This document was slapped together by me, and greatly amended by information/insights/ramblings of Shannon Patrick Sullivan (many thanks go to him for his fine work). Also thanks to Gregg Allinson for some tidbits of information.
Please provide any updates/corrections/important items to me so that we can keep this thing current. Thanks.
Siobahn (Shabang) Morgan And in case you are worrying about reading something that you would rather not read - such as details about the plot - rest assured, these are not included here. Only cast and crew member details are given as well as general location shooting. If you think that is too much information, just stop reading this darn thing!
1. Is the Doctor returning?
Yes. The two-hour film for television is a major co-production between BBC Worldwide - the commercial arm of the BBC, and Universal Television. "Doctor Who" is produced in Canada by Universal Productions Canada for distribution by BBC Worldwide and MCA Television Ltd. It will be broadcast on the Fox Network in the United States and BBC-1 in the UK in May.
There does seem to be every effort to keep the film in the spirit of the BBC, with the use of a British actor for the role of the Doctor and Sylvester McCoy regenerating. (Technically speaking, McCoy's appearance in order to regenerate the Doctor makes him the longest-serving actor to play the role, at eight and a half years.)
The director is Geoff Sax, who is British. The companion will be a medical doctor. The movie was filmed in Vancouver with second unit shooting in San Francisco. The second movie (if there is one) will be set in space. The budget for the production is approximately $5 million, above the normal budget for tv movies.
2. Who will be playing the new Doctor?
Paul McGann has been cast in the starring role of The Doctor. Sylvester McCoy will also appear briefly in the film for the all important regeneration scene.
3. What other roles has Paul McGann had?
Born in Liverpool England, 1959
Note: the titles that start with a quote (") are TV series
PAUL MCGANN WAS NOT IN "John and Yoko: A Love Story (1985) (TV)" his brother Mark had this role
4. What about other cast members?
The Doctor will have one companion, a physician named Dr. Grace Holloway (played by Daphne Ashbrook). Dr. Holloway is a San Francisco heart surgeon.
The Doctor's old enemy, the Master will also be in this production. The role of the Master will be taken up by Eric Roberts, an Oscar and Golden Globe Nominee, most notable for his role in "Runaway Train".
A complete cast list can be found here.
5. Who is responsible for bringing back Doctor Who?
In 1993, Philip Segal, a British producer working for Amblin Entertainment in the United States, personally purchased the rights for "Doctor Who" for a five-year period. Segal has helped create shows like "seaQuest DSV" (which he admits to being disappointed with) and "Earth 2".
6. When will the movie air? When will the video be released?
Canada, USA and UK: If you weren't paying attention, you have already missed it!
Australia: Looks like a July 7 date on ABC. More later.
VIDEO: The video is only currently available in the UK.
7. Are there any images of the new movie available on-line?
Of course there are - here are some WWW sites with images, sound bites (bytes) and short movies
And of course the FOX web site here
(Netscape 2.0 only) And if you have seen the movie and would like to voice your opinion about it, you can vote here
All of these sites are linked from my own Doctor Who homepage here
8. Hey, is anyone throwing a Movie Premiere Party?
To find out, you may have to regularly check rec.arts.drwho, or check the web site
The Doctor Who Movie Party Registry
9. What will happen to the "New Adventures" now?
The following was sent to me concerning the future of the "New Adventures"
"According to Andy Lane (*an author of several of the books*), Virgin is well aware of the forthcoming TV movie, and have spent a lot of time considering how, if at all, they should respond to it - given whatever copyright constraints may exist."
- from Andy Lane, via Gregg Allinson, Jan. 21, 1996
So what does all of this mean? No one knows or can say for sure. There are several obvious options -- feature the adventures of the Eighth Doctor in the NAs while relegating the Seventh Doctor to the "Missing Adventures"; ignoring the telefilm and continuing with the status quo; or something completely different. Indeed, there are no guarantees Virgin will even receive the license to produce Eighth Doctor novels.
10. How can we tell the people in charge that we want more?
(thanks to William Taylor for this info)
If you would like to write to FOX about getting more Doctor Who, here
is their address
FOX Broadcasting Company
PO Box 900
Beverly Hills CA 90213-900
You can reach the internet address by accessing here.
You may also want to send letters to various executives, and others
involved in the project with a word of thanks and possible encouragement
for more. These include:
Trevor Walton
Movies for TV, FOX Network
10201 W. Pico Blvd
Los Angeles CA 90035
Tom Thayer
President Universal Television
Building 500
100 Universal City Plaza
Universal City CA 91608
Dr. John Thomas, Managing Director
BBC Worldwide Television
Woodlands
80 Wood Lane
London W12 OTT
UK
11. How about a novelization of the film?
As is so often the case with these types of projects, there will be
the release of a novelization of the tv movie in early May.
The book is "Doctor Who - Novel of the Film" by Gary Russell,
192 pages + 8 pages of colour photos. 3.99 Pounds
ISBN 0 563 38000 4
Also being published is "Doctor Who - The Script, with an introduction
by Philip Segal", same release date, 160 pages + 8 pages of colour
photos. 5.99 Pounds.
ISBN 0 563 40499 X
While this information is only given for the british book release, there will probably be more information for american book releases.
12. When will we know more?
About the only things left to find out now is whether there will be a video released in the U.S. and whether there will actually be a series coming out of the movie. Stay tuned!