"the BBC ceased publishing them, a licence to continue was sought by Big Finish Productions, who published some for a while. They now continue to publish their own range of Short Trips collections as audios. These novels all feature the Eighth Doctor, as portrayed in the 1996 television movie by Paul McGann. Following the events of the 1996 ""Doctor Who"" television movie, the Eighth Doctor picks up a British teenager from 1997, Samantha ""Sam"" Jones, and later a disaffected drifter in his late twenties named Fitz Kreiner from 1963. During their adventures, the threesome tangle with the Faction Paradox, a"
"Doctor in the ""Doctor Who"" 1996 television film. The television film also starred Eric Roberts, Daphne Ashbrook and featured the outgoing Seventh Doctor, Sylvester McCoy. McGann's brother, Mark McGann, also auditioned for the title role. The ""Doctor Who"" television film was a joint venture between the BBC, Universal Studios and the Fox Broadcasting Network. McGann had signed a contract to appear as the Eighth Doctor in a new Doctor Who series, if Fox or Universal exercised their option. Thus, the television film was supposed to be a ""back door pilot"" in that, if it obtained respectable ratings, the new series"
"partly responsible for triggering his regeneration. In the continued adventures of the character depicted in audio dramas, novels and comic books he travels alongside numerous other companions, including self-styled ""Edwardian Adventuress"" Charley, the alien Destrii and present-day humans Lucie and Sam. The Eighth Doctor made his first television appearance in the 1996 ""Doctor Who"" television film, the first time the Doctor had returned to television screens since the end of the original series in 1989. Intended as a backdoor pilot for a new television series on the Fox Network, the film drew 5.5% of the US audience, according to Nielsen"
"paramedic named Bruce (Eric Roberts). The Master (Roberts) then attempts to steal the Doctor's remaining lives by opening the Eye of Harmony inside the Doctor's time machine, the TARDIS, nearly destroying the Earth in the process. However, the Doctor and his companion Dr Grace Holloway (Daphne Ashbrook) are able to prevent the Earth's destruction, and the Master is sucked into the Eye. The TV film did not lead to the commissioning of a revived television series, and while Eighth Doctor stories continued in other media, ""Doctor Who"" did not air again on television until 2005. After this, footage and stills"
"scene, McCoy briefly wore a wig and appeared, face-down until the last moment before the regeneration commenced, as the sixth Doctor. He played the Doctor in the 1993 charity special ""Dimensions in Time"", and again in 1996, appearing in the beginning of the ""Doctor Who"" television movie starring Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor. In his first series, McCoy, a comedy actor, portrayed the character with a degree of clown-like humour, but script editor Andrew Cartmel soon changed that when fans argued that the character (and plots) were becoming increasingly lightweight. The Seventh Doctor developed into a much darker figure"
"Eighth Doctor's final adventure and his regeneration into the War Doctor (played by John Hurt). Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien (a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey) who travels in time and space in his TARDIS, frequently with companions. At the end of life, the Doctor's body can regenerate, but in doing so gains a new physical appearance and with it, a distinct new personality. McGann portrays the eighth such incarnation, a passionate, enthusiastic, and eccentric character. His only companion in the television film is Grace Holloway (Daphne Ashbrook), a medical doctor whose surgery is"
"Who""). Beginning with the next story, ""Castrovalva"", until the series's cancellation in 1989, the character was credited simply as ""The Doctor"". The 1996 television film did not have an on-screen credit for the Eighth Doctor, but listed the Seventh as the ""Old Doctor"". The 2005 relaunch returned the credit to ""Doctor Who"", and then again to ""The Doctor"" in ""The Christmas Invasion"" (at the request of David Tennant). Also, Episode 4 was the first to credit two actors as ""Doctor Who"" or ""The Doctor"" when a regeneration scene was involved. It also happened at the end of Episode 4 of"
"traits are ""balanced by occasional feelings of self-doubt and weariness of his endless battles against evil."" Discussing ""The Night of the Doctor"", McGann said, ""[Moffat's] instinctive take on the Eighth Doctor was exactly how I'd imagined this character to be, even way back, back in the 90s. You know, this... like a bruised nobility. I know it sounds wanky now, but... he's decent, but he's compromised. He's not a warrior, really, at all. There's a pacifist side to him, but he's a realist as well."" The Eighth Doctor debuts in the TV film ""Doctor Who"". While transporting the remains of"
