6. The Eighth Doctor's 'Who Am Ah?' - The TV Movie
Oh, 1996 - in the form of the American TV Movie, you gave us so much to cringe over. While there are loads to ooh and ahh about in this failed pilot as well, there are more than a few moments that just make you wish that Americans had never heard of Doctor Who. Case in point: the newly regenerated Doctor is making his stumbling way out of the morgue where he's just woken up and into a disused part of the hospital that's under renovation. (Which is why it looks like that. What, you didn't think that all American hospitals had floors open to the elements with broken glass everywhere? Our healthcare may be bad, but it's not that bad.) Anyway, he stumbles in there, somehow avoiding the broken glass on the floor until he sees his own (new) reflection in it. He whispers, 'Who am I?' And then, in one of those rare cases in which McGann decides to eschew subtlety altogether, he drops to the ground, the music swells, the scene is lit by lightning, he throws his arms out Christ-like, and he shouts, "Who...am...ahh?" Yes, he says "Ahh," not "I," dammit. We've run the disc back over that moment so often the laser is wearing a groove into it. It's not a matter of accent differences, either. Oh, and it's an over-the-top moment of cringeworthiness, too.
Tony Whitt has previously written TV, DVD, and comic reviews for CINESCAPE, NOW PLAYING, and iF MAGAZINE. His weekly COMICSCAPE columns from the early 2000s can still be found archived on Mania.com. He has also written a book of gay-themed short stories titled CRESCENT CITY CONNECTIONS, available on Amazon.com in both paperback and Kindle format. Whitt currently lives and works in Chicago, Illinois.
Yes, he says "Ahh," not "I," dammit. We've run the disc back over that moment so often the laser is wearing a groove into it. It's not a matter of accent differences, either. Oh, and it's an over-the-top moment of cringeworthiness, too.