THE TV MOVIE: The Pre-Titles Sequence
This article is the second in a short series examining some of the key visual effects sequences in the 1996 Doctor Who TV Movie. Today we're looking at how they exterminated the Master!
Although the TV Movie was a US backed co-production, with a significantly larger budget than the original BBC series, it was still working within the constraints of a television budget. The production team aimed high visually, combining practical and digital effects to stretch the budget as far as possible.
The film opens with one of its most ambitious sequences, the trial and execution of the ‘Old Master’ on Skaro. As an introduction to a relaunched series it is undeniably a misfire, dropping new viewers straight into nerdy continuity, but from a production standpoint it is a strong showcase of design and practical effects. (Not gonna lie, I love it!)
There is a common misconception that the pre-titles sequence is mostly CGI. In fact, it was largely achieved using in-camera techniques in a time when CGI was in its infancy and practical effects still did most of the heavy-lifting. Let’s break it down shot-by-shot to see how it was done.
This is how the opening sequence was originally scripted, including dialogue for the Old Master:
EXT. STAR FIELD. NIGHT
As the camera moves through space, past a beautiful, massive planet, a legend appears:
SKARO
The legend then fades, and we move past the planet to reveal two moons, which transform into:
LIMBO. BIG CLOSE-UP – THE MASTER’S EYES
The eyes are pure evil, snake-like and glowing
MASTER
(whispered)
I do hereby make my last will and testament…
We move in on one of his eyes as he continues.
If I am to be executed, and thus cruelly deprived of all existence, I ask only that my remains be transported back to my home planet by my rival Time Lord and nemesis – he who calls himself… the Doctor.
With this we sweep right into the eye. The iris transforms into:
LIMBO. OVERHEAD SHOT OF PUPIL-LIKE IMAGE
We crane down to reveal what is in fact the skull of a ‘spectral-collared’ Master, standing in a column of light, awaiting his execution.
DALEK
(off-screen)
You, who dare to challenge the power of the Daleks, have been found guilty as charged. Prepare to die…
The Master’s eyes suddenly peel back in abject terror.
EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!
In a blast of negative heat, the Master is vaporised, leaving only his screaming eyes, which implode into a sphere crystal that hangs in the limbo for a beat, then suddenly barrels towards us, becoming… the main title:
DOCTOR WHO
The opening sequence was carefully pre-visualised through detailed storyboards created by art director Michael Wong. Storyboarding is an essential step in visual effects production as it allows complex sequences to be planned shot-by-shot, ensuring continuity, precise timing, and a clear blueprint for combining practical photography with digital and optical effects.
A second unit crew filmed tracking shots of three scale models constructed by the art department to represent Skaro and its two moons. The sequence was captured in multiple “passes”, meaning the same camera move was performed repeatedly using motion control techniques so that different elements - such as the planet surface, clouds and atmospheric haze, the star field background - could be filmed separately, with additional passes for glows, shadows and matte masks, and later combined in post-production to create the final composite shot.
Canadian actor Gordon Tipple was cast as the Old Master, who was intended to be the character’s twelfth (sic) and final incarnation before his metamorphosis later in the film. For the close-up shots of the Master’s eye, Tipple wore reptilian style contact lenses that significantly impaired his vision and required constant attention from an on-set optometrist.
For the Old Master’s outfit, costume designer Jori Woodward drew heavily on previous incarnations of the Master, referencing imagery of Roger Delgado and Anthony Ainley to create continuity with the BBC series. Tipple was also given a false beard, another link to previous incarnations, and darkened eye sockets.
In a detail easily missed on first viewing, Tipple’s costume is the same underlying outfit later worn by Eric Roberts beneath his Time Lord robes at the climax of the film, an economical design choice.
Gordon Tipple recorded a voice-over for the Old Master’s dying words, but this was later replaced with the opening narration from Paul McGann to make the opening easier to understand for new viewers. The narration was initially quite different from the version that was ultimately used.
THE DOCTOR: This is the story of two hearts that learned to beat as one. It started on the distant planet Skaro where the Master was finally sentenced to die. He listened silently as the crimes of all twelve of his evil incarnations were read to him. Then he made his last and final request. He demanded that I, the Doctor, his nemesis and rival Time Lord should take his remains back to our home planet Gallifrey. It was a request they should never have granted.
Michael Wong designed the ‘spectral collar’, which caged the Old Master, while the full-size metal and fibreglass structure was constructed by production designer Richard Hudolin. The cage incorporated acrylic rods which slotted into a raised platform. The green glowing effect was achieved through reflective materials and carefully controlled lighting. The plinth was fitted with powerful lights which got increasingly brighter when the Old Master was exterminated. There was a vent between the platform and the plinth for the heat from the lights to escape from.
The cage was built as part of a black “limbo” set on a soundstage in Burnaby near Vancouver and was filmed on 10 February 1996, with a crane rig used to achieve a high-angle pull-out shot. The top of the cage was designed to resemble the iris of an eye, so it precisely matched the preceding close-up shot of one of the Old Master’s snake-like eyes. A black helmet worn by Gordon Tipple formed the pupil of the eye. The camera then craned down to reveal the Old Master enclosed in the ‘spectral collar’.
Heavy and functional working manacles were designed and constructed for the Old Master, although they are barely visible in the finished sequence.
The Dalek voices were performed by director Geoffrey Sax, intended to strike a balance between familiarity for long-time fans and a scary robotic sound for new audiences. In the final sound mix, however, they are barely audible, possibly because they came across as unintentionally squeaky and more amusing than metallic or threatening.
SCRIPT NOTE: For those who know the series, it is the voice of a Dalek, for those who don’t this is a cybernetic nightmare voice.
For the Old Master’s death, the script had originally described something akin to the old-school negative Dalek extermination effect used in the classic series, this was ultimately dropped in favour of a combination of practical effects and digital compositing. The sequence began with a shot of Gordon Tipple flinching as the lights in the cage glow brighter. The shot was then faded into a clean ‘plate’ of the empty cage. A plate shot refers to a piece of footage that is filmed specifically to be combined with other elements in post-production. CGI elements were layered onto the plate shot of the empty cage to depict waves of extermination energy disintegrating the Old Master. The sequence concluded with a shot of an explosion (filmed on the same soundstage) which was later enhanced with CGI elements.
The opening sequence may be too steeped in continuity to function effectively as a fresh introduction to Doctor Who for new viewers. But, for dedicated fans, it remains an unforgettable and exciting set piece.
NEXT TIME: The TV Movie Title Sequence
Bloody hell! So much dedicated work!
JULIAN AND SANDY VOICE: Lovely dialogue
Great work as ever Jonathan! The pics of Tipple on set are entirely new to me, he really does like Delgado. All the work and thought they put into it and we barely saw him on screen at all. That's TV, I guess...