The Three Doctors: Doctor Who: Season 10

Goldby

Grob

Long

The Three Doctors REVIEWS



Goldby

Happy Birthday Dr. Who! With the Three Doctors Doctor Who turned 10! The first anniversary story and the first to come up with the mind blowing concept of bringing back former incarnations of the Doctor to meet the present incarnation! The Two-and-a-Half Doctors more like.. Hartnell has to get a note from his wife and be all cry baby about participating more. Yeah right like we're going to buy arteriosclerosis…

Anyway despite the first doctor being confined to a monitor for the whole thing (luckily he wanted to be in it at all I suppose) Troughton really makes this one for me, without him the story would be bland. His performance in this makes you bemoan the fact that two thirds of his era is effectively missing and he and Pertwee make a great double act. Anyway they've got more to play with but it's back to the South England quarry for the tragic tale of Omega - first of the Time Lords and the one who was lost giving his people their vast powers. This adds hugely to the mythology of the Time Lords.

Apart from the original plot it moves along at a good pace, you don't even notice that Mike Yates and the Master aren't around but you do notice the Brig acting like a real thickie. More than he should for his rank, and why is he so gob smacked about seeing the Tardis for the first time with all he's encountered in the last 3 years or so? Benton seems more grounded and endearing and Pertwee and Manning are very comfortable in their roles. Stephen Thorne's Omega gets the over acting award of the year and never really bought the blob monsters as a kid or now. Actually the last time I saw the Three Doctors probably a few years ago now, something sticks in the mind that this particular story has an air of tackiness in the sets and cheapness in the execution like the pillar of smoke that everyone obviously walks over into the corner of the dark set,there's no real tension. It almost seems too Barry Letts comfortable.

Ah well we can only bemoan the fact we never got the dramatic appearance in the flesh of William Hartnell that was scheduled for part 4 for the final confrontation with Omega. Give this one a 7.2/10



Grob

I really like the Three Doctors. Its a great concept and a excellent way to start a new season - particularly the anniversary one. Okay the script isn't perfect by any means but it does have all the Doctors in it. Troughton slips very easily back into his potty Doctor again with all the humour, pathos and slyness he always had. And even Bill Hartnell captures his Doctor perfectly despite being seriously ill and cooped up in a glass cabinet. In some ways you really feel that Bill is giving his all for this one. And then there is Pertwee. I wonder how much of his ego got bruised in the production of this one? After all, he's not the only star here as a couple of other guys have turned up for work and the audiences are looking at THEM!! Anyway, that much publicized banter between him and Troughton is very funny even though it IS Troughton stealing all the good lines!

UNIT Family; Goldby is right - you don't even notice the absence of the Master or cardboard king Mike Yates. The Brig is starting to turn into a bit of a comedy buffoon here as well which is sad. Thanks Barry. For those of us who are interested in knicker spotting you can see Katy Mannings pink frillys on display in episode one when she climbs out of Bessie on the way back from the bird sanctuary at UNIT HQ.

Omega; bit of dimension there for a Pertwee villain for a change and Stephen Thorne does a great job with the voice. So good they used it again in the Hand of Fear. And I remember being creeped out as a kid when Omega removed his mask and there was NOTHING there. The sets are a bit of a let down sounding all wooden and painted (roughly) in green - or "gween" if you are named Terrance. The gel guards do sod all but they look cuddly as they bob around. And its another quarry too. Probably the same one from Colonoscopy in Space.

But never mind, its got the three Doctors in it and that in itself is worth an 8.5 / 10.



Long

"So you're my replacements, a dandy and a clown!"

OK, so the Three Doctors might be a little flawed in places, but I tell you what, the performance of "the Dandy and the Clown" is probably enough to make this one an instant classic.

I wonder if the original response to this was "well the dandiest of dandies and the clowniest of clowns would be infinitely better than what we had to replace"!

It's funny how the memory acts. I always remembered the Three Doctors as being excellent, and the gel guards as being very scary from the numerous early 80s repeats… but watching it again a couple of years ago, they do look a bit rubbish… even laughable. But re-watching it though I did think that the plot held together nicely. Being a four parter there wasn't as much padding, and the whole anti-matter thing was a different kind of enemy - as was the introduction of Omega, and yes, more of the Gallifrey legend. I wonder if we might see the return of Omega when it comes to telling the tale of the Time Wars? I hope we do. Baker and Martin were certainly at their best here - they did write some odd ones, but they always tried something different… and for that you have to admire them.

Maybe it's the warm and fuzzy childhood memories that make we want to watch this again and again - or maybe it's because we get to see Troughton steal the show once more (and in colour) - or as a kid, it was the first time I got to see him steal the show.

9/10

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