Taking place at BFI Southbank as part of their year-long 50th anniversary celebrations, the screening was followed by a highly entertaining Q&A session with Paul McGann (the Eighth Doctor), Daphne Ashbrook (companion Dr Grace Holloway) and director Geoffrey Sax.
Here are some of the highlights from the Q&A…
» Paul McGann: “I was nervous. I remember feeling really nervous when I realised it was quite a responsibility.”
» Geoffrey Sax: “Eric Roberts [who played the Master] was… eccentric! He looked at the costumes and said ‘this is ridiculous’.”
» Paul McGann: “Phil [Segal, executive producer] and I would sit there for hours… we yakked about the character. We talked about things we might have done in the first series and second series.”
» Daphne Ashbrook: “It was a lovely set to work on. I had the best time with these guys.”
» Paul McGann: “It was a pilot. The standard contract for a North American pilot is for 6-7 years. I’d never signed such a thing before! We were looking at houses [in Vancouver, where the pilot was filmed].”
» Daphne Ashbrook: “My favourite part [of the shoot] was that I got to meet Sylvester McCoy. He was always there playing his spoons!”
» Paul McGann: “[The Doctors and their companions are] all doing kissing scenes now. We were trend-setters, we were pioneers!”
» Daphne Ashbrook: “I’m amazed at how much stuff [referencing the classic series] we managed to get in [to the TV Movie].”
» Paul McGann: “I wanted to wear a leather jacket, so I would’ve got there 10 years before Eccleston!”
» Daphne Ashbrook: “I didn’t know a darn thing [about Doctor Who when I was cast]. It was so much fun to discover it with you guys. I was so grateful I didn’t know, I think I would’ve had a stroke!”
» Paul McGann: “I felt [the Doctor] was a fugitive and very alone.”
» Geoffrey Sax: “They started building the sets before they had a director.”
» Paul McGann: “Bill Hartnell was my Doctor. He was scary! And Chris Eccleston too – there’s a really haunted, tough-but-tender [approach to the Ninth Doctor].”
» Daphne Ashbrook: “I miss Amy and Rory!”
» Paul McGann: “I would [have returned in 2005 if Russell T Davies had asked], definitely.”
The BFI’s 50th anniversary celebrations continue next month with a screening of An Adventure in Space and Time, Mark Gatiss’s upcoming BBC Two drama about the genesis of Doctor Who, at 8.20pm on Tuesday 12 November.
> Find out how to buy tickets on the BFI website.
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