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Alasdair Stuart rounds up the SFX bloggers once more to ask them another crucial question and gauge their reactions
Two things are utterly certain to get fandom going; anything to do with Firefly , ever, and Doctor Who . So last week when it was announced, then sort of denied, then announced again that a Doctor Who movie is being developed by Potter director David Yates, the internet didn’t so much melt down as implode.
It was not a pretty sight. And the SFX bloggers stayed sensible well back, until Blogbusters forced them to pin their scarves to the mast. So, this week’s question:
If a Doctor Who movie ever does get made – by David Yates or
whoever – what would you like to see (And what wouldn’t you like
to see) in the new movie?
Because, let’s face it, whatever changes are made – no matter how necessary – will be enough to trigger the rabid gnashings of a generation of Who fans, who, on one hand, say, “The show is unique because every story has the potential to be something different, something unique,” yet on the other hand, say, “Arrrgh! Change! They changed something! No! It’s not like it was 40 years ago any more! Help! Where are my meds?”
So, yeah. That. Oh, and possibly an official support group for people who this issue has affected, with a freephone number, and everything.
In David Yates, we know we’ve got a capable director – but it’s the talk about steaming ahead with a reboot that’s unsettling.
Thanks to the space and time-defying wibbly wobbliness at the show’s very core, there’s the possibility to play around with the Who-niverse without necessitating a reboot. Why attempt a flashy do-over when you can just pitch a story, Doctor and event from some time in the distant future/past? By attempting a wholesale revamp, it feels like the big brains behind the move are missing the point.
My other requests? The TARDIS, sonic screwdriver and a fez hat, please.
I prefer stuff to be done the other way around; Buffy the film turned into Buffy the fabulous TV series. Serenity , though I was extraordinarily pleased to see it and have some kind of an ending for the Firefly crew did just feel like an extended episode and wouldn’t we all rather all have had another series rather than the film?
Unless they pull a Star Trek: First Contact out of the bag, or the latest Star Trek movie – shining examples of this kind of thing done correctly, in my opinion. I totally could live with that. Oh bring it on. Try everything and anything – isn’t that the point of sci-fi? Push the boundaries, experiment and if it’s complete poo, we haven’t lost anything – we still have all that went before.
Steven Ellis: Hmmm, I quite like the idea of a possible Who movie... But what would I like to see? Maybe an origins film? Go back to Gallifrey and see the early life of the Doctor? Maybe juxtapose this with the Doctor fighting in, and bringing an end to, the Time Wars? You could build a story of the Time Lords at their peak mixed with their demise in the War. It would be a great chance to show the Doctor becoming the Doctor; to see how he became the person he is in the TV series, rebelling, taking the Tardis and starting down his path and with the Time War parts also show the sacrifices he has to make to be the man (Gallifreyan) he is.
And with what I would imagine would be a much bigger budget they could do real justice to the Time Lords, the Daleks and the Time War which up to now has only been hinted at. I think this idea could work because it could be the best of both worlds. It could be made to work as a stand alone film giving a perfect way to appease the fans (have you seen some of the reactions?) by not interfering with the TV show canon as it stands and it could also serve as an intro to newcomers to the show. Plus if it’s a total failure it can be easily ignored.
But most of all I want bravery from their choices. Don’t be beholden to the limitations of the show. Take us all the way inside a vast, maze-like TARDIS; show us the beauty of space and time. Don’t remake Doctor Who , just turn it all the way up to 11. Do that right? And people will hear you for decades to come.
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So that's the Doctor Who movie put to rights, and before they even started filming. Before we all get drunk on the power, join us for what I’m calling “I Promised Myself I Wouldn't Cry” week and this question:
What’s the single moment in geek fiction that gives you the biggest emotional reaction, and why?
Bring tissues, you'll need them.
