History Recap / DoctorWhoTVMTheTVMovie

As we open, the Master has apparently escaped the [[Recap/DoctorWhoS26E4Survival cheetah planet]], only to be EX-TER-MIN-AT-ED by the Daleks ([[SpecialEffectsFailiure who now sound like cyborg chipmunks]]) for no stated reason. (Then again, it's [[OmnicidalManiac the Daleks]]. Did they really ''need'' a reason?). The Seventh Doctor, a lot more wiser, and more weary since we last saw him on screen, and having not only shed his question mark pullover but Ace as well, is charged with bringing his ashes back (yes, ashes; maybe the Daleks decided he wasn't worth the usual level of agony they use with their guns) from Skaro, [[Recap/DoctorWhoS25E1RemembranceOfTheDaleks in spite of the planet being reduced to ashes previously]] (the planet is [[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E1AsylumOfTheDaleks still not-destroyed]] [[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E1TheMagiciansApprentice to this day]]; again though, do we ''need'' a reason [[JokerImmunity when Daleks are involved]]?). He's supposed to take them to Gallifrey for, well, maybe a really dignified and tasteful ashes-scattering ceremony over the seas of Rassilon or something.

As we open, the Master has apparently escaped the [[Recap/DoctorWhoS26E4Survival cheetah planet]], only to be EX-TER-MIN-AT-ED by the Daleks ([[SpecialEffectFailiure who now sound like cyborg chipmunks]]) for no stated reason. (Then again, it's [[OmnicidalManiac the Daleks]]. Did they really ''need'' a reason?). The Seventh Doctor, a lot more wiser, and more weary since we last saw him on screen, and having not only shed his question mark pullover but Ace as well, is charged with bringing his ashes back (yes, ashes; maybe the Daleks decided he wasn't worth the usual level of agony they use with their guns) from Skaro, [[Recap/DoctorWhoS25E1RemembranceOfTheDaleks in spite of the planet being reduced to ashes previously]] (the planet is [[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E1AsylumOfTheDaleks still not-destroyed]] [[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E1TheMagiciansApprentice to this day]]; again though, do we ''need'' a reason [[JokerImmunity when Daleks are involved]]?). He's supposed to take them to Gallifrey for, well, maybe a really dignified and tasteful ashes-scattering ceremony over the seas of Rassilon or something.

As we open, the Master has apparently escaped the [[Recap/DoctorWhoS26E4Survival cheetah planet]], only to be EX-TER-MIN-AT-ED by the Daleks ([[TheOtherDarrin who now sound like cyborg chipmunks]]) for no stated reason. (Then again, it's [[OmnicidalManiac the Daleks]]. Did they really ''need'' a reason?). The Seventh Doctor, a lot more wiser, and more weary since we last saw him on screen, and having not only shed his question mark pullover but Ace as well, is charged with bringing his ashes back (yes, ashes; maybe the Daleks decided he wasn't worth the usual level of agony they use with their guns) from Skaro, [[Recap/DoctorWhoS25E1RemembranceOfTheDaleks in spite of the planet being reduced to ashes previously]] (the planet is [[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E1AsylumOfTheDaleks still not-destroyed]] [[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E1TheMagiciansApprentice to this day]]; again though, do we ''need'' a reason [[JokerImmunity when Daleks are involved]]?). He's supposed to take them to Gallifrey for, well, maybe a really dignified and tasteful ashes-scattering ceremony over the seas of Rassilon or something.

