Canceled plans for a full Doctor Who season featuring the Eighth Doctor seem to have been copied for the BBC centenary special, "The Power of the Doctor." Paul McGann portrayed the eighth incarnation of the titular Time Lord during the 1996 television movie. Although the film performed well in the UK, it had been produced for an American audience, where it didn't fare so well, leading to the show's subsequent cancelation. Christopher Eccleston took over the role of the Ninth Doctor after the 2005 revival, completely abandoning any plans for a potential season featuring McGann's version. Yet, while his time was cut short, plans for McGann's Doctor have still influenced the franchise, including the "Power of the Doctor" centenary episode.
In an interview with Radio Times, Seventh Doctor actor Sylvester McCoy hinted at ideas that had been posed for a full season featuring McGann's Eighth Doctor. McCoy appeared in the 1996 TV movie, handing over the role to McGann, and suggested that he, along with other previous Doctor Who actors would have returned in the following season. This would have taken the forms of flashbacks detailing the events between the end of the classic series in 1989 and the TV movie in 1996, bringing back both McCoy and Ace actor Sophie Aldred, both of whom eventually returned in "The Power of the Doctor." While not an exact copy, perhaps Jodie Whittaker's final episode as the Thirteenth Doctor took some inspiration from these aborted Eighth Doctor plans, given the special's inclusion of Doctors past.
An Eighth Doctor Season Would Have Seen Many Returning Characters
"The Power of the Doctor" saw several past Doctor Who actors return to their roles, including the likes of Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor, McCoy as the Seventh, and even McGann himself as the Eighth. It seems that the original plans for the follow-up season to McGann's first outing as the Doctor would have taken much the same route. In his Radio Times interview, McCoy stated that it was in Philip Segal's (the producer) hopes for the future of the series that "the other Doctors would have popped in and the companions and all that kind of stuff."
He went on to say that a further season could have featured most of the actors who played the Doctor, including Colin Baker as the Sixth Doctor, Davison, and even Jon Pertwee as the Third Doctor. Though these plans unfortunately never came to fruition, previous Doctors have returned in years since the 2005 revival, most notably in the 50th anniversary special, "The Day of the Doctor," which brought back Tom Baker as a future version of the Doctor, and in "The Power of the Doctor," where several past actors returned, perhaps taking inspiration from these canceled Eighth Doctor plans.
Why Didn’t The Eighth Doctor Get His Own Season?
After Doctor Who's suspension in 1989, it was unclear if the series would return, so there was a lot of pressure on the TV movie to reignite a desire for Doctor Who. The movie was made to appeal to an American audience, but this didn't go to plan. 1996's Doctor Who performed well in the UK, where Doctor Who had been an institution since its 1963 premiere, but it didn't perform so well in America and was considered a failure, forcing producers to cancel plans for a continuation of the story. This cancellation, however, was not the end of McGann's association with the role. Despite not getting his own season, McGann voiced the Doctor in many audio productions, and has since appeared in the mini special, "Night of the Doctor," which featured his regeneration into the War Doctor. With his much-loved performance in "The Power of the Doctor," there's been speculation of a spin-off season following the Eighth Doctor, so the future could be bright for Doctor Who's most unfortunate Doctor.