It’s a long time until the next new episode of Doctor Who, so it seems the opportune moment to start reviewing some of the classic episodes that are out on DVD. I’ve got most of the classic series DVDs in my collection – at least those released in the US, but haven’t gotten around to watching them all yet.
I think it is only appropriate to start with a Jon Pertwee episode, predominantly because he is my favorite Doctor.
The Three Doctors
by Bob Baker & Dave Martin
Story
The Third Doctor, still exiled on 20th Century Earth by the Time Lords is hunted down by a force coming through a black hole from an anti-matter universe. UNIT puts up a valiant fight but are ultimately overwhelmed.
It’s hardly surprising that they cannot hold out, for the Time Lords themselves are under attack by the very same anti-matter universe. Crippled and unable to save themselves or the Doctor they do the only thing they can. They cross the time streams and send the Second Doctor to help the Third and when that fails, they send the First Doctor to sort them out.
Ultimately, the Doctors, Jo, the Brigadier, Sgt. Benton and the entire UNIT HQ are transported to the anti-matter universe, now home to Omega, Gallifrey’s greatest temporal engineer. Omega was the man who blew up a star to create the power needed to enable time travel. He died in the act, but his sacrifice enabled his people to become the Time Lords.
Bitter and feeling abandoned in an empty universe he now seeks revenge on the Time Lords and plans to use the Doctor as his instrument of revenge.
Analysis
Hard to believe, looking back over 43 years of Doctor Who (and 10 Doctors), but this was just the 10th anniversary special and the concept of the Doctors meeting was totally new, despite being something fans had wanted to see for some time.
Plot-wise, this story is better than all future multi-Doctor stories, but it’s a bit haphazard. The star of the show is really the interaction between Jon Pertwee and Patrick Troughton. (William Hartnell was very ill at the time of filming, as was only able to make an appearance via pre-recorded video.) With only two Doctors making much of an appearance, it was fairly easy to have two sub-plots running and give each time to develop. (The 20th Anniversary special, The Five Doctors (which only had really four Doctors) was just too broken up to be very good.)
Fans love the interaction between the two Doctors, but my favorite is Nicolas Courtney’s performance as the Brigadier, who goes inside the TARDIS and on a trip with the Doctor for the first (and only) time. Unlike the stoic Sgt. Benton, the Brigadier refuses to believe the TARDIS is bigger on the inside than the out and is convinced that UNIT HQ has been blasted to the beach of a foreign country and not through a black hole to an anti-matter universe.
Most of the special effects and costumes are typical for early 70’s Who, but the CSO blob of anti-matter is particularly awful. You’ll cringe when you see it, but not from terror.
The backstory of Omega’s contribution to the Time Lords is later pretty much nullified by the story of Rassilon which came about in the Tom Baker story, the Deadly Assassin.
The is the last story of the Doctor’s exile on Earth and it is also the last full appearance of the Time Lords as the all-powerful, omnipresent beings looking out for time and space. Apart from a brief appearance in Genesis of the Daleks, the Time Lords from this point forward would be fatuous, political drones, prone to corruption, misuse of power and self-importance.
All-in-all, it’s an enjoyable romp, but it will make the best impression on someone who is already a fan of the show and familiar with the characters.
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