Doctor Who Am I
Dir Matthew Jacobs and Vanessa Yuille, US 2022 Kaleidoscope, (£12.99) Blu-ray, (£9.99) DVD and digital download
“I’m half human on my mother’s side” – and that kiss.
If you recognise the references, then this DVD is for you. They’re the two most derided aspects of the 1996 attempt to bring Doctor Who back after the BBC axed it in 1989. The US/BBC co-production starred Paul McGann as The Doctor and Eric (chew the scenery) Roberts as The Master. Many regard it as a flop. It had been hoped it would be the start of a new series, but that was not to be, and the blame is often placed firmly at the door of writer Matthew Jacobs. Jacobs seemed to take this to heart, fearing things might not go well for him if he ever went to a Doctor Who convention. But that is exactly what he does here, in a Louis Theroux kind of way.
Chats with McGann, Roberts, Ashbrooke, producer Philip Segal and a myriad of fans ensue. Some people tell Jacobs he ruined their childhoods, but as they go on to have a pleasant chat with him, and no security is needed, it seems no one is actually bearing a grudge. What Jacobs finds is a spirit of community and a shared interest bringing everyone together to quite simply have fun. Even with the complaints – What do you call someone who hates Doctor Who? A fan! – Jacobs realises he has more in common with these people than he thought; and far from wanting his blood, they want to hear his stories – about the TV movie, of course, but also from the time he was on set when his father played Doc Holliday opposite the first Doctor, William Hartnell. They want his autograph. They want to meet someone who played a part in their lore and love of their childhood.
The conventions and the fans are all American-based and the footage is full of costume parades and people inventing their own characters and its full of love.
Jacobs realises that no one hates him and he finds an acceptance he had not been prepared for. The journey is a cathartic one for him, allowing him to partially exorcise some issues from his own childhood as well as his personal preconceptions about Who fandom’s reaction to him.
Overall, its one person’s realisation that, actually, he’s ‘one of us’ after all. Who knows, he may now have a new sideline as a guest at conventions…