, and genuinely fun to watch.
I actually do really like the TV movie, I bought it on DVD when I was 8 and couldn't stop watching it! McGann is definitely up there as one of my favourite Doctors.
Been waiting so long for this. Another excellently put together Dr who master piece. Another 5* in my book, you my friend are really good at this and I like the way you have put this and previous videos together. Well worth the wait! Nothing but love :)
As brilliant and informative as all that came before it. I have vague memories of the movie but only really got into the show when it returned with Eccleston. Seeing how it all began and progressed throughout the years has been wonderful. Can't wait to see the next episode.
The Airzone Solution, The Zero Imperative and Shakedown: Return Of The Sontarans were the first to win my best appreciation for all the Whovian creativity behind the Wilderness Years. Thank you so much for this equally appreciable documentary. 👏🏻
Holy Daleks!!! I thought next for sure was going to the start of the Modern Series retrospective, not THE SHALKA DOCTOR!! I'm very excited and happy by how well thought out and how much effort you put into these and I loved this video on the wilderness years with VNA and the 8th Doctor so much. Onward to Shalka!!
Okay a few points I like to make: 1. Wonderful, absolutely wonderful installment of your retrospective. It's always enlightening to witness accounts of the Wilderness Years especially since even though I was aware of the series, I never became a fan until 2009 when i moved to the UK from Egypt and lived there for 5 years (even when growing up in the UK in the 80's (born in 81), me and my brother we're busy watching the A-Team on ITV around the same timeslot Dr. Who was airing and i was still too young to be aloud to watch the late night rerun of the series on BBC.), thanks to the internet and buying DWM and some of the classic Who DVDs, I found information about the Wilderness Years most fascinating. 2. Even may fans look down on BBV and its products especially due to questionable actions of its founder Bill Baggs, it still deserves credit for helping keep love of the franchise alive during those years as well as giving us further adventures of the UNIT family including the short lived Elizabeth Shaw as well as giving us the first appearance of the Brigadier's daughter Kate Stewart who would later be used in New Who starting with the Matt Smith era as well as reteaming Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant for The Stranger series. While they're mostly remembered for their low budget films, I think their best work are their audio dramas such as audio version of the previously mentioned The Stranger, their adaptation of the Faction Paradox books and my favorite The Professor And Ace later renamed The Dominie And Alice, which reunited my favorite Tardis team Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred and I thinks the final episode in the Dominie series, Punchline, an early work by future Big Finish writer Robert Shearman (under the name Jeremy Leadbeater) where McCoy's Dominie was trapped by a mysterious force in world modeled after a old school sictom and was quite a meta finale, was a much better note for Classic Who to go out on than the actual final episode of Classic Who. 3. Shame you didn't mention the stage plays Seven Keys to Doomsday and Ultimate Adventure, which the latter started out with Jon Pertwee reprising his role as the Doctor until due to health concerns was replaced by Colin Baker who did the majority of the play's run, which would later be adapted by Big Finish with Colin in the lead and later an adaptation of Seven Keys to Doomsday, the stage play's version of the Doctor Trevor Martin reprising his role. 4. I agree TV Movie is entertaining, but I also agree that the way it killed off the 7th Doctor felt wrong, from what I understand it was mostly due to meddling from the higher ups at the BBC as they still had a very negative opinion of the 7th Doctor's era and wanted him written off as soon as possible. Shame, it could have been handled better in fact SF Debris while reviewing the TV movie gave his own idea of how the story could have been handled and it sounds a lot better. 5. About the half human confusion, one of the comics had the 8th Doctor say he used the damaged chameleon circuit to make himself half human in order to fool the Master. Of course this adds another confusion as to when he did that, Dr. Who RUclipsr CaptainJimiPie just did a video on that subject theorizing that it could have been Seventh Doctor who performed the process and you know what I like this theory as it fixes the half human plot and that it still shows the Seventh Doctor still planning ahead in case the Master wasn't really destroyed after his execution. 6. Evelyn Smythe is wonderful and the 6th Doctor's best companion with Frobisher the alien detective in the body of a penguin from the comics right behind her. (sorry Peri and Mel)
This is ongoing? YES! This is what got me into Doctor who to begin with so I am truly happy that as I go along watching these doctors I can watch one of these each time I complete a Doctor
Fantastic work Richard! I'm a huge Dr Who fan but I must admit my knowledge of the wilderness years was limited. That's partially because I never liked the 8th Doctors one and only outing in the TV movie, so I never bothered to look into what happened behind the scenes during those times. However this entry in your series gave me not only a better knowledge of the wilderness years but also a new appreciation for McGann's Doctor. I'm inspired to check out some of the Big Finish stuff, and have just signed up with them to begin that journey. Truly, this is your best work yet. It was sometimes painful to have to wait these 7 months, but I can say it was worth the wait. Can't wait to see the next one. Keep up the stellar work, good sir!
If your previous Doctor Who reviews are anything to go by, this is going to be excellent, and nothing less. Your research and hardwork are very much appreciated.
As someone who has been fortunate never to watch an episode of EastEnders, I actually quite enjoy Dimensions in Time, even if it is just to see all my favourite characters on screen. Another well-written analysis of the show's darkest period and slow revival. You sir, have a talent for crafting a narrative through facts and evidence, shown through this visual media.
@@NebLleb Man, is it ever. I actually yearn for even the Cartmel Master Plan as an alternative to what Chibnall saddled the series with, and what RTD refuses to abolish from canon.
I adore Paul McGann in the role of the Doctor. He's always been in my personal top 5, usually top 3 after Christopher Eccleston and before Tom Baker. I've never been happy about the lack of role for him in NewWho, rights snarl notwithstanding. I'd hoped he'd get a part in the 50th when it turned out Chris Eccleston wasn't going to be in it, but instead they created the War Doctor. A pity.
@@nathanbreen5535 I was just asking, you know it's no harder to edit and make a video in 1080p than to make it in 480p and since the latter 10th Doctor episodes are in HD it would be nice to see them in higher quality, plus RUclips compresses Full HD better (giving it a higher bitrate) thus making the video less blocky and improving the sound quality. No need to come off as rude just asking a question.
I will look into it for 11 and 12 as they are the only ones I gave on Blu-Ray but I don’t think my software will be able to handle it as it’s a bit old!
