Doctor Who (film)

Doctor Who (film)

Doctor Who is a television movie based on the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Developed as a co-production between Universal Television, BBC Television, BBC Worldwide, and the American network FOX, the 1996 television film premiered on 12 May 1996 on CITV in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, 15 days before its first showing in the United Kingdom on BBC One, and two days before being broadcast in the United States on FOX.

The film was the first attempt to revive Doctor Who, following its suspension in 1989. It was intended as a back-door pilot for a new American-produced Doctor Who TV series, and introduced Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor in his only televised appearance as the character. Although a ratings success in the United Kingdom, the film did not fare well on American television, and no series was commissioned. The series was later relaunched on the BBC in 2005.

Although the film was primarily produced by different hands from the 1963–1989 series, and intended for an American audience, the producers chose not to produce a "re-imagining" or "reboot" of the series (examples of such proposals can be found in Jean-Marc Lofficier's book The Nth Doctor (Virgin Publishing, 1997)), but rather a continuation of the original narrative. The production was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, to date the only episode of Doctor Who filmed in Canada.