14 Doctor Who Urban Legends That Are Actually True

11. The Fourth Doctor On The Big Screen

BBC

Fans have long been calling for a feature-length film adaptation of the titular Time Lord€™s adventures but you might know know that rumours about a Doctor Who movie (and not in the form of an ill-fated TV one) have been circulating for almost as long as the series itself. For one of the most notable examples it€™s worth journeying back to the mid-1970s where the show was at the height of its success during Tom Baker€™s critically acclaimed TARDIS tenure. What€™s more, the premise of this proposed film - Doctor Who Meets Scratchman - was actually created by the Fourth Doctor star himself who joined forces with actor Ian Marter, who played his on screen companion Harry Sullivan, to write and even pitch the idea of this big screen escapade. The film would've followed the Time Lord and his companions (€œThe Doctor, a male and a female associate - we wanted to keep the cast small€) during an encounter with the Devil who would€™ve been aided and abetted on Earth by scarecrows and €œa horde of quasi-cybernetic goblins€. On paper it sounds like it would€™ve had all the makings of a Doctor Who classic and things really started moving when Tom managed to secure the services of film director James Hill who helped them draw up a draft screenplay and preliminary budget. The BBC were seemingly behind the project, too, as they gave Doctor Who the film rights for two whole years (there was even preliminary talks of leaving the plot open for a sequel), however they never managed to obtain a substantial amount of funding so the film eventually fizzled into nothingness. It€™s probably for the best. The depiction of science fiction was taken to a whole new level on the big screen thanks to the subsequent release of George Lucas€™ Star Wars in 1977. This relatively small offering - which would€™ve included a quintessentially British game of cricket - wouldn€™t have stood a chance.

Doctor Who Editor
Doctor Who Editor

Dan Butler is the Doctor Who Editor at WhatCulture.com. When he isn't writing his own articles or editing other people's, he can be found trawling the internet for gifs of Steven Moffat laughing. Contact him via dan.butler@whatculture.co.uk.