Doctor Who (TV Movie) - Part 76 "Doctor Who"

Seven years after Doctor Who went off the air in Britain, an attempt was made to revive the series. Though it was never picked up, we were still able to enjoy this TV movie. A voice over by Paul McGann in the beginning, informed us what had gone on with the Doctor while he was off the air.
"It was on the planet Skaro that my old enemy the Master was finally put on trial. They say he listened calmly as his list of evil crimes was read... and sentence passed. Then he made his last and I thought somewhat curious request. He demanded that I, the Doctor, a rival Timelord, should take his remains back to our home planet; Gallifrey. It was a request they should never have granted..."

Typically however, the Master is far from dead. His remains coalesce into an oozy form within the container holding him and he breaks out of the locked container and slides into the Tardis, causing a timing malfunction. The Doctor reacts quickly and lands the Tardis. Instead of checking the surroundings before stepping out, he walks into a spray of bullets. The bullets were intended for a youth named Change Lee, who ignores his dead friends and calls the Doctor an ambulance. While in the hospital, there is some confusion and the medical doctor working on him, Grace Holloway, accidentally "kills" him.

While the Doctor is in the hospital, the Master escapes from the Tardis and is now in a snake-like form. He hides in the jacket of the EMT who helped take the Doctor to the hospital.As Bruce is sleeping, the Master slithers into the man's open mouth and bonds with him, granting the Master a new body at last. Bruce's wife is just happy he is no longer snoring. He gets up and begins his search for the Doctor.

After he's killed on the operating table, the Doctor is taken to the morgue. Because of the amount of anaesthesia used on the Doctor, it has delayed his regeneration process. Post-Regeneration trauma sets in and he's forgotten who he is. Wrapped in a sheet, he wanders off in search of who he is. Soon after, he finds some clothes in a few open lockers and puts them on.

Chang Lee rode along with the Doctor on the way to the hospital. When Grace has to inform him 'John Smith' has passed away, he shrugs it off and grabs for the Doctor's things. Grace suddenly realizes he doesn't know the Doctor after all, but he grabs the bag and runs off. Looking at the unusual items found in the bag, he heads back to the Tardis. But the Master has also gone to the Tardis hoping to find the Doctor. He lies to Chang Lee and informs him the Doctor is evil and has stolen his things. Chang Lee, somewhat reluctantly, agrees to help the Master.

While in the Tardis, the Master takes Chang Lee to the 'Eye of Harmony'. Using Chang Lee's eyes, he opens it up and discovers the Doctor has indeed regenerated. The Master formulates a plan to capture and take over the Doctor's body. He again reassures Chang Lee the Doctor is evil and must be stopped. While the 'eye' is open, the Master is able to spy on the Doctor and sees the companion who's helping him. Chang Lee recognizes her from the hospital.

While still at the hospital, the Doctor runs into Grace, but doesn't recall why she's so familiar. He follows her to her car. Thinking he's possibly psychotic and mad, Grace honks her car horn to try and get attention until she sees him pull out the medical probe which was lost inside of him. He tells her to drive and get out of the place that killed him. She takes him home where he begins to remember who he is. Sensing the 'eye' is open and the Earth in danger, he enlists her help in finding some beryllium, which he needs for his Tardis. Once they accomplish the task, they set off for the Tardis so the Doctor can close the eye of harmony.

Making it back to the Tardis, Grace helps the Doctor repair the Tardis and close the eye of harmony. However, before they are able to 'jump start' the Tardis, the Master is able to suddenly control Grace and she knock out the Doctor. After being placed in the Masters trap, the Doctor is able to convince Chang Lee the Master lied to him. Now knowing the truth, the Master breaks his neck, killing him. The Doctor then implores Grace to run back to the console room and jump start the Tardis as they were attempting to do before.

With the Master distracted, Grace runs back to the console room and restarts the Tardis. She then quickly runs back and begins releasing the Doctor, but The Master is now upset his plans have been foiled and attacks Grace, killing her. The Doctor is able to free himself the rest of the way and goes on the defensive with the Master. In the struggle, the Master falls into the eye of harmony, despite the Doctor trying to save his life. With the Tardis reset and the eye closing, Grace and Chang Lee are brought back to life.

The Doctor takes the Tardis out of it's temporal orbit and lands back on Earth. Chang Lee offers to give the Doctor back a sack of gold dust the Master gave him earlier as payment, but the Doctor allows him to keep it. He runs off happily. Before leaving the Tardis for good, Grace is offered to travel with the Doctor. Having had too much adventure already, Grace turns him down. Once again alone, the Doctor returns to reading "The Time Machine" by H.G.Wells.

