Doctor Who 1996

[Steve F]

I've let myself get bogged down with conversions for the next story in my Doctor Who 1963-1964 project, so I thought I'd clear my throat a bit by painting up some figures that need much less conversion, and allow me to finish off an entire year's worth of broadcast adventures in one swoop.  So here they are: the minis for the 1996 TV Movie.




The Old Doctor and the TARDIS.




The villains of the piece: stupid, gun-happy thief Chang Lee and the Master, fully earning his Curse of Fatal Death label of "the camp one".




Dr Grace Holloway and the Doctor.

There were a few other speaking parts in the production - a hospital administrator, a motorcycle cop, and a scientist whose clock the Doctor steals, but working out what minis to use for those would have meant watching the damn thing again, and I have my limits.

My Doctor Who collections:
Doctor Who 1963-64: http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=35262.0
Doctor Who 1996: http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=43312.0
Doctor Who 2010: http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=23774.0
Doctor Who 2011: http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=45461.0
Doctor Who 2012-13: http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=41010.0

[revford]

Nice.

The 96 movie is easier to watch now that we know it's not the future of Doctor Who.

Also West Wind have some modern cops, including bikes in their Road Wars range.

http://www.westwindproductions.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=106_107&products_id=845

[aggro84]

Nice stuff Steve F. I always love your Dr. Who stuff. 

[Steve F]

Thanks, chaps.

The 96 movie is easier to watch now that we know it's not the future of Doctor Who.

To some extent; but even ignoring the way it worked as a piece of Doctor Who, it was a terrible piece of TV drama, and that hasn't changed with context.

Also West Wind have some modern cops, including bikes in their Road Wars range.

Thanks.  I also considered the police motorbike which comes with a cheap Italieri 1/48 police helicopter (it has two advantages over West Wind: the windshield is transparent, and I can trust it to fit together, unlike the bikes my WW "Road Rage" werewolves ride), but in the end I just couldn't be bothered!

Group shot:

[Onebigriver]

Great work as ever Steve.

I think that the film had two saving graces.

The first is the reappearance of Sylvester McCoy - he had some lousy stories but I'm fond of the little guy.

Secondly, the interior of the Tardis. Loved it.

[Hat Guy]

The TV Film may have its flaws, but it's still far better than many of the New Who episodes, I highly recommend the DVD Audio Commentary with McCoy and McGann.

[LazarusKing]

I thought McGann was a good Doctor.  I'd like to see him back for the anniversary.  My favorite thing was his fondness for theft.  There were a lot of pockets picked in that film.

[dampfpanzerwagon]

McGann has been featuring on some of the audio Dr Who stories that have been playing on Radio 4 Extra (the old Radio 7) and these have been very good.

Tony

[Steve F]

Thanks, chaps.

You know, I imagine it would be better to watch the TV Movie with the commentary soundtrack, because that way you don't have to listen to the dialogue!  Now, if only there was something to substitute for the visuals ...

But, yes, there are saving graces (ahem), which motivated me to do this figure set.  McCoy looked better than he ever did during his own run, not being lumbered with the question mark pullover, and McGann was excellent.  The audio plays dampfpanzerwagon mentioned are very good indeed, and Sheridan Smith's Lucie Miller is one of my favourite travelling companions in any medium.  There are rather more plays available on CD than BBC Radio 7/4 plus has broadcast because the latter screwed up some rights issues.  See here for the full range: http://www.bigfinish.com/ranges/v/eighth-doctor-adventures

Sources, then. All minis are by Harlequin, with the Tardis being a Sci-Fi Collector's Centre die-cast.

The TARDIS comes ready-painted.  I added some shading and highlighting, and replaced the white door-notice with a black one I printed onto decal paper.  Looking at the photo, I see that I should go back and touch up the factory painting of the windows and window-frames.

The Seventh Doctor has lost his umbrella and scarf, and I've converted his pullover into a waistcoat and fastened his tie.  I've also bulked out his hair.

It looks as though the sculptor worked from publicity stills taken during camera rehearsals, when actors often leave off bits of heavy costumes to stay comfortable in the hot studio lights.  I've therefore added back Chang Lee's plaid shirt and Grace's jacket.  I also adjusted the shape of the Master's collar at the back (though, in truth, there were a lot of other corrections I could have made to this one but didn't).

For the Eighth Doctor, I cut back the 1970s footballer bubble-perm that Harlequin had inexplicably given him, and sculpted in something shaggier and, with luck, more Byronic.

[forrester]

I always regarded Harlequin's 8th Doctor as one of their worst "wasted opportunities" but yours is an improvement.

[CyberAlien312]

Nice paint job on those miniatures! Although I like your miniatures, I honestly think the 1996 film is a disgrace to the series. I didn't like it at all.

[forrester]

The 1996 pilot isn't one I choose to revisit, even though it is undoubtedly "canon" due to the regeneration scene. The 8th Doctor would have been great in a full series, and he persevered in various media and became the Doctor by default up until 2005. He is very much associated with the Gallifrey-heavy,continuity- laden tortuous story arcs of the novels that kept the fans going in the Dark Times but which would have been disastrous if transferred to TV.
He is very much the fan's Doctor and perpetuates the traditional frock-coated image, which is probably why old gits like me struggled when the very different 9th Doctor arrived and we had to share him with 8 year olds.

[Onebigriver]

The 1996 pilot isn't one I choose to revisit, even though it is undoubtedly "canon" due to the regeneration scene. The 8th Doctor would have been great in a full series, and he persevered in various media and became the Doctor by default up until 2005. He is very much associated with the Gallifrey-heavy,continuity- laden tortuous story arcs of the novels that kept the fans going in the Dark Times but which would have been disastrous if transferred to TV.
He is very much the fan's Doctor and perpetuates the traditional frock-coated image, which is probably why old gits like me struggled when the very different 9th Doctor arrived and we had to share him with 8 year olds.

Not read too many of the 8th Doctor books, but really enjoyed many of the Big Finish audios, and can't help wishing that Paul McGann had got a chance to be a TV Doc (although to be fair listening to 5th, 6th and 7th BF audios made me wish that they had had more TV time. I found the Romantic image of the 8th Doc and the Tardis interior really appealing, even though the film was a bit of a mess.

[Steve F]

I always regarded Harlequin's 8th Doctor as one of their worst "wasted opportunities" but yours is an improvement.

Thank you, but it's still not right is it?  The face is too wide, the pose is uncharacteristic, and it's too tall (in real life Paul McGann is much the same height as Sylvester McCoy: he stood on a box for the publicity stills they shared).  Still, it's recognisable.

[jp1885]

Nice work sir!

I too have some reservations about the TV movie - it's okay-ish, but with hindsight I'm glad it didn't lead to anything.

Now, when are you going to do 'Dimensions in Time'?