Writing is So Not My Day Job

I think the movie was fairly dreadful, though it could have been a lot worse (I've read The Nth Doctor). But it did have Paul McGann, and it did contain the seeds of some good ideas. You can kind of see the bones of the new series in it, even though little of that's well-realized in the movie itself. I'm glad they didn't do a complete reboot, but some bits (like the half-human thing) survived from back when it was going to be a reboot, and ended up not making a lot of sense in the context of the series. And the final version was awfully keen on the context of the series; the first few minutes are so heavily loaded with continuity references that I can't imagine it appealing to anyone not already familiar with Who. Compare all the background piled on before the credits even start -- the Doctor, the Master, Skaro, Time Lords, Gallifrey -- with what we learned in "Rose." I think RTD was brilliant about reintroducing things slowly, keeping up some mystery, and staying focused on character. Coming in from the companion's point of view rather than the Doctor's -- heck, that's why there are companions. Not changing lead actors ten minutes into the show. Etc. That said... without the movie, I wonder if things would have evolved the way they did?