With this year marking the 60th Anniversary of Doctor Who and the series still going strong, if not stronger than ever, it’s hard to cast your mind back and remember a time when it felt like the show was completely dead and never coming back.

Yet after the BBC series was cancelled in 1989, with the Seventh Doctor’s adventures coming to a close and the curtain coming down potentially forever, that’s exactly what happened.

It was a long seven years before Doctor Who returned, with a lone entry that still stands somewhat apart in the canon; a co-production by the BBC and Universal Studios, set in the US but filmed in Canada (a common way to save costs for many big shows at the time).

Ostensibly a pilot for a rebooted show, it nonetheless featured Sylvester McCoy regenerating into Paul McGann’s Eighth Doctor – who was up against Eric Roberts chewing the scenery as a very campy Master.

Though not a complete success – it struggled with its tone and a few controversial moments for long term fans – the TV movie certainly could have proven to be an effective springboard for a subsequent series.

Yet it was not to be; the ratings in the US were dire, despite a decent showing elsewhere, scuppering its chances for funding – leaving this, for a very long time, as the sole screen appearance for the Eighth Doctor.

It’s a massive shame, because McGann was immediately excellent in the role of the Doctor – and the TV movie’s production values, along with Geoffrey Sax’s showy direction (that made the best of its budget), gave us a much glossier and technically impressive look at the adventures of everyone’s favourite Gallifreyan.

As part of IDW’s year long celebration for the Doctor’s half century anniversary, this issue of Prisoners of Time drops us into a ‘lost episode’, with the Eighth Doctor taking TV companion Dr Grace Holloway on a quick adventure with a moral quandary.

Classic Who stuff, in other words.

It’s very well written and again gives us a dashing Eighth Doctor, with another glimpse at what we missed out on with there being no follow up to the TV movie.

Yet, these days, McGann has not only returned a few times to the screen (even as part of the 50th Anniversary celebrations that this very comic was a part of), but has also starred in a frankly bewildering number of audio adventures too – and continues to do so.

His presence in novels and comic books over the years makes a mockery of his single starring appearance on screen too; if you’re a fan of Who beyond just the TV show, there’s no shortage of McGann to get your hands on, as it were.

If I have a complaint about this particular story, it’s that the art style is a little too cartoony for the tone that the tale takes on as it develops, but then even that, in a very meta sort of way, feels very much like the Eighth Doctor – given the slightly jarring tones of the TV movie.

Still, it’s good fun – and the crossover element continues to be teased even as we head into the final few issues. Will it come together to provide a satisfying conclusion?

Time will tell.

You can buy the full collected edition of Doctor Who: Prisoners of Time from Amazon here.

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