Thought this could be it's own thread instead of just another for the general thread if that's OK. Sort of a hypothetical thread like the LOTR in the 60s one.
"Classic" Doctor Who ran from 1963-1989, cancelled due a combination of poor ratings and BBC's growing ambivalence towards the show since Tom Baker had left in 1981, as well as some other issues (Violence concerns, BBC politics etc). In 1996, a Paul Mcgann TV movie was made that was largely intended as a possible pilot for a new TV series that would be an American and British co-production.
The film stuck with the continuity of the show, with Sylvester McCoy regenerating into the Eighth Doctor Paul Mcgann, and several references to Time Lords, Daleks etc. and the main villain was recurring foe the Master, who had last appeared in WHO's final episode/serial Survival.
However, despite strong ratings in Britain it failed in the United states, largely because it was scheduled against a "special" episode of Roseanne. Fans though Mcgann was a great Doctor, but many were annoyed at the attempts to "Americanize" the show, as well as failing to take advantage of Doctor Who's time travel aspect, instead setting everything in near future San Francisco.
So no further series was greenlit, although Mcgann's Eighth Doctor continued in spin-off material with Mcgann reprising the role for Audio dramas.
Although there had been attempts at a Ninth Doctor in now non-canon but still official productions (The Curse of Fatal Death, Scream of the Shalka), the BBC green-lighted a continuation of WHO in 2003 (largely due to the sucess of Buffy & Star Trek spin-offs in Britain) which was also a continuation (but did it somewhat more cautiously than the TV movie, with familiar elements and enemies introduced more gradually) with Christopher Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor, although with no explanation as to how he came to regenerate apart from possibly being related to the Time War storyline (an explanation-and an in-between Doctor-was introduced in the 2013 anniversary short "Night of the Doctor").
But what if the TV movie did well and a series happened? Would there be more "Americanisation", or updates of classic Who monsters (Some concept art for an earlier script in particular showed "Spider Daleks" which would play up their mutant angle with their casings opening )? Who would be the likely companion? Also when Mcgann decided to leave, who would be the possible future Doctors?