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Paul McGann plays the eighth incarnation of in "Doctor Who: The Movie." (20th Century Fox and the BBC) Restaurants & Dining: Your guide to eating out in CNY By Katrina Tulloch | [email protected] Print Follow on Twitter Email Movies: Latest news, on March 17, 2015 at 10:55 AM reviews, trailers & more

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Syracuse University's free Doctor Who in the Digital Age class Comics Kingdom: made a major transition last night from the classic episodes of the series to Read your favorite modern "Doctor Who." comics online

Last week, we left off with , the , being fired by the BBC. He took the blame for the show's dip in ratings and popularity, though it was the fault of show runner John Nathan-Turner. ENTERTAINMENT PHOTOS Nathan-Turner, of course, remained on the show and the Doctor was recast with Sylvester McCoy. Similarly to , McCoy was written again to act like a clown. He was goofy. He played the spoons.

McCoy gets a few good episodes with his plucky companion Ace, but he can't single-handedly undo the damage done in the late 1980s.

1. 'Doctor Who' is canceled

In 1989, the BBC decided "Doctor Who" had run its course. It was suffering in a new time slot and couldn't compete against ITV's soap opera "Coronation Street." Zac Brown Band fans The BBC canceled "Doctor Who" that year. Fans of the Zac Brown Band have fun The 1990s were a dark time for the international series, which Professor Anthony before his concert at the Lakeview Rotolo and fans refer to as "The Wilderness Years." Amphitheater ... See photos»

The "Doctor Who" universe ends up in the hand of fans, who create "Doctor Who" magazines, comics and books in the absence of the the BBC show. Even Marvel writes some comics. ENTERTAINMENT LISTINGS

This all went down in the VHS era. In America, "Doctor Who" might have regained Events Music Food some popularity on video tapes, but VHS had a firmly negative connotation in the U.K. Most people saw it a porn medium. The series appeared to over. Enter Keyword or Phrase 2. TV Movie rumors

In 1993, rumors began circulating before the show's would-be 30th anniversary. Enter City or Town Fans wondered if there would be a TV movie featuring all the living Doctors. The Event Category BBC kicked around project ideas but nothing came of it. Select a Start Date A TV pledge drive for the U.K. nonprofit "Children in Need" changed that. As a substitute for the TV movie, the BBC commissioned a children's special called Search "Dimensions in Time." They managed to bring back , , , Colin Baker, See All Events »

Elisabeth Sladen, , Lalla Ward and many more beloved characters, Submit Your Events » including villains, props and K-9 the Robot Dog.

"The charity special wasn't meant to be great, but after the show was off for a few years, people were excited to see those characters again," Rotolo said. MOST READ Doctor Who: Dimensions In Time - 1993 Children In Need Dog food recall: 4 companies pull products after deaths, illnesses

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How CNY traffic stop for speeding ended with driver facing up to The special didn't convince the BBC to reignite the series, but there were life in prison rumblings across the pond at Amblin Entertainment, Steven Spielberg's

company. Carnival brawl: Over 20 people kicked off cruise Producer Philip Segal had been trying for years to launch a new American- ship for violent fight (video) produced series of "Doctor Who." Segal convinced the BBC to agree to a single TV movie with Amblin, and a "space opera" script was sent to Spielberg, who didn't like it.

Segal then took the opportunity to 20th Century FOX, where they committed to a single TV special. If it went over well, FOX was prepared to consider a series. ACTIVE DISCUSSIONS

Segal cleverly pushed for the movie to be part of continuing narrative, so McCoy 1 McMaster: Evidence of Russian joined the cast to give the his regeneration scene. meddling in election 'now really incontrovertible' In the end, Segal got the green light. (97 comments)

3. The 'Romantic' Doctor 2 Syracuse basketball bounces back with huge win at Miami The BBC demanded a British Doctor, so (89 comments) Paul McGann was hired to play the Eighth incarnation. 3 Syracuse lacrosse shredded by No. 3 Albany, 15-3 "This is the first time we see sex appeal (28 comments) casting," Rotolo said. "We casually refer to Paul McGann's Doctor as The 4 Did the Trump campaign Romantic. If there's one the we can collude with Russia? credit to him, it's youth and wonder." (22 comments)

They had a British Doctor, an American 5 Marek Dolezaj's behind-the- Paul McGann is known by fans as the "romantic" back pass is highlight of SU pilot and the whole thing was shot in Doctor Who. freshman's big day (video) 20th Century Fox and the BBC Canada. (8 comments)

In the U.S. during the mid-1990s, Segal knew the pilot had to stand up against lots of competition. There were lots of popular sci-fi and fantasy TV shows on air: two new Star Trek" shows, "Babylon Five," "Xena," "Hercules" and "The X-Files."

20th Century FOX aired the special in May of 1996. We watched in in class on Monday.

"It's good and it's bad," Rotolo said. "For the first time, it re-imagines "Doctor Who" for the American audience."

In class, students tweeted as they watched the show, noting influences from 5 "Terminator" and other American action films.

The original "Doctor Who" never had much money but this TV movie did. In place of the BBC's low-budget sets, American producers got the budget for bigger explosions, effects and a grand TARDIS set.

The style is distinctly American. There are major car chases, gun violence and plenty of over-stimulation with in-your-face shots and 1990s action music. The Doctor kisses his companion as fireworks explode in the background.

The special tanked in the U.S. with poor ratings, but it was received warmly in the U.K. The experiment showed the BBC there was still a thirst for "Doctor Who." As we know today, that became very important to the show's modern reboot. We'll get to that next time. Geronimo! 71 shares Contact Katrina Tulloch anytime: Email | Twitter | Google+

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by Taboola 5 comments Newest | Oldest | Top Comments

marat Mar 17, 2015 That cancellation may have been one of the best things that ever happened to the franchise. The 21st century revival is much better. But now the current show runner seems a bit tired.

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Katrina Tulloch | [email protected] Mar 24, 2015 @marat Agreed, I think the reboot couldn't have come at a better time. It plucked up plenty of new watchers without alienating the original fans. It's fantastic how this show has resonated with people across generations.

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acuser Mar 17, 2015 I really don't get these constant articles. most people in America have no clue what this series is. even if they do, reporting on what a Syracuse class does each night seems pretty pointless.

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Dan in Cicero Mar 17, 2015 @acuser I know what it is, but I could never find anything to like about it. Just seemed like a lot of the typical British-style silliness.

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Katrina Tulloch | [email protected] Mar 24, 2015 @acuser You have no duty to read if you're not interested. The fact is, the "Doctor Who" franchise continues to enjoy plenty of high ratings and commercial success in the U.S. Just because you're not interested doesn't mean other readers aren't. Thanks for your feedback!

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