"days before being broadcast in the United States on Fox. It was also shown in some countries for a limited time in cinemas. The film was the first attempt to revive ""Doctor Who"" following its suspension in 1989. It was intended as a backdoor pilot for a new American-produced ""Doctor Who"" TV series. It introduced Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor in his only televised appearance as the character until ""The Night of the Doctor"" in 2013 (though McGann has portrayed the Doctor also in various audio productions). It also marks the final appearance of Sylvester McCoy as the Seventh"
"increased level of visibility that would come with the part. He revealed in an interview with ""Entertainment Weekly"" that he had been invited to audition for the role of the Eighth Doctor in 1995 prior to the production of the 1996 TV film, stating: ""I didn't go. I loved the show so much, and I didn't think I would get it, and I didn't want to just be part of a big cull of actors."" In 2014, Capaldi voiced the Doctor on the ""CBBC"" website's game, ""The Doctor and the Dalek"" and in 2015 voiced him in ""Lego Dimensions"". In"
"special ""The Day of the Doctor"", before appearing in the 2013 Christmas special ""The Time of the Doctor"". A lifelong fan of the series, Capaldi had played Lobus Caecilius in the 2008 episode ""The Fires of Pompeii"" and a civil servant, John Frobisher, in the 2009 spin-off """". Before taking the role, Capaldi said that he had to seriously consider the increased visibility that would come with the part. He said in an interview with ""Entertainment Weekly"" that he had been invited to audition for the role of the Eighth Doctor in 1995 before the production of the 1996 TV"
"dundrearyisms (""Time and tide melt the snowman,"" or when partner Mel is kidnapped, ""A bird in the hand keeps the Doctor away""), playing the spoons, and making pratfalls, but later started to develop a darker nature. The Seventh Doctor era is noted for the cancellation of ""Doctor Who"" after 26 years. It is also noted for the Virgin New Adventures, a range of original novels published from 1992 to 1997, taking the series beyond the television serials. The Seventh Doctor's final appearance on television was in the 1996 ""Doctor Who"" television movie, where he regenerated into the Eighth Doctor, played"
"Sylvester McCoy Sylvester McCoy (born Percy James Patrick Kent-Smith; 20 August 1943) is a Scottish actor, best known for playing the seventh incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running science fiction television series ""Doctor Who"" from 1987 to 1989—the final Doctor of the original run—and briefly returning in a television film in 1996. He was born Percy James Patrick Kent-Smith in Dunoon, on the Cowal peninsula, to an Irish mother and English father, killed in action in World War II a couple of months before his son was born. His maternal grandmother was from Portadown, Northern Ireland. He was raised"
"with regards to products connected to the Eighth Doctor. With the introduction of a new official series logo in 2005, the 1996 logo continued to be used by Big Finish Productions as the logo for all pre-2005 series material including books and audio dramas, and by the BBC on DVD releases of episodes from the 1963–89 series, books and audio. The Third Doctor appeared again in the 20th anniversary special ""The Five Doctors"", broadcast in 1983. A stage play, ""Doctor Who – The Ultimate Adventure"", was produced in 1989, starring Jon Pertwee (occasionally replaced by an understudy then later, until"
"as ""The Doctor"", rather than ""Doctor Who"". The credit would remain as ""The Doctor"" until the series' cancellation in 1989, at the end of Season 26. In the 1996 TV film, no credit was actually given for the Eighth Doctor (although the Seventh Doctor was called the ""Old Doctor"" in the onscreen credits). For the first season of the 2005 revival, the credit reverted to ""Doctor Who"". The title became ""The Doctor"" again in ""The Christmas Invasion"" at the request of new star David Tennant. For the final scene, the script called for Adric to look ""pallid"" as he was"
"series."" Actor Paul McGann has described himself with good humour as ""the George Lazenby of ""Doctor Who"""" because, although he has continued in the role of the Eighth Doctor in other media, he made only two appearances on TV as the Time Lord. In a September 2006 episode of ""The Daily Show"", comedian John Oliver suggested that Pope Benedict XVI is the George Lazenby of the papacy, in comparison to ""John Paul II's Sean Connery"". In 2009, Sondre Lerche released a song called ""Like Lazenby"" on the album ""Heartbeat Radio"" in which he laments squandered opportunities wishing for a ""second"
"from the TV film would be used in later episodes ""The Next Doctor"" (2008), ""The Eleventh Hour"", ""The Lodger"" (both 2010) and ""Nightmare in Silver"" (2013). Edited archive footage in ""The Name of the Doctor"" very briefly shows the Eighth Doctor sharing an adventure with the Second Doctor (Patrick Troughton). McGann reprised the role for a webcast mini-episode, ""The Night of the Doctor"", in 2013, which precedes the 50th anniversary special, ""The Day of the Doctor"". He is shown to be a conscientious objector to the raging Time War between Daleks and Time Lords, and is killed when attempting to"