Just want to say that I stumbled across these videos and hope you will continue them for the modern doctors. I loved this actor and was sorry.that it did not successfully reboot the show. These are superb videos that you have created. I am eager to see other videos. You have shed much new light on my beloved series
I like "doctor in distress". Some highlights are: When the black chick yells "Where's the Doctor? OVER THERE?!" and also Colin just openly drinking a beer near the end... just not giving a shit...
Thought I would just take a taste of the first five minutes and save the rest for leisure... ...damn, some mysterious force is interfering with the flow of time. Wowza, welcome back!
Now call me psychic, but I think our narrator doesn't like Dimensions in Time very much. I just wish he'd come off the fence and tell us what he really thinks. 😆 All that said, the pairing of Mel with the Third Doctor was an intriguing match. I would love to have seen more of that. 1:04:06 - I always remember that Doctor Who Vodaphone advert rather fondly because I was a student in Liverpool at the time it was filmed (you can see Liverpool Cathedral tower in the background of the shot as Pertwee looks at his watch) and used to walk down Pilgrim Street, where it was filmed, most days. The garage doors emblazoned with the words: "Doctor on Call 24 Hrs. Keep Clear" were a familiar sight and the idea that The Doctor lived there was both a heartwarming and (after Pertwee's death) melancholy thought.
The depth to which you research and the talent with which you present is remarkable. I really thought I knew so much about the making of the TV movie and the start of Big Finish, but I learned sooooo much from this video. You and your videos are so essential to any Whovian's enjoyment of the series. Thanks for all that you do!
35:51 Okay, if anything is going to convince you McGann was a great choice for the Doctor it's this. In this screen test, he's playing the character exactly the way he does in the movie, and in Big Finish today. That tells me he went into this with a rock solid idea of who his Doctor is and how he was determined to play him. That's not something ever actor who took the role can say. I love the 5th Doctor, but as you covered, Davidson admitted never nailing his incarnation until it was time to leave, and that lack of confidence does show in some stories, (but is not present in Big Finish now he knows who his Doctor is imho) It feels like McGann had it crystallised, ready to go before he even laid eyes on a script. Give him a round of applause everyone.
Yup agreed!The 8th has always been one of my faves!love his audio series,they are awesome and he has many funny parts....2 examples- 1)WE HAVE COME TO HELP,FISH & CHIPS FOR ALL!!! 2)AND WILL U TELL UR CAMEL TO STOP STARING AT ME LIKE THAT?! Brilliant...
I’d love to see at least a couple of the Paul McCann Big Finish stories made into episodes, especially “The Chimes of Midnight”, which is probably one of my favourite stories in general
Say what you want about the movie, McGann played the role very well. I was glad to see he wasn't completely brushed aside, and got to reprise his role in a few specials and the Big Finish radio dramas. Also, loved his performance in the Assembly Cut of Alien 3.
![Digital Circus Episode 4 [TRAILER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/abZtsmMUbJo/mqdefault.jpg)
The fact that Paul McGann was so anxious about taking on the burden of appearing at conventions and entertaining crowds of fans is really touching, especially considering that he made one convention I attended one of the most memorable. I was passing the booth where he was signing autographs after escorting my friend to the line, but was too anxious to get in it myself. I was about to walk away when he called out to me, looked me in the eye, and told me emphatically, kindly, how amazing I looked. If I remember correctly, his words were something like, "I just wanted to say that you look absolutely stunning, just fantastic. Belle of the ball."
I wasn't even wearing a Doctor Who cosplay or anything that would have indicated I was a fan. I was dressed a slightly-steampunk fairy in a blue qipao, and it wasn't even that great of an outfit IMHO. Still, he reached out and told me that for some reason, and that memory is still one of my fondest of all my convention experiences.
That's amazing!
Thank you for sharing that story. It's so refreshing to hear about celebrities treating their fans well.
It’s physically impossible for any of the surviving classic doctors to be mean.
He was at a local (Cincinnati Ohio) convention before I was a follower, so had no interest in meeting him. Wish I had, now, from hearing everything about him. Sounds like a good guy.
@@millievariants ooh what would be ur opinion on non surviving doctors who are?
I've said it before and I'll say it again; these are the best Doctor Who documentaries I've ever seen. I've had the time of my lives watching them.
Watched this one first (it was in my recommendations) Then when went back and watched the lot. Fantastic!
I used to pass that doorway on Pilgrim Street that my Doctor Jon Pertwee went into regularly, Also had a beer with Sylvester just around the corner in the ols Casablanca bar.
This series is amazing, deserves more views. I've linked all my old mates to watch them.
Absolutely spot on. I've watched them all several times and it is some of the best content I have seen on RUclips - the narration alone is excellent quality
Funnily enough one of the DeLaurentis movie scripts was called "The Time of my Life"
How many lives have you had? 😂
@@BitsOfBen 9, but strictly speaking 8 of them aren't canon.
Paul McGann was the best Doctor casual viewers never really got. If he got 3 seasons of RTD writing I have no doubt he’d be up there with Tom baker and David Tennant in terms of iconicness to the casual viewer. His big finish stuff is some of the best Doctor who stuff out there. Massively recommend it hugely !
I STILL argue that Day Of The Doctor should have given us more McGann as the War Doctor, he's an actor with the range to do a darker version of his character, John Hurt did a great job but I feel having a Doctor from the actual classic era would have been a much better way of tying it all back together, and McGann looks young enough even now to pull it off
He has that perfect mix of 5 and 10’s charm, and 2, 4, 7 and 11’s eccentricity. He would have crushed a full series. With Disney+ helping to produce DW now, and talks of doing many spin-offs, I want him to get a full series.
I love his Big Finish stuff, wished he had more on screen appeearences.
@danevans3333 Honestly...yeah. Much as the late John Hurt is one of my all-time favorite actors, and he does fantastic work as the War Doctor...in hindsight, the War Doctor himself is a gimmick, a big sexy twist moment for the end of Season 7, and not actually necessary to the storytelling of Day of the Doctor. Having a special incarnation just for one special (played by an already old actor who's now gone) robbed McGann of the chance to really strut his stuff in the part onscreen (especially since, as we saw in Night of the Doctor and Power of the Doctor, he looks really good all grimy and war-torn).
I kind of like how 7 regenerated. It felt kind of ironic how a man who prided himself on always having a scheme was killed by something completely out of his control.
