Epically bad

So, I was curious and downloaded the Eighth Doctor's one adventure, the made-for-tv movie from 1996.  It's ... wow.  The effects, sets, costumes, music, cinematography, all production values are like 100x better than the TV show which preceded it.  (Well, except for the cover of the theme song, which sucks.)  But the acting and the writing are ... bad.  Very bad.  Not consistently--there are some great scenes--but I can see why this never managed to launch a new series like they hoped.  Though it would have been cool if it had; there's potential.  It's just--they're going for an epic feel to it, which it didn't manage to carry off.  Question: is the Asian kid the first companion of color?  Even if he only lasted one episode.