Sarah -
Welcome to the Sofa of Reasonable Comfort, Old Boy! Have you been looking forward to this as long as I have?
Harry -
I have watched the opening minute of "The Curse of Fatal Death" countless times in the lead up to this. It's great that we could watch the whole thing again.
After the attempt at re-launching Doctor Who with Paul McGann fizzled, we were back to the wilderness years. BBC Books and Big Finish audios were cranking out content for diehard Whovians, but the show would remain absent from the small screen for the remainder of the 90s and into the 00s. We had to settle for this quirky adventure to fill the void. And how quirky was it?
Sarah -
I was given a VHS copy as a birthday gift and watched it over and over. It felt like this was the only Doctor Who we were ever going to get -- the end of televised Doctor Who.
Harry -
It would have been a great way to go out. An all star cast of Doctors goes on a merry romp against the Daleks and the Master. Jonathan Pryce's Master managed to be campier than Anthony Ainley's -- no easy task!
Sarah -
I adore Pryce's Master! He's clearly having the time of his life. As is Rowan Atkinson as the Doctor.
Harry -
Atkinson played the Doctor as a low-key, BlackAddery type and it was perfect.
Sarah -
And there's that up-and-coming writer bloke, S. Moffat. In the bonus material, he's clearly delighted by this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to write Doctor Who.
Harry -
It's amazing that he took his once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and produced a female Doctor. Joanna Lumley is a brilliant Doctor. I don't care how many barking fanboys moan about it, I'd love to see a female Doctor next.
Sarah -
It almost feels inevitable. The barkers will be angry no matter what, so we can just trundle on without consulting them.
Harry -
Aye. Lumley's sassy appearance followed the two handsome Doctors named Grant, and the shy Doctor. Jim Broadbent always manages to create so much out of so little. I love it whenever he shows up in a supporting role.
Sarah -
Jim Broadbent is one of my favorite actors. He's wonderful in everything -- including this! And let's not forget the love Julia Sawalha as Emma, the only companion the Doctor's ever "had." I'll point out that Moffat, who will go on to give us River Song, is the first Doctor Who TV writer to suggest a proper romance in the TARDIS. He also gives Emma the line, "Never cruel, never cowardly," to eulogize the Doctor -- a line we'll hear again in "The Day of the Doctor". Nothing like stealing from yourself!
Harry -
It was "an homage", surely!
Sarah -
But of course!
Harry -
As for the story, you can see the first signs of Moffat's intricate plotting, in the way the Doctor and the Master lay multiple traps for one another by going further and further back in time. And then, knowing that this might be his only opportunity to write Doctor Who for TV, Moffat fills the rest of the story with toilet humour. It's bonkers and fun.
Sarah -
It was a delightful gift to wilderness-era Whovians everywhere!
Harry -
I wonder how much this production influenced the BBC's decision to finally end the wilderness era, just a few years later.
Sarah -
I have to say I've enjoyed our little two-month wilderness era significantly more than the original sixteen-year version.
Harry -
The condensed version was so much better, and with way less youthful angst to work through. Once was enough for that. But I'm glad we made these side trips to appreciate how much the show still meant to so many people after it went off the air. RTD must have been chomping at the bit to revive the show after seeing this.
Sarah -
We could never have imagined where we'd be today. It's a whole new world for Doctor Who and I can't wait to revisit the start. Are you ready, Old Boy?
Harry -
I can't believe what we're about to watch next!
Our marathon continues with Story #157: Rose...
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