Still I tilt my head on how the Tardis defense system failed to stop bullets mere inches away where the doctor stood. 🤔
I agree. I liked how random it was. It felt more real. Not everyone has a huge heroes death with a big lead up. especially if you're living a high risk lifestyle anyway. Sometimes shit happens.
I feel like it was a but pretentious and arrogant for fans to always expect a big massive send off.
And I found the backlash extremely hypocritical as Tom Baker's death was literally just falling off a tower
Never thought of that, but I REALLY line that idea!
@@dereknight861 What defense system? The forcefield first appeared in The Parting of The Ways, which was only after connecting the TARDIS to some different alien tech. Am I missing something?
I was sat on my own smoking a joint on a park bench in Auckland, New Zealand in 2010 and as I saw these two fellas walk in my general direction from about 50 metres away I thought "that really looks like Paul Mcgann and Sylvester McCoy". Then when they got to about 20 metres away I realised it really was them and I looked at my joint the way that guy looks at his wine in the Roger Moore Bond films. As they walked right passed me they were actually gossiping about Tom Baker! I phoned my brother back home in the UK and he told me there was a convention in NZ that week and even odder, he'd been sat opposite Mcgann on the tube in London a few days previously. Wibbly Wobbly
I'm assuming McCoy was there to film The Hobbit (maybe a little early?) and they were talking about Tom Baker joining Big Finish.
@@parlinmains
In 2010?
Tom didn't join BF till late 2015+
Hm.
Was the phonecall part of the hallucination??
@@parlinmains WAIT he was in The Hobbit??
4th Doctor: "The Rani, she hates me. She even hates children!"
What a line
I mean it was a charity special for children needing help. What did one expect?
@@rnw2739 taking things a bit seriously
I c na
.?l.d
@@aliciaquamie6525 yeah same
I think The Rani and Cruella DeVille would get on well. Although Cruella’s thing is black and white puppies 🐶 I’m sure she isn’t too much fonder of children?
"In an attempt to return McGann's cranium to it's former romantic glory" I just really love that this sentence exists.
The wilderness years 1989-2004 was the darkest and most depressing time for doctor who. I love how RTD created the time war, which represents the horrific events of the wilderness years. So when the doctor comes back as Christopher Eccelston, he is psychologically broken from the darkness and loss from the time war, representing doctor who recovering from the wilderness years. And this time, he was having no failure, no camp, this time he was serious, war-torn and broken.
@@thechosenone1691 The time war was a genius addition to the overarching story of the series.
And the even sadder part about pertwee's death is that in an interview, he was told about a Dr who movie being made and he said that he'd watch it.. But he died a week before it was broadcast😭😭
He did get to see it though
@@theremoteanater how?
@@Kazavop The studio allowed him to see it early since he was important in the show.
@@mysterypine9062 oh ok
@@magellanthecat but it wasn't.
I always thought that McCoy's regeneration had a kind of poetic quality. The most crafty, deliberate and far-sighted Doctor is cut down without ceremony and in a way that he couldn't predict. Essentially a senseless death, something I'd like to see the new show try (tell me that wouldn't have been a great way for Capaldi's Doctor to reach his end...)
That would have been an absolutely perfect way for 12 to regenerate.
I disagree. Going out in an unpredictable way fit the 7th Doctor, not the 12th.
I would agree, but I also quite like that 12 died trying to save as many people as possible while still trying to reform Missy (at least I think that’s what happened, I’ll admit it’s been a while)
@@gooper3644 I liked that storyline enormously but still, if 12's arc of trying to redeem the only two time lords in existence ended in "falling over a brick", I'd have loved it more. Bravery in the face of futility is a trope that I always hoped the show would lean into.
The Moxcast I definitely see how purposefully making a death not over the top can be good, but I still think the more dramatic death fit that episode more. It would be kind of laughable if all that build up led to the doctor having an awkward fall and accidentally hitting himself on the head.
The seventh doctor’s very sudden and non-dramatic death worked quite well because it wasn’t at the end of an intense story with a powerful threat, I don’t think you could have the doctor regenerate from something small like that at the end of a story about an army of cyber men
Wow, I hadn’t noticed before that Steven Moffat wrote that sketch with Rowan Atkinson and Jonathan Pryce. No wonder it was so entertaining.
I decided to " say hello to the Sofa of Reasonable Comfort", and rewatch it. Every bit as good as I remembered.
@@shebbs1 I anticipated your going back in time and I went back to and even further point and I bribed the architect!
@@wynd_6250 it's now a cartoon special instead of live action.
It’s funny how Paul McGann went from despising conventions to being a beloved mainstay at them.
Doctor Who has been incredibly lucky to have landed literally such fantastic leads that have never had scandal. That clip of Jon putting the coat on the boy was great. Love him, thankful that Baker got his due & McGann got a proper chance at bat with Big Finish. Great docU series!
Well jhon barrownan and a other actor has a scandal
@@jadenbryant9283 not leads
@@nectarinedreams7208 yeah but Jhon did Play one of the major characters and was the Protag of a major spinoff the other actor i forgot what the other actors role was
@@jadenbryant9283 It's John btw and the other actor is Noel Clarke who played Mickey
@@hunterhorsehelmsley7315 sorry but at the time i forgot there names
I had the pleasure of meeting Paul just last week. It’s only taken me 45 years to attend my first convention and not only did I find myself in a room packed full of genuine love and joy, but to get to meet one of my favourite actors and tell him how much appreciate his work, was a day I’ll treasure forever. A really kind and lovely guy. 😊
Paul McGann's screentest was amazing to see! Thank you for making this, it was awesome :D
You’re most welcome!
I met Paul mcgann at Chester comic con and he was such a nice guy , he took the time to talk to me before and even after his Q and A , no one had yet gone up to his table to get an autograph and although I wasn’t paying for a picture or anything he had a full conversation with me ,I told him he was my favourite doctor and he seemed genuinely elated by that
That’s so cool! He’s also great as Mr. Bush in Horatio Hornblower.
@@RobertEricJenkinsyes!
As much as people deride the TV movie I will say it spawned one of the better versions of the theme - starting on the middle eight was a stroke of genius
I agree, it's my favorite version of the theme.
The Tardis interior with it's organic treelike bits also crossed over into the new series too. I kind of liked it when it aired.
