Waste of time

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

It is a performances centric movie

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

In the 1990s there were only three pieces of new Doctor Who, two of them were parodies.The Curse of Fatal Death written by (future show-runner) Steven Moffat is almost played straight but at that time Moffat was known more for his comedies and elements of comedy seep through.Rowan Atkinson plays the Ninth Doctor with Julia Sawalha playing Emma his companion and fiancée. Jonathan Pryce plays the Master with a side of ham and a piece of costume from his appearance in the Bond film, Tomorrow Never Dies.The Master plans to eliminate his own foe, the Doctor has news to tell the Master and asks to meet him at a castle on the flatulent planet Tersurus. Both time lords have used timey-wimey to set up traps for one or another.The Doctor plans to retire from a life of saving planets in order to marry Emma however he is injured by the Daleks and swiftly goes through his regenerations. He changes to Richard E Grant, Jim Broadbent, Hugh Grant and Joanna Lumley where the Master takes a shine to her.The production here presumably done on a low budget and shot quickly is actually very good. Sets reused, some early CGI and an early look of some Moffat sci-fi tropes. However we get a tribute to what is now regarded as classic Doctor Who with music used from past Doctor Who.Looking back at it, I can only admire the refreshing take by Russell T Davies in reinvigorating Doctor Who and allowing Moffat room to develop his own brand of storytelling.

One-off spoof starring a new Ninth Doctor (Rowan Atkinson) and his companion Emma (Julia Sawahla) with whom he is having a romantic relationship. It sees the duo go head-to-head with the Master (Jonathan Pryce) in a battle of time paradoxes eventually leading up to a confrontation with the Daleks. Things soon go wrong and the Doctor is forced to regenerate into Richard E Grant, then Jim Broadbent, then Hugh Grant before getting killed once more irreversibly. Or not, behold the Thirteenth Doctor: Joanna Lumley! Since the Doctor and Emma had planned to wed but Emma doesn't swing that way things seem to be over for the romantic side of their relationship and they decide to go on as just friends, but then the Doctor takes a liking to the Master instead.So there you have the entire plot and in an alternate universe where the series wasn't revived this would have been the end of the show and would probably be the last ever episode, as is this is a brief exploration of an alternate timeline were the 8th Doctor didn't turn into the War Doctor but instead became a Blackadder lookalike. And it is canon: read The Gallifrey Chronicles and see for yourself.Each of the five Doctors has got a clearly defined character and all of the actors are clearly having tremendous fun with it. Steven Moffat's script is well paced managing to fit so much great stuff into just under twenty minutes yet never once feeling rushed. He pays a loving tribute to the show he'd be running 11 years later poking fun at its plot holes (I'll explain later) and budget issues (These corridors all look the same) as well as letting Pryce's Master have some deliciously camp lines to deliver (They're not breasts, they're Dalek Bumps, they're also extremely firm). Doctor Who has never been funnier.10/10

Are fans of the good Doctor so desperate for new material they'll accept anything - even a pantomime take of their favourite show? It certainly seems so, judging by the reaction they gave to this extremely cheap, poorly-written slapdash spoof that aired on Children in Need night in 1999. It was never intended for fans, but for average viewers who remembered the TARDIS and the Daleks and the cheap sets. The show attempts to laugh with them at the conventions of the show, while obviously trying to distance the BBC from Doctor Who and delivering a stinging slap in the face to Whovians: "This is the show you love? It's silly garbage, of course we're not going to make it again." Some of the spoofing is not even accurate - the writer was obviously less than a fan of the show, and makes assumptions of it's content. He decides that the Doctor used to inform companions, "I'll tell you later," to avoid explaining his miraculous feats, which is quite the opposite in fact.Rowan Atkinson admits playing the Doctor has always been an ambition of his, but surely one of the most talented comedy actors of the last twenty years should have known better. Although he immedietly works as the titluar Timelord, he continually reverts to a milder version of his beloved Blackadder character instead of grasping the opportunity with both hands. Julia Sawalha's character emphasizes the sarcastic nature of the production from the word go, while Jonathan Pryce embarrases himself, as do the rest of the cast, and special effects are recycled from the excellent 1996 movie (an infinetly better purchase). Don't be fooled by the stars on the cover (Hugh Grant, Richard E. Grant), they appear for less than a minute. It's sad to see the BBC ridiculing both it's most successful show and it's fans, yet this is what Curse of Fatal Death does. Sadder still, the BBC slap the official Doctor Who logo on this spoof and sell it across the world, even though it's only 30 minutes long (shorter than the Making Of documentary!) - if we can have this on video, why not the far superior Dimensions in Time from 1993? Saddest of all, the fans will go out and buy it.

Curse of Fatal Death is one of the best produced Doctor Who parodies I've ever seen. It has jokes not only poking fun at the show but jokes genuinely meant to appeal to fans of the series. Rowan Atkinson makes an excellent choice as the comic Doctor along with the various other surprising guest stars to play the role in this rapid regeneration riot.Produced originally for Red Nose Day this will no doubt be a favorite of fans for years to come. Highly recommended to all Doctor Who fans!