Right OK I thought I would squeeze in another review just before the end of the month and this is the 50th post of the year on this blog so I thought it might deserve another anniversary themed post, and this one will cover the Doctor Who story, The Five Doctors, which marked the show's 20th anniversary at the time of its broadcast back in 1983. So let's give this one a look....
So the story begins with the current fifth doctor (Peter Davison) of the story spending some quality time resting on the Eye of Orion with his companions Tegan (Janet Fielding) and Turlough (Mark Strickson). In the meantime however a masked figure uses a timescoop to bring the Doctor's previous incarnations along with some of his former companions together into the Death zone on Gallifrey. The fifth doctor suddenly feels the physical anguish of his other selves being captured and he tells his companions to return to the TARDIS where the Doctor is physically weakend by the incident. The other doctors all recognise that they are on the death zone in Gallifrey and make their way towards the tower, aware of the dangerous games that lie ahead of them as various enemies have been lifted into the timescoop as well, such as Cybermen and the Daleks. The doctors are joined by their companions, which for the first doctor (Richard Hurndall) is joined by his granddaughter Susan (Carole Anne Ford) the second doctor (Patrick Troughton) who is accompanied by the retired Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart (Nicholas Courtney) and the third doctor (Jon Pertwee) who is joined by Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen). The fourth doctor (Tom Baker) however remains trapped in his own timestream with his companion Romana (Lala Ward) and therefore isn't transported to the death zone.
Menawhile on Gallifrey at the high council of the time lords, headed by Lord President Borusa (Phillip Latham) realise the Death zone has been reactivated and that the doctor former selves have been lifted into the zone. The council as a result reluctanty decide to call on the Master (Anthony Ainley) to aid the doctors by going into the death zone and in return he will receive a full free pardon for his past evil actions and a new regeneration life cycle to which the Master agrees, who is given a transmat device so he can beam up from the zone if necessary. However the Master is less than successful in trying to convince the third or the fifth doctors whom he encounters into believing him and the Cybermen arrive and attack them, leaving the Master unconscious, the fifth doctor takes the Master's transmat device and beams himself into the Time Lord capital where meets with Borusa and the other council members. The fifth doctor suspects foul play is at hand as he discovers the transmat device has a homing beacon which would lead the Cybermen right to them and Borusa suspects the Castellan (Paul Jerricho) to be involved and has him arrested. The Castellan however denies he had anything to do with it but Borusa tells the guards to interrogate the Castellan with the mind probe to which the Castellan protests and he tries to escape and is shot down by a guard. Borusa now considers the case closed but the Doctor is still suspicious and he voices his concerns to Chancellor Flavia (Dinah Sheridan). The Doctor then looks for Borusa who is missing but soon he finds a secret room where he learns the truth that Borusa was behind it all as he intended to use the Doctors to clear the path of the dangers in the Death zone so he can access the great tower and claim eternal life so he rule as president forever. And its up to the fifth doctor and his previous incarnations to find a way to stop Borusa from carrying out his plan....
As a celebration of the series, The Five Doctors succeeds very well in doing so and it features an impressive cast of the actors playing the former doctors and the companions. The story itself was written by Terrance Dicks, although Robert Holmes was initially involved he pulled out early on in the production and its a very enjoyable story as well with plenty of good dialogue from Terrance Dicks as well. Although Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee reprise their roles as the second and third doctors respectively and Richard Hurndall replaced the late William Hartnell (who died back in 1975) Tom Baker decided not to return to the show as he felt it was too soon to go back to the show after having left only two years ago, although Baker later admitted he regretted this decision. And to substitute for this, the production team used footage of the incomplete Doctor Who story, Shada, which was not completed due to the union strikes at the BBC of that time in 1980.