Generally it's a good theme, and there's a lot I like about it. But, for me, the first note should not have been messed with. To me that's butchering the tune, and I find it irritating to the point of being distracting. Technically speaking, we lose the dramatic "1-octave" jump in the melody. It also means the tune no longer begins on a perfect cadence. All of this makes the tune sound flatter, duller, less dynamic and dramatic. Years later, Murray Gold would remove this first note altogether from the 11th Doctor's theme tune, a bold move, which I didn't like, but even that was preferable than this.
@@Scripture-Man Each to their own I guess. Although I dislike every theme from the revived series.
It made the theme sound epic for the first time since the 60s
I wish the BBC would give McGann a series while he still looks young enough to pull it off.
Dark Woods he’s got some great big finish stories
Yeah I'm a fan of those.
Agree even if he looked older that shouldn't matter cos he's such a great actor.
Well, you can imagine his AudioBooks as his series if you like.
I wish they had a lead up to his regeneration episode.
God bless Big Finish for giving not only McGann's Doctor a chance to shine, but also the 5th and 6th Doctors as well. The quality of their productions and writing is endlessly entertaining!
McGann would have been fantastic as a Doctor entering the Time War. The brief glimpse we got showed how well he would have been as a Doctor desperately trying to prevent complete destruction of countless worlds while attempting to stay outside the war.
Paul McGann was my first Doctor. When he reappeared in the online short Night of the Doctor I lost my mind.
I was blown away by that! Especially since I had no idea that McGann had anything to do with Doctor Who since 1996. I always wished we could have a McGann series, but assumed he would never return to the role, so when he turned up saying "I'm a doctor…" it knocked me for six. One of the most exciting moments in the entire series history. Just _such_ a shame he didn't stick around for the actual episode and appear alongside Tennant and Smith :(
I recommend you give the big finish audio dramas a listen, the 8th doctor series is really good (if a few of the enemies are a little “cheesy or cliche”)
Colin Baker deserved better, thankfully Big Finish’s audio stories gave him some decent material to work with.
@@magellanthecat isnt Colin Baker more undercut by fights between writers during his run who were putting out scripts to attempted sabotage?
The wilderness years 1989-2004 was the darkest and most depressing time for doctor who. I love how RTD created the time war, which represents the horrific events of the wilderness years. So when the doctor comes back as Christopher Eccelston, he is psychologically broken from the darkness and loss from the time war, representing doctor who recovering from the wilderness years. And this time, he was having no failure, no camp, this time he was serious, war-torn and broken.
@@magellanthecat there was noting wrong with the way the 6th was written on the tv show, the problems were the stories themselves.
TBH, just judging his TV stuff, Colin isn't that bad. He only had two bad stories, Twin Dilemma and Timelash. He's not like Davison, where most of his era is sleep inducing.
@@MephProduction i dont like the way hes written in twin dilemma, but you can just ignore that due to post regenerative whatever. In every other story he was great.
Paul is one my favorites. He combines all the good aspects of the past 7 before him. His style of character also sets the stage for future doctors. His Tardis greatly reflects that as well.....
Y'know for all the faults the movie has, I'm at the very least glad that it brought me my favourite Doctor. He's had some of my favourites/experimental stories ever put out into Doctor Who. He's had some of my favourite companions with people like Charley, Lucie, Fitz, Anji, etc (Fitz probably being my favourite companion next to Jamie). He's got a wonderful, yet unpredictable personality; he could be kind, happy and energetic one moment and then turn into a manipulative psycho the next (I call Doctors 6, 7 and 8 the psycho phase). I would argue that the 8th Doctor is more manipulative than the 7th Doctor and just as mysterious as the 1st Doctor. I mean, leaving a friend named Dobbs to die by fire elementals and then leaving a begging villain to be flooded and trick him to thinking that the Doctor will save him in the Burning or burning a person's body alive so he doesn't get possessed in Eater of Wasps, how cold is that? And that's just scratching the surface in terms of what 8 has done. While I thought that the VNA'S had made the stories and the Doctor a bit too edgy for my liking, I would say that the EDA books bring things down to reality while being mature, yet imaginative. In fact, next to the Pertwee era, the Eighth Doctor Books era is my favourite era in the history of Doctor Who. Stories like the Crooked World, Father Time, The Adventuress of Henrietta Street, Banquo Legacy, Alien Bodies and The Sleep of Reason are just sublime. Don't get me wrong, I adore Big Finish and I love what they did with the 8th Doctor, especially in the Lucie Miller era, but I have way too much love for what the writers have done for the Books.
My favourite Tardis interior, my favourite outfit, one of the best actors to play the Doctor, 8 is just a joy to behold.
Love that book range, especially that run of novels post Ancestor Cell, all the stuff with Sabbath etc. Must go back and read them again one day!
Hear hear!
You're talking about the audio recordings like they're canon with the actual show? Presumably they're not?
@@Scripture-Man canonicity in Doctor Who will always be a fraught topic. At the time of the 7th Doctor New Adventure Novel Range and then the Eight Doctor Adventures those book lines were considered (and marketed as) the continuation of the tv series. Then Big Finish came along and as they had the 'current' Doctor, many people considered them as the true continuation. To complicate things it is almost impossible to reconcile the Eighth Doctor audio adventures with the book range and also what Big Finish have done with the Seventh Doctor too also is very hard to work with the New Adventure book range. Coupled with that the tv series has said very little about the Doctor's adventures between the two iterations of the tv series, though the night of the Doctor (where we saw McGann regenerate into Hurt) actually namechecks the eight Doctor audio companions, which arguably canonises them and the Big Finish range. Ultimately it is up to the individual to decide what is canon for them in Doctor Who (as even the tv series contradicts itself many times), but they way i see it those novels and audio plays contain hundreds of additional Doctor Who stories, many of them wonderful, and for those of us who actively followed them during the wilderness years they are Doctor Who, every bit as much as the old and the new series is.
@@ComMaxil Thank you for that fascinating summary. I wasn't really aware of the books or audio novels until recently and know almost nothing about them. (The TV show is all I've ever known.)
But if, as you say, McGann mentioned the actual names of audio companions in Night of the Doctor, then I would say this effectively canonises the audio novels, because it represents the TV showrunner's deliberate and willing acknowledgement of their validity and legitimacy. I believe a single line of dialogue can canonise an entire series.
Having said all that, my views about canon have changed a lot in recent years. I no longer believe something is canon merely because it appears in the TV series. If, for example, a TV series is relaunched with a completely different tone and values to the original show, so as to be barely recogniseable, and to be destructive, contrary, or grossly disrespectful to the original franchise, then I think fans have an absolute right to reject its canonity.
