In 1996, Doctor Who had been off the air for almost 7 years. During its absence from our screens, the Whoniverse had been carefully expanded by fan efforts including the licensed BBV video dramas (some of which had only a tangential connection to the show) and the immensely popular Virgin New and Missing Adventures which took the Doctor, via the medium of literature, to previously unexplored dimensions in time and space. There was, of course, a brief hope with the Dimensions in Time charity special, but in traditional retcon fashion, most viewers did their best to forget that one ever happened. Finally, in the mid 90s, everything changed. The US expressed interest in co-producing a Doctor Who series with the BBC. A pilot was written and Paul McGann was cast as the 8th incarnation of the Doctor. To ensure some kind of continuity with the BBC series, Sylvester McCoy agreed to appear in a regeneration sequence. Excitement levels went through the roof. This would be Doctor Who on a grand scale, with a genuine budget and a dedicated team of writers who could take the Doctor places the BBC shoestring could never even dream of. The truth, however, turned out to be very different. The pilot was universally met with a collective shoulder shrug. Certain fans became outraged at plot points including the Doctors apparent half human heritage and the infamous kiss (that, in the context of things, was actually incredibly chaste and quite sweet). But these are simply sideshows to the fact that the TV movie was, unfortunately, just a complete mess. Here are 10 reasons that the TV movie, unfortunately, didn't turn out to be the revival fans had been hoping for.