Getting to the performances the cast all perform really well here and Peter Davison does a fine job in his role as the fifth doctor and he seems to be at ease in the role. Davison has some good moments in the story such as the scene where he feels the physical pain of his former selves being lifted out of their timestreams and he says to Tegan and Turlough "I'm being diminished! Whittled away piece by piece. A man is the sum of his memories and a Time Lord even more so". Davison also has another good and amusing scene where the first doctor arrives onboard the TARDIS and the first doctor tells Tegan to fetch them some drinks but Tegan doesn't like his attitude and the fifth doctor says "Tegan! Tegan! Humour him. I sometimes used to get a bit tetchy. Fortunately one mellows with age". And then there is the moment the fifth doctor meets the Master in the death zone and he listens to the Master and says "Do you really expect me to believe the fantastic tale you just told?!" and after they are attacked by the Cybermen, the Doctor takes the Master's transmit device just as the Cybermen say "you will accompany us" the Doctor says "Sorry, must dash!" and uses the device and beams up to the Capital.
As for the other doctors, Patrick Troughton is wonderful as the second doctor and there are some moments where he steals the show with his flamboyant potrayal of the "cosmic hobo". Troughton has numerous good moments in the story such as the first scene where he arrives at UNIT HQ and a sergeant tries to stop him enter the room to meet Lethbridge-Stewart (now retired at this point) and the sergeant says "You're not allowed in there, sir" and the second doctor says "Me? Not allowed? I'm allowed everywhere!". And after the second doctor enters the office and speaks to the Brig and his replacement, Colonel Crichton, he looks around at the decor and says "You've had this room redecorated haven't you? I don't like it!". Then there is a good scene where the second doctor and Lethbridge-Stewart encounter the second doctor's former companions, Jamie (Frazer Hines) and Zoe (Wendy Padbury) who are just phantoms and the Doctor says "Wait a moment. The Time Lords erased your memories of the time you spent with me, so how do you know who we are? Answer!" and the Jamie and Zoe both disappear. And when the second doctor finally arrives in the tower and meets with the other doctors he says to them "Well there you are! You don't think anything you could do could stop me! Let's have a look what's this?!" as he pushes the Doctor's aside and looks at a code that has caught the attention of the other doctors. And in his final goodbye to the third doctor, the second doctor says "Well goodbye, fancy pants!" and the Third Doctor quips back "Scarecrow!".
Jon Pertwee is also very good as the third doctor and he too has some really good moments as well as some amusing lines such as in his first scene where he sees the obelisk hurtle towards him as he drives Bessie and he exclaims "great balls of fire!" but he soon scooped up by it. And Pertwee also has a nice chemistry with Elisabeth Sladen who is surprised to see him instead of the fourth doctor and she says "But you became all...." and she indicates her curly hair and teeth and the third doctor says "Teeth and curls?! Yes well maybe I did. But I haven't yet!". And later when the third doctor faces the Master in the death zone he tells Sarah Jane "This is my best enemy. He likes to be known as the Master, don't you? My, my, my, but you've changed!". And the third doctor refuses to believe he is there to help him and says "You? Help me? I've never heard such arrant nonsense! This is some kind of a trap!". And later on when the third doctor finally arrives at the tower and meets Lethbridge-Stewart he greets him warmly and as the Brig is about to speak with him the third doctor says "You'll have to excuse me, old chap. We've got a very important transcription to translate and I think they'll get it all wrong without me!". And lastly the scene when the third doctor and Sarah Jane reach the tower and the doctor comes face to face with two of his former companions, Mike Yates (Richard Franklin) and Liz Shaw (Caroline John) and as they try to stop him moving forward, the third doctor calls out "How?! You're phantoms! Delusions of the mind!" and they vanish.
Richard Hurndall also does a good job in his part as the first doctor as he replaces the late William Hartnell, who died of ateriosclerosis back in April of 1975 and Hurndall does his best to replicate Hartnell's mannerisms and style as the testy old first doctor although his potrayal doesn't quite match the tetchy old charm that Hartnell initially brought to the role. Hurndall still has some amusing moments such as the scene near the end where the first doctor congratulates the fifth doctor and says to him "Well done, my boy. You've done quite well. Quite well! Its good to know my future is in safe hands!". Also there is the scene where the first doctor announces himself to Tegan onboard the TARDIS and says "I might be any number of things, young lady. As it happens, I am the Doctor. The original you might say!".