Bonus Photo 1 - Tardis Interior

Bonus Photo 2 - The Doctor's Kiss

Dr. Who (The Early Years) - Part 75 "The Seventh Doctor in Review"

Notes:Because of the machinations of a rival Timelord (The Rani), the Doctor is violently jolted in the Tardis which causes a regeneration [Expanded Universe stories describe this differently]. In reality, Colin Baker refused to return for a "regeneration scene" after getting sacked. The Rani then broke into his Tardis before he could recover and heightened his post regeneration amnesia. Before he came to his senses, the Rani masqueraded as his companion to get the Doctor to help her diabolitcal plans. When the Doctor met his real companion, Mel, he realized he had been duped. With her help, he stopped the Rani. A few adventures later, the Doctor ran into an old acquaintance of his, Sabalm Glitz. In his earlier incarnation, Glitz helped him defeat the Master and the Valeyard, when he was on trial. During the same adventure he met Dorothy, thought she was going by the name of Ace. Once this adventure had been concluded, Mel decided to travel with Glitz, so the Doctor took Ace on as a travelling companion. Despite his insistence, she continues to call him 'Professor'. Ace continues on with the Doctor through the rest of the original series. The final episode does not show the Doctor regenerate. Instead he has defeated the Master and, along with Ace, heads off toward further adventures. During his tenure, the Doctor once again became a mysterious figure. More questions about the Doctor are asked, and we once again began to ask, Doctor who?

Name: The Doctor
Actor: Sylvester McCoy
August 20, 1943 -
Occupation: Timelord
First Seen: Tardis, arriving to the planet Lakertya
First Episode: Time & The Rani (Season 24)
Last Seen: Planet Earth, circa 1989
Last Episode: Survival (Season 26)
Special Appearance: Dimensions In Time (1993), Doctor Who - TV Movie (1996)

Notes:After having helped the Doctor during his trial, it's assumed she is dropped off from where the Master plucked her out of time so the Doctor can properly meet her for his first time. She is travelling with the Doctor when the Tardis is hijacked. Breaking into the Tardis, the Rani takes the Doctor and leaves Mel for dead, or assumes she's no trouble. After acquiring help on the planet, Mel meets up with the Doctor, but he's completely different. Having been unconscious when he regenerated, she was unaware he had done so. After a bit of persuading, the two convince each other of who they truly are. Just a couple episodes later, Mel runs into Glitz again After she helps the Doctor on the Ice World, she decides it's time for her and the Doctor to part company. Instead she opts to travel with Glitz, and possible change him into a better man. Though the Doctor is visibly distressed with her departure, he welcomes the news Ace is looking for a place to go. Not a fan favourite, Mel's character is best described as a screamer. Another problem with her character is her background is never developed and though she was originally intended to be a smart (she's a computer programmer), sassy companion. Unfortunatley, the program had matured enough to not need a screaming companion. In years past, there were many companions who were screamers, but generally had interesting back stories. Confusion of her history with the Doctor likely didn't help matter much either.
Name: Melanie Bush
Actor: Bonnie Langford
July 22, 1964 -
Occupation: Computer Programmer
First Seen: Inside the Tardis, arriving to the planet Lakertya
First Episode: Time & The Rani (Season 24)
Last Seen: Leaving Iceworld with Sabalom Glitz
Last Episode: Dragonfire (Season 24)
Special Appearance: Dimensions In Time (1993)

Notes:The story of Ace is quite an interesting one, as she begins travelling with the Doctor as a young adult and matures into a woman. Before meeting with the Doctor, she is whisked away from Planet Earth to the far future on the Ice World where she eventually runs into the Doctor. Through a series of adventures, the Doctor helps her to come to terms with the Mother she has grown to hate and other aspects of her youth she has never truly dealt with. One adventure she helps a young lady with a baby and Ace falls in love with the child. Later, the Doctor informs her the baby will one day be her mother. Things get even more complicated when it's revealed Ace was never accidentally transported to the Ice World via a time storm, but sent there by a creature known as Fenric. Fenric, being an old foe of the Doctor, was using Ace to hopefully destroy the Doctor. Having Fenric's curse, Ace almost did exactly that. Fortunately the Doctor was able to thwart Fenric's plans anyway and free Ace from his curse. However, to do so the Doctor had to make her lose her faith in him, a ploy which almost destroyed their friendship. Ace continued to travel with the Doctor though future exploits with the Doctor are untelevised. Unlike Mel, Ace was giving an interesting background and her character was fully developed. And how cool is it to see a companion attack a Dalek with a baseball bat. I don't recall Ian Chesterton ever doing that.
Name: Dorothy "Ace" McShane
Actor: Sophie Aldred
August 20, 1962 -
Occupation: Waitress
First Seen: Ice World in the far future
First Episode: Dragonfire (Season 24)
Last Seen: Planet Earth, circa 1989
Last Episode: Survival (Season 26)
Special Appearance: Dimensions In Time (1993)