Rate the Movie

How do you rate the Movie?

I was going to rate it awesome 10/10 excellent cool.

But then I recalled that my name isn't Baysan.

I can't give it a rating of "terrible," but for me, the movie just missed the mark on what Doctor Who always was (and is, since it returned to us.) A lot of that has to do with all the exposition in the opening scenes- that's not how you tell a Doctor Who tale.

Patrick wrote:I can't give it a rating of "terrible," but for me, the movie just missed the mark on what Doctor Who always was (and is, since it returned to us.) A lot of that has to do with all the exposition in the opening scenes- that's not how you tell a Doctor Who tale.

Agreed. And pretty much identical to my own thoughts on the matter.

it were crap.

is that detailed enough analysis?

barnaby salton wrote:it were crap.

is that detailed enough analysis?

What was crap, the TVM itself or merely Paul McGann's wig?

Three out of five.

• The Tardis should never be the problem or the solution to the problem; you got away with it once in Edge of Destruction, never again.
  
• Likewise, Time Travel is how we get there, not what the problem is.
  
• Don't feed the Daleks helium before they shout "Exterminate".
  
• A Tardis interior the size of a cathedral is mindblowing. And then it's just a big dull space, and then it's a space you ignore entirely. The difference in scale is just too extreme to be taken seriously.
  
• A Jules Verne Tardis is likewise gorgeous, but let's have a think about what we put on the readouts that are going to be in closeup. Humanian era? On balance, I think not.
  
• We do not waste our villains. When you have established that The Master will strangle a woman one handed because he wants peace and quiet, do not make him wear a dress and camp it up later.
  
• When the possibly-companion turns down the Doctor's offer of seeing the Universe with him and offers him the opportunity to stay with her, his response should be something like "Let's see - the wonders of an infinite universe, with no one to answer to and no schedule, or domestic bliss with you which amounts to one or two foreign vacations a year, the odd snog when I'm feeling unusual joie de vivre and shopping. Call me Mister Formulaic, but I'll take the Universe."
  
• Mind you, good idea giving the job to McGann because he was really very good.
  

Dave Webb wrote:Three out of five.

• The Tardis should never be the problem or the solution to the problem; you got away with it once in Edge of Destruction, never again.
  
• Likewise, Time Travel is how we get there, not what the problem is.
  
• Don't feed the Daleks helium before they shout "Exterminate".
  
• A Tardis interior the size of a cathedral is mindblowing. And then it's just a big dull space, and then it's a space you ignore entirely. The difference in scale is just too extreme to be taken seriously.
  
• A Jules Verne Tardis is likewise gorgeous, but let's have a think about what we put on the readouts that are going to be in closeup. Humanian era? On balance, I think not.
  
• We do not waste our villains. When you have established that The Master will strangle a woman one handed because he wants peace and quiet, do not make him wear a dress and camp it up later.
  
• When the possibly-companion turns down the Doctor's offer of seeing the Universe with him and offers him the opportunity to stay with her, his response should be something like "Let's see - the wonders of an infinite universe, with no one to answer to and no schedule, or domestic bliss with you which amounts to one or two foreign vacations a year, the odd snog when I'm feeling unusual joie de vivre and shopping. Call me Mister Formulaic, but I'll take the Universe."
  
• Mind you, good idea giving the job to McGann because he was really very good.
  

Ideal rules. You should have been Philip Segal, instead of er...Philip Segal being Philip Segal.

Dave Webb wrote:Three out of five.

• The Tardis should never be the problem or the solution to the problem; you got away with it once in Edge of Destruction, never again.
  
• Likewise, Time Travel is how we get there, not what the problem is.
  
• Don't feed the Daleks helium before they shout "Exterminate".
  
• A Tardis interior the size of a cathedral is mindblowing. And then it's just a big dull space, and then it's a space you ignore entirely. The difference in scale is just too extreme to be taken seriously.
  
• A Jules Verne Tardis is likewise gorgeous, but let's have a think about what we put on the readouts that are going to be in closeup. Humanian era? On balance, I think not.
  
• We do not waste our villains. When you have established that The Master will strangle a woman one handed because he wants peace and quiet, do not make him wear a dress and camp it up later.
  
• When the possibly-companion turns down the Doctor's offer of seeing the Universe with him and offers him the opportunity to stay with her, his response should be something like "Let's see - the wonders of an infinite universe, with no one to answer to and no schedule, or domestic bliss with you which amounts to one or two foreign vacations a year, the odd snog when I'm feeling unusual joie de vivre and shopping. Call me Mister Formulaic, but I'll take the Universe."
  
• Mind you, good idea giving the job to McGann because he was really very good.
  

Everything there is true. Also, you do not, you do not change your lead half way through a film, and you do not open the film with some fanwanky background exposition that immediately scares away all casual fans.

All the negative points expressed in this thread are true. But I love 'Starring Paul McGann'. It's just... so easy to watch. There's something comforting about it. It's the Who equivalent, as I've said before, of a big bowl of mashed potato. It's the Doctor Who episode that makes me feel better. It has the best-ever TARDIS. And McGann. A handful of great moments. And the best direction the series has seen.

In fact, it's probably the Doctor Who episode I've watched the most - actually, that's a bit wrong...

Verdict - 6/10 McGann awesome!

Graymalkin wrote:All the negative points expressed in this thread are true. But I love 'Starring Paul McGann'. It's just... so easy to watch. There's something comforting about it. It's the Who equivalent, as I've said before, of a big bowl of mashed potato. It's the Doctor Who episode that makes me feel better. It has the best-ever TARDIS. And McGann. A handful of great moments. And the best direction the series has seen.

In fact, it's probably the Doctor Who episode I've watched the most - actually, that's a bit wrong...

