For writer Matthew Jacobs, the future of Doctor Who would be non-existent had it not been for the vision of one individual. \u201cTo me, Philip Segal is the quintessential Doctor Who fan \u2013 I don\u2019t think Doctor Who would be here today without him, because he was determined to keep it alive,\u201d he explains. At the time, Segal was Vice President of Amblin Television, working on projects like <\/span>The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles <\/span>\u2013 but <\/span>Doctor Who <\/span>was always near and dear to his heart. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI was a little boy when my grandfather sat me on his knee, and we watched An Unearthly Child. Now I\u2019ve seen all 760 episodes, even some missing episodes,\u201d Segal says. Though some may have dismissed it as a simple cash-grab, it\u2019s clear from how Philip outlines his love for the series that the TV Movie was anything but that. \u201cWhat mattered to me was that I felt that this character had so much more to give. For the US, it was not this tired franchise, but completely uncharted territory.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Relaunching the show was a bold endeavour for anyone to undertake, let alone a brand-new American re-envisioning \u2013 but Segal thought he knew how to honour what had come before. \u201cAt the time, to me it was really about trying to break new ground and create something fresh \u2013 but we always needed that opening regeneration. I needed to show the audience that <\/span>hadn\u2019t <\/span><\/i>seen Doctor Who something as fundamentally show-altering as that.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n Having your lead regenerate into both an entirely new actor and personality is a quirk unique to <\/span>Doctor Who <\/span>to this day and was clearly effective in enticing even the most evergreen newcomers like Daphne Ashbrook, who played Grace Holloway: \u201cThe whole regeneration thing got me hook, line and sinker \u2013 I thought that was the coolest thing.\u201d Above all else, Segal knew the one thing that was needed if <\/span>Doctor Who <\/span>was going to survive in the modern era: \u201cWe had to figure out how to take this somewhat two-dimensional character and make him three dimensional.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Enter Paul McGann. \u201cWe were looking for unique actors who had that glint in their eye \u2013 that was Paul.\u201d McGann was already a well-known and appreciated actor by the mid-90s, having starred in the cult classic <\/span>Withnail and I, <\/span>Spielberg\u2019s <\/span>Empire of the Sun <\/span>and David Fincher\u2019s <\/span>Alien 3<\/span>. He\u2019d heard the rumours of who the creative team behind the Doctor Who movie supposedly wanted to cast, making him all the more confused when he was invited to audition. \u201cI never expected it to be me \u2013 I kept hearing rumours it was going to be Eric Idle or Rowan Atkinson. I thought, \u2018I\u2019m not a comedian \u2013 why are they asking me anything?\u201d.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n McGann\u2019s potential involvement in the project turned heads, especially Ashbrook\u2019s: \u201cI\u2019m a huge <\/span>Withnail and I <\/span>fan, so I couldn\u2019t believe I was going to get the opportunity to potentially work with him.\u201d However, McGann was hesitant to take the role, given the possible long-term commitment and how he perceived the Doctor as a character, based on his knowledge of Sylvester McCoy\u2019s initially more comedic take. \u201cIt took Phil months to convince me that it was a good idea \u2013 he really came up against some serious pushback, but he was determined to make it happen,\u201d McGann recalls.<\/span><\/p>\n Once McGann was on board, the search for a companion quickly followed, and for Daphne Ashbrook it was initially just \u201cjust another audition\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cBut Grace was a challenge, which interested me. Their relationship reminded me of Rosalind Russell and Cary Grant movies,\u201d she explains. <\/span>Ashbrook\u2019s comparison of the Doctor and her character Dr. Grace Holloway to Russell and Grant is certainly apt \u2013 the pair\u2019s chemistry is palpable on screen, with Grace able to keep up and at times even outwit the Doctor when it comes to wordplay and linguistic repartee. Off-screen, McGann and Ashbrook evidently have an incredible level of respect for one another, taking every opportunity to sing the other\u2019s praises.\u201dI watched it again recently, and it struck me that it\u2019s Daphne\u2019s film. She steals every scene she\u2019s in \u2013 without her performance, none of it works.\u201d For Ashbrook, she feels just having McGann opposite her was a gift: \u201cI always felt that Paul made me a better actor \u2013 it was a very elevating experience to play opposite him.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n With Doctor and companion in place, all that remained was to find someone with the confidence to fill Roger Delgado and Anthony Ainley\u2019s shoes as iconic villain The Master \u2013 that someone was Eric Roberts. \u201c<\/span>Well, they just called and offered it to me,\u201d he recalls. Similar to McGann, Roberts\u2019 hesitance came as he had no desire to play a goofy, theatrical embodiment of the Master \u2013 he wanted to make people hide behind the sofa. \u201cAnd I said, \u2018Well, the only way I play this part is if you let him play it real where I can scare the kids.\u2019 And they said, \u201cSure, you can do that.’\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n There remained, however, a touch of the flamboyant about Roberts\u2019 Master, particularly in a climactic sequence which saw him dressed in elaborate Gallifreyan robes. \u201cThat\u2019s my favourite costume I\u2019ve ever been dressed in, and it weighed 40 pounds,\u201d he remembers. \u201cYou would kind of have to be physically placed inside it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Like McGann, Roberts also rejoices in Ashbrook\u2019s stellar casting, noting her elevation of Grace Holloway as a character as integral to the humanity of the TV Movie. \u201cShe\u2019s fantastic and plays that role that could have been totally thankless, totally silly, totally nondescript \u2013 but Daphne makes it real.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n With the cast in place, Segal attempted to pitch the idea of the series around to different networks, but to no avail. \u201cThe reason why we ended up at FOX as a TV Movie is because I couldn\u2019t sell it anywhere else as a television show \u2013 FOX loved it, but they wanted it as a TV Movie.\u201d Segal eventually struck a deal with Bob Greenblatt, who oversaw the network at the time: the TV Movie would serve as a backdoor pilot, with the option for six additional episodes if it proved fruitful. <\/span><\/p>\n![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/10\/DW1996McGann28-bfa5108.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2020\/05\/eric-roberts-the-master-578dc05.jpg?quality=90&crop=6px%2C77px%2C2089px%2C1392px&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>