Random Movie Review - Doctor Who (1996 film)

So seeing as people are talking about the new Doctor Jodie Whittaker, I decided to review another thing from the classic era of the show and that's the film. With the film's release, we saw Sylvester McCoy regenerate into Paul McGann and what the original plan was for the film to act as a pilot for a new series of the show which would be largely American based. However due to various problems, this never happened and along with The Night of the Doctor, those two on screen events were the only time McGann would play the role physically while doing a number of radio plays for the rest of the time. So with all that in mind, let's see how this film played out:

So the film begins with the Master (played by Eric Roberts) being executed and put on trial by the Daleks. While transporting his remains, something happens to the Tardis which causes the Doctor (7th incarnation, reprised by McCoy) to make an emergency landing in San Francisco on 30th December 1999. There, he gets shot by some gangsters and is rushed to hospital as the regeneration process begins. Meanwhile, the ooze from the Master's body, takes the form of a ambulance driver, thus giving the Master a new body and a means to take over the world, forcing a new an amnesiac Doctor to find a companion and stop him once again.

So while the film does well to keep in continuity of the series, the timing of which it is released is bad as it came out just days before Jon Pertwee (the third doctor) died. Having said that, its actually pretty decent. Sure the plot sounds very familiar and it may upset fans with its Americanisation, but the actors play their parts well and at the time, it gave us a new idea of a time lord regeneration if any. 7/10