That has certainly happened with Star Trek recently (Discovery), and many of us believe that has happened with Doctor Who as well. I can no longer watch (or tolerate) Doctor Who, which is part of the reason I'm here on RUclips looking at videos about the classic episodes. I will not accept, nor watch, a "female Doctor", which I consider asinine. Women and men are fundamentally different creatures, and by no means interchangeable.
"With Rowan Atkinson as the 9th Doctor and Jonathan Pryce as The Master..." **sigh** If only that were somehow a reality and not just a skit.
There's always big finish. ;)
Yes - it was perfect casting!
With Dalek knobs 😁
21:00 "This so-called special came along to show them..... how truly crap Doctor Who could be in the wrong hands." A most profound statement! Thank you, thank you! for making these series of introspections. It is balm to my wounded heart over what has happened to my favorite character over the years.
I always assumed him being half human was to explain why he made himself the protector of Earth. 'Cus he could go anywhere but he always comes back to Earth, they probably felt he needed a narrative connection to it.
while applies more now then ever, with 8 out of 10 episodes on earth. The doc sure has a few secrets and being half human could still be one of them.
I like to imagine that the focus on Earth was just Hartnell deciding to come back time and time again to that mediocre planet he was linving in with his grandaughter. Just for the gigs
The FASA RPG for Dr. Who explains Earth as being a critically important force in the distant future, thus anything messing with its history would be especially important to investigate. The half-human thing makes even more sense, but I don't want him to be half human.
RTD has said he was going to address that by saying the Doctor had a case of some sort of space flu at the time and believed that he was half human at the time! Love from Australia!
I thought it was just a tongue in cheek, sarcastic joke which the master played allong with
The fact there was never a McGann series is one of the biggest Who crimes. I used to listen to the radio adaptations and enjoyed McGann’s Doctor.
Gotta love how this is almost as long as the TV movie itself.
And double the quality!
Slightly longer than the 85 minute version transmitted on BBC1 in 1996.
It's a more enjoyable watch too!
This series has made me really appreciate all of the doctors and their unique personalities
Richard - This video is more polished and professionally made than anything done in Season 12. I hereby vote for you as the new showrunner.
At least the studeo doing DR.WHO could use him or someone like him for proofreading the scripts. I guess that was the major reason of a lot of Dr. Who mistakes that writers and crews used strange scripts in their best intention without the real knowledge what they were doing. Even though the CAPALDI scripts were well done
Have you seen the 12th series or are you referring to Tom Baker's first season?
Fun Fact: Back in the Sixties Roddenberry was doing exactly that, proofreading the final manuskripts for flaws and mistakes. The harsh differences in the first two seasons came from disagreements with the studio haeds, first on requesting more Western style action and later on trying to bring down STAR TREK TOS by shortening the funds for the show. Shortsightedness for the quality of the SF program as with DR: WHO you can say.
Interesting McGann calls McCoy "Kent" as in Kent-Smith, McCoy's real name.
Yes, I noticed that- interestingly no one else does, even those close to him like Sophie Aldred.
@@cleverdickfilms i think it’s because he just prefers his stage name, and just simply allowed McGann to call him by his real name.
To everyone watching this,
You may be A FAN of Doctor Who,
But Richard D. Carrier is THE FAN of Doctor Who,
The ULTIMATE FAN you might say.
well said
The definitive fan
The Definite Article you might say.
Or Capaldi...
@@RoboplegicWrongcock1 I doubt that Richard sees himself or calls himself this. He does make excellent and informative videos though.
So glad there’s somebody else who loves Eric Roberts’ Master and realizes that he doesn’t spend all his time “drezzing for the occasion”! I’ve enjoyed all the videos in this series, and I’d be interested to see what comes next!
As someone who watched modern who, this is the last of the videos where I did not experience these episodes/time periods first hand. Even when I originally watched Series 1, it was 2012 so we were midway through the eleventh doctor's run. These videos gave me the opportunity to appreciate classic doctor more, and honestly, I haven't really watched doctor who since series 8 but i feel that after I finish catching up with the series I may try catching up with the show.
It's really nice that sylvestor McCoy reassured him and helped him out becoming the 8th doctor
A whole hour of a long awaited Dr. Who documentary? Yes please!
Your analysis of the Amblin rebooting of the concept of Doctor Who is SPOT ON! This is the most concise and honest exploration of that era in Doctor Who history that has ever been put to film! I'm constantly enamored by your purest documentary approach to the subject matter.
I love how you phrase things. The sixth doctor would be impressed by your volubility.
38:38 - "You spend like three full days on a set, waiting to say a line and by the time the camera comes to you, you're so surprised, you forget what you need to say," - Paul McGann at a local convention, talking briefly about his role in Alien 3.
Ah, Paul McGann era. One of the best in history of the show. Yeah, season 37 was a little weak, but at least regeneration story was satisfying. And Season 36 is wonderful, underrated gem. Who expected Looking into the Eye to be that good? Not to mention such masterpieces like Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust, Never Mind the Rogue or Project Lazarus with surprising return of Sylvester McCoy! Season 34 might have been the weakest from the duo Garwood/Aaronovitch, but how not to appreciate it with the stories like BAFTA-awarded Time Will Tell or Douglas Adams's triumphant return in the Web of Time?
I can't wait for your retrospective of Richard E. Grant era. It's sad that he got only two and a half season, one of which was Moffat at its worst, but at least he got some wonderful stories in Season 39 and left with a bang in 40th anniversary movie-
Wait, did I mess the timelines again? Oh, fish sticks.
@David Blyth Thank you, though the credit shouldn't be given to me, but to Benjamin Windibank, the creator of wonderful What If Doctor Who Wasn't Axed series. Check it out here!
ruclips.net/user/DaDoctorWhoFan
19:00 Dang, that’s a cool design for the Cybermen! I wish we would’ve gotten to see that in the show or novels at some point.
Great documentary as always!!
very well done, concise, a lot of information that I did not know. As always your work is high-quality and professional, the BBC should hire you. Can’t wait for the new era.
I'm so glad you're continuing to make videos. I'd watched Dr. Who only haphazardly before, but this series made me go back and watch many of the classic eps. Thanks again.
You’re most welcome!