Tom Baker also makes a brief but amusing appearance in the story as well as they used footage taken from the unfinished story, Shada where he punts a small boat up the river in Cambridge. And in the scene Tom enjoys some silly dialogue with Lala Ward as the Doctor and Romana banter about the serenity of the setting. And in the scene Romana says "I thought you said we were coming here for May week!" and the Doctor says "I did! May week's in June" and Romana says "I'm confused!" and the Doctor replies "So was the TARDIS!" and laughs, just before the Doctor is about to lose his balance and fall into the water the timescoop picks him and Romana up.
As for the other cast members Janet Fielding is good in her regular companion role as Tegan Jovanaka, the feisty Australian former air hostess who travels with the Doctor. And Janet enjoys some funny moments in the story as well such as the scene where she travels with the first doctor toward the dark tower and once inside, they encounter a deadly chequered corridor, which destroys a group of cybermen, who betrayed by the Master who moves on. And the first doctor uses his mathematical skills to navigate the chequered floor and tells Tegan to move now who says "I hope you've got your sums right?!". And Janet also finishes off the story with a good line when she says to the fifth doctor "You mean you are deliberately choosing to go own the run from your own people in a rackety old TARDIS?!" and the fifth doctor smiles and says "Why not? After all, that's how it all started!". Mark Strickson doesn't quite such a prominent role in the story as Turlough but he does OK with what he is given in the role as the fifth doctor's second regular companion. Strickson's most amusing scene actually comes in the moment where the cybermen attach cables runnning from a bomb to the TARDIS, and Susan looks on nervously saying "Its a bomb!" and Turlough says "Big, isn't it?!"
As for the guest cast, Nicholas Courtney reprises his role very well again as the now retired Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart who meets up with the second doctor and is then scooped and placed on the death zone with him. Courtney also some good lines such as the scene where the Brig and the second doctor just arrive on the death zone and the Brig says "Charming spot, Doctor!". And when the second doctor asks the Brig "Brigadier, have I ever left you astray?" the Brig replies sharply "on many occassions!". And of course there is the moment where in the dark tower the Brig stops the Master from killing the other doctors and says "Nice to see you again!" and knocks him out cold. And in the Brig's first scene he reflects on his days at UNIT and speaks with his replacement, Colonel Crichton and says to him when the Colonel says how he tried to get the doctor to come to the reunion but couldn't get in touch, "Oh yes the Doctor. Wonderful chap, all of them".
Then there is Philip Latham who does a decent job as the corrupt and devious President Borusa who manipulates the time scoop and brings the doctors to the death zone on Gallifrey and he ultimately seeks out immortality. Paul Jerricho who provides the corniest and naffest performance in the story however also provides some amusement and good lines as the Castellan who is framed by Borusa. And Jerricho has a good line when he says to Borusa "With all due respect, Lord President, your regeneration has not helped your stubborness!". And later when he is arrested by Borusa's men and Borusa says "you authorised to use the mind probe" the Castellan looks horrified and Jerricho delivers the immortal line "No, not the mind probe!" before he is shortly taken out and shot while he tries to escape.
