Doctor Who - The Movie - Blu-ray

Movie: Doctor Who is cult! Not just in the UK, where the Time Lord has now been seen in various incarnations for 53 years. His adventures have been followed with steady enthusiasm for generations. In Germany or America, on the other hand, the Doctor was completely unknown until a few years ago. This slowly changed with the revival of the series in 2005 after a break of almost 16 years. With the mixture of old charm, modern effects, a lot of humour, suspense and speed, the series also became a cult abroad with the appearance of David Tennant as the tenth Doctor. The series is still far from the success it enjoyed in its home country or in the USA. But here, too, there has long been a loyal fan base that looks forward to each new adventure of the Doctor.

So it is a great pleasure that also the fans in this country are given the opportunity to get to know the phenomenon Doctor Who in all its facets. Following various releases of early episodes prior to the revival of the series, the TV movie made during the 16-year hiatus is now being released. In this one-off guest appearance by the Eighth Doctor, Paul McGann, the Master has seemingly been destroyed. Now it's up to the Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) to bring the remains of his nemesis back to his home planet of Gallifrey. But complications arise during the mission and the TARDIS is forced to make an emergency landing on Earth in the year 1999. Here, the Doctor is not only gunned down by a street gang shortly after his arrival. The Master also manages to take possession of a new body (Eric Roberts). With the help of the doctor Grace Holloway (Daphne Ashbrook), the Doctor must now try in his new incarnation (Paul McGann) to find the Master and stop his diabolical plan, which could not only threaten the entire human race.

The origin story behind this TV movie is much more interesting than this attempt to keep a myth alive. The British-American co-production is a product of its time in every way. Especially when it comes to the special effects, which were very obviously created in the wake of what James Cameron had envisioned in the digital effects department with Terminator 2 and The Abyss. This was supposed to make the adventures of the Time Lord seem a bit more modern and appeal to a new audience. But unfortunately, a lot of charm was lost as a result, which is why the experiment ultimately failed.

There are many reasons why the Doctor Who TV movie could not really be called a success. But there are just as many reasons why it is so much fun to watch precisely because of its high trash factor. While at first glance it may lack the typical Doctor Who feel, the film and straight one lead character does possess much of what made the previous incarnations of the Doctor so popular. Paul McGann is a little over the top, but he still gets the essence of the Time Lord across very well. Eric Roberts plays delightfully over the top, which is really great fun in some scenes. And the story itself is so abstruse that it's just this that keeps you extremely entertained.

If there's one thing the TV movie shows, it's that Doctor Who can't be Americanized. The series is a quintessentially British product, which is why some scenes in the film seem arguably tried and just don't quite want to work. Still, this brief guest appearance by Paul McGann as the Doctor is entertaining and a must-see for fans of the series anyway!

Picture + Sound: For a 21 year old TV production, you should expect some minor flaws. However, they are kept within pleasant limits here. The picture, which is in the classic 4:3 TV format, shows a coherent colour scheme and decent image sharpness, but also reveals some minor dirt and, especially in the darker scenes, slight picture noise. The sound is a rather unspectacular DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mix, which at least transports the dialogue very powerfully and well understandable from the speakers. The sound effects, on the other hand, seem a little powerless and too centrally mixed, at least in the German version. Nevertheless: for a rather aged TV movie, the final result is still absolutely satisfactory.

Extras: The film may not be one of the series' stellar moments. Still, the disc is worth purchasing for the great bonus material alone. There are two very good audio commentaries on the main film. The first is narrated by director Geoffrey Sax, who has some interesting anecdotes to tell about the making of the film - even if there are occasional long pauses in the narrative flow. The second commentary pairs Seventh Doctor Sylvester McCoy with Eighth Doctor Paul McGann. This chirpy conversation is moderated by Nicholas Briggs.

In addition to the two commentaries, there are also plenty of video extras. Starting things off is an Easter Egg recorded especially for the German release, which is relatively easy to find. An info text about the film, isolated music tracks, special effects clips and trailers are part of the standard program. Really worth seeing, however, are the featurettes. Kicking things off here is an entertaining conversation titled The Doctor's Strange Love (approx. 17:13 min.) Here, writers Joe Lidster and Simon Guerrier chat with comedian Josie Long about their love for the film, as well as all of its strengths and weaknesses. The Night of the Doctor (approx. 6:51 min.) is a mini-episode celebrating the 50th anniversary of the series, where Paul McGann got to step into that unique role once again. Absolutely interesting is the documentary The Seven Year Interruption (approx. 53:55 min.), which traces in detail the difficult road from the final season to the film. In addition to clips of Paul McGann's audition (7:40 mins), promotional material from the Electronic Press Kit for the film (approx. 15:25 mins) and footage from the filming (approx. 4:49 mins), viewers are also treated to a brief tour of the TARDIS (approx. 2:36 mins), two alternate takes (approx. 1:06 mins) and BBC trailers.

Continue with a special edition of the British children's show Blue Peter about the important relationship between the show and Doctor Who (approx. 26:46 mins). It focuses on the years from 1989 to 2009. Another documentary shows how fans could sweeten the dry spell until the comeback in 2005 with novels, magazines or comics (approx. 23:33 min.) The comics are then discussed in more detail in another featurette (approx. 19:49 min.). And finally, there's a brief look at how the film was received in the British news (approx. 10:51 mins). On top of that, there's a beautifully designed booklet! So for fans, there really is a lot on offer there!

Conclusion: Doctor Who is cult - and not just since the successful revival in 2005. Already since 1963, the Doctor in various incarnations thrilled his fans. But there was indeed a time when the end of the series seemed to have come. It was during this very period that the TV movie that would mark Paul McGann's brief guest appearance as the eighth Doctor was released. The Blu-ray presents this fantasy adventure in good picture and sound quality. But the real selling point is once again the excellent extras, which not only provide a behind-the-scenes look at the film, but also offer an in-depth look at this chapter of the Doctor Who mythos. And for that there is a deserved: absolutely recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp