Classic Who: The Five Doctors review
With over 30 years of backstory to catch up on, figuring out where to start with classic who can be a daunting prospect – whether you're watching it or blogging about it.
I’m starting with the 20th Anniversary special episode The Five Doctors, which works well as an introduction to the first five Doctors – pick the Doctor you’d like to see more of and then check out more of his adventures.
Fans who are familiar with the earlier stories will enjoy the in-jokes, catchphrases and call-backs to Doctors gone by, and the cameo appearances of some of the earlier companions.
The central conceit of the story is that the Doctor’s various incarnations are being kidnapped by some cloak-wearing rogue with a time scoop and brought to the Death Zone on Gallifrey, where they must break in to the Dark Tower – the tomb of Rasillon, founder of Time Lord culture – in order to release the Tardis and return to their own timelines.
On the way the various Doctors meet old friends and old enemies; a lone Dalek, a squad of Cybermen, and a couple of the Doctor’s more popular companions have also, it seems, been snatched from their daily lives and dropped off in the Death Zone.
The Master, being evil and therefore expendable, is summoned by the Time Lord High Council to enter the Death Zone, help the Doctor and shut down the War Games – an embarrassing part of Time Lord history which has been started up again and is endangering Gallifrey because of reasons.
The plot is quite thin on these kinds of details, being more a selection of set pieces designed to bring all these characters together in a kind of Who’s Who of… well, you get the idea. On that level it does work perfectly well; it’s only when you stop to write a review of it that you realise the Dalek was gratuitous and Susan and Sarah Jane have been brought along primarily to fall over (although in fairness Lis Sladen makes the most of a thinly written role which could have been filled by almost any previous companion).
That said, with five Doctors, a smattering of companions and 20 years worth of villains to choose from, scriptwriter Terrance Dicks makes a valiant effort to give everyone a decent percentage of the 90 minute screen time. Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee are on good form as the Second and Third Doctors, especially when bickering with each other, and the banter between the various Doctors is always good fun to watch.
In the absence of William Hartnell (who passed away in 1975), the First Doctor is played by Richard Hurndall, who recreates a good deal of the original Doctor’s mannerisms and character. Purists will notice the difference (and the inclusion of original first doctor footage as a pre credits bonus will only highlight this) but he was as cranky and cantankerous, and occasionally temperamental, as I remember the First Doctor being.
It's unfortunate that Tom Baker decided it was too soon after regenerating to pick up the scarf again, but his token appearance, salvaged from the unfinished Shada, is a fun little scene with some of Douglas Adams’ humour that marked his time with Romana.
Peter Davison, as the current Doctor at the time, gets the job of going back to Gallifrey to figure out what is actually going on, but not without some fun exchanges with his first incarnation. His last line is particularly satisfying, harking back to how it all began (even if the dialogue leading up to that line is somewhat implausible).
The choice not to make the Master the Big Bad was an interesting one; the plan was clearly the kind of sadistic insanity he would try to inflict on his best enemy, but having the Master at least temporarily on the Doctor’s side does allow for another touch of humour.
The fact that at least one more Time Lord is as twisted as the Master, and that Gallifrey even has a Zone called Death, hints at a dark side to the Time Lords – perhaps the reason the Doctor doesn’t like to hang out with his old Gallifreyan buddies any more. Along with the legends of Rasillon and associated Time Lord mythology which is developed here, the story gives a glimpse at the Whoniverse beyond the Tardis.
There are a few interesting questions raised in the story; early on the Fifth Doctor, sensing chunks of his past ‘detaching themselves like melting icebergs’, comments that a man is the sum of his memories – perhaps more literally so for a Time Lord on his fifth life.
Later, the Master agrees to rescue the Doctor because ‘the cosmos without the Doctor scarcely bears thinking about,’ which seems an odd thing to say about your arch-nemesis; maybe the Master just needs a worthy adversary, or maybe he is aware of the Doctor’s greater significance (perhaps he saw the events of the 50th anniversary special?).
In exchange for his help, the Master is offered forgiveness – despite being ‘one of the most evil and corrupt beings the Time Lord race has ever produced’ – and a new cycle of regenerations. A full and free pardon for crimes without number and villainy without end, just for helping out your enemy?
It also struck me that the Doctor’s attitude to forgiveness changes, with Three refusing to accept that the Master is there to help, while Five is much more open to at least listening to what the Master has to say.
But the biggest question, and one which crops up throughout Doctor Who, is that of immortality. It seems that even Time Lords, who can live for thousands of years and have the power to bestow an additional 13 lives if the circumstances warrant it, can still be drawn to the appeal of true immortality – especially, it seems, if that means an eternal life of power. Rasillon, however, knows that immortality is a curse rather than a blessing, and the immortality he offers is a lonely, eternal existence rather than a productive eternal life. This struck me as illustrating the difference between eternity with God, and eternity without.
Related to this is the old Gallifreyan riddle inscribed on Rasillon’s tomb: "To lose is to win, and he who wins shall lose". In this context, the winner of immortality turns out to lose everything; it also echoes the words of Jesus to the rich young man who would not give up his wealth:
Quality: 8.0/10
Relevance: 8.5/10
And if you want to put those scores in the context of what I like, there are more reviews of Doctor Who, Red Dwarf, and sci-fi books on my website. You might also want to take a look at my Biblical sci-fi novel, Countless as the Stars (which, coincidentally, is available free until March 30th).
I’m starting with the 20th Anniversary special episode The Five Doctors, which works well as an introduction to the first five Doctors – pick the Doctor you’d like to see more of and then check out more of his adventures.
