Pieces Of Eight
DOM CARTER EXPLORES HOW THE EIGHTH DOCTOR FOUND LIFE OUTSIDE THE TV SERIES
“This cannot be how it ends!” with these words the eighth Doctor summed up the fears of viewers during his first onscreen appearance in the 1996 tV movie. and even though the back-door pilot produced by bbc worldwide, Universal studios and twentieth century Fox failed to get picked up for a full series, it did provide a much-needed fresh start and establish a new Doctor who would go on to have hundreds of adventures beyond the small screen.
stories told in other mediums were of course nothing new for Doctor Who. but while other incarnations were content to make the odd trip via annuals and sky Ray ice lolly cards, the eighth Doctor was the first to have his character defined by spin-off media. During the depths of the wilderness years fans got to know him closely thanks to a deluge of comic strips, novels and audio dramas that at one point arguably saw the number of Doctor Who releases with Paul McGann’s face on it overtake that of any other incarnation.
at the heart of these stories was a character who had been deftly set up in a single performance. Russell t Davies described the eighth Doctor as a distillation of everything audiences expect the time Lord to be, full of charisma, warmth and gentleness. in other words, the perfect custodian while the show was off the air.
For devotees of this Doctor there are plenty of different avenues to pursue. if you’re after the intricate arc plots of steven Moffat then the paradox-riddled bbc books are a good place to turn. Meanwhile admirers of RtD’s more accessible approach are sure to appreciate the Doctor Who Magazine comic strip, which went to great lengths to appear contemporary for the time and balanced story elements that could just as easily appeal to dyed-in-the-wool-fans and readers with little knowledge of the show. however it’s the big Finish audios that have become the most legitimate of these adventures thanks to their characters getting name-dropped in 2013’s “the night of the Doctor”. this mini-episode, which brought the internet to its knees when it appeared on Youtube in the run-up to the 50th anniversary, saw the eighth Doctor find one more medium to experiment with before passing the baton to John hurt’s war Doctor. there’s a good case to be made that, from regeneration to regeneration, the eighth Doctor’s reign far outstrips that of his predecessors. not bad for the incarnation long thought of as a one-night stand.