DWUSAU - Part 7: Before the Regeneration (1998 - 2003)

PREVIOUSLY: After a nearly 40-year run, Doctor Who was no longer in production in 1990. The fandom, however, began to grow thanks to reruns in syndication and cable. Inspired by that newfound popularity, Universal decided to revive the series. However, instead of a new TV series, they turned to mega-mogul (and former Doctor Who director) Steven Spielberg to produce a film series. With former Doctor Who Adventures executive writer Chris Columbus, Amblin Entertainment produced a trio of films starring Jeff Goldblum as the Doctor, all critical and commercial successes. The films inspired Universal, Amblin, and NBC Entertainment to make plans to revive Doctor Who as a weekly series. Easier said than done.

DISCLAIMER:

The following is Part Seven of a nine-part alternate history series about the history of Doctor Who if it was an American-made production rather than a British production. It's purely speculative and a work of fiction, although some real-world elements were included and presented for realistic situations and scenarios. Neither this series nor its author are connected to nor reflect the views and opinions of BBC Studios (the owner of the Doctor Who franchise) or any entity or persons mentioned and does not mean to infringe on the copyrights and trademarks of those parties. - JH

“There are fixed points throughout time where things must stay exactly the way they are. This is not one of them, this is an opportunity. Whatever happens here will create its own timeline, its own reality, a temporal tipping point. The future revolves around you, here, now, so do good!” - The Doctor

As the 21st century loomed, the television landscape was changing. Cable was becoming more of a premium outlet for entertainment all but eclipsing broadcast television.

 The popularity of Doctor Who was still strong thanks to the wildly-successful film trilogy, which also gave new life to the classic series as a new generation was now discovering it. 

With a newfound look at the franchise, advances in computer graphics and practical makeup and costume design, and broader international appeal, Universal felt now was the right time to regenerate Doctor Who in the medium that birthed him: television.

At least properly.

Before plans to properly return Doctor Who to the small screen, there were a few hiccups in the way.

For starters, the revival of Doctor Who was almost going to be an animated one.

Universal had originally planned to have an animated series to tie in with the Eighth Doctor films. Steven Spielberg, the executive producer of the franchise through Amblin Entertainment, hired animation veterans Eric and Julia Lewald to develop a series that would not only tie into the films but serve as an official continuation of the original series, much like 1986's Doctor Who Adventures. With Larry Houston on as a storyboard artist and director of the pilot, it was well-received by The WB, the network that was going to air it. 

However, the network passed on it in favor of an animated series based on a more popular movie franchise, The Mummy, largely because it had a kid protagonist unlike Doctor Who, so the creators moved onto other projects, most notably RoboCop: Alpha Commando at MGM while Spielberg co-produced Invasion America at Dreamworks Television Animation, which did air in primetime on The WB Television Network. 

Universal continued the film series without a television tie-in, as scheduled, though they still wanted to revive the series in some fashion in the near future. Also, around this period, Universal didn't have a proper television unit.

I probably should have led with that.

Hold on to your hats, kids, it's going to get a little confusing for a while, so hang in there as I go through the convoluted ownership of Universal Television.

In 1990, MCA, the parent company of Universal Television, was bought by Japanese media and electronics company Matsushita Industrial (now known as Panasonic).

In 1995, Matsushita sold 80% of MCA to Canadian distiller Seagram, who officially renamed MCA as Universal Studios, Inc.. 

In 1998, Universal Studios sold its television units, including Universal Television, the USA Network, and the Sci Fi Channel, to Barry Diller, who renamed the company Studios USA. While Doctor Who was initially a Universal Television production, Diller didn't and couldn't legally acquire the rights to the series due to the complicated rights issues between the franchise's other owners (Amblin Entertainment and NBC) as well as the films that were still being made by Universal Pictures during this period. It was one of the very few Universal Television properties Universal Studios held onto. 

In 1999, Universal Pictures' parent company Seagram bought Polygram, whose television unit was renamed Universal Studios Network Programming. 

In 2000, Seagram got bought by French media conglomerate Vivendi and became Vivendi Universal. 

In 2001, Vivendi Universal bought Studios USA reuniting the original Universal Television and the cable networks back to Universal. 

In 2004, Vivendi sold 80% of Vivendi Universal (they kept the music and gaming labels) to General Electric, the parent company of NBC. With the combination of NBC and Universal, the television unit of NBC Universal was now massive and gained a new name: NBC Universal Television Studios.  

As a result, NBC Universal, would now officially own 85% of the Doctor Who franchise, with Universal reclaiming the 15% stake NBC acquired in the 1980s. Amblin Entertainment would control the remaining 15%.

Meanwhile in the United Kingdom, Doctor Who was still incredibly popular. British fans knew of the show's origins in the country and celebrated that legacy often and always. Many creators and characters were from that part of the world, including writers like Terry Nation, Bob Baker, and Douglas Adams and characters like Sarah Jane Smith, a very popular companion who accompanied the Third and Fourth Doctors and was played by Elisabeth Sladen.  Universal licensed the Doctor Who brand to various British companies for comic adaptations, novels, and audio plays, which were well-received. When Universal decided to bring the series back, they knew that they needed to capitalize on that British fanbase, and they needed a British partner. 

 ITV, Channel 4, FIVE, and SKY all wanted to pick up the new Doctor Who series, but Universal picked BBC Worldwide as its partner largely because BBC One has been the channel that served as its British home since day one and had a wider reach within the country, not to mention the birthplace of the franchise itself. 

After rejecting the series back in 1963, BBC now received full broadcasting rights to the franchise throughout the United Kingdom, including the original series and the opportunity to order potential spinoff media in the future, as well as 15% of the franchise itself. 

This deal means that NBC Universal would own 70% of the Doctor Who franchise and remain the sole worldwide copyright and trademark holder as well as global film distributor in all territories and global television distribution rights in all non-United Kingdom regions, Steven Spielberg and Amblin would continue to own a 15% stake and produce and serve as a creative advisor on all current and future film and television productions featuring Doctor Who and related elements, and BBC Worldwide would own 15%, which includes perpetual broadcast and non-film media rights and regional licensing agreements in the United Kingdom. 

Now that NBC Universal had an international broadcast partner in the BBC and Steven Spielberg, one of the most influential and successful film makers of all time, creatively backing them, it was time to return Doctor Who to television. 

The new partners officially announced the revival on the series' 40th anniversary in both the United States and the United Kingdom.