As we open, [[The Master the Master]] has apparently escaped the [[Recap/DoctorWhoS26E4Survival cheetah planet]], only to be EX-TER-MIN-AT-ED by the Daleks ([[TheOtherDarrin who now sound like cyborg chipmunks]]) for no stated reason. (Then again, it's [[OmnicidalManiac the Daleks]]. Did they really ''need'' a reason?). The Seventh Doctor, a lot more wiser, and more weary since we last saw him on screen, and having not only shed his question mark pullover but Ace as well, is charged with bringing his ashes back (yes, ashes; maybe the Daleks decided he wasn't worth the usual level of agony they use with their guns) from Skaro, [[Recap/DoctorWhoS25E1RemembranceOfTheDaleks in spite of the planet being reduced to ashes previously]] (the planet is [[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E1AsylumOfTheDaleks still not-destroyed]] [[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E1TheMagiciansApprentice to this day]]; again though, do we ''need'' a reason [[JokerImmunity when Daleks are involved]]?). He's supposed to take them to Gallifrey for, well, maybe a really dignified and tasteful ashes-scattering ceremony over the seas of Rassilon or something.

As we open, the Master has apparently escaped the [[Recap/DoctorWhoS26E4Survival cheetah planet]], only to be EX-TER-MIN-AT-ED by the Daleks ([[TheOtherDarrin who now sound like cyborg chipmunks]]) for no stated reason. (Then again, it's [[OmnicidalManiac the Daleks]]. Did they really ''need'' a reason?). The Seventh Doctor, a lot more wiser, and more weary since we last saw him, and having not only shed his question mark pullover but Ace as well, is charged with bringing his ashes back (yes, ashes; maybe the Daleks decided he wasn't worth the usual level of agony they use with their guns) from Skaro, [[Recap/DoctorWhoS25E1RemembranceOfTheDaleks in spite of the planet being reduced to ashes previously]] (the planet is [[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E1AsylumOfTheDaleks still not-destroyed]] [[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E1TheMagiciansApprentice to this day]]; again though, do we ''need'' a reason [[JokerImmunity when Daleks are involved]]?). He's supposed to take them to Gallifrey for, well, maybe a really dignified and tasteful ashes-scattering ceremony over the seas of Rassilon or something.

->''[[FamousLastWords No! Timing malfunction! The Master; he's out there! I've got to stop... him!]]''

* BigDamnMovie: Inversion. This is probably one of the simpler stories in ''Doctor Who'', not to mention being shorter than many classic series (and a couple of new series) serials. There ''is'' the whole "the world is about to end" part of the plot, [[ButforMeItWasTuesday but then for the Doctor that's just a regular Friday.]]

*** The first chapter and a half goes into more detail about aspects of the TARDIS and how and why the Doctor got the Master's remains.

''[[FamousLastWords No! Timing malfunction! The Master; he's out there! I've got to stop... him!]]''

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar:
** It seems the censors didn't get a good look at the nose on the Nixon mask the Doctor discards.
** The bondage-gear-looking device the Master uses on the Doctor -- and the Master's remark that he suspects Grace won't need any instructions on how to use it.

* OutOfContinues: The Master's whole motivation, not spoilered because it's made clear from the beginning: Having run out of regenerations, the Master wants to steal the Doctor's. (Or, as he put it, "[[HamAndCheese I NEED]] [[HoYay THE DOCTOR'S]] [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar BODY]]"!) I'll get me coat...

As we open, the Master has apparently escaped the [[Recap/DoctorWhoS26E4Survival cheetah planet]], only to be EX-TER-MIN-AT-ED by the Daleks ([[TheOtherDarrin who now sound like cyborg chipmunks]]) for no stated reason. (Then again, it's [[OmnicidalManiac the Daleks]]. Did they really ''need'' a reason?) The Seventh Doctor, a lot more wiser, and more weary since we last saw him, and having not only shed his question mark pullover but Ace as well, is charged with bringing his ashes back (yes, ashes. Maybe the Daleks decided he wasn't worth the usual level of agony they use with their guns.) from Skaro, [[Recap/DoctorWhoS25E1RemembranceOfTheDaleks in spite of the planet being reduced to ashes previously]] (the planet is [[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E1AsylumOfTheDaleks still not-destroyed]] [[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E1TheMagiciansApprentice to this day]]). He's supposed to take them to Gallifrey for, well, maybe a really dignified and tasteful ashes-scattering ceremony over the seas of Rassilon or something.