Fans who are familiar with the earlier stories will enjoy the in-jokes, catchphrases and call-backs to Doctors gone by, and the cameo appearances of some of the earlier companions.
The central conceit of the story is that the Doctor’s various incarnations are being kidnapped by some cloak-wearing rogue with a time scoop and brought to the Death Zone on Gallifrey, where they must break in to the Dark Tower – the tomb of Rasillon, founder of Time Lord culture – in order to release the Tardis and return to their own timelines.
On the way the various Doctors meet old friends and old enemies; a lone Dalek, a squad of Cybermen, and a couple of the Doctor’s more popular companions have also, it seems, been snatched from their daily lives and dropped off in the Death Zone.
The Master, being evil and therefore expendable, is summoned by the Time Lord High Council to enter the Death Zone, help the Doctor and shut down the War Games – an embarrassing part of Time Lord history which has been started up again and is endangering Gallifrey because of reasons.
The plot is quite thin on these kinds of details, being more a selection of set pieces designed to bring all these characters together in a kind of Who’s Who of… well, you get the idea. On that level it does work perfectly well; it’s only when you stop to write a review of it that you realise the Dalek was gratuitous and Susan and Sarah Jane have been brought along primarily to fall over (although in fairness Lis Sladen makes the most of a thinly written role which could have been filled by almost any previous companion).
That said, with five Doctors, a smattering of companions and 20 years worth of villains to choose from, scriptwriter Terrance Dicks makes a valiant effort to give everyone a decent percentage of the 90 minute screen time. Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee are on good form as the Second and Third Doctors, especially when bickering with each other, and the banter between the various Doctors is always good fun to watch.
In the absence of William Hartnell (who passed away in 1975), the First Doctor is played by Richard Hurndall, who recreates a good deal of the original Doctor’s mannerisms and character. Purists will notice the difference (and the inclusion of original first doctor footage as a pre credits bonus will only highlight this) but he was as cranky and cantankerous, and occasionally temperamental, as I remember the First Doctor being.
It's unfortunate that Tom Baker decided it was too soon after regenerating to pick up the scarf again, but his token appearance, salvaged from the unfinished Shada, is a fun little scene with some of Douglas Adams’ humour that marked his time with Romana.
Peter Davison, as the current Doctor at the time, gets the job of going back to Gallifrey to figure out what is actually going on, but not without some fun exchanges with his first incarnation. His last line is particularly satisfying, harking back to how it all began (even if the dialogue leading up to that line is somewhat implausible).
The choice not to make the Master the Big Bad was an interesting one; the plan was clearly the kind of sadistic insanity he would try to inflict on his best enemy, but having the Master at least temporarily on the Doctor’s side does allow for another touch of humour.
The fact that at least one more Time Lord is as twisted as the Master, and that Gallifrey even has a Zone called Death, hints at a dark side to the Time Lords – perhaps the reason the Doctor doesn’t like to hang out with his old Gallifreyan buddies any more. Along with the legends of Rasillon and associated Time Lord mythology which is developed here, the story gives a glimpse at the Whoniverse beyond the Tardis.
There are a few interesting questions raised in the story; early on the Fifth Doctor, sensing chunks of his past ‘detaching themselves like melting icebergs’, comments that a man is the sum of his memories – perhaps more literally so for a Time Lord on his fifth life.
Later, the Master agrees to rescue the Doctor because ‘the cosmos without the Doctor scarcely bears thinking about,’ which seems an odd thing to say about your arch-nemesis; maybe the Master just needs a worthy adversary, or maybe he is aware of the Doctor’s greater significance (perhaps he saw the events of the 50th anniversary special?).
In exchange for his help, the Master is offered forgiveness – despite being ‘one of the most evil and corrupt beings the Time Lord race has ever produced’ – and a new cycle of regenerations. A full and free pardon for crimes without number and villainy without end, just for helping out your enemy?
It also struck me that the Doctor’s attitude to forgiveness changes, with Three refusing to accept that the Master is there to help, while Five is much more open to at least listening to what the Master has to say.
But the biggest question, and one which crops up throughout Doctor Who, is that of immortality. It seems that even Time Lords, who can live for thousands of years and have the power to bestow an additional 13 lives if the circumstances warrant it, can still be drawn to the appeal of true immortality – especially, it seems, if that means an eternal life of power. Rasillon, however, knows that immortality is a curse rather than a blessing, and the immortality he offers is a lonely, eternal existence rather than a productive eternal life. This struck me as illustrating the difference between eternity with God, and eternity without.
Related to this is the old Gallifreyan riddle inscribed on Rasillon’s tomb: "To lose is to win, and he who wins shall lose". In this context, the winner of immortality turns out to lose everything; it also echoes the words of Jesus to the rich young man who would not give up his wealth:
But many who are first will be last, and the last first. (Mark 10:31 NIV)In summary: The Five Doctors may have its faults, and it certainly isn't high concept sf, but it is a lot of fun, as good Doctor Who has always been, and that is what makes The Five Doctors a good entry point to the classic series. Definitely worth watching if you have either enjoyed classic Doctor Who or are looking for a good place to start.
Quality: 8.0/10
Relevance: 8.5/10
And if you want to put those scores in the context of what I like, there are more reviews of Doctor Who, Red Dwarf, and sci-fi books on my website. You might also want to take a look at my Biblical sci-fi novel, Countless as the Stars (which, coincidentally, is available free until March 30th).
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