A pretty cute experience overall.  It definitely had me laughing at times but you can tell this comedy simply comes from a different era.  Sure, it is clearly minded for a younger audience - the Master spending hundreds of years trudging through the sewers is a good example of that, but it also has a ton of jokes that really wouldn't fly for an all-ages audience these days, either.

In any case, it's great seeing Rowan Atkinson do a genuinely good job as a Doctor actor.  With the other regenerations along with stuff like McGann, John Hurt, and even the Shalka webcasts, there's definitely this sense in the fan community that there's a series of "lost Doctors" - actors who very likely would have had the role in the 90s during the Wilderness Era had the series not been cancelled.  I think, even though The Curse of Fatal Death is clearly a silly parody, they do take the source material just seriously enough we can get a real sense of what that show might look like, what sensibilities it would have had, and, given Moffat wrote this, a real sense of some of the aspects of production that would define Doctor Who in the future.  Any Doctor Who fan who really digs this sort of material should watch this at least once - it is a very interesting experience and short enough it doesn't overstay its welcome... at least not too much.

• The Doctor explaining (or failing to explain) crazy concepts to the companion
• The Master allying himself with the Daleks
• Good use of time travel (as in the "I anticipated your journey back in time" moments)
• Regeneration scene(s)
• and even a twist that brings an unknown element to something already established in the lore
  (as is the case here of the Doctor going beyond the regeneration limit, which back then was something we didn't know how it would happen or what effects it would have - for all intents and purposes, in this reality, when the regeneration limit is exceeded, the Doctor regenerates into a gender-inverted body apparently).

The Curse of Fatal Death is delightfully fun and very funny. From what I heard about this special, I was expecting to hate it. While some of the jokes might have aged a bit poorly or not be as "PC" as some would like, I still found them mostly harmless and funny. I'm glad I waited until after watching Classic Who to watch this, as it utilises a lot of tropes as basis for jokes and gags. It's also interesting to see how much this clearly influenced the revival, from the golden glow of regeneration to a female thirteenth Doctor.

one of the best specials ever made

This is cannon.

I refuse to believe otherwise

Absolute peak

A fun Comic Relief sketch that isn't without its flaws. The plot is a comedic take on the stereotype of a Doctor Who story, which pokes loving fun to common tropes. While the jokes are funny, sometimes they go on too long or are repeated too much. The acting is good, but that is to be expected with the cast that was assembled. I've found that this story looses its charm the more times I have seen it, but for a first time viewer that is familiar with classic Who, then this should be a fun watch.

Objectively the greatest Doctor Who TV episode ever made. Sorry, I don’t make the rules/j

This final piece of 20th Century Doctor Who sums up why these elusive, rare and half official stories from the 1990s are so exciting. It gives a glimpse of 'what might have been', whilst mixing sensibilities from the clearly defined new and old eras.

The Curse of the Fatal Death is pleasingly filmed in studio on multi-cam, giving it a proper "Classic Who" feel, but it is treated to updated CGI which makes it an uncanny watch for dedicated fans. It is of course written by the most prolific Doctor Who writer of the 21st Century (and to be honest, all time) Steven Moffat, marking his first contribution to thousands of hours of television. It marks lots of firsts and lasts and comes from a time when it looked like a new, non-comedic version of the show was completely out of reach. We would have to wait a further 4 years before RTDs first era was announced.

The most pleasing thing about this charity special is that it is properly, properly funny. With Moffat's trademark humour throughout. For the most part the jokes are well judged - even the fart gags. The Master falling down the same trap door three times is an absolute treat. Its also very timey wimey. Before timey wimey Doctor Who even existed.

It makes for a far more substantial effort than most charity specials. You can't even compare this to the abysmal and embarrassing Dimensions in Time. This story makes it obvious that the old team behind the Classic show needed to pass the batten on to new blood. This story was also (thankfully) given the budget it deserved and has an incredibly star studded cast - with no EastEnders' crossover at all.

If I had one minor criticism, it would be that a lot of the gags rely on a factually incorrect memory of the show. It is home to comedic, knowing clichés that were never really clichés. "I'll explain that later." But who cares? Its Rowan Atkinson and Julia Sawala being hilarious. In our show! When our show was incredibly unfashionable and shunned by society. Its Hugh Grant. The biggest star in the world. In our unpopular, unfashionable show. Proving that the formula, even when being played for cheap laughs - works fantastically.