I friggin love McGann's Tardis console room. Nothing in the new revived series has even touched the massive holographic display thus far. How Victorian Gothic and eerie yet futuristic with its innate design. It truly showed off the whole dynamic of the ship (Timelord time capsule?) being vastly bigger on the inside. than even the classic series ever did!
Holy shit that scrapped Cyberman redesign, I love it.
Dave-K apparently it also had retractable knuckle claws, the concept art literally had “Cyberine” written on it
It's been a tough week. Been require to 'step up' at work. Not easy. Then this comes out. Thank you.
You’re very welcome!
I'm so glad you made this docu-series and especially glad because it introduced me to the Big Finish audio books. I hope you will always be able to keep making these and please - never stop being brilliant!
Well I thought 'How the heck do you fill over an hour on the 8th Doctor when there was only one movie?' As it turns out you fill that hour + with some of the most interesting information about the Doctor and the sagas of production hell, and triumph against the odds that I have ever hear. I thought I know a bit about Dr Who but it seems that we are in the presence of a master😊 Well done.
Thanks so much!
The Eighth Doctor is one of my top five Doctors. He's sooooooo brilliant.
Same here, I love Paul McGann's portrayal of the character
The TV movie's rendition of the Doctor Who theme has got to be my favourite.
Same here.
But they skip half of the original theme...
@@reginaldfromnigeria5206 Not really. It starts with the middle 8, then goes in with the rest of the theme.
Here's hoping this doesn't get a copyright strike from BBC.
Ooooooh I bet they will
I hope not
It's the wilderness year. The BBC didn't care then, it would by hypocrisy to care now....lol
The Rodian good idea
All the others are still up...with this one you shouldn't worry about the BBC, crap as they are.
You need to worry about FOX for this one and you know who just bought them.
I actually liked Sevens death. I liked how random it was. It felt more real. Not everyone has a huge heroes death with a big lead up. especially if you're living a high risk lifestyle anyway. Sometimes shit happens.
Marc Platt's origin story of Gallifrey is incredibly well done. I watched that segment twice. Thanks for making this, because it made a lot of the story make sense.
You're very welcome! Thanks for your kind words as that took the most work out everything. In total, I spent 3/4 days creating that using Photoshop, CGI imaging software and the edit. I'm quite pleased with the result!
I've been looking forward to this for months, so excited to see it finally out! Your reviews have been incredible so far and I find myself constantly revisiting them.
Just a minor correction, the Dimensions in Time 3D glasses weren't the traditional red and blue effect, but rather a different 3D method. One that uses a darker lens over one eye, delaying visual information by a fraction of a second and resulting in two different perspectives being fed to the brain, despite only one being filmed. This was to ensure viewers without the glasses could also enjoy the programme, although for the effect to work the camera needs to constantly be in motion. This lead to the nauseating cinematography of Dimensions in Time. There's a great Tom Scott video explaining this style of 3D.
Nerd
yes the Pulfrich Effect
47:20 - Right on target! I watched this when it first aired and turned to my friend and said, "Blast! They are trying to make him into Spock, who is also half human on his mother's side! Why? Why?"Another thing I did not like was they gave Sylvester McCoy only one line of dialogue.
Heck yeah! it feels like its been ages since I last watched one of these. Really glad you're still doing this!
Thank you for reminding us just how good an actor Paul McGann is!
Me it’s been a while since one these came out
2 seconds later
Neat and it’s an era I am not really familiar with
1) Damn you, sir! Damn your eyes! I came across this series of wonderfully produced videos one night when I couldn't sleep. I then proceeded to sleep even less... In all seriousness, thank you for the time and effort you've put into these.
2) This clip draws a comparison of Masters, so of course Anthony Ainley is mentioned. I'd like to share an anecdote so surreal that you know it must be true:
A friend of mine ended up becoming friends with Mr. Ainley, and told him how much I loved the character of the Master. His initial reaction was apparently - and anxiously - "Me or Delgado?" As much as I love Delgado, he was relieved to hear that my answer was him. It wasn't until a few years later that I got the chance to finally meet him (I was quite young when all this started), and he was so nervous that his hands were shaking. The Master, so afraid of letting some fool fan like ME down that his hands were shaking. Unreal. And every time we crossed paths over that convention weekend, he'd stop what he was doing and come over to chat for a bit.
He was an absolutely wonderful person.
I really like 8, sad to hear how fans treated him initially. I’d love for him to get his own series (preferably with long hair, he looks better with it)
I just love that you used the Eighth Doctor music from the first Big Finish EDA series. They evoke such a wonderful time for me, binge listening from Storm Warning to Neverland and gasping at what might happen next. I was reeled into DW in 2013 with The Bells of St. John, but I dare say my best memories of Doctor Who were with Big Finish’s forays.
Eight is my favorite Doctor, and I simply loved this episode. I was also glad that you went extremely in-depth with the VNA and the EDA books - both housing a style that I hope the New Series would go with the Thirteenth Doctor.
By the time Part 13 is released, you'll be able to start Part 14 and look at Whittaker's entire run with fresh, more objective eyes.
That’s the plan!
I actually feel bad for Jodie. She is a fantastic actress, but she hasn't had any chance to show that in Doctor Who because of the horrible writing
Lol. Good Doctor, bad writing.
@@elijahfordsidioticvarietys8770 No, stop seeng her as the Lady Doctor that must be loved for one to be in the moral right and start seeing her a the luvvie, an avatar of complacent middle class mediocrity.
@@elijahfordsidioticvarietys8770 "I cannot tell the difference between criticism and circlejerking".
Been waiting on this one, that theme song made my heart swell. McGann is currently my favorite doctor and I’m glad someone is talking about the wilderness years
KatesKatering
I started listening to the Big Finish audios a week or two ago, and the eighth doctor immediately became my favorite doctor.
Poly Peptoad I love the big finish stories (despite how little of it I’ve listened to) but I have to admit I really like him from his movie weirdly as well as night of the Doctor
Poly Peptoad that’s me. I started 3 months ago on Spotify. I planned to listen to all the doctors but for now I’m so in love with McGanns Doctor I only listen to his stories. Just finished Dark Eyes 3. Tenth was my favourite for 13 years with both McCoy and Capaldi fighting for that spot for years and years and now McGann came and stole my heart in his first episode. He is brilliant
I can't really rate him as the Doctor thanks to his short tenure. Withnail and I is one of my favourite films of all time though.
@@thursoberwick1948 that’s valid! I’ve seen some of his other stuff too and he’s a great actor but I just have a soft spot for his portrayal of the doctor
They wasted this doctor by giving him only one screen outing back then.
I just discovered Big Finish (American here), and I’m so thrilled at the resurgence of the 6th Doctor thanks to them, seeing as he was the first Doctor I ever saw, back on PBS. He finally has stories worthy of his character, and I already love the Evelyn Smythe character.
I’m looking forward to checking out the 8th Doctor stories too, as the samples in this video are quite enticing.
Brilliant video. This is an era where people assume nothing much happened, but so much was going on in other mediums.
Yes, it is all in the eyes of the beholder, to borrow from Shadespeare, to me one of the greatest writers ever. My suspicion is also that the TV series SLEEPY HOLLOW also became influenced over the American DR:WHO venture. Think of it a strange but highly intelligent man supported by a policewoman/women if you add the last seaseon in the godlike fight against all kinds of creatures.
I am glad the news articles on Speilberg's DW movie project re-surfaced. I remember reading about them before they ended without a trace. Apparently Robin Williams, John Cleese, Donal Sutherland, Harrison Ford, John Hurt, Billy Crystal and Stacy Keach were all in the running to play the Doctor (and I swear I remember Dudley Moore's name being mentioned as well) before Sutherland got the eventual nod to star in the aborted project. Can't help but think of what might have been.
Been waiting so long for this Started watching the second you dropped it these are literally good enough to be broadcast on the BBC it’s only a matter of time before this channel is huge thank you for making these it must take an insane amount of work and it’s so worth it keep it up thanks a lot
You’re very welcome! Thanks for your kind words!
Why stop with BBC, I want to see it broadcasted on German TV !! As far as I observed meanwhile we have our own DR:WHO community
"No one wanted my plum pudding that year" Chilling
Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without one of your plum puddings.
When is a door not a door?
Extremely well done video. The "wilderness years" are exceptionally interesting. There are a lot of Dr. Who documentaries on youtube, and many of them are truly excellent, but your spin on things is unique, fascinating, and genuinely fun to watch.
The boy has only gone and done it again!!!! Phenomenal stuff, true true talent. Salute you Mr. Carrier 👌❤️
I actually do really like the TV movie, I bought it on DVD when I was 8 and couldn't stop watching it! McGann is definitely up there as one of my favourite Doctors.
Been waiting so long for this. Another excellently put together Dr who master piece. Another 5* in my book, you my friend are really good at this and I like the way you have put this and previous videos together. Well worth the wait! Nothing but love :)
Really looking forward to seeing the ninth doctor video
As brilliant and informative as all that came before it. I have vague memories of the movie but only really got into the show when it returned with Eccleston. Seeing how it all began and progressed throughout the years has been wonderful. Can't wait to see the next episode.
The Airzone Solution, The Zero Imperative and Shakedown: Return Of The Sontarans were the first to win my best appreciation for all the Whovian creativity behind the Wilderness Years. Thank you so much for this equally appreciable documentary. 👏🏻
You’re most welcome!
Holy Daleks!!! I thought next for sure was going to the start of the Modern Series retrospective, not THE SHALKA DOCTOR!! I'm very excited and happy by how well thought out and how much effort you put into these and I loved this video on the wilderness years with VNA and the 8th Doctor so much.
Onward to Shalka!!
I never heard of any of this and I was a major Who fan back then. Wowl.
This is TV quality stuff.
So happy that there’s a new video! These are my favourite for gaining Doctor who knowledge!
Okay a few points I like to make:
1. Wonderful, absolutely wonderful installment of your retrospective. It's always enlightening to witness accounts of the Wilderness Years especially since even though I was aware of the series, I never became a fan until 2009 when i moved to the UK from Egypt and lived there for 5 years (even when growing up in the UK in the 80's (born in 81), me and my brother we're busy watching the A-Team on ITV around the same timeslot Dr. Who was airing and i was still too young to be aloud to watch the late night rerun of the series on BBC.), thanks to the internet and buying DWM and some of the classic Who DVDs, I found information about the Wilderness Years most fascinating.
2. Even may fans look down on BBV and its products especially due to questionable actions of its founder Bill Baggs, it still deserves credit for helping keep love of the franchise alive during those years as well as giving us further adventures of the UNIT family including the short lived Elizabeth Shaw as well as giving us the first appearance of the Brigadier's daughter Kate Stewart who would later be used in New Who starting with the Matt Smith era as well as reteaming Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant for The Stranger series. While they're mostly remembered for their low budget films, I think their best work are their audio dramas such as audio version of the previously mentioned The Stranger, their adaptation of the Faction Paradox books and my favorite The Professor And Ace later renamed The Dominie And Alice, which reunited my favorite Tardis team Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred and I thinks the final episode in the Dominie series, Punchline, an early work by future Big Finish writer Robert Shearman (under the name Jeremy Leadbeater) where McCoy's Dominie was trapped by a mysterious force in world modeled after a old school sictom and was quite a meta finale, was a much better note for Classic Who to go out on than the actual final episode of Classic Who.
3. Shame you didn't mention the stage plays Seven Keys to Doomsday and Ultimate Adventure, which the latter started out with Jon Pertwee reprising his role as the Doctor until due to health concerns was replaced by Colin Baker who did the majority of the play's run, which would later be adapted by Big Finish with Colin in the lead and later an adaptation of Seven Keys to Doomsday, the stage play's version of the Doctor Trevor Martin reprising his role.
4. I agree TV Movie is entertaining, but I also agree that the way it killed off the 7th Doctor felt wrong, from what I understand it was mostly due to meddling from the higher ups at the BBC as they still had a very negative opinion of the 7th Doctor's era and wanted him written off as soon as possible. Shame, it could have been handled better in fact SF Debris while reviewing the TV movie gave his own idea of how the story could have been handled and it sounds a lot better.
5. About the half human confusion, one of the comics had the 8th Doctor say he used the damaged chameleon circuit to make himself half human in order to fool the Master. Of course this adds another confusion as to when he did that, Dr. Who RUclipsr CaptainJimiPie just did a video on that subject theorizing that it could have been Seventh Doctor who performed the process and you know what I like this theory as it fixes the half human plot and that it still shows the Seventh Doctor still planning ahead in case the Master wasn't really destroyed after his execution.