"Ninth Doctor The Ninth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television programme ""Doctor Who"". He is portrayed by Christopher Eccleston during the first series of the show's revival in 2005. Within the programme's narrative, the Doctor is a time travelling, humanoid alien from a race known as the Time Lords. At the end of life, the Doctor can regenerate his body, but in doing so gains a new physical appearance and with it, a distinct new personality. The production team's approach to the character and Eccleston's portrayal were highlighted as being intentionally"
"be interested as long as he ""didn't have to wear a wig"". After months of speculation, on 14 November 2013 (coincidentally McGann's birthday), as part of the show's 50th Anniversary celebrations, Paul McGann finally reprised his role as the Eighth Doctor, in the mini-episode ""The Night of the Doctor"". In this appearance his incarnation of the Doctor finally regenerates, 17 years after his first television appearance, into a previously unknown Doctor played by John Hurt. In November 2013 McGann briefly appeared in the 50th anniversary comedy homage ""The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot"". In the years following his appearance as the Doctor,"
"on his final adventure in ""The End of Time"". Executive producer Russell T Davies revived ""Doctor Who"" after a 16-year absence with the premiere of ""Rose"" in 2005. Following the BBC's announcement of a second series being commissioned, the story broke that Christopher Eccleston, who played the titular Ninth Doctor, would not be returning for the second series. On 16 April 2005, the BBC announced that David Tennant had been selected for the role of the Tenth Doctor. His first appearance in the series was for 20 seconds following the Ninth Doctor's regeneration at the end of ""The Parting of"
"company had been restricted to only using characters from the original 1963-1989 series, plus McGann's Eighth Doctor from the 1996 ""Doctor Who"" TV movie). She also appeared in ""Doom Coalition 3"" and ""Doom Coalition 4"" alongside the Eighth Doctor. During these appearances, River avoids directly meeting with the Eighth Doctor to preserve the timeline; in ""Diary"" she communicates with him over a distorted radio transmission, and in ""Coalition"" she initially only assists his companions, although she later meets the Doctor directly while wearing a 'psychic wimple' while disguised as a nun, the wimple presenting her with a different face to"
"Doctor Who (season 8) The eighth season of British science fiction television series ""Doctor Who"" began on 2 January 1971 with ""Terror of the Autons"" and ended with ""The Dæmons"" featuring Jon Pertwee as the Third Doctor. Jon Pertwee continues his role as the Third Doctor. Katy Manning makes her first appearance as companion Jo Grant in ""Terror of the Autons"". Nicholas Courtney and John Levene continue their roles of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and Sergeant Benton, while Richard Franklin makes his first appearance as Captain Mike Yates. Roger Delgado makes his first appearance as The Master in ""Terror of the Autons"""
"Doctor Who (season 26) The twenty-sixth season of British science fiction television series ""Doctor Who"" began on 9 September 1989 with the serial ""Battlefield"", after a regular series of four serials was broadcast finishing with ""Survival"" which was the final episode of ""Doctor Who"" to air before a 16-year absence from episodic television following its cancellation. Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred both continue their roles as the Seventh Doctor and Ace for their final season. Nicholas Courtney returned to play Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart in ""Battlefield"". He first appeared with the Second Doctor in 1968 in ""The Web of Fear"" before becoming"
"The Night of the Doctor ""The Night of the Doctor"" is a mini-episode of the British science fiction television programme ""Doctor Who"". It was made available on BBC iPlayer and YouTube on 14 November 2013, as part of the BBC One lead-up to the show's 50th anniversary special. It was written by Steven Moffat and starred Paul McGann as the Doctor. The episode is set during the Time War and shows the previously unseen last moments of the Eighth Doctor (McGann), and his artificially controlled regeneration into the War Doctor (John Hurt). It is McGann's second onscreen appearance as the"
"his ""time was over all too swiftly"". A 2012 poll conducted by the United States media news magazine ""Entertainment Weekly"" resulted in Eccleston being voted the fourth most popular Doctor, behind David Tennant, Matt Smith (the Eleventh Doctor) and Tom Baker. Ninth Doctor The Ninth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television programme ""Doctor Who"". He is portrayed by Christopher Eccleston during the first series of the show's revival in 2005. Within the programme's narrative, the Doctor is a time travelling, humanoid alien from a race known as the Time Lords. At"
