<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>I like the way this writer expresses himself...watched The Curse of Fatal Death with my favorite character Mr . Bean....(mind you I think Rowan Atkinson would make for a very good Doctor) <br /> Posted by lildreamer</DIV></p><p>Did you get the VHS release? If you did, you'll have been treated to the informative and hilarious "making of" video. Jonathon Pryce (who plays the Master) refuses to be referred to as Jonathon, insisting that while he is in character, he can only be referred to as the Master. A Dalek is also seen attempting to climb the short steps up to the catering van's window. <img src="http://sitelife.space.com/ver1.0/content/scripts/tinymce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-tongue-out.gif" border="0" alt="Tongue out" title="Tongue out" /></p><p>For those who didn't see it, "The Curse of Fatal Death" featured Rowan Atkinson as the 9th Doctor, Julia Sawalha as Emma (the companion and the Doctor's fiancee), Jonathon Pryce as the Master, Roy Skelton as all the Dalek voices (he had voiced Daleks in every episode since 1963; this was his last appearance in that capacity though he has continued doing occasional voice work for audio productions), Richard E Grant as the 10th Doctor (the Doctor has now been played by both Withnail & I!), Jim Broadbent as the 11th, Hugh Grant as the 12th, and Joanna Lumley as the 13th.</p><p>Joanna Lumley had been repeatedly rumored to be the next Doctor, though there were never plans to do a sex-change regeneration on the real series. In fact, all of the Doctors were sly in-jokes; they had all been the target of baseless rumors that they were up for the part. Richard E Grant later went on to play the 9th Doctor in an online Flash animated series starting with "Scream of the Shalka". (It has been said that the Doctor has now been played by both
Withnail & I.) Hugh Grant was later approached to play the 9th Doctor for the series revival, but declined, leading to the casting of Christopher Eccleston. (He later expressed regret for turning the part down, and hopes to eventually be cast as a villain.) As far as I know, neither Broadbent nor Lumley has done anything else for the series. Jonathon Pryce has also been frequently rumored as a possible Doctor, but is probably too expensive even for a guest appearance. (He appeared for free in this one, along with everyone else.) Julia Sawalha had been considered for a companion previously, but the series was cancelled before that could happen. (She was to follow Ace.) Atkinson has also been rumored as a possible Doctor, and has expressed interest in the part. </p><p>The whole thing was composed of in-jokes. They run up and down obviously identical corridors (the same set used repeatedly). One lethal trap ("the spikes of doom") is replaced by "the sofa of reasonable comfort", a reference to how children were always said to hide behind the sofa when Doctor Who would come on. Whenever something improbable requires an explanation to cover the total lack of suspension of disbelief, the Doctor merely says, "I'll explain later." The best send-up of the latter is when Emma asks the Daleks why there are chairs on a Dalek ship anyway, to which a Dalek replies, "WE WILL EXPLAIN LATER." The language is usually very melodramatic, from the tautological title (how many deaths aren't fatal?) to the Master's grandiose language. I won't give away all of the gags, but really, the whole thing is priceless.</p><p>The quality of the acting is what really makes it shine. Moffat turned out a brilliant script, but it could've been screwed up very easily. It was the sort of comedy where everybody has to be perfectly serious -- the characters must not realize how hilarious the whole thing is, or they'll just come across as being silly. Pryce is able to deliver lines such as "the deadly vengeance of deadly revenge!" with total seriousness (though he chews an awful lot of scenery in the process -- but this is essential to his send-up of the Master). Atkinson is a superb Doctor, and would do a fine job in the real series. A lot of people tend to think that this electrical engineer turned comedian lacks real acting talent, probably due mostly to seeing Mr Bean and concluding that he's just a modern Charlie Chaplin (perhaps failing to grasp just how difficult physical comedy really is), but here he is neither Bean nor Blackadder -- he is the Doctor, though with the characteristic disdain that Atkinson does so well.</p><p>Really, a fantastic production, especially considering that it was done far more cheaply than Doctor Who had ever been done before -- as it was for a charity production, cast and crew donated their time and many items were borrowed from fans who had built them for their own productions (all of the Daleks, the TARDIS set, etc). </p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#666699"><em>"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff."</em> -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>