DOCTOR WHO
A film review by Chris Casino
*** out of **** (worthwhile)
Directed by Geoffrey Sax, written by Matthew Jacobs, Produced by Peter V. Ware, Co-Producers Matthew Jacobs and Alex Beaton. Executive producer: Phillip David Segal.
Cast: Paul McGann (Doctor #8), Eric Roberts (the Master), Daphne Ashbrook (Dr. Grace Holloway), Yee Jee Tso (Chang Lee), Sylvester McCoy (Doctor #7).
"He's back, and it's about time." was the motto for this television series pilot (I call it a pilot, I don't care what FOX network says) revival of the cult classic British TV show, DOCTOR WHO, that spawned no series, which means there are no smart network execs out there (not exactly news to a lot of people, I know). The motto was well chosen.
The series was simple, it was about this Time Lord scientist called the Doctor with thirteen lives who traveled around in a type forty spaceship called a TARDIS outsmarting all kind of alien baddies, including the evil Daleks, and the Master, who appears in this feature, played very badly by Eric Roberts.
As good as this revival was, there is something missing from it to make sure it was really DOCTOR WHO. Is it the acting?
Hell, no!
Paul McGann is just as good as any of the other seven guys who've played the Doctor (including his predecessor and off-screen friend Sylvester McCoy, who appears once more for the regeneration scene). He looks right for the role, is a brilliant actor, and slips effortlessly into the role, the way my two favorites Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker would. Daphne Ashbrook brings class to her role as Dr. Grace Holloway, the Doctor's first companion that he kisses on screen, she is not your typical female companion who screams, and spends her free time making coffee for the Doctor, she is a tough, spunky American, and Ashbrook shows this well. Young Yee Jee Tso shows promise as Chang Lee, and I've seen him in other stuff in which he usually plays the punk kid who dies at the end (this film included), which, IMHO, wastes his talent.
The only problem with the acting is Eric Roberts. One time he had to say to McGann's Doctor,"I always dress for the occasion." But he broke it up, and said it so slowly that it wounded up sounding like a song lyric,"I always... Dress... For the occasion." You need an actor less slow and less reliant on moving his hands to act, and who's also British, like McGann is as the Doctor. Executive producer Phil Segal said he was casted because FOX insisted on having one American star in the role. I dunno who thought of casting him, but if they're reading this: NEWS FLASH: Eric Roberts is *not* a star! He rides on his sister's coattails, and any hit movie he makes has nothing to do with him.
Is this problem the kisses to the past?
No.
They have references to the show so subtle that non fans would not notice them, only Whovians would, and they're good.
Is it the script or the movie as a whole?
No.
The script is a classy piece of work, featuring a Master who can spit slime out of his mouth and nice dialogue, and the movie as a whole is one fans will love, and it is a good stand alone viewing for nonfans to enjoy the series.
So what is it?
Simple: No plot. The Master, on his last legs, sends for the Doctor to rescue him after the Daleks put him on trial on their planet Skaro and exterminate him. The Doctor attempts to take his remains back to Gallifrey, but they accidentally land in San Francisco, 1999, December 31, where the Master, with young street hood Chang Lee's help, opens the Eye of Harmony, which will suck the Earth through it at midnight if the Doctor, with the help of female surgeon, Dr. Grace Holloway, doesn't close it by then. Virtually no plot.
I was told the movie would've featured the Daleks on screen and started with more of a courtroom drama between the Master and the Daleks, but a lot of rewriting went on on the set. That shows how smart people are, as it would have made the movie a hell of a lot more interesting, and that would've gotten a four star rating out of me.
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