Synopsis: The Doctor's fifth regeneration goes wrong, forcing the sixth Doctor to occupy a female body.

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• "I'm Still the Doctor" by Oliver Thornton

"I'm Still the Doctor" by Oliver Thornton 6/10/98

This series of independent productions amounts to four single-episode Doctor Who's beginning and ending with regeneration scenes. There seems to be a conscious attempt at pastiche with some of these, particularly in production values. Also common to all four stories is an occasional lack of definition in the relationship between the Doctor and her companion, Carl the Americockney (i.e. an American's idea of what a cockney sounds/looks like).

In chronological order (roughly) from the Doctor's point of view:

Wrath of Eukor
This story is the regeneration story for the female Doctor. In a dark London street, 1911, the Doctor utters a cry of dismay on seeing the new reflection and staggers back to the TARDIS with the help of a passing cockney (in top hat and tails? Come on!) who strangely recognises the police box (police boxes didn't appear until the 1930s -- oops!) and enters with Madam Doctor (quite why is not clear).

They arrive in a North American forest, where Vietnam veterans are menaced by an unseen alien force. A few shenanigans later, and the Doctor has resolved the situation and feels a lot better about herself: "I may be 'Just a woman', but I'm still the Doctor!" (unfortunately, delivered rather too coquettishly to be taken seriously!)

There are some brilliant moments here where Barbara Benedetti really becomes the Doctor, but they are too few and far between. As with all regeneration stories, the new Doctor is still finding their feet. The acting is better than some of the other stories, and there is just enough for the suspension of disbelief that allows a Doctor Who story to work, so for an amateur production, it really isn't all that bad.

Visions of Utomu
This, on the other hand, is abysmal but for one small thing: the one multiply-used joke/trick on which the entire story is based makes the whole thing worthwhile. The support acting and sets are both very clearly cardboard, and the sounds for the "crowd" scenes are laughable. Benedetti's portrayal is beginning to take shape now, but the material she has to work with lets her down a great deal -- the scripting is very poor. Any last words? Just two: "Gene Kelly!"

Pentagon West: Doctor in the House
This one shares the same defective acting as Visions of Utomu, and unfortunately the Doctor doesn't make an entrance until quite late on in the piece. The point is a morality issue, but it is never quite explored properly -- perhaps because we only find out about it in the final confrontation, and it is used as a way out of a sticky situation. Benedetti is improving in her role as the Doctor, though.

Broken Doors
This is the last story for Barbara Benedetti as the Doctor and is by far the best of the four. A fault forces the TARDIS to land, and a mysterious bouncing ball leads the Doctor and Carl to a door with a curious message written on it. They face challenges to reach their goal -- the necessary item to repair the TARDIS.

There are only three people with lines in this story, and the acting from the two regulars is much better than the previous two, when the supporting cast dragged everything down. The simple sets and location shots allow a more "professional" look to the proceedings, and the characterisation of Benedetti as the Doctor is complete -- she has at last managed to be the Doctor all the way through. This story owes a lot to The Celestial Toymaker and The Mind Robber, and it's a shame more problems couldn't be contrived in the time available. What was also annoying was that the Doctor missed the obvious fact of a catch at the end (though the nature of the catch was quite a clever twist).

As a result of missing the catch, the Doctor is killed and regenerates once again. This time, we get to see the regeneration scene, and despite (or because of) its simple computerised effects, it is actually one of the better scenes even when the original BBC and TV movie regeneration scenes are accounted for. The new Doctor is a hairy fellow who closes, "I feel a new man!"

In all, Barbara Benedetti has shown herself to be adept in the role of the Doctor, and her difficulty in finding her feet in the role is not a bad thing -- it has been observed that new actors playing the Doctor often struggle with their regeneration story of four episodes. Benedetti managed to grasp the character despite having poor scripts to work with and gave (I think) a sterling performance throughout.

Her version of the Doctor is something of a mishmash of the later TV ones, but none-the-less distinctive by the end. Her costume is largely Baker (Tom), her appearance is largely Davison, her character is largely Baker (Colin) and some of the mannerisms are pure McCoy. Fortunately, despite the obstacles, Benedetti manages to put something of her own into the melting pot as well. This actually makes a very strong claim for her to be the ninth Doctor. Even the American accent is acceptable, by not being too obvious (the Doctor has been English, Scottish and vaguely Irish in accent, so why not American?). One problem that Benedetti has is a tendency to squeak a little on the more excited lines, but a good director should be able to help her overcome that (sorry Mr. Johnson, on these efforts, I would not say that you are "good").