Newspaper and Magazine Cuttings: 1995-1999

If the early 1990's had seen hopes for a new series dashed the period between 1995 and 1996 saw hopes raised with the announcement of a UK/US co-production of a one off TV Movie (TVM) starring Paul McGann. Then, shortly after the broadcast of this TVM, another waiting game began and then, as it was realised that there would be no follow on series or any more movies, disappointment!

The announcement of a new Doctor Who Television Movie in 1996 was probably the major news story of the whole decade for Doctor Who. This followed a period of the usual rumours and speculation in the press.

Unfortunately a few days before the TV Movie was aired in the UK news came that the actor who played the Third Doctor, Jon Pertwee, had died. This sad news was covered in depth by all the major UK newspapers as well as by many abroad and this stood as testament to how Pertwee was the Doctor for a whole generation.

With Paul McGann as the Doctor the TVM came to British screens at the end of May 1996 (it had been screened earlier that month in the USA). This 'event' caused a major upsurge in press coverage of the programme and then came the inevitable reviews and postmortems, some good but most fairly luke warm! Most, however, were positive about McGann himself and his portrayal of the Doctor. After this all went quiet but by the end of the year it had become clear that there would be no further films or a series. The TVM had failed in the eyes of its American co-producers although it did very well in the UK.

Press coverage of different aspects of the programme continued for the following two years but was typified by an attitude that Doctor Who was a programme that had now ended for good and was consigned to the classic/cult television graveyard. The programme was being repeated on satellite and cable TV and was obviously viewed with some affection by many in the press and public but that was all.

1999 saw a major upsurge in coverage. First, the press, surprisingly, dedicated many column inches to the discovery in January of a missing episode from the 1960's, Part 1 of The Crusade, The Lion. Then, in March a charity comedy special, starring Rowan Atkinson, was announced. This also generated a great deal of coverage in most British newspapers.

Throughout the late 90's speculation had continued in fan circles about the future of the programme, whether as a TV series or as a film. Many were surprised at the announcement of a new series of straight to CD/tape audio adventures. The first of these, The Sirens of Time, generated reviews and articles in some parts of the press.

Hot on the heels of this development came the announcement, in late August, that the Daleks had won a Radio Times poll to find TV's most memorable Drama moment. Then came the news that many were waiting for, a new movie was supposedly in the development stages.

After all of this came news that BBC was planning a special Doctor Who Night on BBC 2 later in the year. This aired, with a great deal of attendant publicity in the press, on Saturday the 13th of November 1999 and topped off what had probably been one of the best years of the 90's for Doctor Who.

That wasn't quite the end though, for, in what seemed like an inconsequential footnote at the time, there was also news that Russell T Davies (the creative force behind Channel 4's popular Queer as Folk) had been asked, earlier in the year, to develop ideas for a new series of the programme. In retrospect that was probably the most important clue fans were given to the ultimate future of Doctor Who for many years. However, they had to wait another four years for more on Davies' involvement with the resurrection of the series.