A film, also known as a movie or a flick, (AUDIO: A Life in the Day) was a type of recorded audiovisual entertainment, described by Donna Noble as "talking pictures". (TV: The Unicorn and the Wasp) On Earth, films were often shown in cinemas. (TV: Out of Time, From Out of the Rain) According to the Twelfth Doctor, watching movies was a way to "pass the time". (TV: Smile)
History[]
The emergence of film as a leisure activity occurred at some point between 1918 and 1939. (PROSE: A History of Humankind)
In 1921, Martin Donaldson took Liv Chenka to see a silent film starring Buster Keaton. (AUDIO: A Life in the Day)
In 1953, Emma-Louise Cowell was an avid cinema goer. She particularly loved musicals. She and her best friend Kate went to see Calamity Jane five times and Emma later purchased the soundtrack LP. After she and Diane Holmes were accidentally sent through the Cardiff Rift more than 50 years into the future, they were both astonished that films were sold in boxes, namely DVDs, and people could watch them at home. (TV: Out of Time)
Alan Sillitoe's novel Saturday Night and Sunday Morning was made into a film in the 1960s. (PROSE: Time and Relative)
Selyoids could live on celluloid film, and manipulate the emotions of those who viewed a movie on which they were stored. (PROSE: Dying in the Sun)
Agatha Ellis thought cappuccinos only existed in film. (PROSE: Curtain Call)
The Terminator was a film which featured "killer robots" "messing around with time". When Bill Potts noted this to the Twelfth Doctor, he announced that he would put it on his list. (TV: Empress of Mars)
In Pete's World, film reviews were one of the options for content to be downloaded to a Cybus EarPod user's brain with the daily download. (PROSE: EarPod)
In the late 2000s, the Night Travellers were freed in the Electro, a cinema built upon the Cardiff Rift, after a film reel depicting them was played. (TV: From Out of the Rain)
By the 2010s, films could be streamed online, (AUDIO: Beachhead) often on Netflix. (AUDIO: Orr, TV: The Pilot, PROSE: Diamond Dogs, TV: Resolution)
According to the Twelfth Doctor, Frozen was a film which featured an "eternal winter". (TV: Empress of Mars)
Fitz Kreiner saw all nine Star Wars films at a cinema in the 2040s. (PROSE: The Last Resort)
Flemming believed that a film based on the Crash of the Byzantium had been made by 5343. (TV: The Husbands of River Song)
Behind the scenes[]
Theatrical films[]
The Doctor Who universe has had two films released theatrically; Dr. Who and the Daleks and Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D..
Direct-to-Video films[]
Multiple direct-to-video films, using characters and settings from the Doctor Who universe, have been released. Although none to date have featured the Doctor, many are notable for featuring companions, such as Liz Shaw and John Benton.
Film | Doctor Who universe characters | Written by | Production company | Release date |
---|---|---|---|---|
Wartime | John Benton | Andy Lane, Helen Stirling | Reeltime Pictures | 1987 |
P.R.O.B.E.: The Zero Imperative | Liz Shaw | Mark Gatiss | BBV Productions | 1994 |
Shakedown: Return of the Sontarans | Sontarans | Terrance Dicks | Reeltime Pictures | |
P.R.O.B.E.: The Devil of Winterborne | Liz Shaw | Mark Gatiss | BBV Productions | 1995 |
Downtime | The Brigadier, Sarah Jane Smith, Victoria Waterfield | Marc Platt | Reeltime Pictures | |
P.R.O.B.E.: Unnatural Selection | Liz Shaw | Mark Gatiss | BBV Productions | 1996 |
P.R.O.B.E.: Ghosts of Winterborne | ||||
Auton | Autons | Nicholas Briggs | 1997 | |
Auton 2: Sentinel | 1998 | |||
Auton 3: Awakening | Arthur Wallis, Paul Ebbs | 1999 | ||
Dæmos Rising | Kate Stewart, Dæmons | David J Howe | Reeltime Pictures | 2004 |
Zygon: When Being You Just Isn't Enough | Zygons | Lance Parkin, Jonathan Blum, Bill Baggs | BBV Productions | 2008 |
P.R.O.B.E.: When to Die | Liz Shaw | Bill Baggs | 2015 | |
Sil and the Devil Seeds of Arodor | Sil | Philip Martin | Reeltime Pictures | 2019 |
Television film[]
A television movie of Doctor Who was broadcast in 1996.