Before the Master's ashes can be returned, though, they turn into a semi-intelligent blob of amorphous goo. This blobby thing escapes from the little casket and wreaks havoc with the TARDIS controls. The TARDIS (which has updated its "desktop theme" beautifully at some point after the cheetah planet), the Doctor, and the blob crash-land in UsefulNotes/SanFrancisco, on New Year's Eve 1999. Unfortunately, they've landed in the middle of a Chinese gang war. Half a second after the Doctor sets foot outside the TARDIS, he's hit by two stray bullets from the shootout.

Anyway, [[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E12HellBent as the man himself would later state]], [[TheNthDoctor death is Time Lord for man flu]], although thanks to the anesthetic, he came close to clocking out permanently. Thankfully, hours later, the Doctor starts to regenerate in the morgue. His bone structure crackles as it transforms, and energies fling out of his body. His face does a lot of wicked contorting and changes into someone looking like Creator/PaulMcGann. Meet the Eighth Doctor. Right off the bat, Eight is confused and suffering from a bad case of [[Recap/DoctorWhoS19E1Castrovalva post-regenerative amnesia]]. But his regeneration has boosted his strength. He starts pounding on the cold storage door several times until it falls down with a heavy thump. The Doctor scares [[FatComicRelief Pete the morgue worker]] half to death by appearing right when the guy is watching an old Film/{{Frankenstein|1931}} film. Wandering around the hospital in a daze, the Doctor ends up in the run-down "broken mirrors and creepy dolls" wing where he takes to a moment to [[ChewingTheScenery scream "WHO AM I?!" dramatically]], while wrapped in that white shroud and showing off his half-naked torso. The fact that he LooksLikeJesus is neatly paired with shots of the satanic Master looking very serious.

The Doctor swipes a Wild Bill Hickok costume from the employee locker room, explained as being there in preparation for the hospital's New Year's Eve fancy dress party, thus creating a new Whovian IconicOutfit. (The screenwriters needn't have bothered with an explanation -- being dressed up as an old Western hero around town is, by [[QuirkyTown San Francisco standards]], only mildly eccentric.) True to his character, the Doctor sees no need for the costume's gun-belt accessory and therefore leaves it behind.

Now dressed, though still barefoot and sporting a toe tag, the Doctor tries to figure out who he is. The sight of Grace jogs his memory, and he follows her to her car, where she is even ''further'' freaked out when he extracts a stray bit of medical probe from his person and explains that he's the two-hearted guy she killed the night before. Grace takes this about as well as can be expected, especially considering she just quit her job over a Doctor-related coverup, ''and'' her boyfriend just left her for leaving the opera halfway through. But eventually, she takes him home with her (not like that... well... okay, ''maybe'' like that) and gives him her ex-boyfriend's shoes. The Doctor's memory is soon restored, and he snogs Grace a few times out of sheer joy, forever shattering the series' NoHuggingNoKissing policy and setting the template for the last four incarnations in his regeneration cycle.

The Master, meanwhile, has paired up with Lee, and Lee is able to freely wander around the TARDIS (using the Doctor's key) because the TARDIS apparently likes him. The Master exploits Lee's naivete, claims that the Doctor is a villain trying to steal the Master's lifeforce, and promises him gold in return for helping him, and the two open the onboard Eye of Harmony, thus overloading the TARDIS and wreaking havoc on Earth.

The Doctor senses this, and decides that he must, simply ''must'' have a beryllium atomic clock to repair the TARDIS. As luck would have it, one is being inaugurated that very night, at a posh party that Grace [[ContrivedCoincidence (even]] ''[[ContrivedCoincidence more]]'' [[ContrivedCoincidence luckily)]] has tickets to. There's a traffic jam, so the Doctor swipes a police motorcycle by threatening to shoot ''himself''.

The Doctor finally gets his hands on the beryllium atomic clock, after pissing off half the fanbase by confusing the script's first draft with the final product and thus randomly claiming he's half-human. The day is saved from being wiped out by an overloaded TARDIS going boom.

