Review of the Eighth Doctor’s era

Given that my first DVD review for the blog was of The Movie, a lot of what I have to say about this particular story has already been said. However, here it is my intention to focus less on the plot and more on the characterization of the Doctor and the production context of the piece, to be consistent with my other commentaries on the various Doctors’ eras.

First off, I love that even though it was primarily an American production, those involved did everything possible to maintain continuity with the pre-Hiatus series. In no particular order, these ties include the Seal of Rassilon throughout the TARDIS (as seen during the eras of Four, Five, and Seven, at least); the use of jelly babies (Four); the Doctor reading Wells’ The Time Machine (he met Wells as Six); the pseudonym John Smith (Two, Three); the appearance of a long, striped scarf while Eight is finding clothes (Four); a classic first reaction to the TARDIS’ dimensional transcendence (everyone); the need to give the TARDIS console a bit of a konk to make it behave (many Doctors); and, most importantly, the regeneration from Seven (which actually doesn’t come until ~20 minutes in).

Sure, there are plenty of things that don’t quite sit right. But that’s going to happen when there are so many fingers in the pie, and some of those fingers are trying to stir up a more “American” flavor (a “car” chase? in Who? hmmm…). I could point out plot inconsistencies (like why would there be a tour of the operating arena at 10pm?), but that’s kind of below the belt. All eras of Who have that; you just have to ignore it.

What I do find particularly intriguing about Eight’s character here – and who knows where this would have gone if the show had been picked up as a regular series by FOX – is the fact that he seems to have more temporal awareness of individuals’ time streams than in any other Regeneration. As she heads off to get a syringe to take a blood sample, the Doctor tells his not-yet-Companion, “Don’t be sad, Grace. You’ll do great things,” and before they part ways he tries to forewarn her of something else.

She’s not the only one to benefit from this new temporal sensitivity, though. Gareth, a guard at the Institute for Technological Advancement and Research, is cautioned about how to pass an exam, and quasi-Companion Chang Lee is told “just don’t be here” the following Christmas. These can both be brushed aside if one feels so inclined, as Gareth is stated to be the future inventor of an earthquake-detection device (and thus would obviously be a “name” from history) and a major event in San Francisco on Christmas 2000 could also easily be well known to the Doctor from his travels. However, I prefer to think of it as a new twist on his persona; somehow, he can sense threads of people’s futures. I think it’s a fascinating concept that never got explored – one of the many sad things about his nigh-non-existent televised run…

Eight’s on-screen time was exceptionally short (about 70 minutes). However, he’s gone on to be rather prolific in other media. I’ve only been covering television, though, so for these purposes he only had one (two, sort of) Companions. Here they are:

• Dr. Grace Holloway
• Chang Lee

Grace herself is kind of a transitional state toward a new breed of Companion. Ace certainly paved the way for the likes of Rose, but Grace did her part, too. No one else has ever countered the Doctor’s invitation with “you come with me!” Nor had anyone before actually kissed the Doctor. On the lips! Dear god, NO! Looking back, we can almost laugh at the fan reaction to The Kiss (or three, if you count carefully), given that just about every female Companion since (and at least one male) has locked lips with one Regeneration or another – not to mention the fact that all three kisses are extraordinarily chaste. It really upset people at the time, though (some of these same fans also hate that part of post-Hiatus Who). It wasn’t how Doctor Who was done! Yet.

And that’s really the crux of it. Love it or hate it, The Movie is a perfect intermediate step between the two eras on either side of the Hiatus. It worked really hard to maintain continuity with the pre-Hiatus stories, but set the stage for some of the stylistic changes that came with the post-Hiatus revival. And it’s still really all about a mad man in a box – that curious Time Lord and his “sentimental old” TARDIS.

Summary
Eight’s era is a bit odd to define, as he was the “current” Doctor from 1996 until 2005, when the show was relaunched in its current incarnation. In broadcast form, it was gone almost before it arrived (how timey-wimey). However, it put new life back into the fanbase, with the hope that the show was not completely dead (as it never really was, with all the other media – but in this case I mean never-to-return-to-the-screen dead). More comics, novels, and audio adventures followed, making Eight the most storied Doctor of them all. Most importantly of all, to my mind, is how it bridged the 16-year gap of the Hiatus and took a unique place in Whovian history, a sort of “missing link” between its early and late phases. For that alone, I love it.