6. Evelyn Smythe is wonderful and the 6th Doctor's best companion with Frobisher the alien detective in the body of a penguin from the comics right behind her. (sorry Peri and Mel)
This is great. I love your attention to detail, so many things that I, as a fan older than you, completely missed. I salute you, sir!
This is ongoing? YES! This is what got me into Doctor who to begin with so I am truly happy that as I go along watching these doctors I can watch one of these each time I complete a Doctor
Fantastic work Richard! I'm a huge Dr Who fan but I must admit my knowledge of the wilderness years was limited. That's partially because I never liked the 8th Doctors one and only outing in the TV movie, so I never bothered to look into what happened behind the scenes during those times. However this entry in your series gave me not only a better knowledge of the wilderness years but also a new appreciation for McGann's Doctor. I'm inspired to check out some of the Big Finish stuff, and have just signed up with them to begin that journey.
Truly, this is your best work yet. It was sometimes painful to have to wait these 7 months, but I can say it was worth the wait. Can't wait to see the next one. Keep up the stellar work, good sir!
Thanks so much! Hope you enjoy your Big Finish journey!
If your previous Doctor Who reviews are anything to go by, this is going to be excellent, and nothing less. Your research and hardwork are very much appreciated.
As someone who has been fortunate never to watch an episode of EastEnders, I actually quite enjoy Dimensions in Time, even if it is just to see all my favourite characters on screen. Another well-written analysis of the show's darkest period and slow revival. You sir, have a talent for crafting a narrative through facts and evidence, shown through this visual media.
"darkest period"
*laughs in Chris Chibnall*
What? Sometimes, dreadful retconning Doctor Who is worse than hibernating Doctor Who.
@@NebLleb Man, is it ever. I actually yearn for even the Cartmel Master Plan as an alternative to what Chibnall saddled the series with, and what RTD refuses to abolish from canon.
I adore Paul McGann in the role of the Doctor. He's always been in my personal top 5, usually top 3 after Christopher Eccleston and before Tom Baker. I've never been happy about the lack of role for him in NewWho, rights snarl notwithstanding. I'd hoped he'd get a part in the 50th when it turned out Chris Eccleston wasn't going to be in it, but instead they created the War Doctor. A pity.
As always an amazing & in-depth review. Definitely worth the wait.
Man I've been waiting for this since your last part! Love your stuff!
The best Doctor Who RUclipsr has returned at last! One quick question: Will your reviews for 10 and up be in HD?
X-D
Ah come on now he doesnt even monetise his videos but they are still brilliant, cut him some slack
@@nathanbreen5535 I was just asking, you know it's no harder to edit and make a video in 1080p than to make it in 480p and since the latter 10th Doctor episodes are in HD it would be nice to see them in higher quality, plus RUclips compresses Full HD better (giving it a higher bitrate) thus making the video less blocky and improving the sound quality. No need to come off as rude just asking a question.
I honestly haven't noticed it wasn't in HD till I read your comment.
I will look into it for 11 and 12 as they are the only ones I gave on Blu-Ray but I don’t think my software will be able to handle it as it’s a bit old!
Just want to say that I stumbled across these videos and hope you will continue them for the modern doctors. I loved this actor and was sorry.that it did not successfully reboot the show. These are superb videos that you have created. I am eager to see other videos. You have shed much new light on my beloved series
Thanks so much! I shall, indeed, be continuing. I hope you enjoy the rest of the series!
I like "doctor in distress". Some highlights are: When the black chick yells "Where's the Doctor? OVER THERE?!" and also Colin just openly drinking a beer near the end... just not giving a shit...
God those redesigned Cybermen were awesome. The Dark Dimension could have really been something clever.
Thought I would just take a taste of the first five minutes and save the rest for leisure...
...damn, some mysterious force is interfering with the flow of time.
Wowza, welcome back!
Your research and narrative skill are extraordinary. Thank you.
Now call me psychic, but I think our narrator doesn't like Dimensions in Time very much. I just wish he'd come off the fence and tell us what he really thinks. 😆 All that said, the pairing of Mel with the Third Doctor was an intriguing match. I would love to have seen more of that.
1:04:06 - I always remember that Doctor Who Vodaphone advert rather fondly because I was a student in Liverpool at the time it was filmed (you can see Liverpool Cathedral tower in the background of the shot as Pertwee looks at his watch) and used to walk down Pilgrim Street, where it was filmed, most days. The garage doors emblazoned with the words: "Doctor on Call 24 Hrs. Keep Clear" were a familiar sight and the idea that The Doctor lived there was both a heartwarming and (after Pertwee's death) melancholy thought.
The depth to which you research and the talent with which you present is remarkable. I really thought I knew so much about the making of the TV movie and the start of Big Finish, but I learned sooooo much from this video. You and your videos are so essential to any Whovian's enjoyment of the series. Thanks for all that you do!
You're very welcome! Thank you for you lovely feedback!
35:51 Okay, if anything is going to convince you McGann was a great choice for the Doctor it's this.
In this screen test, he's playing the character exactly the way he does in the movie, and in Big Finish today. That tells me he went into this with a rock solid idea of who his Doctor is and how he was determined to play him. That's not something ever actor who took the role can say.
I love the 5th Doctor, but as you covered, Davidson admitted never nailing his incarnation until it was time to leave, and that lack of confidence does show in some stories, (but is not present in Big Finish now he knows who his Doctor is imho)
It feels like McGann had it crystallised, ready to go before he even laid eyes on a script. Give him a round of applause everyone.
Well it’s about time
And space to be specific
Say what you want about the TV movie but Paul Mcgann is one of the best actors to ever play the Doctor.
He got less of a run than Colin Baker sadly. Colin at the least has a series but McGann only got a film and a mini episode
Yup agreed!The 8th has always been one of my faves!love his audio series,they are awesome and he has many funny parts....2 examples- 1)WE HAVE COME TO HELP,FISH & CHIPS FOR ALL!!!
2)AND WILL U TELL UR CAMEL TO STOP STARING AT ME LIKE THAT?!
Brilliant...
I’d love to see at least a couple of the Paul McCann Big Finish stories made into episodes, especially “The Chimes of Midnight”, which is probably one of my favourite stories in general
Say what you want about the movie, McGann played the role very well. I was glad to see he wasn't completely brushed aside, and got to reprise his role in a few specials and the Big Finish radio dramas. Also, loved his performance in the Assembly Cut of Alien 3.
He is really good