C+Q - The TV Movie (1996)

Given that I was born the year this film came out and therefore wasn't betting the revival of my favourite show on it being good when I first saw it, I personally think the 1996 TV Movie is fine if a little silly. At the time it was largely hated due to its continuity errors, and those are certainly obvious. Firstly, the voices of the Daleks heard in the opening sequence are all high-pitched and ridiculous. Secondly, according to this movie, the Doctor is half-human on his mother's side. My headcanon is that the Doctor used the chameleon arch to become half-human temporarily while he was escorting the Master's remains back to Gallifrey so he could go undetected while on such a dangerous mission. This might also be one of the reasons why his regeneration was so difficult and took so long to kick-in after he was shot by the street gang and operated on by a bunch of humans who didn't understand Time Lord anatomy (which, by the way, is one of the most gory and traumatic scenes that Doctor Who has ever produced). Thirdly, the logic of the plot is a bit shaky, especially the ending when time rewinds. However, the whole plot of the movie revolves around the TARDIS's connection to the eye of harmony being opened, causing massive damage to reality around it to the point that the Doctor to pass straight through solid matter. Anything that doesn't quite add up in the plot can be put down to the eye causing the universe to go a bit wibbly. I've always said that Doctor Who has no canon and that if you're believer in the idea that it does or should, you have to do a lot of work on your own to make it all work properly (like reconciling the show's three conflicting interpretations of Atlantis, or in what years all the UNIT stories are supposed to take place). Never has that been more true here.

The direction of Geoffrey Sax and the high production values (they built the massive new TARDIS with the intention of using it as a standing set for years and years to come) all look great and help to create a more serious gothic atmosphere that works really well and continues the tone established by the Virgin New Adventures (which later went on to feature stories with the Eighth Doctor). The music is also superb, with a wonderful new orchestral arrangement of the iconic theme. It's a shame McGann didn't get to star in any more episodes if only so we could see more of his TARDIS and hear more of his theme.

McGann himself is a brilliant Doctor and despite his underuse on TV, he continues to this day to have a long and eventful career on Big Finish (and I would urge anyone who hasn't yet done so to listen to the Eighth Doctor's audio adventures) (SO MANY BRACKETS!). From the moment he first appears, McGann comes into the role fully formed. There was never any doubt in my mind that this man was the Doctor. Even in scenes where he's lost his memory, he still manages to carry himself with the confidence and wisdom of 900 years, and in the 70 minutes he spends on screen he effortlessly creates his own distinct version of the character. When compared to his predecessors, the Eighth Doctor could be described as a young First Doctor, right down to the costume and hairdo. Despite having a very old style to him, Eight is very clearly the first step towards the character's 21st century portrayal, most notably when he takes part in a motorbike chase and (controversially for the time) became the first Doctor to kiss a companion.

It's a shame we never got to see more of Grace Holloway and Chang Lee as they have great recurring companion potential. Grace especially is a well thought out and intelligent character, and it would have been nice to see her as a series regular. The villain of the movie is the Master, played here by Eric Roberts. He might not be Michelle Gomez or Roger Delgado, but Eric Roberts does have a threatening presence and he injects a lot of energy into the film. At least he has more subtlety to him than John Simm, who in The End of Time became a comic book supervillain who could shoot lasers and fly. Incidentally, you know it's the 90s when the Master responds to the exclamation of "No way!" with "Yes way." That's the 1996 equivalent of that one time Missy did a dab.

The Doctor Who TV Movie is an odd bridging chapter between the old and new eras of the show but it's overall a welcome addition to the series and a bizarre window into what the show could have been like had it returned to our screens earlier.