The Three Doctors: Episode One

Review of the Complete Story:

THE THREE DOCTORS is a well-remembered serial from the Jon Pertwee era of DOCTOR WHO. It's certainly a memorable production which packs plenty of ingredients into the narrative: not one, not two, but three different incarnations of the Doctor; the welcome return of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and Sergeant Benton; a world-eating alien blob; time travel; ugly lava monsters; and a renegade Time Lord known only as Omega.

Inevitably the story was going to be an entertaining one with all those ingredients and Who fans are in for a treat with this one. The best scenes are those in which Pertwee and Patrick Troughton are paired up to constantly belittle each other - a real delight. It's a real pity that William Hartnell's poor health meant that he was relegated to appearing on a monitor for a handful of scenes, but at least it's a fitting swansong for the first Doctor.

Those stories featuring the Brigadier are always among my favourites and Nicholas Courtney is on top form here. It's also good to see John Levene's Benton get more screen time than usual. THE THREE DOCTORS is chock full of cheesy special effects work, from dodgy alien planets to monsters which look like walking pasta bakes, but the late-stage intervention of the megalomaniac Omega only adds to the fun. It's not perfect - what is? - but it's a whole lotta fun nonetheless.

This one was commissioned to celebrate ten years of our celebrated Time Lord, and it pitches the "Doctor" (Jon Pertwee) against his most deadly foe yet! Indeed such is the peril faced by the entire galaxy, the folks on "Gallifrey" have broken just about every rule of time there is to provide him with the support of his earlier iterations - Patrick Troughton and William Hartnell. What's the problem? Well it seems that anti-matter is gradually taking over the universe and the process looks like it will quite literally lead to the big bang. With "Jo" (Katy Manning) and the redoubtable "Brigadier" (Nicholas Courtney) on their team, the three must rally together and use all of their accumulated wisdom and guile if they are to defeat their ultimate nemesis - "Omega"! This is one of my favourite outings for the "Doctor" that's well enhanced by a strong and amiable contribution from the sightly eccentric Troughton as they face a baddie that exudes loads of teatime menace. We still get to film in the BBC quarry for some of this, but that is mixed effectively with some decent visual effects and a really solid story that is well paced and poured into four episodes that don't hang around. True - some of the monsters do look like they've just escaped from a wine gum factory, but with timelines crossing and critters appearing and disappearing all over the shop and quite a bit of wit in the script, this makes for an enjoyable hour of time travel adventures, revenge and an annoying recorder (flute not tape). Good fun, this.

Review of all 4 episodes:

This story marked the 10th anniversary of the series and it is a very good birthday party as all three actors who had played The Doctor appear and have dialogue together. The production is not perfect but it is perfectly magic! It is the interplay of the 3 versions of The Doctor which adds the real magic to this adventure.

The storyline involves a legendary Time Lord, Omega, who is trapped in a world of antimatter inside a Black Hole which he created to bring the power of time travel to the Time Lords. He has been there for a very long time and has become mad with bitterness and rage at being 'left' trapped after giving the Time Lords their powers by his ingenuity and bravery. Over the vast time he has been trapped he has developed ways to attack the known universe and the Time Lords using antimatter. The Time Lords realise The Doctor may be able to fight Omega and to increase his chances they allow his two previous incarnations to cross into their own future so that the three Doctors can combine their intellect and battle Omega. The first Doctor (Hartnell) is caught in a 'time eddy' so cannot physically join them but he is able to communicate with the 2nd and 3rd Doctors. They bicker and banter but along with Jo, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and Sgt. Benton they bravely pool their efforts to save the universe.

The production in general is very good but not necessarily really great in every respect. Limitations of technology and budget mean the effects are not very good. The blob monsters serving Omega are the worst example of the imperfections to be found and the effect of the power transporting things into Omega's world is another. However the magic touch from the three Doctors make this something special and I never judge things purely by effects. Indeed if they were to make an enhanced CGI version with everything exactly the same except for improving the effects then this would basically eliminate any real gripes I might have with this serial. I can overlook the unimpressive effects as apart from that there is so much charm and brilliance on show.

The dialogue is beautifully written by writers Bob Baker and Dave Martin and all the character interaction is great. Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee are marvelous, performing their roles to perfection whilst William Hartnell's special quality shines through in his scenes despite ill health limiting his contribution. The scripting and performance of all their scenes together is terrific and often very amusing with the fun banter working really well.

