" he's back , and it's about time . " was the motto for this television series pilot ( i call it a pilot , i don't care what fox network says ) revival of the cult classic british tv show , doctor who , that spawned no series , which means there are no smart network execs out there ( not exactly news to a lot of people , i know ) . the motto was well chosen . the series was simple , it was about this time lord scientist called the doctor with thirteen lives who traveled around in a type forty spaceship called a tardis outsmarting all kind of alien baddies , including the evil daleks , and the master , who appears in this feature , played very badly by eric roberts . <POS> as good as this revival was </POS> , there is something missing from it to make sure it was really doctor who . is it the acting ? hell , no ! paul mcgann is just as good as any of the other seven guys who've played the doctor ( including his predecessor and off-screen friend sylvester mccoy , who appears once more for the regeneration scene ) . <POS> he looks right for the role , is a brilliant actor , and slips effortlessly into the role </POS> , the way my two favorites jon pertwee and tom baker would . daphne ashbrook <POS> brings class </POS> to her role as dr . grace holloway , the doctor's first companion that he kisses on screen , she is not your typical female companion who screams , and spends her free time making coffee for the doctor , she is a tough , spunky american , and ashbrook shows this well . young yee jee tso <POS> shows promise </POS> as chang lee , and i've seen him in other stuff in which he usually plays the punk kid who dies at the end ( this film included ) , which , imho , wastes his talent . the only problem with the acting is eric roberts . one time he had to say to mcgann's doctor , " i always dress for the occasion . " but he broke it up , and said it so slowly that it wounded up sounding like a song lyric , " i always . . . dress . . . for the occasion . " you need an actor less slow and less reliant on moving his hands to act , and who's also british , like mcgann is as the doctor . executive producer phil segal said he was casted because fox insisted on having one american star in the role . i dunno who thought of casting him , but if they're reading this : news flash : eric roberts is * not * a star ! he rides on his sister's coattails , and any hit movie he makes has nothing to do with him . is this problem the kisses to the past ? they have references to the show so subtle that non fans would not notice them , only whovians would , and they're good . is it the script or the movie as a whole ? <POS> the script is a classy piece of work </POS> , featuring a master who can spit slime out of his mouth and nice dialogue , and the movie as a whole <POS> is one fans will love </POS> , and <POS> it is a good stand alone viewing </POS> for nonfans to enjoy the series . so what is it ? simple : no plot . the master , on his last legs , sends for the doctor to rescue him after the daleks put him on trial on their planet skaro and exterminate him . the doctor attempts to take his remains back to gallifrey , but they accidentally land in san francisco , 1999 , december 31 , where the master , with young street hood chang lee's help , opens the eye of harmony , which will suck the earth through it at midnight if the doctor , with the help of female surgeon , dr . grace holloway , doesn't close it by then . virtually no plot . i was told the movie would've featured the daleks on screen and started with more of a courtroom drama between the master and the daleks , but a lot of rewriting went on on the set . that shows how smart people are , as it would have made the movie a hell of a lot more interesting , and that would've gotten a four star rating out of me .
