jason stives reacts to the news of a possible Doctor Who movie as proposed by director David Yates …
As the resident Whovian of Pop-Break, I felt a need to discuss the recent announcement of a Doctor Who movie. Many media outlets have covered it in the past 12 hours: Four-time Harry Potter director David Yates said in an interview with variety that he’ll be helming a film adaptation of the popular British television series. The general consensus of outrage among Who fans runs through my geek veins and no doubt has confused and surprised my system since I read said article. However, in retrospect, something tells me this could be one of the best things to happen to the longest-running science-fiction series in the world — or as history as shown already, one of the worst.
For those unaware of the article, Yates explained that after directing the past four Potter films (and most successful ones), he wishes to move on to another British institute in hopes of generating the best amount of interest in a potential franchise. This franchise is Doctor Who, and while it seems blasphemous to think, this has been something that film studios and the BBC alike have been trying to get done for years.
Dating back to the mid-’60s, there have been numerous attempts to bring the 900-year-old Time Lord to the big screen, and time and again, it has proved far more difficult than it should. Yes, I am aware of the two Dalek films of the ’60s, Doctor Who & the Daleks and The Daleks’ Invasion Of Earth 2150AD starring Peter Cushing (Grand Moff Tarkin in the original Star Wars). While those are fun for what they represent of the show’s popularity at the time, they aren’t direct connections to the show outside of character names, story (both are loose adaptations of the first two televised Dalek stories) and the Daleks themselves.
Outside of the 1996 TV movie (which I will get to in a bit) the idea of a Doctor Who film has been in heavy states of limbo, ranging from a film that would be directed by Leonard Nimoy and starring Donald Sutherland to one to be directed back in 2003 by Resident Evil director Paul WS Anderson. None of these ideas came to fruition, and depending on who you talk to, it was probably for the better. This isn’t to say the idea wouldn’t have worked since prior to 2005, there was no regular Doctor Who on screen, but with the revived series going strong, the idea of a film reboot seems like a terrible undertaking.
This announcement also comes at a time when director Bryan Singer has announced a plan to a do a film reboot of Battlestar Galactica, merely a few years after the successful television reboot went off the air. While the contents of that project still remain in limbo, the idea still applies to this Doctor Who reboot, especially since that by the time said project were to get underway (if at all), the show could very well be still on the air, conflicting greatly with the show. It could be quite frustrating to reboot something that is still fresh in people’s minds, especially if they are just discovering the TV show only to have a film version come about at the exact same time.
So why isn’t this upsetting as much as one would assume? Because a film reboot of Doctor Who could easily open it up to a wider audience. IO9.com posted a wonderful article about why a film version of Doctor Who would be amazing, and the one thing that I agreed with the most was the notion that as a fan you don’t want Doctor Who to be just for fans. You want it to be for everyone. On one end, yes, having something that you know you personally love is a great feeling — it’s your thing. However, in recent years, because of its popularity since its relaunch, Doctor Who is now hitting the United States with a vengeance and is generating much interest, which excites me. In college, I got my roommates into the show and recently my girlfriend, and to have people be on the same page as you with a show you adore is a great feeling.
I have been watching Doctor Who now for 15 years, working off a healthy regiment of the classic series and then the new series. It’s great to be a fan, and I believe it is a show with endless possibilities, but it’s also nice to share it with others. It’s always nice to have someone to talk to about your favorite TV show, and with science fiction in a heavy state of interest at the moment, why not retool one of the crown jewels of sci-fi folklore, albeit as long as it is done with style and respect to the original series.
The biggest fear that probably resonates most is the worries that Hollywood will bastardize the show for an American market and take the British out of the show. But at the same time, making something exclusively for the fans doesn’t succeed in breaking it to a new audience. I bring to exhibit A for that belief — the ill fated 1996 Doctor Who TV movie which aired on Fox starring Paul McGann as the Doctor and Eric Roberts as the Master. It was criticized by fans and performed poorly here in the United States, and part of its problem is it wasn’t accessible to a new audience.
While I don’t damn the TV movie as much as some, they made it too fan oriented so any casual viewer coming into it fresh would be greatly confused. You don’t need the fodder of cannon for people to understand the notion of an alien Time Traveler traveling the universe in an old wooden box. Keeping the simple ideas in mind of him being an alien, the TARDIS, the name, and the ability to regenerate along with some other odds and ends from the show’s folklore, Doctor Who can be easily accessible as long as it isn’t turned into a giant action film. While the end of the current series fought to restore the mystery the show once coveted, a movie reboot with fresh ideas can do even more to the mythology for new fans. It would allow continuity to be thrown to the wind, something I love but feel has become a burden in recent years, making it far more difficult for new viewers to join in without having to familiarize themselves beforehand.
It’s also important to point out that no official statement has been made by the BBC, so this could all just be Chinese whispers and hopeful thinking on the part of Mr. Yates. Also, with the notion that they want to take two to three years to get it right before they move forward, anything can happen within that time, and the project could easily be swept under the rug. I hope this isn’t the case because it’s not like we are dealing with a Michael Bay or Brett Ratner at the helm (I had to get the Ratner joke out of the way while it’s still hot). We are dealing with a guy who was responsible for four films of one of the most successful franchises of all time, and he is also very good director, especially in the visual department. With the supposed partnership with BBC Worldwide, this greatly keeps the character’s footing in the U.K., so the worries of an American Doctor in a Bill and Ted phone booth can be laid to rest.
Bottom line: Just relax, folks. As a long-time fan, I understand the worry, and it ran rapidly through my mind when that article appeared. I have remained adamant for years that it would never happen and it still may not depending on how the next few years go, but if it does, just wait and see. The notion of two versions of Doctor Who existing in the universe isn’t the end of the world. And if it does end up being complete shit, you still have the TV show to watch anytime you want. Just because it exists doesn’t mean it has to be accepted. I mean, look at Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull. So keep calm and alons-y!
