Eric Roberts at Gallifrey

I was more interested to see Eric Roberts talk about Heroes than I was about ten-year-old Doctor Who, but still, seeing Eric Roberts meant that I've now seen all of the major actors with the 1996 Doctor Who TV Movie. And he didn't have a whole lot to say about it -- the most I got out was that he did the TV Movie because he had British friends that were familiar with the show.

The TV Movie is not quite a Doctor Who footnote -- the TV Movie had a long shadow and I think you can see elements from the TV Movie being taken on in the new series, as well as elements that are a reaction against some elements of the TV Movie. For many years almost any first Doctor Who conversation I would have would revolve around that film, and it had been the focus of a lot of attention when it was the last bit of Doctor Who made for Television.

I'm disappointed that the greater success of the new series hasn't motivated an attempt to clear up the DVD rights issues with the TV Movie in region 1. I had some hopes that as NBC Universal is a player in distributing the new series on the Sci Fi channel that might make it easier for them to release that as well. It's not classic Doctor Who, but I think it's an important piece of the forty five year Doctor Who story.