Verdict - 6/10 McGann awesome!

correction- it's like a bowl of mashed potato with poo in it

barnaby salton wrote:correction- it's like a bowl of mashed potato with poo in it...

That's no way to talk about Eric Roberts!

barnaby salton wrote:

correction- it's like a bowl of mashed potato with poo in it

Barnaby, that is an image I would prefer not to have had.

5 minutes on the Naughty Step for you!

I used to pretend that this movie doesn't exist. And I used to pretend that 8 never happened. but, recently (well, in the last year or so) I have totally fallen in love with 8 in the BF audios. And my little boy is a big fan of the TVM. So I decided to give it another try.....and really, I didn't hate it at all. Bits of it were good. This makes me happy, because I was really extremely uncomfortable about not liking something that was part of Who Canon. I'll never really really like it - it gets a 3 at best from me now - but I can appreciate the good bits (McGann himself. The Tardis design.). Which is something.

sheringham wrote: I have totally fallen in love with 8 in the BF audios.

You are extremely wise. McGann didn't get a long enough shot at Who greatness, so I am glad he agreed to do the Big Finish range.

Dave Webb wrote:

sheringham wrote: I have totally fallen in love with 8 in the BF audios.

You are extremely wise. McGann didn't get a long enough shot at Who greatness, so I am glad he agreed to do the Big Finish range.

As am I. I like 8, it's a shame so many only know of him from the TVM.

Zoltar wrote:As am I. I like 8, it's a shame so many only know of him from the TVM.

I've never understood those who criticise McGann's take on the character in the TVM - Apart from Sax's direction, he's possibly the most consistently good thing about the entire exercise.

Where's the option for "There is no such thing as the TVM. The TVM does not exist."

I loathe it with every fibre of my being. Yes it looks good, and it has it's moments, and Paul McGann is made of awesome and if it were any other film I'd cheerfully have it on my 'guilty pleasures' list. But it's not any other film, it's the Doctor Who film and it wee all over everything I love about Who. I felt profound disappointment, followed by a persistent sense of betrayal when I first saw it, and I have no wish to repeat the experience.

The TVM does not exist in the lucyverse.

ETA: ooh, we're not allowed to say wee ed

Graymalkin wrote:All the negative points expressed in this thread are true. But I love 'Starring Paul McGann'. It's just... so easy to watch. There's something comforting about it. It's the Who equivalent, as I've said before, of a big bowl of mashed potato. It's the Doctor Who episode that makes me feel better. It has the best-ever TARDIS. And McGann. A handful of great moments. And the best direction the series has seen.

In fact, it's probably the Doctor Who episode I've watched the most - actually, that's a bit wrong...

Verdict - 6/10 McGann awesome!

I agree with much of this - and I've actually given the TVM top marks, partly because no-one else has, and partly reflecting my genuine love for it.

The movie is certainly not without its problems: most notably, the plot disappears up its own time rotor in the second half, and the denouement is overly complicated and confusing. That said, I find a great deal to love in it. The look of the movie is gorgeous, and there are some visually striking scenes: I particularly like the bit where the Doctor, still wrapped in his shroud, is shuffling along the hospital corridor absent-mindedly humming Puccini. There are also some memorable lines, perhaps the most quotable being "I love humans - they always see patterns in things that aren't there." Above all, it is McGann's wonderful performance which for me is endlessly rewatchable - a combination of innocence, vulnerability, passion, courage, eccentricity and wisdom. A word should also be said for Sylvester's contribution, too ...

And I just love the scenes, at the beginning and the end, with the Doctor sitting by the Tardis console in a comfy chair, enjoying a nice cup of tea and a good book - my idea of heaven!


John

John Winterton wrote:
And I just love the scenes, at the beginning and the end, with the Doctor sitting by the Tardis console in a comfy chair, enjoying a nice cup of tea and a good book - my idea of heaven!


John

That's a good point, John. They do something to the Tardis that no one else has managed: it looks like the Doctor lives there. The Classic series was so antiseptic (well, apart from the gorgeous Secondary Console Room) that it was hard to imagine anyone spending any real time there, although Hartnell's Tardis at least gave you the option of eating and sleeping.

The TVM looks great and as has been said McGann was a great choice, but as much as I sometimes like to needle RTD's scripts in the new series, at least he did the introductions correctly for a new audience, something the TVM failed badly at...

I gave it 2. It was dumbed down Americanised rubbish however the Master & 8th Doctor were both very good.

I used to pretend it didn't exist. I still don't think it's very good. But Joey adores it. So it must have something.......

2/5 from me - there are good things in there (notably McGann) but they're just overloaded by all the stuff that makes you want to hurl things at it from a great height.

Until a few years ago, I might have given it 3/5, but then Rose came along and showed how it's possible to introduce Who in half the time and with at least twice the impact.

While there's possibly a separate debate to be had about the TARDIS interior, for me the colossal mistake is showing the interior before the exterior (there's a reason it's usually described as 'bigger on the inside' rather than 'smaller on the outside') and I'm not convinced it's obvious to the casual viewer at first that the big Gothic cathedral and the little blue box are meant to be the same place.

Of course, if you've ever read The Nth Doctor, you'll know it could all have been so much worse...

My opinion has changed over the years since the first transmission on Fox. At the time I wanted to scream when the Doc said he was half human and started kissing female strangers. Now, I don't mind that as much, but besides some jumbled continuity that would put off any non fan audience, there really was not much of a plot to be seen, despite some cool moments (These shoes, they fit perfectly!!).

PS: Never mentioned Sylv returning or the excellent console room (If you take away those ridiculous time machine 'Humanian Era' parts of the console.), they were nice as well.