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| Special and 25th anniversary edition DVDs |
It's not a big, deep story, but what The Five Doctors lacks in nuance and intricacy it more than makes up for in sheer entertainment. It starts with a perfectly chosen William Hartnell clip from The Dalek Invasion of Earth (thus properly representing Hartnell, who died in 1975), and moves from there into the best kind of nostalgic fun.
It's a simple plot, to be sure -- each Doctor is pulled out of his time stream and sent on a quest in the heart of Gallifrey, in search of a way to fix whatever's going on and get everyone back where they're supposed to be. It's as simple as that, but writer Terrance Dicks gives each of the Doctors and their companions plenty of things to do. And while they often act more like caricatures of themselves than how they actually were, it's still quite thrilling to see Jon Pertwee and Patrick Troughton back in action. As for the first Doctor... Richard Hurndall is, perhaps wisely, not doing a William Hartnell impersonation -- there's little here in the way of "hmm"-ing and lapel grabbing -- but is instead choosing to give his own take on the first Doctor's personality. It's occasionally a bit too severe, lacking the twinkle that Hartnell would have provided, but Hurndall does a decent job with what he's given.
It's also quite fun to see past companions and friends, though it's perhaps not quite as impactful as it might have otherwise been, given that we saw the Brigadier earlier this season and Sarah Jane in K-9 and Company a couple years earlier. But it's an absolute genuine delight to see Carole Ann Ford as Susan again, and her reunion with her grandfather (even if it's not the same actor) still resounds with feeling. The cameos from other companions are also nice -- it might have been more exciting to have seen larger parts for Mike Yates, Liz Shaw, Jamie, and Zoe, but even the small moments they get are fun.127 And while some of the returning baddies are also reduced to cameos (the Dalek, the Yeti), the Cybermen and the Master are both put to good use. This is in fact probably Anthony Ainley's best performance as the Master -- he's both full of fun ("If I may be seated?" he asks the High Council after sitting down, and the way he deals with the third Doctor is also very entertaining) and sufficient villainy, even if he's removed from the action by the end of the story.
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| The first, fifth, third, and second Doctors react to Rassilon. (The Five Doctors) ©BBC |
But let's be honest: the most impressive thing about The Five Doctors is how it gives each of the four Doctors more or less equal screen time (since Tom Baker decided not to participate -- but the use of the then-unseen Shada footage is a smart move to still get him in there), and yet Peter Davison still comes across as the star of the show. He's the main mover behind the events -- it's he who uncovers Borusa as the traitor and arranges with the first Doctor the plan to get everyone back to where they should be -- but even when he's in the background you still get the sense that this is his show. "I'm definitely not the man I was. Thank goodness," he says at the end, and you agree with him.
It's a fun-filled romp, full of all the things you love about Doctor Who, and while it's steeped in the past (right down to the old theme tune in the end credits -- although, since the new theme is in a different key, that means the original version sounds really odd, as it's been transposed up to be in that newer key), that past isn't required viewing to enjoy this (I should know; I watched this story over and over as a kid while knowing little about the other Doctors' stories and was incredibly entertained every time). There's also a sense of coming full circle at the very end; after Chancellor Flavia (seemingly the only surviving High Council member) appoints the Doctor as Lord President, the Doctor appoints her as deputy and flees Gallifrey. "You mean you're deliberately choosing to go on the run from your own people in a rackety old TARDIS?" Tegan asks him. "Why not?" the Doctor replies. "After all, that's how it all started." As the show began, so it means to go on. Even though this really isn't the same show that started in 1963, there's nevertheless a sense of continuity that runs through everything -- so while this isn't really a show about exploring strange new environments anymore, the basic core of who the Doctor is and what he does has been more or less constant. As a final look back before moving on, as well as a story in its own right, The Five Doctors is a glorious success.
127 While we're here, though, let's take a moment to address something that's often brought up as a mistake but doesn't actually seem to be. It's often commented on that the second Doctor's reasoning for knowing that Jamie and Zoe aren't real (that they know who he is) is flawed, as the Time Lords left Jamie and Zoe with the memory of their first adventure with the Doctor -- so therefore they should know who the second Doctor is anyway. But this is more a problem with the way the Doctor explains his reasoning -- the actual realization for him seems to be that they know who the Brigadier is, which (correctly) neither of them should remember.