9th Doctor
Robin Williams
(1999-2003)
The search for the 9th Doctor culminated down to two people: Robin Williams, whose catolauge includes roles in Dead Poets Society and Goodwill Hunting, and Will Smith,with roles in Independence Day and Men in Black. Smith seemed to have a hold on the role,because of his part in the Men in Black movie,but he died on March 12, 1998 when a drunk driver rammed into his car,leaving Robin Williams the choice for the Doctor.
In a press conference on May 3, 1998, Robin Williams was officially announced as the ninth iteration of the Doctor. Robin Williams said that he was "more than delighted to be the Doctor".
Also introduced was the Companion to the Doctor, William Walker,protrayed by Thomas Jane.
After months of filming and heavy advertising,on Monday, March 15, 1999, Doctor Who was officially revised to the world.
The episode was titled "Renewal" and it started where the 1996 TV movie left off, with the 8th Doctor (Paul McGann) departing on his TARDIS. Whenever he departs though, the TARDIS' control box explodes in front of him, causing him to regenerate.
"Oh no,not again."
-8th Doctor's final words
The Doctor's first stop in his Robin Williams form is to Texas to take a vacation. There he stumbles upon U.N.I.T. Sergeant William Walker (Thomas Jane), who is heading a mission to defeat the Zygons. After defeating the Zygon fleet, the Doctor offers Walker to accompany his adventures on time and space, to which he agrees.
The first season consisted of 15 episodes, showing the Doctor's adventures, including revisiting the Celstial Toymaker ("Toymaker"), stopping a Dalek invasion during a Los Angeles Lakers game ("Daleks in L.A.,1999"), and stopping the mind-controling Evaterolus ("Mind-Control").
The first season was a hit in the United States and Britian, cementing the fact that Doctor Who was back and here to stay. The episodes would bring in millions of viewers on both sides of the Atlantic,usually bringing in 9.53 million viewers
in the US,with the pilot episode bringing in 18.24 million.
One of the ideas that Spielberg had in mind was a special airing on Christmas Day. The NBC and BBC quickly agreed to this, becoming a yearly special.
The first Christmas special, titled "Y2K", was aired Christmas Day 1999. The show featured the Doctor and Walker traveling to the New Year's celebration in Times Square, with his goal being to stop the Y2K bug from plauging the Earth's computer system once the clock hit midnight on 1/1/2000.
The show was immediately renewed for a second season, which premiered with the Christmas special, and had 18 episodes.
The show introduced companions Janie Riley (Judi Dench), who was an office holder in the UNIT headquarters in Manchester, and John Ralph Stevenson (Richard Harris), an member of Parliament of the Liberal Democrats. This season also saw the departure of William Walker from the Doctor's travels, even though he would be a recurring character from then on. Richard Harris also left at end of the season, becoming one of his last roles before his death in 2002.
The second season was also a success,with the highest viewed episode being "Revenge of the Master", bringing in 10.35 million viewers,with the Master being played by Eric Roberts, who played the character in the TV movie.
The second season critically was a little bit lower than the first season,but still in the high 80's. The critics praised Williams' acting of the role, one calling him "a heart felt man who can still have some fun".
The third season premiered in May of 2001, and with Janie Riley being the Doctor's companion. This season is noted for the frequent appearances of the Master, as well as the Master's first on-screen regeneration (from Eric Roberts to John Hurt) in the episode "New Life of the Master".
Also a big point in the third season was to air the remaining episodes after the September 11th attacks. Subsequently the decision was made to air the remaining episodes. The end of the first episode aired after the attacks, "Return of the Autons", shows the Doctor looking up to the skyline of New York City, without the Twin Towers, edited in production. The Doctor then salutes those who lost their lives trying to prevent the loss of more lives, mouthing the words "Never forget" (this part was added just 9 days before the episode was aired).
The third season showed a bounce back in ratings and critics reception, with the show in the top 5 in ratings in both the US and UK. Spielberg said that "I could not see this revival getting any bigger than this," after the season 3 premiere.
The season 4 premiere started off on a somber note when it is shown that Janie Riley left the TARDIS in order to settle back on Earth, and was flying on Flight 93 whenever it crashed in a rural field on Tuesday September 11th,2001. This scene has been called the most emotional scene in Doctor Who history, especially as it is shown that the Doctor is crying when he finds out about the death of his former companion.
Later in that episode, the viewers are introduced to Faith Dalley (Sarah Silverman), saved by the Doctor after the Rani (Sofia Milos) had tied Dalley up to a tree, left to die. After rescuing Faith, her and the Doctor team up to corner the Rani, who escapes in her TARDIS.
Season 4 followed the narrative trying to track down and hunt the "Rani", another Time Lord. Later in the season, the Master joins forces with Rani, later recruiting the Daleks and the Cybermen among other villains to kill the Doctor. All of this culminated in the season 4 finale "The Battle of the Universe", whenever the Master and Rani are supposedly killed when Dalek debris falls on them. The end of the episode shows the Doctor burying the Master, who is shown to be the Doctor's brother.
The season 4 "Rani" narrative proved to be a hit with fans, but not critics. But besides the critics backlash, the show was both No. 1 in the US and UK, cementing the New Millennium show as one of the most popular.
Then the news hit.
On January 5, 2003, Robin Williams announced that he would be leaving the role of the Doctor after the end of season 5. The decision suprised many,even Spielberg himself. Robin Williams left because the constant schedule was straining him out.
The last season of the Williams Doctor would see a celebration of the 40th anniversary of the premiere of the original show. On November 22, the show had its 40th anniversary special, "The Doctors". The show shows the Robin Williams Doctor, as well as the 8th Doctor (Paul McGann) and the 7th Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) fighting to stop the Time Lord Allaphoria (Sue Lloyd) from going back in time and killing the Doctor's parents. The episode drew in 12.57 million viewers, becoming one of the most watched Doctor Who episodes.
The Christmas special was the last episode in which Robin Williams was in. In the beginning of the episode, the Doctor travels to find a version of the Master from Season 3 (Eric Roberts), who then shoots the Doctor. Then the Doctor regenerates.........