"Grace Holloway Dr. Grace Holloway is a fictional character played by Daphne Ashbrook in the 1996 television movie ""Doctor Who"", a continuation of the long-running British science fiction television series ""Doctor Who"". A cardiologist from San Francisco in 1999, she assists the Eighth Doctor in defeating the renegade Time Lord, the Master. When the Seventh Doctor lands on December 30, 1999 in San Francisco, he is gunned down by a gang on the streets of Chinatown. Unaware of his alien physiology, Grace accidentally kills him when she attempts to operate. He subsequently regenerates into his eighth incarnation, and involves Grace"
"the Eighth Doctor. Costume designer Howard Burden said that Hurt's character was a ""dark Doctor"" existing between the Doctor's eighth and ninth incarnations. He was also seen to use a new sonic screwdriver with a red light, closely matching the prop used by the Third and Fourth Doctors. He kept it in a bandolier originally worn by Cass, played by Emma Campbell-Jones, a young pilot who dies after refusing the Doctor's help. The War Doctor first appears at the conclusion of the series seven finale ""The Name of the Doctor"" when the Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith) and companion Clara Oswald"
"Peter Capaldi. Eccleston and Capaldi would go on to play the Ninth and Twelfth incarnations of the Doctor, respectively, in the revived series of ""Doctor Who"" which began in 2005. Eccleston turned down the offer to audition for the TV Movie because at the time he felt he was not yet an established enough actor and did not want to be associated with a ""brand name"" so early in his career. Capaldi declined because he felt it was unlikely that he would be given the part. Of those actors who originally auditioned for the role of the Doctor, a number"
"calls himself ""the Eleventh"" in ""The Lodger"". In the 2013 episode ""The Time of the Doctor,"" the Eleventh Doctor clarified he was the product of the twelfth regeneration, due to a previous incarnation which he chose not to count and one other aborted regeneration. The name Eleventh is still used for this incarnation; the same episode depicts the prophesied ""Fall of the Eleventh"" which had been trailed throughout the series. During the Seventh Doctor's era, it was hinted that the Doctor was more than just an ordinary Time Lord. In the 1996 television film, the Eighth Doctor describes himself as"
"Doctor's nature, somewhere between the twelfth and final incarnation. On rare occasions, other actors have stood in for the lead. In ""The Five Doctors"", Richard Hurndall played the First Doctor due to William Hartnell's death in 1975; 34 years later David Bradley similarly replaced Hartnell in ""Twice Upon a Time"". In ""Time and the Rani"", Sylvester McCoy briefly played the Sixth Doctor during the regeneration sequence, carrying on as the Seventh. For more information, see the list of actors who have played the Doctor. In other media, the Doctor has been played by various other actors, including Peter Cushing in"
"Paul McGann Paul John McGann (born 14 November 1959) is an English actor. He came to prominence for portraying Percy Toplis in the 1986 television serial ""The Monocled Mutineer"". He later starred in the 1987 dark comedy ""Withnail and I"", and as the eighth incarnation of the Doctor in the 1996 ""Doctor Who"" television film, a role he reprised in more than 70 audio dramas and the 2013 mini-episode ""The Night of the Doctor"". McGann is also known for playing Lieutenant William Bush in the ""Hornblower"" TV series. McGann was born in 1959 in Liverpool, into a Roman Catholic family"
"eventually declined to return as the Ninth Doctor. Sylvester McCoy, who played the Seventh Doctor, claimed that none of the surviving actors who portrayed the Doctor prior to Eccleston had been contacted regarding the special. Despite claiming that it would be ""a travesty"" if his character did not feature in the special, John Barrowman did not feature as Captain Jack Harkness. The release of ""The Night of the Doctor"" on 14 November revealed that Paul McGann had returned to portray the Eighth Doctor. On 1 June 2013, Matt Smith announced that he would be leaving ""Doctor Who"", with his final"
"usually for narrative, rather than casting, reasons. The current incarnation of the Doctor is played by Jodie Whittaker, following the regeneration of the Twelfth Doctor (portrayed by Peter Capaldi) during the 2017 Christmas special ""Twice Upon a Time"". The concept of regeneration was created in 1966 by the writers of ""Doctor Who"" as a method of replacing the leading actor. The role of the Doctor had been played by William Hartnell since the programme began in 1963 but, by 1966, it was increasingly apparent that Hartnell's health was deteriorating and he was becoming more difficult to work with. Producer John"