Oh, and the Master tries to steal the Doctor's body while blowing things up, the Doctor is put in bondage gadgets, the Master tenderly kisses Lee on his forehead for no reason, and the Eye of Harmony eventually saves everyone by sucking the Master into its core. The Doctor reaches out and tries to save him, but to no avail. The Master gets killed DeaderThanDead for [[KilledOffForReal real]]... [[JokerImmunity for a]] [[AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho while]]. (Although, it ''was'' [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E12TheSoundOfDrums the Time Lords' doing that one time.]]) You know, [[DeathIsCheap the usual]] for the Master.

And Grace and Lee both die, but the TARDIS revives them... somehow, and the three return to San Francisco at the stroke of midnight. As a parting gift, the Doctor gives Lee a bag of gold dust and sends him on his merry way. The Doctor asks Grace to come with him, and Grace asks the Doctor to stay with her. They figure that it won't work out either way and just say a sweet goodbye. And with the world saved and the Master safely dead, the Doctor....

Yes, Fox had to be ruddy gits and turn down the attempt to produce an official revival of ''Doctor Who'', despite good criticism of the movie. The series would not return once and for all until '''2005''', when Creator/RussellTDavies managed to enstate a revival of the series with much greater production values.

Although the UK broadcast was a ratings success, the US ratings were what its future hinged on; despite great ratings with males for the day it aired, it had little-to-no female demographics, and that made its marketing potential look rather one-sided and unexploitable to the fullest. (Which is blamed on Fox's decision to run the movie against David and Darlene's wedding on ''Series/{{Roseanne}}''.) Fox disliked this, for some reason. And so, ''Series/DoctorWho'' was put back into limbo for almost another decade - though this may have been a good thing, since there were plans to enact a ContinuityReboot had the movie succeeded in getting the show back on the air. Meanwhile, the adventures of the Eighth Doctor would continue in [[Literature/EighthDoctorAdventures literary]], [[Magazine/DoctorWhoMagazine comic book]], and [[AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho audio]] format, with Creator/PaulMcGann reprising his role in the latter up to this very day.

The "half-human" thing has been [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E13ThePartingOfTheWays brushed]] [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E13JourneysEnd aside]] and [[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E12HellBent tentatively discussed]] a few times in the new series. It has been either accepted, ignored, or {{Hand Wave}}d by various [[Franchise/DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse Expanded Universe]] works. On one memorable occasion, the novel ''[[Recap/EighthDoctorAdventuresUnnaturalHistory Unnatural History]]'' had Franchise/FactionParadox messing with the Doctor's timeline to the point where his supposed human ancestry was shown as simply one of his many MultipleChoicePast options, his timeline and origins constantly in flux. Whatever the case, remember, [[MultipleChoicePast the Doctor lies...]]

----

* HospitalHottie: Grace, especially in her big dress.

As we open, the Master has apparently escaped the [[Recap/DoctorWhoS26E4Survival cheetah planet]], only to be EX-TER-MIN-AT-ED by the Daleks (who now sound like cyborg chipmunks) for no stated reason. (Then again, it's [[OmnicidalManiac the Daleks]]. Did they really ''need'' a reason?) The Seventh Doctor, a lot more wiser, and more weary since we last saw him, and having not only shed his question mark pullover but Ace as well, is charged with bringing his ashes back (yes, ashes. Maybe the Daleks decided he wasn't worth the usual level of agony they use with their guns.) from Skaro, [[Recap/DoctorWhoS25E1RemembranceOfTheDaleks in spite of the planet being reduced to ashes previously]] (the planet is [[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E1AsylumOfTheDaleks still not-destroyed]] [[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E1TheMagiciansApprentice to this day]]). He's supposed to take them to Gallifrey for, well, maybe a really dignified and tasteful ashes-scattering ceremony over the seas of Rassilon or something.

The Doctor swipes a Wild Bill Hickok costume from the employee locker room, explained as being there in preparation for the hospital's New Year's Eve fancy dress party, thus creating a new Whovian IconicOutfit. (The screenwriters needn't have bothered with an explanation -- being dressed up as an old Western hero around town is, by [[CityOfWeirdos San Francisco standards]], only mildly eccentric.) True to his character, the Doctor sees no need for the costume's gun-belt accessory and therefore leaves it behind.

