Earlier this week it was announced that David Yates, director of the past four Harry Potter films and TV mini-series State of Play, has started work on a feature film adaptation of Doctor Who.
After it's inception in 1963 and cancellation in 1989, Doctor Who lived on in the hearts and minds of it's former fans, which lead to the 1996 film starring Paul McGann and of course the shows hugely successful revival in 2005. Since former show-runner Russell T Davies resurrected the series, the show has gone from strength to strength and is currently enjoying acclaim both in the UK and the USA under the banner of present producer Steven Moffat. Surely after six years of contemporary success and it's massive fan-base, the news of a Doctor Who movie would be warmly welcomed?
Apparently not so much, as quite a few comment boards and articles are clamouring with pre-emptive objections. So far, it has only been announced that David Yates will be directing it, and it's being produced by BBC Worldwide; there's currently no script, no cast, and no crew, and is certainly a good few years off production. All that's really known is that Yates intends to transform the show's concept onto the big screen, and has said that “Russell T Davies and then Steven Moffat have done their own transformations, which were fantastic, but we have to put that aside and start from scratch.” In essence, the idea is to create a film that's not tied to the current mythos surrounding the series, but will retain all elements that are recognisably Doctor Who.
Some of the objections currently circulating the web are fairly understandable. Doctor Who is a television show with a very rich history, so to turn it into a cinematic blockbuster could be a potentially damaging route, especially if they're leaving out a lot of the current history. As it's not going to be tied to the series, it will also feature a different actor in the role of the Doctor than who-ever will then be playing him on TV (Matt Smith's current contract comes to an end in about three years, although that doesn't necessarily mean the end of one of my favourite Doctors), and will be as stand-alone as the old Peter Cushing Dr. Who and the Daleks films. Lastly, taking into account the reception of the other films based on Doctor Who (such as Dr. Who and the Daleks and the 1996 movie), there's a great deal of pessimism that this will be another 'failed' attempt at a feature length adaptation. I actually enjoyed the 1996 film, although I have yet to find someone else who did, even though it's something that's been incorporated into both official and fan canon (something the Cushing films never did).
However, as the film's only an idea at the moment and has no solid foundations yet, are these criticisms not a bit too early? There's so much that could yet go right! I made the mistake of judging something from the outset with BBC's Sherlock, hearing that is was a modernised take on the most famous detective stories of all time. “Holmes was a Victorian detective,” my thoughts sort of said on the matter, “how can it be modernised without destroying everything we know and love?” And then I sat and watched it, and 90 minutes later it had become my favourite thing on television!
Personally, I think it could turn out to be a fantastic addition to the Doctor Who legacy. With a movie budget and big-name director at the helm of the production, it could result in a spectacular adventure – provided they get the right writers on board, but as Yates will be taking his time to get this right I doubt there'll be any half-baked narratives. One way I thought of how it could work would be a very traditional Doctor Who adventure (something with a similar narrative style to Human Nature and Family of Blood for it's excellent pacing and character development, but without the Doctor transforming into a human!), set far into the Doctor's personal future (say 1000 years), by which time his current adventures on television will be but a distant memory, and about as relevant to him as the William Hartnell episodes are to the current series; providing a rich tapestry of history, but are never really referenced. That way, it's not tied to the current series, but nor is it ignoring everything the Whovians fear to lose, and leaves the Doctor free to have new escapades across time and space.
So here's to what could go right with the film; a bigger budget could lead to bigger adventures, we'll have a new take on the tale of an ancient alien traveller that can be, and has already been, transformed on numerous occasions! It may not have a storyline or a Doctor just yet, but if production on this film goes ahead then the potential for it is almost infinite. There's still every possibility this could reap the same success as the Star Trek reboot in 2009, and I certainly have every faith that David Yates could do Doctor Who great credit on the big screen.
What do you think? Is this film a great idea to expand the story of television's most famous Time Lord, or is it a travesty doomed to failure? Leave a comment below!
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