As for the other companions, Elisabeth Sladen fares the best as she is given the bigger role out of the former companions and she shares some nice moments with Jon Pertwee when the third doctor and Sarah try to traverse the dangers of the death zone. And Liz get's a good line near the end once they finally arrive at the death zone, and the third doctor meets the Brig and quickly brushes him off, the Brig says "Typical!" and Sarah says "Oh I know. Drag you through time and space without so much a bye or leave, then leave you out when things get interesting!". Also worthy of note is Liz's first scene where Sarah talks to her robotic dog, K-9, who once belonged to the doctor, who warns her that there is great danger and "the doctor is involved" and Sarah says "Now I know you are imagining things! See you later" just before she too is scooped up by the timescoop. Carole Anne Ford also does well enough with her role as Susan Foreman athough she is largely sidelined to spending most of the time in the TARDIS with Turlough after she arrives there. And Frazer Hines, Wendy Padbury, Richard Franklin and Caroline John all put in brief cameos as the doctors previous companions, Jamie, Zoe, Mike Yates and Liz Shaw, but they are not given much screen at all so they don't make much of an impression on the story.
And lastly I will mention Anthony Ainley who is excellent in his potrayal as the Master, who get's some good lines and scenes in the story. Ainley also makes a grand entrance to the story as he arrives at the capital on Gallifrey and he addresses Borusa, Chancellor Flavia and the Castellan and says to them "I maybe seated?". And when the Master beams down to the death zone he tries to persuade the third doctor into telling him he is here to help, and he says "I knew this was going to be difficult, but I didn't realise that even you would be so stupid as to make it impossible!" which is followed a hail of thunderbolts which crash land nearby and the doctor drives off and leaves the Master to run for his life. And later in the dark tower as the Master leads the Cybermen into a trap as they all get killed on the chequered floor, he turns to the first doctor and Tegan after he successfully crosses the floor, "try it, doctor, its easy as pie!". And later on his climactic scene the Master holds three of the doctors at gunpoint and says to them "The decision is scarcely yours! Killing you once was never enough for me, doctor. How gratifying to do it three times over!" just before he knocked out by the Brig.
And last of all David Banks does an excellent job in reprising his role as the rather "emotional" Cyberleader who briefly collaborates with the Master. And when one of Cyberleader's men asks him if he will give the Master his freedom, the Cyberleader says "Promises to aliens have no validity. When the tower is in our hands, he will be destroyed" but in the end you just know its going to end badly for the silver warriors.
Finally moving onto the direction, Peter Moffatt takes the helm here and he does a good job at keeping the story moving along nicely and given that it is an anniversary story it was a bit of a task to undertake but he does admirable job here. And Peter Howell, who did the variation of the theme tune for the show in the 1980s era up until Colin Baker started, provides an excellent electronic score here which is pretty atmospheric and features plenty of good passages, particularly in the scene where the Cybermen are attacked by the Raston warrior robot and the scenes where the doctors arrive at the dark tower.
As for flaws.... well The Five Doctors is pretty good story overall but there are one or two minor niggles and the first one would probably boil down to the fact there are too many guest cameo appearances from the other companions, particularly Jamie, Zoe, Mike and Liz Shaw who are all totally sidelined and not given any space to breath, so much so in fact I'm surprised any of them even agreed to appear in the story itself! This is also true of the enemies in the show such as the daleks, who are poorly represented with only one dalek in the story yet the Cybermen feature more heavily here. This actually was the result of the script editor, Eric Saward, who loved the Cybermen as villains, yet Terrance Dicks himself was never keen on them (which was also the reason why there were no Cybermen stories during the entire Pertwee era when Dicks was the script editor!). But given the infamy and stature of the daleks as an enemy in the series surely they deserved more screen time than they actually got. And the story in itself probably tries to be a bit too ambitious in tyring to tie all these characters together but it doesn't quite gel as a result. Another problem lies with the fact that there are some silly moments in the story as well, especially the scene where Sarah Jane Smith has apparently fallen down a steep hill, after having arrived in the death zone, yet all she has done has fallen down a mild slope! And in the scene the third doctor uses some rope, which he throws at Sarah to attached around her waist to help her climb back up, yet when you look at the incline Sarah could easily climb up it herself!
But despite those niggles The Five Doctors remains a very entertaining celebration of the classic series and is definitel worth watching today nearly 31 years after its original broadcast.
And I shall leave it right there.
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