10 Biggest Doctor Who Missed Opportunities
7. Not Giving Seven And Ace Another Year (Or Having Them Both In The TV Movie)
The 1996 TV movie hamstrung itself before it had even begun.
The idea of having a freshly-regenerated Doctor was an understandable decision to put casual and hardcore fans on an even footing, but the absence of any returning cast members whatsoever (minus Sylvester McCoy, who literally arrives, gets shot, and dies), meant that existing fans of the show - who were always going to make up the bulk of the audience for the film - had absolutely nothing tethering it to the show they knew and loved.
There was a case for including Anthony Ainley’s Master instead of Eric Roberts’ weird Dracula-cosplay version, but the far better inclusion would've been Sophie Aldred’s Ace.
Ace is basically a NuWho companion from the classic era. She would've been the perfect character to bridge the two eras of the show, and would've brought some spirit, humour, and Britishness to a movie that feels just a little too Americanised. This would've also given the character a proper onscreen resolution, something we had to wait until 2022 to finally get.
In general, it's a shame that Seven and Ace didn't get at least another year before the classic series was cancelled. Some of those final stories - The Curse of Fenric, Ghost Light - are really damn good, and with this pairing, it felt like the show was on a roll again, after a tumultuous period in the mid-80s.