There is an epic quality to the storyline with the universe being threatened and the involvement of the Time Lords and their legendary hero turned adversary Omega. The idea is interesting and Omega is a fascinating villain. The plot works in spite of its convoluted scientific ideas. It comes across as menacing, engrossing and fun.

Nicholas Courtney adds real quality as the Brigadier with some hilarious reactions and strong involvement in the story. Benton has one of his best adventures while Jo brings her usual endearing nature. Guest characters are well played also.

A really charming and enjoyable romp with some superb work from the 3 tremendous actors who made Doctor Who's first 10 years so fantastic.

Effects aside, this is a 10/10 classic throughout.

I got to experience The Three Doctors in the remastered Blu Ray edition.

It was the days when the outside location shots would be done on 16mm film. The studio shots would be done on video. In theory the upgrade is easier to do on the film.

I thought the upgrade on the video was very good and you can see the detail on the faces of the actors.

This tenth anniversary special was actually shown in 1972. The Third Doctor comes across something odd at UNIT headquarters.

The Time Lords on Gallifrey notice that the universe is in grave danger. To help the Third Doctor they summon the Second Doctor.

I guess producer Barry Letts thought that it would be wise to have the two doctors having an antagonistic relationship. This would then allow the First Doctor to enter and keep the peace and keep things orderly.

Hartnell was infirm and his shots were effectively done in his garden shed.

Still some of the lines between the doctors are classics. They have been reused often in other episodes. Sarah Jane mentioned the redecoration of the Tardis in School Reunion.

Looking back at this episode. I was surprised that all three doctors get together in the first episode.

I was also surprised that Sergeant Benton had never been inside the Tardis until this episode.

"The Three Doctors", the first serial in the tenth season of Doctor Who, celebrated the programme's tenth anniversary by uniting all three actors to have played the Doctor as of that date, William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee. Ill-health, however, prevented Hartnell from playing a full role in the serial, and his participation is limited to a pre-recorded cameo viewed on a monitor screen. (This was to be his last acting role before his death in 1975).

We are informed that there is a "First Law of Time" which prevents two or more incarnations of a Time Lord from meeting one another. This, however, appears to be a "law" in the sense of "piece of legislation" rather than a "law of nature", because we are also informed that it can be broken in extreme circumstances. (Strangely, no mention of this law was made when Troughton's Second Doctor appeared alongside Colin Baker's Sixth in "The Two Doctors" from the eighties). So what circumstance so extreme has occurred to require the Time Lords to breach this fundamental law?

The answer is that their home planet Gallifrey is facing a catastrophic situation, with all their power being sucked into a black hole, a state of affairs which threatens not only Gallifrey itself but the entire universe. The problem is so serious that the Time Lords fear that it cannot be solved by one Doctor alone, and that the combined efforts of all three Doctors will be needed. So the Second and Third Doctors are summoned, although the First finds himself trapped in a "time eddy", a plot device invented to explain Hartnell's limited participation.

Imagine the shock to modern America if it were to be discovered that George Washington did not die in 1799 but is still alive and is actively plotting to destroy the country that he helped to found. A shock of similar magnitude awaits the Doctors. For eons the Time Lords have revered a Founding Father named Omega, the solar engineer whose work created the power source that gives them mastery over time. Omega is believed to have died in a supernova explosion, but in fact he was propelled into an "antimatter universe" where he exists on a world created by his will alone. Believing that the Time Lords left him to die, he is now seeking revenge.

I won't set out the plot any further as it gets very complicated, and indeed frequently absurd. The plot isn't the only absurd thing about this serial; there are also those jelly-like monsters who look like Mr Blobby suffering from an unpleasant skin disease. Omega is a potentially tragic figure, but not enough is made of this aspect of his character; for most of the time he just comes across as a bombastic, posturing pantomime villain. We discover towards the end that he does not really exist except as a manifestation of his own will- a bizarre concept. Troughton, however, makes a welcome return to the show; his Second Doctor finds it impossible to get on with Pertwee's Third because of their very different personalities, the Second being more mischievous and irreverent, the Third more urbane and serious. (The sharp exchanges between Troughton and Pertwee are the story's most amusing feature). Hartnell's First Doctor has to try and reconcile them, but even he cannot resist joining in the mutual recriminations, dismissing his successors as "the dandy and the clown". The idea of reuniting the three incarnations of the Doctor was a good one; it is just a pity that a better story could not have been found for them to star in.