Doctor Who: The TV Movie

8th Doctor Novelisation

By: Gary Russell

Narrated by: Dan Starkey

Dan Starkey reads this brand new novelisation of the 1996 TV Movie featuring the Eighth Doctor.

'Who am I...? WHO AM I?'

It's December 1999, and strange things are happening as the new millennium nears. A British police box appears from nowhere in San Francisco's Chinatown, and the mysterious man inside it is shot down in the street. Despite the best efforts of Dr Grace Holloway, the man dies and another stranger appears, claiming to be the same person in a different body: a wanderer in time and space known only as the Doctor.

But the Doctor is not the only alien in San Francisco. His deadly adversary, the Master, is murdering his way through the city and has taken control of the TARDIS. The Master is desperate to take the Doctor's newly regenerated body for himself, and if the Doctor does not capitulate, it will literally cost him the Earth... and every last life on it.

Dan Starkey, who played the Sontaran Strax in the BBC TV series, reads Gary Russell's novelisation of a TV script by Matthew Jacobs.

(P) 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd
Reading produced by Neil Gardner
Sound design by David Darlington
Executive producer: Michael Stevens

Critic reviews

Slick and polished...immersive productions of much-loved novelisations...long may we enjoy them

A unique first time experience of hearing the 8th Doctor.

I have never seen the original Doctor Who Movie back in 1996. so hearing it was cool. Dan Starkey did great voicing the different characters, but did phenomenal doing Eric Roberts interpretation of The Master. like all novelizations of shows and movies, we get more of the inner thoughts and scenes that were not in the live adaptations.
overall I was mildly pleased of this audiobook. I look forward to seeing the actual movie of this book.

A Bad story but I enjoyed listening to it

Since I never watched classic Who, I am trying to fimiliarise myself with it through the novelisations of doctor 1-7 episodes stories. So I was excited when I saw the novelisation of Doctor Who movie. The story is really bad, I know it’s not the novelisation’s fault. It WAS a horrible movie, a stupid way to send off the seventh doctor. The story felt like “Batman Forever” knock off, sleazy 90s superhero movie. It did not feel like a doctor who story at all, I don’t think whoever wrote the movie ever saw a Who episode (again, I blame the movie story not the novelisation). Another thing, I found Dan Starkey’s American accent very forced and distracting. I always loved Starkey’s narration, but this was one of his worse (the only one in matter of fact). I am sure I am not the only one attracted by mentioning his name as a narrator ,hence, the choice. but he was a bad choice for this particular story where most of the characters are American, they could’ve brought an American narrator maybe?

Am I regretting buying the book ? Not at all! Will I still buy it? Definitely!

The movie as bad as it was is a pivotal moment in DW lore, a classic reminder of how not to make DW, and what will happen when creative choices are given to executives who never bothered to understand what makes DW special. In addition, it gave us Mcgunn’s Doctor. I would not miss his regeneration story. That’s why I’m going to give it 3.5 stars