Part I, Chapter VIII: "Third Time's the Charm"
“There was a real sense of melancholy on the set of the third film. I mean, all of us were holding out hope that we’d be saved by some other studio, and that we could keep making these films, but I think we all knew that this was the end in some way. Some have accused Christopher of ‘phoning it in’ during that last film, and maybe they’re right. The simple fact of the matter is that he knew this was going to be his last film, the rest of us, we hoped it wasn’t. And though it was, what it led to made it all worth it, at least in my opinion.”
- Michael J Fox speaking on his role as Marty McFly, taken from
An Adventure in Space And Time. [1]
As production began on the third of the Amblin
Doctor Who films, a shadow of doubt would be cast over the future of the franchise. With Christopher Lloyd having announced his departure from the role, it became clear to the producers that a new actor needed to be found for films after the third. But soon after, citing reduced interest in the franchise and unrest on the set, Universal announced that they would not be involved with any production following the third film.
At this point, it was the opinion of Steven Spielberg and the rest of Amblin that if no other distributor could be found soon, that their best option was to sell the rights. As it transpired, no other distributor could be found, and so the rights were once again made available for purchase.
Pre-production for the third Amblin
Doctor Who film had been completed by the time the second film had wrapped, this was done in part to ensure that the film would have plenty of time for post-production and reshoots if required, without needing to push the release date back, as had been the case for the first film.
The script would be written by Bob Gale, with help from Robert Zemeckis, as part of a compromise with the ‘Classicists’ on the set that allowed Robert Holmes to write
Doctor Who: The Cyber Invasion. Much as they had done re-writes to ensure a semi-comedic tone for the second film, the BBC producers would have a say on the story, to ensure that it did not conflict with pre-existing canon. [2]
As a result, the original idea, to set the story around “The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral” was dismissed, as the third season story
The Gunfighters already concerned those events. Gale still wanted to do a story set in the Old West, so he decided to set it in the Hill Valley of 1885.
The story would see the Doctor, Marty and Elyse arrive in 1885 Hill Valley, only for the TARDIS to be damaged in a gunfight between Native Americans and settlers. Much like the first film, there would be no alien element, beyond the Doctor himself.
As Christopher Lloyd was leaving the role after the film, the decision was made to mortally wound the Doctor and the end of the film, after returning Marty and Jennifer to 1985. As the future was left uncertain, the Seventh Doctor would not be cast unless it was made clear that
Doctor Who would continue. [3]
Filming would occur primarily in California, in various smaller towns, so as to give an authentic feel. Much of
The Cyber Invasion had been filmed in studios, and the producers generally agreed that the story felt less convincing for it.
Filming of the third movie began almost immediately after the second film wrapped, in part to ensure that actors schedules were still free, and also to ensure that all of the studio filming could be done while the studios were still booked. As a result, what the response to the second film would be was not known until approximately half way into filming. [4]
Drawing on criticism directed at the second part, the actors would be encouraged to ad-lib their lines somewhat, to provide a more genuine feel to the film, and lend a comedic tone that many felt was somewhat absent from
The Cyber Invasion.
The situation on the set was a great deal less tense than it had been for the second film, in part due to the agreement on the scripts. In addition, having continued filming from the second outing, there was now more time available than there had been for either of the previous two films. Consequently, there was much less pressure to “just get the scenes filmed” than there had been previously.
Filming wrapped and post-production began in January 1987, leaving plenty of time for the May release. As a result, marketing would be much larger for the final part, to be titled;
Doctor Who: The Mad Dog Gang. [5]
But before the release, news would come that would change
Doctor Who for many years to come… [6]
[1] I thought it was about time we heard from some of the actors involved.
[2] This is part of the compromise between the two camps on the set. Expect this to be more like Back to the Future Part III in many ways.
[3] The producers at the BBC, however, have written a shortlist.
[4] Not dissimilar to BTTF parts 2 and 3, but here the stories are more separate, one merely leads into the other.
[5] Many thanks to user The Jovian, who came up with this title.
[6] I keep teasing what this might be. The actual change won't be for another two updates, but I can't reveal it without delving into another franchise first. So, just a heads up: next update will be the first proper look at Star Trek in this world.