* BigDamnMovie: Inversion. This is probably one of the simpler stories in ''Doctor Who'', not to mention being shorter than many classic series (and a couple of new series) serials. There ''is'' the whole "the world is about to end" part of the plot, but then for the Doctor that's just a regular Friday.

The Master, meanwhile, has paired up with Lee, and Lee is able to freely wander around the TARDIS (using the Doctor's key) because the TARDIS apparently likes him. The Master exploits Lee's naivete, and claims that the Doctor is a villain trying to steal the Master's lifeforce, promises him gold in return for helping him, and the two open the onboard Eye of Harmony, thus overloading the TARDIS and wreaking havoc on Earth.

One of the gang members, Chang Lee, is nice enough to call an ambulance. The ambulance arrives, with EMT Bruce. Bruce, Chang Lee, and "John Smith" are whisked away to the hospital, where the Doctor's physiology is sufficiently different from the human norm to cause a few raised eyebrows. Trauma surgeon Dr. Grace Holloway is called in (from a performance of ''Theatre/MadameButterfly'', where she was [[TenderTears weeping tenderly]], while on call) to check out why the man seems to have a double-speed heart beat. And to see why every scan keeps showing two hearts. As such, cue the {{Irony}}: the Seventh Doctor, the master manipulator, is now failing at the task of manipulating the continuance of his own life. He grows panicky, desperate to warn these surgeons '''not''' to operate on him, who are now assuming he is a human, having never seen an alien at all, and since he looks human, the difference doesn't register. He fights the anesthetic ''[[MadeOfIron two times]]'' to beg them not to take a peek inside him, but his pleas are written off as sedative-induced irrationality. He's put under each time. Even though the bullet wound is OnlyAFleshWound and pretty much harmless, Grace inadvertently does more harm than good when she starts poking inside the Doctor's arteries. The surgery takes a turn for the worse when Grace gets a probe stuck in the Doctor's unfamiliar physiology and it [[BodyHorror snaps off]] inside his body. Seven wakes up from the shock a third and final time. But he's not got any words left in him. Just a huge ''scream''. The painful last gasp of the seventh incarnation of our Time Lord protagonist drowns out the sound of the music [[NiceJobBreakingItHero and the Doctor flatlines]] on the operating table. From exploratory surgery. Congratulations, Grace! You're the first companion to successfully ''kill the Doctor''! The Daleks could take lessons from this woman!

Before the Master's ashes can be returned, though, they turn into a semi-intelligent blob of amorphous goo. This blobby thing escapes from the little casket and wreaks havoc with the TARDIS controls. The TARDIS (which in the interim between the cheetah planet and now updated its "desktop theme" beautifully), the Doctor, and the blob crash-land in UsefulNotes/SanFrancisco, on New Year's Eve 1999. Unfortunately, they've landed in the middle of a Chinese gang war. Half a second after the Doctor sets foot outside the TARDIS, he's hit by two stray bullets from the shootout.

* TravellingAtTheSpeedOfPlot: Though [=TARDIS=] journeys are usually portrayed as instantaneous or taking a few seconds at most, here The Doctor settles down with a cup of tea and a book after programming a course for Gallifrey.

Watch it [[http://www.tubeplus.me/player/149321/Doctor_Who/ here.]]

* SciFiWritersHave/NoSenseOfDistance: The Doctor says that Galifrey is on the other side of our galaxy, two hundred and fifty million light years away. Our galaxy is only a hundred thousand light years wide.

* TheMovie: Officially marketed by the BBC as ''Doctor Who: The Movie''.

* TravellingAtTheSpeedOfPlot: Though [=TARDIS=] journeys re usually portrayed as instantaneous or taking a few seconds at most, here The Doctor settles down with a cup of te and a book after programming a course for Gallifrey.