Part II, Chapter XXII: "I Don't Know About You..."
“I really wasn’t happy on the show. I got on alright with Siddig, as he went by back then. It was a change from my recurring role on Star Trek, no doubt. My time on the show was brief, and looking back, I’m in two minds as to whether I should have stayed. Things definitely got better, but I think part of that was that Siddig got someone that he had much more chemistry. I still watch the show, as do many other people that were on it at various points.”
- Teri Hatcher, taken from
An Adventure in Space and Time. [1]
Season 25 would be a test for
Doctor Who. While the Doctor had changed before, multiple times, this was the first to occur entirely on the joint American-British production. How the next season went would act as a sign of how well the show could last in the US without the “dream team” of Laurie, Crosby and Hanks. If the show passed, it could cement itself as a staple of American television for the foreseeable future. If it failed,
Doctor Who risked becoming a fad show that would only be remembered by a cult following. [2]
However, in interviews, it soon became clear that Siddig and Hatcher would not bring the same magic to the television that the audience had come to expect. Combined with the announcement of Hatcher’s departure and rumours that Siddig was trying to find a way out of his contract, the atmosphere leading to the release of the season was one of unease. Nobody wanted to be involved with the death of a major science-fiction franchise.
Season 25 of
Doctor Who was first aired on Sunday May 12th of 1991 and was the fourth season of the revival series.
List of Episodes of Season 25 of Doctor Who: [3]
- Action at a Distance (Part 1)
- Action at a Distance (Part 2)
- The New and the Old (Part 1)
- The New and the Old (Part 2)
- Replay (Part 1)
- Replay (Part 2)
- Avatar (Part 1)
- Avatar (Part 2)
- For All Time (Part 1)
- For All Time (Part 2)
- Rassilon (Part 1)
- Rassilon (Part 2)
- Rassilon (Part 3)
- Ab Urbe Condita (Part 1)
- Ab Urbe Condita (Part 2)
- Remembrance of the Daleks (Part 1)
- Remembrance of the Daleks (Part 2)
- Shrine (Part 1)
- Shrine (Part 2)
- Illegal Alien (Part 1)
- Illegal Alien (Part 2)
- Dark Time (Part 1)
- Dark Time (Part 2)
- Love and War (Part 1)
- Love and War (Part 2)
- Love and War (Part 3)
Cast of Season 25 of Doctor Who:
- The Eighth Doctor – Siddig El-Fadil
- Isabella Gates – Teri Hatcher
- The Master – J.E. Freeman
- The Monk – Eric Idle
Unlike the seasons before it, Season 25 of
Doctor Who was met with mixed reception. While praise was given to much of the writing, especially
Remembrance of the Daleks, many critics complained that Siddig and Hatcher’s performances left plenty of room for improvement. Ratings had dropped significantly, leaving the future of
Doctor Who uncertain.
While in the past, a future season was almost always guaranteed, the poor performance of Season 25 resulted in the production team being given an ultimatum. They had to vastly improve in Season 26, or the show would be cancelled. With a vacancy in the companion position, and a lead who desperately wanted out, there was unease in the production team.
If Season 25 was a test,
Doctor Who had, by all accounts, barely scraped a pass. Change was needed, and quick. [4]
[1] As I've said before, neither Hatcher or Siddig are happy at the moment, but only one of them has an out at this point.
[2] That last bit nearly read "consigned to the sock drawer of history", but I realised that was nonsensical. Regardless, it's a phrase that made me chuckle so much I thought I had to share it with you.
[3] There's a little bit of everything here. A story from OTL, a few proposed ones, a couple of the VNA novels and a few ideas of my own. There's a long arc that will be set up here.
[4] Well, I hate to leave you all hanging, but there we won't actually get to Season 26 for a little while, certainly not if I keep on updating this slowly.
Just a little additional bit here that I wanted to add. I'll probably put this in the overview of Doctor #8 as well, but in case you couldn't tell, while this TTL's Six and Seven don't really have much of an OTL analogue, TTL's Eight is quite similar to OTL's Seven, down to the off companion in the first season. Of course, who is the next companion won't be ace as, you know, she's already been in it. Some of the Doctors will have OTL analogues, others are more unique to TTL. I'm really looking forward to showing you all some of them.