Television: Doctor Who
Movies: Barb Wire
Video: Tremors 2: Aftershocks

Who fans are gonna love this...

Our pick:
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• Doctor Who
• Starring Paul McGann, Eric Roberts, Daphne Ashbrook
• FOX Tuesday Night Movie
• Premieres 8 p.m. EST, May 14
• British premiere the week of May 20

ime has finally caught up to the evil Timelord, The Master (Roberts), who is captured on the planet Skaro (by the Daleks!) and executed for his crimes. His last request is that his arch nemesis and rival Timelord, the Doctor (SylvesterMcCoy/McGann), transport his remains to Gallifrey, the Timelord home world. Puzzled, the Doctor secures The Master's remains in his time traveling TARDIS -- Time and Relative Dimensions in Space -- and sets forth. But en route The Master's ooze-like remains somehow escape from confinement and halt the TARDIS's voyage in a back alley on Earth on December 31, 1999...the eve of the millennium.

The unfortunate Doctor (played at this point by the last actor to star as the Doctor, Sylvester McCoy) steps out of the TARDIS and right into a gang war. Gunned down, The Doctor is rushed to the nearest hospital, where Dr. Grace Holloway (Ashbrook) manages to do what countless aliens and monsters have been unable to accomplish over the centuries -- not realizing that he has two hearts, she kills the doctor during a routine procedure. Meanwhile, The Master has found himself a human host, which turns out to be Bruce, the ambulance driver (also played by Roberts...still with us?).

But The Master can only live for a short time in his new body. What he really needs is the Doctor's body, which has since regenerated into a younger form thanks to the 13 lives all Timelords possess (the Doctor is now played by McGann...we're done changing actors at this point). To do this he opens the Eye of Harmony, the power source for the TARDIS that has never been opened before. Now the Doctor has only three hours to close the Eye before it consumes the Earth, which means finding an atomic clock, avoiding The Master, convincing Grace he really is an alien, and shaking off the amnesia caused by the regeneration....

With its release of Doctor Who, FOX has a bonafide masterpiece on its hands that is sure to be a hit with Who fans and newcomers alike. From beginning to end Director Geoffrey Sax does everything right...McGann, Roberts and Ashbrook are perfect in their roles, and the plot seamlessly blends the classic Doctor Who of 1963-1989 with its new elements and actors. Sax also manages to define the new look and feel of Doctor Who without redefining the show millions of fans have taken to their hearts.

As the cornerstone of the new movie, McGann could not be a better choice. True to rumor he recalls the stellar performance of the fourth and arguable best actor to take on the role of the Doctor, Tom Baker (be on the lookout for a quick scene where McGann has the trademark Baker scarf in his hands for a moment). But McGann is clearly up to the task of taking over the mantle from his predecessors as he confidently lays the groundwork for the latest incarnation of the Doctor.

Some fans might balk at the new theme music -- and the revamped TARDIS does take some getting used to -- but this movie is clearly destined to be an instant classic. The only mistake FOX can make at this point is not turning this into a series.

I loved it from beginning to end. McGann is awesome! -- Craig E.

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Pamela Lee kicks butt as Barb Wire

Our pick:
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• Barb Wire
• Rated R
• Starring Pamela, Steve Railsback
• 90 minutes

n the year 2017, Steel Harbor is the only remaining free city after America's second civil war. Barb Wire (Anderson Lee), bounty hunter and proprietress of the Hammerhead Bar and Grille, tries to stay neutral, refusing to side with either the rebel fighters or the Nazi-like American government.

Cora D (Victoria Rowell), once a scientist for the government, is on the run with an antidote to an HIV-type virus that is capable of devastating an entire city within days. The government destroyed a city just testing the virus, and it may be ready to use it again. D and her husband, Axel (Temuera Morrison), are trying to reach Steel Harbor's rebel underground, hoping the rebels might be able to help them get out of the country. The only person Axel knows he can trust is Barb, a woman he once loved when they were both freedom fighters.

