The telemovie basically had nothing to do - quality wise - with the original series, in any shape or form. It was produced in North America, with British and US producers, so although the BBC had a hand in guiding their franchise, (a very strict hand, apparently), ultimately the only thing tying it to the original series was Sylvester McCoy and the Police Box TARDIS. (Ok, and mention of but no real appearance by the Daleks, and the Master, who IMO was far from great, but that's just me).
The first draft that Sylvester was shown (which he admits had no bearing on his decision to do the role - he'd have done it regardless, as it was Doctor Who, and he knew from his own experience that the baton should be passed on to the next actor) apparently had him appearing very briefly before the regeneration... Then there was a new draft which gave him a sizable chunk to do, which thrilled him... but then it was changed again into what was filmed... Which he understood, as it really had to be about McGann... (a close friend of his apparently) I'd love to know what that middle script was like now!
From memory, they had about US$4m for the telemovie. So, massive budget compared to new or old Who. NewWho runs on about $1m (UK? US?) per episode... Old Who I think was about $2.67 per episode... (Actually I think maybe £20,000? In the same era as Star Trek TNG had US$150,000 per episode)
Yes, the 8th Doctor's TARDIS was amazing... sentimentally it's not my fave, but in any other way it is... It was perfect... Ok maybe not a wooden console, as cool as it is... (Side Note - SO want to see it in action now it's been found and restored by some fans! If only I lived in the US and knew which conventions it was appearing at)
I really don't think the SFX could be faulted, perhaps except the regeneration being a tad too quick. I hate the modern regen effect, and hope like hell they change it at Christmas.
The first draft that Sylvester was shown (which he admits had no bearing on his decision to do the role - he'd have done it regardless, as it was Doctor Who, and he knew from his own experience that the baton should be passed on to the next actor) apparently had him appearing very briefly before the regeneration... Then there was a new draft which gave him a sizable chunk to do, which thrilled him... but then it was changed again into what was filmed... Which he understood, as it really had to be about McGann... (a close friend of his apparently) I'd love to know what that middle script was like now!
From memory, they had about US$4m for the telemovie. So, massive budget compared to new or old Who. NewWho runs on about $1m (UK? US?) per episode... Old Who I think was about $2.67 per episode... (Actually I think maybe £20,000? In the same era as Star Trek TNG had US$150,000 per episode)
Yes, the 8th Doctor's TARDIS was amazing... sentimentally it's not my fave, but in any other way it is... It was perfect... Ok maybe not a wooden console, as cool as it is... (Side Note - SO want to see it in action now it's been found and restored by some fans! If only I lived in the US and knew which conventions it was appearing at)
I really don't think the SFX could be faulted, perhaps except the regeneration being a tad too quick. I hate the modern regen effect, and hope like hell they change it at Christmas.
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