10 Failed Doctor Who Movies (And Why They Didn't Happen)
The name's Who. Doctor Who.
Doctor Who is one of the most popular shows on the air and has been around for almost sixty years, a level of success that, naturally, has led to expansion into other mediums. Surprise! Companies like money.
The show has been turned into comics, audiobooks, duvet covers, lunchboxes and even underpants, but that's not all: over the decades, there have been numerous attempts to give Doctor Who the Hollywood red carpet treatment.
On a small number of occasions, these attempts have panned out - there were two Doctor Who movies in the '60s, as well as the Paul McGann-led TV movie from 1996 - but the vast majority of proposed Doctor Who movies fell apart way before they were ready to go before cameras, and the show, despite its astronomical success on TV screens, just hasn't had much luck in the movie department.
Whether it's studio politics getting in the way, scripts not being up to scratch, or even the basic idea itself being rejected, there are a bunch of interesting stories behind these failed Doctor Who movies, and chances are, you'll actually be glad that most of them broke down before they could grace multiplexes.
10. Disney's Adaptation Of Marco Polo
One of the first Doctor Who adventures to land on British TV screens, Marco Polo was the fourth serial of William Hartnell's inaugural run as the grumpy old Time Lord, first broadcast in February 1964.
A straightforward historical adventure, the story followed the Doctor and his companions as they landed in the Himalayas in 1289, where they encountered Marco Polo and attempted to stop Tegana, who was plotting to assassinate Kublai Khan.
The serial was well-received by critics, with the final chapter being watched by 10.4 million viewers in the UK, the joint-highest figure for the show at the time. Possibly as a result of its popularity, Disney contacted the BBC in the 1960s and enquired about making a feature film based on the serial, but this is as far as the idea got, and no major movie developments were made.
Yeah, because Disney is absolutely desperate for more popular IP, right?