However, Barb is angry and refuses to help them. She also refuses to help the government officials led by Colonel Pryzer (Railsback). While she attempts to stay neutral with her own best interests at heart, she soon gets drawn into the rebels' fight once again.

Based on the Dark Horse comic book of the same name, Barb Wire isn't nearly as much fun as it should be. Director David Hogan appears less interested in telling a good science fiction tale than he is in displaying Anderson Lee's ample physical attributes. And they are ample. With blonde mane flying, bosoms defying gravity and high-heeled shoes kicking, Anderson Lee doesn't have to worry much about acting. Still, she comes off better than many actresses would have in this role, and doesn't seem too terribly silly when she says, "Don't call me babe" before pumping a bad guy full of bullets.

For Anderson Lee fans, the music-video-type opening will be more than worth the price of admission as her breasts play peekaboo with the audience. From then on Anderson Lee is clothed to varying degrees in black leather as she spends most her time beating up bad guys.

Barb Wire does have lots of neat explosions and plenty of fairly well-done fight scenes. Considering the film's larger-than-life anti-heroine, it should have been great fun, even with its predictable, full-of-holes and paper-thin story. But Railsback is terrible as the villain, and none of the actors seem to realize the story is based on a comic book. For the film to make it as a serious science fiction film it would have had to cover some new or interesting territory. However, there's nothing new in retinal scans, killer viruses or a future American police state.

While the time is certainly right for a female anti-hero, Barb Wire is no Mad Max. -- Kathie

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The worms are back!

Our pick:
1 2 3 4 5

• Tremors 2: Aftershocks
• PG-13
• Starring Fred Ward and Michael Gross
• 100 minutes

efinery workers have started to disappear mysteriously in a Mexican oil field. As soon as refinery officials realize they're up against those enormous, man-eating monster earthworms from the first Tremors movie, they enlist the help of Earl Basset (Ward). Earl battled the worms the first time around, so the refinery officials figure he's the perfect fellow to take care of their problem.

Earl reluctantly takes the job and sets out with new partner Grady Hoover (Christopher Gartin). At first the two don't have much trouble cleverly dispatching the worms, which travel underground at the speed of a car and hunt by sound. However, they soon realize there are a lot more worms than they thought.

Earl doesn't waste any time calling in one of his monster-fighting pals from the first movie, survivalist Burt Gummer. Burt is fully prepared to take on the worms. However, even he is caught off guard when the worms mutate into something else. In fact, a bunch of something elses.

From then on it's up to the trio (with the help of a pretty lady scientist) to save the world from a brand new kind of man-eating monster.

The original Tremors was a terrific send-up of monster movies. Tremors 2: Aftershocks tries to follow in the same tradition, but while the dialogue has its moments and there's a clever turn or two, it never quite succeeds. In fact, the movie's opening scenes are kind of boring. And while Tremors 2 actually has more special effects than the first movie, the new monsters just don't cut it.

Because this movie never gels, the audience has lots of time to think about the lack of logic. Like why aren't scientists and thrill-seekers covering the area? The first movie never had to deal with explanations because, hey, there were a bunch of big worms hanging around eating people. Not so in Tremors 2, where the lapse in logic jumps out at viewers.

And while Ward still has the grouchy Earl down pat, his on-screen chemistry with Gartin (as the eager Grady) just doesn't hit the same note as Ward managed with Tremors partner Kevin Bacon. Helen Shaver is game enough in the well-it's-a-horror-movie-so-we've-got-to-have-a-pretty-lady-scientist role.

The one true reason to see this movie is the performance by Gross. He is absolutely hysterical as the survivalist who's prepared for World War III and giant earthworms, but who can't quite cope with what the mutated worms turn into or the fall of the Soviet Union (he's having trouble facing life without the threat of global destruction).

Tremors 2: Aftershocks offers the same message Tremors did. You can never have enough ammo or explosives just in case giant earthworms come crashing through your basement or start to transform into some other kind of man-eating monster. It's worth seeing because Burt will show you just how to take care of those suckers. -- Kathie

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